Diverse comments on things I am hearing in the U.S. and French press and in the various EU blogs I frequent about the world financial crisis.
Idiot Idea #1, WE are not that badly impacted. The problem is out THERE somewhere.
This I have been hearing for months from the French press/government and the French public continues to believe it. The message (and the hope) was powerful enough that I actually left my investments where they were. I won’t disclose how much I lost but I can say that in retrospect that was a pretty stupid move. I should have remembered the old line, “Promises engage only those who believe them.”
Idiot Idea #2 WE will pull out of the crisis the fastest.
What I hear is that many people believe that the U.S. will recover more quickly. Maybe. Hard to say and the people who are saying it are generally so ignorant or have such a lousy track record for predictions that I sure as heck wouldn’t bet my money (what is left anyway) on it. The day I truly believe it I may buy a ticket home but we are not there yet.
May I respectfully suggest that no one, not the national governments, not the EU, nor the economists have a clue as to which countries will suffer most (or least) and which countries will recover fastest. What seems likely is that every country will suffer in its own unique way for the time it takes until recovery. In the interim, everyone will find a reason to envy and loathe his neighbors.
It all makes me personally very tired.
Now we can continue to waste our time blaming each other and explaining to the rest of the world (as if anyone was listening or cared) why we are so SPECIAL and DIFFERENT.
Or we can quit arguing about who is is the tallest midget in the room.
Because, let’s face it, sports fans, we are all in a world of hurt right now.
