Economics

When I was in college, I changed my major four times. I started with history. Not practical enough for me (at the time - I see how it is practical now!). Then I tried public administration. I found it to be quite boring. Then I studied political science. I liked it, but didn't find the job prospects to be to great. So a few years later (yes, it took me more than four years) I graduated with two degrees: accounting (I wanted a job) and economics (these were my favorite and most interesting classes).

Fifteen years later I consider myself an amateur economist. Very amateur. I know enough to be dangerous and that's about it.

The subject still fascinates me. Economics is kind of like the weather -- people tend to talk about it a lot more when it is bad than when it is good. It seems that people are talking about economics more now than we have since at least the late 1970s. One of the interesting things about economics is that Jesus talked about the subject more than he talked about any other subject.

So read the following at your own risk. Here are my thoughts about the economy:

• Long-term and historically, the stock market always increases. There has never been an exception to this rule.
• The chronic federal budget deficits have started and will continue to take their toll on the economy. It is ethically irresponsible to borrow money from future generations. We are sacrificing long-term prosperity for short-term prosperity.
• Certain sectors of the economy are in crisis: the airline industry (most on in bankruptcy), banking and finance (Have you read the news lately?), and American automobile companies (Have you checked the price of Ford or GM stock compared to what they were 5 years ago? Ouch.)
• The cost of health care inflation far outpaces the general inflation.
• For the first time in a long time, home values are dropping at unprecedented levels AND new construction is at its lowest level in over two decades.
• With the exception of Norway and Dubai (both very small countries with large oil reserves), per person, the United States is still the most prosperous country in the world.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the economy by the end of the year with the upcoming election and Christmas season. I'll write more later.

Training Update:

5:30 A.M. - Easy 8 mile run through Elmwood and Memorial Parks with Henryiard at 7:20 per mile pace.

2:30 P.M. - Easy 6.5 mile run on the Lake Zorinsky Trail by myself at 7:45 per mile. Just beat the rain.