Research

After 40-years of economic erosion, there are still deficit deniers. The belief that debt and deficits “don’t matter” primarily stems from the basis the economy hasn’t collapsed and become a historical equivalent of Weimer, Germany. However, the rather elementary view fails to distinguish that dropping a frog into boiling water or slowly bringing the water to a boil equates to the same outcome. That latter just takes longer to get there.

The question of Japanization in the U.S. continues as the S&P 500 tracks the Nikkei of 1980. An email question I received recently is worth discussing in more detail.

Young investors are taking on personal debt to invest in stocks. I have not personally witnessed such a thing since late 1999. At that time, “day traders” tapped credit cards and home equity loans to leverage their investment portfolios.