Prepare For The Next Boom, But Keep That Noose Handy

On this day, the day that America leaves recession, I want to make a prediction that I'm sure will come true. Being a little older does give you certain advantages, you see patterns repeat themselves and history too. And this has not been my first recession. A year ago the media was full of doom and gloom and frankly, scaremongering. Because this hasn't been their first recession either, and they should have known better.

I confidently predict that no lessons at all will be learnt from the fiasco. Because you see, once the money starts rolling in once more, people will have real short memories. Governments too because they can ride the wave of the strong economy, take undeserved credit for it and claim that it's all a result of their policies. Odd then that during a recession they don't take the blame, if their policies are so important to the whole thing.

Regulation will either not happen, or will be tame. People will be so relieved that they can start spending again that they will forget the hard times and go credit crazy. Sub prime mortgages will reappear as will dodgy credit, and before you know it we'll be in an economic boom once more, perhaps bigger than ever before. The stock market will soar, lots of people will get filthy rich and we will all collectively put our fingers in our ears and say 'la la la la'. And then, a few years down the line, we will crash again, even deeper than before and even more people will suffer. If we don't learn from our mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. Watch this space.