Wishin’ and Hopin’

After a tumultuous 2008, can 2009 be better- or worse?

Is the ride over, or have we only experienced the beginning?

It’s now obvious that the current recession is likely the worst the world has seen since the 1930’s. Not only is it far-reaching, it has exposed many follies in the financial markets. The pessimists have had a field day, projecting that the US (and UK) real estate markets will fall further. The US Treasury seems to have no clear-cut plan and keeps coming up with ideas that haven’t been fully vetted before being implemented.

Hopefully the new US administration will bring sanity to the situation.

Here are some ideas:

• Don’t continue to prop up failed industries (automakers). If they aren’t viable, let the market decide what to do with them. Consolidation, reorganization, whatever, now, is much better than putting off the inevitable.

• Speaking of putting off the inevitable, the only real solution to the mortgage situation is to recast all mortgages, not just those that are in default. The lenders made grievous errors in judgment, and they should be responsible for them. A stable mortgage market will stabilize housing. “Band-aid” approaches just push the inevitable out. But that was likely the plan anyway, to put the hard decisions into the hands of the new administration.

• Let’s have a real stimulus package. No giveaways or pork. Good uses of the money for infrastructure improvements will bring about economic health and could also accelerate the timeframe for combating global warming. There’s an opportunity-take it!