Don, i fully agree...if we're hit by a true bear market one of these days instead of just a wimpy correction, a lot of anger will probably be let out in unsavory ways. if Mark Barton is any indication of what a falling stock market can do to the minds of those participants that are somewhat unbalanced to begin with, we will be in for a lot of unpleasantness. of course right now, everything in American society is at a sort of positive peak...unemployement and crime rates at multi-decade lows, a giddy stock market exploding upward, the U.S. the pre-eminent military and economic power of the world, etc.
in fact i think it's fair to say that things could hardly be better. it reminds me of other empires at their historic peaks, and the fact that nothing lasts forever. since i don't live in the U.S., i have no first-hand knowledge whether there are signs of decadence increasing, but i wouldn't be surprised if there were. for those comfortable with the current rosy 'as-good-as-it-gets' scenario, i'd recommend to look at history; what they will find is that there is one constant that never changes, and that's the human element. maybe future generations will longingly look back at the 'golden age' of the '90's...
regards,
hb |
