When the subject of the economy is brought up, people quickly become uncomfortable. The current uncertainty, lack of control, and bleak outlook is enough to make most avoid the discussion altogether. The first topics that come to mind are skyrocketing unemployment, Washington’s out of control spending and those unsavory politicians that seem to have forgotten why they are there (and who put them there in the first place).
The U.S. economy is easily likened to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is the border of many states. On one side you may have Missouri and on the other, Illinois. The state’s border is an invisible line bisecting the river. The one river runs from Minnesota to Louisiana, but the two halves serve different purposes.
Within the Financial Economy, we see uncertainty, out of control unemployment rates, looming tax increases, and a federal government that is disconnected. Most of us spend our time and energy contemplating the side of the economy that we have little to no control over. We do this with the audacity of hope that one day things will improve. However, the Financial Economy is driven solely by money. It focuses on stocks, P&L’s, overhead, taxes, and ‘help’ from Washington. While these things are indeed important, it serves no purpose for us to place 100% of our effort and resources on this side of the river. The outcome here will be determined more by government policy than principle. Individually, the average citizen or company has virtually no control over the outcome, and is therefore backed into a “wait and see” mentality – the sole motivator being the hope that things will soon turn around.