[this was part of an earlier post on tax cuts but it deserves its own post]
The S&P 500 has closed at another record high. Wealth creation is unstoppable. People are getting richer than ever.
America’s position as an economic superpower has only been solidified post-2008 – the exact opposite of what the left predicted would occur, which was that the crisis would usher in a ‘new normal’ of diminished economic influence, fiscal restraint and less wealth creation.
The economic trends that existed prior to 2008 only accelerated in the aftermath of the banking problem. America became more competitive with more wealth inequality, a bigger bull market, a re-inflated housing market, bigger bonuses and higher valuations for web 2.0 companies. College not only became more competitive and expensive, but a greater economic necessity than ever before. From the wreckage of the crisis, Americans had little time to reflect; they had to get busy to keep up because the world had entered a new era where the rules were being re-written, mostly to the their disadvantage. Gone are the days of long-term stable employment, an early comfortable retirement, and the affordability of gas, healthcare and education. Gone are the days where being just good enough or average will suffice. These unpleasant realities are juxtaposed with an economy that has demonstrated remarkable strength and resiliency. So while the typical American may feel like the economy is weak due to their own difficult circumstances, it’s not. To believe that you can infer the health of a large system from one of its components or that the rules that are applicable to a small system must be applicable to a larger one is called the fallacy of composition.