Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Just in case anyone thinks there is not enough media coverage of the financial world, take a moment to consider all the air time and discussion currently about whether or not the Federal Reserve will or will not include the word "Patience" in their press release today.  The fate of the Republic cannot possibly hang in the balance but you would be hard pressed to guess that from all the huffing and puffing on the business channels. Stop! The reality is that the US economy is doing better than it should since the meltdown of 2008. Clearly the recovery is uneven and it has a ways to go. Commodity prices are falling and that will keep inflation in check. Interest rates are low and will be at historic lows for the foreseeable future. In the age of instant communication the world expects instant results from everything.

One thing that would help the economy is a reasonable fiscal policy from Congress. The constant make believe crises about the debt limit combined with the reluctance to fund necessary agencies and trying to address social issues in defense bills etc. wears thin after a while. The best thing for business is a constant somewhat predictable approach to government regulation and spending. This enables businesses big and small to plan for the future. Most business people I have met do not care which political party is in control, all we want is a consistent approach to fiscal policy based on facts not ideology.