Since the 1970’s I’ve watched the markets and the only real barometer I found is the emotional disposition of the country of the country at large. Most people, I believe, have this cause and effect relationship backwards. More and more, I’ve come to believe that markets do well when we feel good about ourselves and not the other way around. It’s not the bull market that causes us to feel good as much as it is have faith once again in our country that make the bull market. It has more to do with national morale than it does money. When we feel good about ourselves, we work, we become positive and make investments and calculated risks.and we get creative. And the market reflects that and not the other way around.
At the moment, and for a long time now, we’ve been a severely divided nation and our leadership on both sides have purposely exacerbated and exaggerated that division, selfishly, to their own ends. A divided people do not function well, a divided family cannot function at all.
In the past year, slowly, incrementally, I see signs that we may be coming around. We, together, have refused to take the next step into Rove-style national politics in the form of Trump. Our anger, bitterness and cynicism could have easily gotten that man elected and taken us down to yet another level of national morbidity.
But something happened. I think people are finally realizing that negativity will not win the day. The head of FOX was neutralized to ignominy. There is now a serious senate investigation into the brutality of privatized prisons—a blemish on our country. I believe other investigations into corruption privatization will soon follow. There have been many like examples just this year. Hopefully they will look into how the gouging of Medicare is facilitated by privatized former county and regional hospitals—the privatization of which was a huge national con job. I think the times are slowly changing to a more rational era. And when we get some of the housecleaning done, we will begin to feel good about ourselve again and the markets will reflect that.