Looking Up

Article

Amidst all the gloom and doom, the failures and frustrations, the finger pointing and scapegoating, the drumbeat of negative economic news… we turn to two men wiser than ourselves for advice that lifts us up:

Warren Buffett in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders…

“Whatever the downsides may be, strong and immediate action by government was essential last year if the financial system was to avoid a total breakdown. Had that occurred, the consequences for every area of our economy would have been cataclysmic. Like it or not, the inhabitants of Wall Street, Main Street and the various Side Streets of America were all in the same boat.

Amid this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past. In the 20th Century alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen or so panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 21.5 percent prime rate in 1980; and the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment ranged between 15 percent and 25 percent for many years. America has had no shortage of challenges.

Without fail, however, we’ve overcome them. In the face of those obstacles – and many others – the real standard of living for Americans improved nearly seven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow Jones Industrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during which humans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead.”

Mitch Dunford, CEO of Wells Publishing, in this issue’s Closing Quote…

“A government ‘stimulus’ package will not save us. A bailout of AIG or GM will not solve the underlying problem. Instead, the quiet personal resolve to act with character and integrity in everything we do, and to demand the same behavior in our leaders, will lead to long-lasting, positive change. There is still something noble in the American spirit. I believe in us. I believe in our character as Americans to dig deep and to dig out of any problem, to do the right thing, and to do the extraordinary.”

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