Well, I spent about three hours this morning listening and watching the Congressional Hearings on the Paulson plan. Quite interesting. It’s clear that everyone is rattled, particularly Paulson. There have been several negative reviews of the plan (see here and here), which seemed spot on to me.
I’m generally positive in my long-term outlook. The American economy churns out better educated college graduates and post-graduates than anyone else, as well as having the world’s most fertile ground for entrepreneurs. I know. I’ve started businesses in four countries now, depending on how you count, and it was far easier and far more profitable here. We might still be hit by falling asset prices and other calamities, but things will turn out OK. Even better than that.
Personally, after watching the clash of interests this morning, my intuition is that the final solution to all of this is going to be a bout of extreme inflation, which will devalue the current loan structures to the point where they don’t matter much compared to current income. Small investor solution? Same as always in an inflationary market: real estate and commodities.
But don’t listen to me. My success in investments speaks for itself.