Up 300, down 350, up 275, down 380! This is absolute madness.
Look, the crew here at AmeriGobble is feeling a bit queasy from all the market volatility lately. Our nerves are shot!
Does anybody really know what is going on? Things can not really change overnight can they? One day everybody is in a buying frenzy and the next day there is a freefall. Does anybody buy to hold any more? You know, buy some shares of a company you like and are a customer of. A company you want to be a part of for a long time.
The market these days has become machine driven with million share transactions happening in milli-seconds. The personal aspects of owning shares in a company are gone. And with it the Joe-six pack investor who no longer trusts Wall Street. Or at least soon.
Why would any sane Gobbler take the risk! Wall Street has gotten away from the basic fundamentals that Joe-six pack understands. That’s right, companies that provide a valuable product or service for society resulting in a profit are good. That is all that really matters, and that is what this Joe-six pack investor understands and is going to continue to believe.
As details emerge from the Solyndra bankruptcy inquiry, the crew here at AmeriGobble have been Gobbling about the potential long lasting impacts of this story. Anytime an American company goes under it is a sad day for our country, especially with unemployment being so high. This failure, however, seems to have greater ramifications for the USA.
Remember this was all about green jobs. Well, a bunch of them just evaporated before our eyes! That, of course, is the first and greatest ramification, but let’s explore the others.
Can we compete manufacturing the clean technologies of the future or have we already lost that battle to China. Will we even be able to compete on the installation end of things? What role should government have in giving or loaning tax payer dollars to unproven starts ups? What is President Obama’s role in the decision to fund Solyndra and what does it say about his business acumen. How will this story impact the upcoming elections? Can green manufacturing survive in the USA without government subsidies and low wages?
This story is making our heads spin here at AmeriGobble! What’s your take on the lasting impact of this story?
That’s right! Hold on for a second. Everything else the Fed and Washington policymakers have tried has failed miserably or underperformed, so why not just start raising interest rates to create some stimulus.
Throughout this entire financial crisis it seems we have forgotten who is really paying for the burden of others debt and financial mistakes. That’s right, I’m talking about the middle class savers who did not play financial games with hopes getting rich quick and our valued fixed income seniors who saved for retirement and use annuities and CD’s for generating cash flow and preserving or elongating the value of their savings. As the Fed and Washington continue to drive our debt ridden economy with the concept of cheap money, I.e. more debt, savers and retirees suffer the most severe consequences.
Imagine trying to solve a debt crisis with the lure of more debt. On it’s own the concept is simply absurd. And it is the same rationale as before. Hey why not keep extending myself, the money is cheap right? It’s like giving an alcoholic another drink. It simply won’t work on an individual level or in a society where both the government and its’ people are already in debt.
Let’s face it, even with the interest rates at record lows economic activity has been stagnant to say the least, with housing being a huge drag. People are simply tapping out of the credit markets. They simply don’t have the money, and they never did to begin with. Low interest will not spur the American consumer to spend in the short term.
So why not reward seniors that have saved and been responsible their whole lives and didn’t put themselves at risk so they could have a mcMansion or make a quick buck. And what about the middle class savers who made responsible life choices and who now must watch helplessly as the value of their hard earned and saved dollars disentegrate right before their eyes via bad monetary and fiscal policy.
Raising interest rates would put money into the economy quickly and it would put that money into financially proven hands. Give savers and retirees more interest income and they’ll probably spend it and spend it wisely. Hence stimulus! We need to encourage a savings oriented culture so saving once again becomes the norm. Raising interest rates would do just that.
The Question:
What do you think will be the impact of the nuclear disaster in Japan on alternative energies, particularly wind and solar?
Our View:
No matter how the saga of the nuclear disaster in Japan ultimately turns out, solar, wind and other alternative fuels just started looking a whole lot better as a long term solution to our energy problems. Of course things do not change quickly, and nuclear generated power will be around for a long time, but we were wondering if the accident in Japan will give an immediate boost to other alternative and renewable industries in terms of investment dollars, revenue and jobs?
