Don't Worry, the Financial Wizards are in Charge

This quote today from President Obama made me wistful for a Mitt Romney presidency: "On the other hand, what you're now seeing is profit and earning ratios are starting to get to the point where buying stocks is a potentially good deal if you've got a long-term perspective on it." 

Profit and earning ratios? Oh my. How many points did the Dow drop on that one? Perhaps Obama was thinking of P/E ratios - which stands for price/earnings. 

Here's how the AP reported the gaffe: "Trying to pump up the nation's confidence, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Wall Street has been hammered so hard that 'buying stocks is a potentially good deal'..." Nothing to see here folks. He's a genius, trust us.

Fat Cats

The stock market, after soaring in recently, had a rough week. However, the DOW is still above 13,000 and GDP is up 3.4% for the second quarter, the best quarter in over a year. The media, in their quest for doom and gloom always choose to play up the bad news (ht Newsbusters.org), at least when a Republican is in office. But why should they pay attention to the stock market at all? I thought only the fat cats on Wall Street were affected by the market. How many times have we been told that the gains on Wall Street are not being shared by those on Main Street? Democrats are making plans to "tax the rich" by increasing the capital gains tax. Increasing the capital gains tax will lower overall investment, hurting the stock market and the economy. The average Joe depends on the stock market's performance for at least his retirement account. The Democrats can't seem to get it through their heads one simple fact: Low taxes = good for economy, high taxes = bad for economy. I guess it doesn't matter if you can take money from one group of people and giving it to another to buy votes.