“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. . . ”—Walt Whitman
The one constant in this inconsistent “new norm” is that nothing is as it was -what should rise, falls while what should fall, rises; propped up by smoke and mirrors (1). The general published numbers such as CPI, unemployment, and so on are increasingly based on the ideal of “mini-true” rather than actual fact -a desperate act of slapping paint on an old, decaying building (matured, over indebted economies) to sell the illusion that it’s still standing strong (2). In a last-ditch attempt to create anything that could be interpreted as growth comes the flood of financial stimulus, banking on the idea that free money will inevitably create employment, propel business growth and create new ones, thereby increasing profits and of course, tax revenue (3). Yet what decision makers have apparently failed to realize is how they shot themselves in the foot by making the stock market “infallible”. Why put money into developing a new business in the midst of pandemic-induced growth uncertainty, when “easy money” is yours for the taking (4)?
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