Economic Forecast (Again)
An article I received today from a speaker at MHEDA’s upcoming Convention in May made a few interesting points about how the events of the last week relate to material handling and the economy.
It says, in part:
“President Barack Obama took office on Tuesday, the 20th, and the country seems filled with hope. I have sat in on several meetings over the last few days where a number of folks have given voice to this hope. It is as if now that #44 is through the door, we will have no more problems. I have no desire to dash those hopes, but I cannot suspend the analytical process inherent in economics.”
The article later adds, “Many folks in and out of Congress are clamoring for massive federal bailouts that will make everything all better. There are a couple of questions that must be asked in that regard. One, can we point back to a prior period where massive government intervention has brought about a quick recovery? (Hint: The answer is no.) You may be tempted to think of FDR and the New Deal, but analysis of that time period shows that the actual recovery did not begin until WWII….”
I thought this was a very interesting point. Lost in the hoopla of the Presidential changeover was that the stock market has not exactly rallied; in fact, the Dow was back under 8,000 at the middle of the week. It has been reporeted that conditions may worsen before they improve, but that news seems to have taken back seat to the other stuff.
Of course, I hope that the right answers and policies are soon put in place to set the trends back forward, but let’s not get the cart before the horse. There’s much work to be done, in material handling and throughout the business community.
Tags: economy, industry forecast, material handling, politics
February 10th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
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