Our Strong and Resilient Economy

April 22, 2016
The New York Times: U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

Dr. Alex Crosby, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he had studied the association between economic downturns and suicide going back to the 1920s and found that suicide was highest when the economy was weak.

I know what you must be thinking. If suicide rates are highest when the economy is weakest, and suicide rates are currently surging to a 30-year high, then the title of my post must be either sarcastic or just plain wrong.

Well, there's more to the story.

But other experts pointed out that the unemployment rate had been declining in the latter period of the study, and questioned how important the economy was to suicide.

Yeah, I'm siding with these nameless other experts. The unemployment rate is proof that the economy is strong. Nothing else matters. Somebody needs to send Janet Yellen a memo letting her know just how strong it is. She needs to know that it is safe to raise the fed funds rate to no less than 4%. And while she is at it, she should feel confident in unwinding all those trillions in treasury bond purchases. Our strong and resilient heavily outsourced debt-ridden service economy can certainly handle it.

And while we are on this "other experts" topic, there is something on my mind that really bothers me. Many experts believe that the earth is spherical. There are other experts who believe that the earth is flat though. It is unfortunate that we may never truly know who is actually right. I gotta tell you. My property seems pretty flat. Just sayin'.

Don't even get me started on those experts who believe the earth is more than 6,000 years old. That's just crazy talk. I have lived a long time. I can't imagine anything lasting billions of years. Granted, I may be a bit biased. Much of my stuff is made in China.

Who am I kidding? You caught me spewing sarcasm again. Guilty as charged.