PESSIMIST OR REALIST

By Derry Brownfield
November 15, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

For the past several years I have been referred to as a pessimist, a doom-and-gloomer, even unkind and trying to scare people. There are a few individuals in this nation who have read the warning signs and are better informed spokespersons than the general public, but many citizens are beginning to take notice and listening to what these realistic thinkers are saying. I certainly don’t claim to be a prophet or have any insight into the future. All I can do is study the facts, recall the past and try to determine what to expect in the future. For the past 30 years I have been studying economic history and what I have learned is totally different from what I was taught in the economics courses I took in 1949 and 1950 at the University of Missouri.

During 1982-83 I wrote an article each month for a rural electric publication. The following are the titles of a few of my manuscripts: THE QUESTION OF THE MONEY SUPPLY - WE NEED FAIR TRADE NOT FREE TRADE - WE CAN’T BUY FRIENDS – IT TAKES WORK TO CURE A RECESSION – A WORLD WITHOUT BUREAUCRATS – APATHY WEAKENS A NATION – FOREIGN LOANS PINCH BIG BANKS – DON’T TAKE FREEDOM FOR GRANTED. Nearly everything I wrote in 1982-83 came to pass, yet I was told by the editorial staff in 1983 that my articles were too controversial and my services were no longer needed. They thought I was pessimistic when I was trying to be realistic.

Let’s look at the warning signs and get realistic about the coming months or perhaps years. I don’t have the time or space in this month’s article to discuss the bursting of the housing bubble, the bank bailouts, the auto bailouts or even cash-for-clunkers. We know that 50% of our nation’s wealth was wiped out when the stock market dropped from 14,165 on October 9th, 2007 to a low of 6,469 on March 6th, 2009. While our Treasury Secretary says the “recession is overâ€