Where were you when the lights went out on Wall Street?
On Friday, Oct. 10, the first day the Dow dropped below 8,000 before crawling barely above that at close, a friend and I were in
We were not alone. I got the last 7:00 p.m. reservation. By 7:30, every table was full. Most were ordering bottles of wine, or behind us, glass after glass of Taittinger, thus their tabs even higher than ours. Few couples, most parties of four, eight, 12.
I remind you, not in
This is the untold story of the economy.
Between 91 and 94 percent of all home mortgages in the
Thus, on Friday,
Why wasn’t
Of course there are serious economic problems that require urgent fixing. That is best done, largely, with private capital, not the stampede to socialism made palatable through the marketing of crisis and manufacture of panic we’ve seen orchestrated – with a woefully ignorant media, parroting panic-talking points.
Billionaire Warren Buffett came forward and plunked money on the table, and even though his deal at GE, as example, is unfavorable to existing shareholders, it’s not as disastrous for us as the Fed’s pillage of AIG or Washington Mutual. And if properly incentivized,
The Paulson crowd prefers playing God with taxpayer money. The solutions here shouldn’t be sought from bureaucrats but from capitalists, just as they were for the Great Depression. That’s a call to arms for the Gateses, Buffetts, Rosses, etc.; the richest entrepreneurs, investors and industrialists to step forward. A waiver of all capital gains taxes on all needed investments, a team led not by co-conspirators in the problem but by those proven adept at turnarounds – the making of the 911 calls to the right people. This is what was and is needed.
The media reporting on all this is shamefully shallow. From Dr. Phil to CNN, everyone’s in the game. Most are telling people to drain whatever they have left in the market or to cease investing, to cease spending, to gather at kitchen tables and cut budgets and scissor credit cards. These same talking heads then wail about the lack of consumer confidence. And where, oh where, is the balance? Any balance?
I know. I know. The story of the dog that didn’t bark isn’t newsworthy. But at this moment, maybe the media have a patriotic duty to report on the majority of healthy corporations, the millions of successful small businesses, the entrepreneurs busily engaged in new start-ups and expansions and product launches.
While this ultimately sorts itself out despite government meddling, I am busily planning a return trip to Il Mulino. Yes, while it requires taking a jet to get there, you should taste the sauce on the Osso Bucco.
Dan Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur, adviser to business owners, sought-after speaker and author of 13 books. More information about Dan can be found at www.NoBSBooks.com, and a free collection of his business resources including newsletters and webinars at www.DanKennedy.com.