Comments on: Worst Financial Crisis Since the Depression? http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2008/09/17/worst-financial-crisis-since-the-depression/ The source on how we live, work and play Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:10:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Charles Rostkowski http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2008/09/17/worst-financial-crisis-since-the-depression/comment-page-1/#comment-5802 Charles Rostkowski Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:08:58 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/?p=3350#comment-5802 People who speak in superlatives usually get things wrong. We have been through many "worst financial crisis since the Depression". I remember the recession of 1957-58. It was the year I graduated from high school and at the time everyone I knew believe there would be no jobs for us. But two years later there jobs galore within a booming economy that continued for the next 13 years when the next "worst financial crisis since the Depression" came around. What Roubini fails to take into account is the creativity and optimism of the American people. They are problem solvers and when they put their minds to it things get done. The doom industry will have its days but, as the old saying goes, "this too shall pass" And it shall People who speak in superlatives usually get things wrong.
We have been through many “worst financial crisis since the Depression”. I remember the recession of 1957-58. It was the year I graduated from high school and at the time everyone I knew believe there would be no jobs for us. But two years later there jobs galore within a booming economy that continued for the next 13 years when the next “worst financial crisis since the Depression” came around. What Roubini fails to take into account is the creativity and optimism of the American people. They are problem solvers and when they put their minds to it things get done. The doom industry will have its days but, as the old saying goes, “this too shall pass” And it shall

]]> By: Jim H http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2008/09/17/worst-financial-crisis-since-the-depression/comment-page-1/#comment-5757 Jim H Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:27:54 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/?p=3350#comment-5757 “It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.” ---REM It’s getting a little tiring to hear about the end of the United States, the sky is falling, etc. etc. Banks fail regularly; as a matter of fact this type of “crisis” happens once a decade – always has, always will. People forget (or don’t know) how risky of a business it is. Walk around any city and you can see that there clearly were too many banks chasing the same dollars. Consolidation is as necessary as it was inevitable. Is this the worst financial crisis since the depression? Possibly, but it doesn’t mean that the average US citizen’s standard of living has to fade dramatically. Some things are not going to change- parents raising kids are always going to want a back yard with green grass, a vehicle that can handle trips to the soccer game, grocery store, and other carpooling needs. SUV’s didn’t become popular for no reason, the only problem is the energy they use is of a petro source. Give them a fuel cell that can handle the power needs of the engine for decent range, and we’re back to where we want to be. McMansions? We’ve sprawled as far as we’re going to, now we have to get architechs/engineers to develop better technology for vertical living in the dense cities that will be preferred by the people before and after they have raised their families. Personally, I don’t believe (any) government can stop spiky globalization. The creative economy is going to proceed regardless, as the landscape continually becomes spiky, fewer people are living in the middle of the country as we speak.(see The great plains drain, article from the economist) http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10534077 The best jobs are consolidating into a handful of locations. Michigan and Ohio are dead. Detroit is a disaster, and most likely New Orleans will never return to it’s glory days. The places to be are decided: Toronto,New York,London,San Fran,Chicago, Paris so forth. The US is leading the move to what GaveKal calls “Platform Companies”. Even GM knows there is more money in designing cars than building them. The fork in the road is that you’re either a knowledge worker, or you’re a service worker. We have been in a recession for at least a year, and the reality is that we are going through a painful transition from an Industrial Age to an Information Age. By the middle of the next decade we are going to see innovation and an economy, that is going to make the 90’s seem like small potatoes. However, we still have some reshuffling of the deck to finish. Will the US not be the lone superpower anymore? Possibly, but who cares? Maybe it’s our time to fall into the background for a while, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The world never showed appreciation for saving them from the disaster du-jour anyway. It’s a thankless job, and now it’s just too expensive. “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.”
—REM

It’s getting a little tiring to hear about the end of the United States, the sky is falling, etc. etc. Banks fail regularly; as a matter of fact this type of “crisis” happens once a decade – always has, always will. People forget (or don’t know) how risky of a business it is. Walk around any city and you can see that there clearly were too many banks chasing the same dollars. Consolidation is as necessary as it was inevitable.

Is this the worst financial crisis since the depression? Possibly, but it doesn’t mean that the average US citizen’s standard of living has to fade dramatically. Some things are not going to change- parents raising kids are always going to want a back yard with green grass, a vehicle that can handle trips to the soccer game, grocery store, and other carpooling needs. SUV’s didn’t become popular for no reason, the only problem is the energy they use is of a petro source. Give them a fuel cell that can handle the power needs of the engine for decent range, and we’re back to where we want to be. McMansions? We’ve sprawled as far as we’re going to, now we have to get architechs/engineers to develop better technology for vertical living in the dense cities that will be preferred by the people before and after they have raised their families.

Personally, I don’t believe (any) government can stop spiky globalization. The creative economy is going to proceed regardless, as the landscape continually becomes spiky, fewer people are living in the middle of the country as we speak.(see The great plains drain, article from the economist)
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10534077
The best jobs are consolidating into a handful of locations. Michigan and Ohio are dead. Detroit is a disaster, and most likely New Orleans will never return to it’s glory days. The places to be are decided: Toronto,New York,London,San Fran,Chicago, Paris so forth.

The US is leading the move to what GaveKal calls “Platform Companies”. Even GM knows there is more money in designing cars than building them. The fork in the road is that you’re either a knowledge worker, or you’re a service worker.

We have been in a recession for at least a year, and the reality is that we are going through a painful transition from an Industrial Age to an Information Age. By the middle of the next decade we are going to see innovation and an economy, that is going to make the 90’s seem like small potatoes. However, we still have some reshuffling of the deck to finish. Will the US not be the lone superpower anymore? Possibly, but who cares? Maybe it’s our time to fall into the background for a while, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The world never showed appreciation for saving them from the disaster du-jour anyway. It’s a thankless job, and now it’s just too expensive.

]]> By: hayden fisher http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/2008/09/17/worst-financial-crisis-since-the-depression/comment-page-1/#comment-5750 hayden fisher Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:18:33 +0000 http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/creative_class/?p=3350#comment-5750 If reasonable men and women agree that liquidity is the issue and the fundamentals of AIG's business core (insurance) are solid, save only the toxic mortgage-backed assets as the underlying problem; and if short-term liquidity indeed is its major issue; then the government just scored big by gobbling-up 80% of the equity of a nice business experiencing a short-term cash crunch. Why should only the super-wealthy and hedge funds be allowed to be the vultures?? Why can't the taxpayers benefit too?? Think of it as a kindler, gentler corporate yard sale with the taxpayers walking off with the best china at a steal of a price. The next step is re-investment in the form of economic development after the gains have been reaped. The new American dream should be not to own one's own house but to have the opportunity to own one's own business. And government should provide the assistance to do so. If reasonable men and women agree that liquidity is the issue and the fundamentals of AIG’s business core (insurance) are solid, save only the toxic mortgage-backed assets as the underlying problem; and if short-term liquidity indeed is its major issue; then the government just scored big by gobbling-up 80% of the equity of a nice business experiencing a short-term cash crunch.

Why should only the super-wealthy and hedge funds be allowed to be the vultures?? Why can’t the taxpayers benefit too?? Think of it as a kindler, gentler corporate yard sale with the taxpayers walking off with the best china at a steal of a price. The next step is re-investment in the form of economic development after the gains have been reaped. The new American dream should be not to own one’s own house but to have the opportunity to own one’s own business. And government should provide the assistance to do so.

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