I take no satisfaction in being a party pooper. Nor a
parade pooper or picnic pooper. Nor a pooper of any kind. But, my satisfaction is
not the point of this post. So, merely an FYI.
When I was unemployed and needed a job, the unemployment
rate was for me 100%. When I was employed the rate was 0. (When
underemployed—well, that’s a whole different cat in a pillowcase.)
For those readers looking at this chart on a screen about
the size of my palm, the vertical axis is unemployment rate and the horizontal
is a timeline running from 1950 on the left to our current position on the
right.
I was born in ’53 and so this graphical rollercoaster
reflects US unemployment during my entire lifespan. Some of the best of times,
some of the worst.
Where we are now on the right, where we have been to the
left….
Of course fiduciary responsibility requires a statement
about past performance being no guaranteed predictor of future events—there you
have it.
Even common sense knows that.
Now, if I were a betting man, and I’m not, I would hazard
a guess that the unemployment rate will be on the rise soon enough—which is too
soon for those folks losing their jobs.
Sic transit tempus, my friends.
