Admiral James Stockdale and The Aqua-Holic.....
I know....I know....stop being so negative Greg. Listen, I want things to be better.....a LOT better but overcoming an enormous fall like our financial markets took last year will take time and some discomfort. It's not that we aren't better off...we are but we're not yet going up yet. I believe we must be 100% forthright in our assessments of where things are if we want to have credibility with consumers. So (doing my best Forrest Gump), we're less bad and that's good.
You see it everyday....the rush to proclaim the next big thing. Whether it's a super star athlete, a sports team that's going to be a champion or the news media on announcing our economy in recovery. Everybody wants to be first to tell the story and why not? Everyone wants to hear good news and be associated with a positive tale. Considering that my business (real estate) has constantly been accused of spinning information to benefit our industry I'm just not going there. We are better off than a year ago and some positive signs are out there but let's not forget that unemployment is still at staggering levels and all of the money that's been spent to stimulate, massage, invigorate, caress and boost our economy will eventually have to be paid back. The way you do that is by raising interest rates and taxes, neither of which is going to grow an economy. In essence things are better....with an asterisk which means that we have quite a ways to go. In the meantime appreciate those things that truly matter in your life because there's a lot of pain and challenge for many of our fellow Americans. Oh....and if you are going to be in the real estate market, make it about a place to benefit and enhance the lives of you and your families. The days of looking at home ownership like a quick buck artist are over. It's time we all started looking at things with a bit more perspective...and it starts with those of us who are directly involved in the process.
