It looks as if the U.S. stock market is about ready to start recovering. This may not be the absolute bottom but, if not, it’s close. With the moves governments around the world are making to end the economic crisis, I see a ray of hope. If markets keep on plunging, it will probably mark the collapse of the global economy as we know it, and I won’t let myself contemplate that possibility. So I choose to be optimistic.
The way I see it, a prudent investor could make profitable investments in today’s stock market. I won’t tell you which stocks to buy. Do what Warren Buffet does, study the company, research its management, consider the price-earnings ratio and its stock trading history, then invest in the ones that seem the safest. Think of the long term, and think diversification. Your grandmother told you not to put all your eggs in one basket, and she was right, as usual.
One reason for my optimism is that I expect Barack Obama (photo at right) to be elected President of the United States. And if Obama wins, a wave of optimism will sweep the global economy, bolstering stock prices, loosening credit and re-energizing the American housing market. Confidence will return to grease the wheels of commerce. I expect all this to happen before he implements a single policy. Hope is one of the strongest forces in nature. Another is relief.
The world will be so relieved to get rid of George W. Bush that it will celebrate exuberantly. Money will start changing hands again. People are weary of Bush’s constant belligerence, his capricious behavior, his attacks on Constitutional freedoms, his plotting and scheming to subjugate and undermine other countries, and his reckless disregard for the lives and livelihood of human beings. The end of his administration will be like a sunny morning after a stormy night (photo below).
And I believe Obama will make the most of this honeymoon period. His policies are reasonable, his temperament is reliable and his advisers are the best available. Of course, there will be bumps in the road. As Joe Biden took so much flak for suggesting, Obama will be tested. There are forces in the world that wish America and world capitalism ill. They will do their utmost to derail a recovery. But I believe Obama – and his team – will be able to meet this challenge.
What if John McCain gets elected? I cannot imagine a more terrifying prospect. It seems from the polls that many Americans are too blinded by their prejudices and preconceptions to see how disastrous a McCain Administration would be. They are apparently obsessed with racial or religious bigotry, or driven by gratitude for his military service. But the rest of the world’s people look on in trepidation. From a distance they can see McCain for what he is – a jingoistic ideologue with a dangerous agenda of world domination and disdain for working people.
So, if you plan to follow my advice and take a chance on the stock market, you’d better make sure to vote for Obama.
