Wow, That Was a Horrible Decade
Was it really that terrible? Let’s look at the positives: America solidified its position as a global economic and military superpower, with China in second place. We saw the rise of web 2.0, Google, Apple, Uber, Tesla, and Snapchat. Combined, these companies are worth over $1.5 trillion. As part of Social Darwinism 2.0, we’re seeing the ascent of STEM and nerd culture, as these are the individuals who are most fit for prosperity in today’s competitive economy. We saw Microsoft shake off its anti-trust woes. The 2000’s was the decade of the iPhone, the iPad, Netflix, the iPad, Drones, 3D printers, and entertainment on demand. The Higgs Boson was found. We had no less than a hundred mega blockbuster movies based off superhero and book franchises. Thanks to the intelligence efforts of the Bush administration and the war on terror, Bin Laden is dead and further terror attacks have been thwarted. TARP was a huge success, the US dollar is rallying, and treasury yields keep falling as America becomes the world’s safe haven. The Ivy Leagues are prestigious than ever, with record number of applications from all over the world. America’s tech companies are the envy of the world and, like the Ivy Leagues, are inundated with foreign applications. The real estate market all over the world boomed; home prices in Manhattan, Silicon Valley, Seattle, London, Vancouver, Washington DC are all up over 100% since the turn of the millennium. Earnings for the S&P 500 have more than doubled.
We saw the free market and the US consumer rise above the wealth destroying efforts of the Obama administration. I can go on; but there are so many reasons why this has been a great decade.