Thanks, Republicans! We couldn't have
done it
without you!
Companies will continue to struggle
to raise cash for expansion and
innovation as investors and lenders
remain focused on conserving capital.
Workers, too, may have less flexibility
to go after new opportunities, because
many will be stuck where they are -- in
homes worth less than the balances on
their mortgages.
Once you've made terrible, overly
optimistic errors, that paralyzes you
for some time,'' says economist Paul
Samuelson, a Nobel laureate.
The bottom line: The U.S. may have to
get used to a new definition of normal,
characterized by weaker productivity
gains, slower economic growth, higher
unemployment and a diminished
financial-services industry.
"Terrible, overly optimistic errors" is a
motto that could be applied to pretty much
any area touched by the Republican majority
under the Bush administration. But hey!
Working America's pain is
someone's gain!
The rich splurge on bargains
As rates fall, time is right for deals
For the class of rich who make more
than $1 million a year and have several
times that in the bank, the time is
right for indulgence. Falling interest
rates have made luxury goods cheaper to
buy, and the items, which tend to be
considered investments because they
retain their value, are proving
attractive alternatives to the volatile
stock market. There is also the
foreclosure factor: A growing number of
high-end boats, cars, and homes have
been foreclosed upon by banks and can be
had for cut-rate prices.
And it just so happens that if you're a
cousin of the current President of the
United States, things are downright sunny!
Jonathan Bush, president and chief
executive officer of Athenahealth Inc.,
a Watertown-based medical billing and
electronic medical records firm, took
his company public last year and said
the outlook is sunny.
To that end, he said he has donated
money to nonprofits that he said he has
wanted to support for many years, and he
recently purchased a house in
Cambridge's
Hubbard Park. The price was $3.1
million, according to the Middlesex
Registry of Deeds records.
For the vast, vast majority of Americans,
alas, it seems the sun won't
come out tomorrow.
