The Coming Economic Collapse

So how will we know when a bottom is in and the economy will recover? I’ve postulated a few signs (some humorous, others not so pleasant). Bear in mind, much of this is tongue in cheek. But like all sarcasm, there’s a grain of truth.

We will bottom WHEN:

• CNBC and Bloomberg start firing anchors and cutting their coverage time by hours, not minutes.
• Maria Bartiromo and Jim Cramer start telling investors to short the market with all they’ve got.
• Questions like “do you think we’re heading for a recovery” result in the questioner getting punched in the face or ignored like a loony tune.
• People HATE stocks and stock ownership has plummeted back to one in ten Americans (the pre-401(k) levels).
• Investing is no longer a hobby and people fight tooth and nail to retain their nest egg (honestly what the hell is “play” or “speculative” money?)
• The number of mutual funds has fallen by at least half (why are we paying fees for people who can’t beat the market?).
• People no longer want to get an MBA to become a broker or a financial advisor.
• Our economy is based on “making something,” not “offering advice.”
• Books about Warren Buffett no longer comprise an entire publishing industry (seriously, Amazon (AMZN) lists 5,000+ books on him).
• The Richest 500 people in the world are no longer all billionaires (never happened before in history… how’s that for concentration of wealth?)
• Guys like me are no longer writing about finance or investing but instead take up a respectable profession.

Then… we will have probably hit bottom.

Thanks to Graham Summers at Seeking Alpha blog

If Sarah Palin Were Black ....

If Sarah Palin were black, Fox News would have demanded that the F.B.I. prosecute her for sedition and inciting political violence.

If Sarah Palin were black, the Right-wing would be calling for Black political leadership, as well as the Democratic Party, to both condemn her and renounce any future relationship with the former Governor from Alaska.

If Sarah Palin were black, she would be publicly denounced for being a vacuous, narcissistic, self-centered, "diva" that is not fit for public service and who cares more about her own fame and fortune than she does the common good or the victims of The Arizona Massacre.

If Sarah Palin were black, her behavior would be used as a launching point for discussing how Black leadership is in crisis. In fact, a major news network would air a whole series on how black women are failing their communities and how Palin is emblematic of a larger trend.

If Sarah Palin were black, the Right would be lambasting her for not embodying the Conservative principles of "personal responsibility."

If Sarah Palin were black, Glenn Beck would have already linked her to his imagined cabal and tradition of violence among "Progressive-Liberal-Socialists." On his blackboard there would direct links from Palin to Adolf Hitler, Chairman Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saul Alinsky, the Black Panther Party, Angela Davis, the Tides Foundation, The Symbionese Liberation Army, and The Weather Underground.

If Sarah Palin were black, Rush Limbaugh would have said that her behavior is one more example of how liberalism is a "mental illness," that liberals are a "cancer," and that progressives should be "destroyed."

If Sarah Palin were black, she would be persona non grata after The Arizona Massacre and run out of the public square on a rail.

My thanks to We are Respectable Negroes Blog