Sojka's Call

In this interview of economist, Lacy Hunt by Kate Wellin, the current world economic status is reviewed with particular attention to the U.S. The primary focus is current government debt levels and what those mean to future prosperity. The interview also goes into economic theory and comparison of the U.S. situation with Europe which is actually buying Uncle Sam some time. But, time is running out and if the latest budget proposal from President Obama does not scare the bejeezers out of you,

The following is an article from the John Maudlin website on the current political and economic deadlock in the US specifically, but, that is gripping most of the western world. It is most likely too much for most people to think about since it will take longer than 5 minutes to read and digest. The comments on Maudlin's website are interesting as well. With a couple exceptions, the comments posted so far about the article display the very gridlock gripping our country that the book attempts to find a way through. Are the entrenched thought patterns most people have so comfortable that trying something new on for just a few minutes becomes painful enough that they must lash out emotionally? Personally, I found the discussion about inductive and deductive reasoning very interesting. After working 30+ years in manufacturing plants mostly at an engineering and management level, i saw the problems of using data to solve problems. Over and over, in lengthy meetings, people would sh...

According to Stephen Leeb and a couple other blogs I checked out, Byron Wien has been pretty accurate with his forecasts. For example, he predicted Obama's Presidency before the Iowa Caucuses. I would not bet the farm on his prognostications, but, he should be considered seriously along with other sources you trust and your own analysis. His US economy forecast for the beginning of the year fits my contrarian hunch at this time - everyone I know is so negative about the economy they must be wrong! Blackstone Group's Byron Wien Announces Top Ten Surprises for 2010 2010-01-04 18:08:56 - Byron R. Wien, Vice Chairman, Blackstone Advisory Services, today issued his list of the Ten Surprises for 2010. This is the 25th year Byron has given his predictions of a number of economic, financial market and political surprises for the coming year. He started the tradition in 1986 when he was the Chief U.S. Investment Strategist at Morgan Stanley. Byron joined The Blackstone Group in Septe...