It’s going to be a tough winter with no NBA and political campaigns in full swing even though the elections are over a year away. Watching and listening to our politicians, as they scramble for money and power, can be very depressing if it wasn’t for the fact that America, in the long run, always seem to grow and prosper, in spite of the lack of political leadership.
It may not be the NBA, but politicians could be more entertaining. For example-I would love to see the following unfold at one of the current Republican debates. “Mr. or Ms. Candidate,’ if over the next two months, the economy grew at a 5% annual rate and the unemployment rate fell to 7.0%, would you consider that to be good news or bad?”
Obviously, it would be great news for America, but it would ruin any chance the Republicans have of taking power away from the Democrats. I am not picking on the Republicans here. If the Republicans currently held the Whitehouse, it would be the Democrats hoping for bad news. It’s like the Weather Channel hoping for hurricanes, it get the ratings and profits up.
Yes, I am a cynic, but according to all the polls the vast majority of the American people have a very low opinion of politicians of both parties. That is why we often hear voters expressing their choice as “the lesser of two evils.” Or worse yet, not bothering to vote.
To be continued–
Wheeler Writes 
Ah, one of the benefits of “retirement”: the ability to discuss politics without potential financial penalty! 🙂
The answer to your question is, it depends. On the one hand, 5% growth and 7% unemployment (from where we are now) is a very good thing. On the other hand, if it means four more years of this “leadership” it’s a very bad thing.
Higher growth and lower unemployment isn’t a likely expected outcome of constant business bashing and class warfare rhetoric, misallocation of resources by an arrogant and powerful elite, massive new regulation on top of massive existing regulation not well-enforced, an even more complicated tax code, the institutionalizing of too-big-too-fail, and so many other non-market solutions.
But you know this. 🙂