Sinking Feeling

Despite my innate optimism that things will be all right in the end, I have not seen anything in the last five years that convinces me that things will improve nationally or internationally any time soon. Although the world does not appear on the verge of imminent economic meltdown, the underlying problems from 2008 have not been resolved and could readily occur again in the same or different form. Recent huge trading losses at JP Morgan Chase demonstrate the potential for disaster.

When one examines the scene dispassionately, there are few grounds to objectively be hopeful. If Romney wins in November, the chances are that the lyrics in a well-known song from the Great Depression-- "There's nothing surer, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer"-- will prove prophetic. The discouraging realization, however, is that even if Obama wins reelection, the deadlock between the Democrats and Republicans, especially in Washington, will continue unabated and nothing of substance will be accomplished.

Turning to economic affairs, the problems are pervasive and world-wide. There is obviously too much debt everywhere and little prospect of digging out from under. Some countries already have unemployment at 20% or higher-- similar to the US in the Great Depression-- and there is no plan anywhere to improve conditions. The idea that everyone will solve their problems by producing more to sell to others, many of whom are in the same or worse economic conditions, is ludicrous. Meanwhile, austerity plans imposed on countries like Greece and Spain to slash national budgets and other outlays drastically are clearly making bad situations even worse.

I certainly have no answers to these problems, and those few who are willing to tackle them, as President Obama did with the American auto industry, are typically stymied by intransigent opposition. When one adds to these problems the ongoing conflicts across the globe, where armed conflicts rage unabated and countless millions lack the bare necessities for a decent life, it is not an encouraging overall picture.

A recent poll shows that about three-quarters of the American people share my sinking feeling about the future. However, it's always darkest right before the dawn. Just when things seemed hopeless, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended-- to take one dramatic example from the not so distant past.