As I get older, I hate to see the calendar turn from one year to the next. For one thing, it reminds me I am getting older. It also causes me to think about all the things I failed to accomplish during the year just ended. In addition, it means I have to start thinking about preparing my tax returns for the last year, which is a very unpleasant task in and of itself as well as a task that causes me to focus on how much money the government takes from us each year.
This year is an exception. I am happy to see the end of 2008, which will long be remembered by me as a year of multiple disasters.
The unexpected and unpredicted meltdown in the financial markets during the last year has caused tremendous hardship for hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. The amount of wealth destroyed during 2008 is staggering. Everyone has been hurt in one way or another. Even the poorest people who had no investments have been hurt as a result of the massive loss of wealth by the wealthy. When those who have money lose it or quit spending it, the poor are usually the first to lose their jobs because their services are no longer needed. In addition, many charitable organizations that provide services to the poor and the homeless are struggling to survive because they have been supported in the past by people who no longer have the ability to do so or who have been forced to reduce the amount of their contributions. Even those who once envied or despised the wealthy are beginning to realize they are suffering because so much wealth has been destroyed in a very short period of time.
As I reflect on 2008, I have a number of memories, including the following:
(1) It was a year during which members of the public lost trust and confidence in virtually every organization that affects our lives, including government at all levels, the country’s major financial institutions and businesses, and the firms that provide financial advice to consumers and investors. The upside is that we have been forced to realize the importance of our faith, our family, and our friends. Those without faith, family, and friends have no anchor in the storm.
(2) It was an election year. Both of the major candidates for President of the United States promised to conduct clean campaigns but instead ran some of the nastiest political advertisements I have ever witnessed. Politicians discovered it is easy to win elections when you promise to reduce taxes or send government checks to the majority of voters at the expense of the minority of voters. Voters once again lost confidence in the legitimacy of elections as a result of dubious voter registration drives conducted by organizations like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (better known as Acorn) and as a result of the manipulation of ballots in close elections such as the still undecided Senate race in Minnesota where the vote count keeps changing on a daily basis as new ballots are discovered and old ballots are discarded.
(3) It was the year of the bailout. Financial institutions and businesses of all types lined up for a government handout, and the government quickly responded by investing billions of dollars in private enterprises, with the net effect that the government now owns one of the country’s largest insurance companies and has major ownership interests in many of the country’s largest financial institutions, with more to come.
(4) It was a year where examples of hypocrisy were easy to find but hard to stomach. A Congressman who could not run a hot dog stand lectured bank executives for making mortgage loans to people who could not afford to repay them without acknowledging that the loans were made in response to legislation he had championed. Congressmen who have never had responsibility for making a payroll scolded the chief executive officers of the automobile manufacturers for their business failures without mentioning or realizing that government regulations contributed to the failures. Politicians from both parties called for more government regulations without admitting that existing government regulations played a major role in creating many of the problems we are facing today. Groups who demand tolerance again demonstrated they have no tolerance for those who disagree with them.
(5) It was a year during which stock prices fell by 35% to 40% overall, and the shares of many once well-respected companies became worthless. During the year, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index fell by approximately 18%, and in some areas the prices of homes dropped by more than 30%.
(6) It was a year during which the country continued to be engaged in two wars, with the increasing chance of winning the unpopular war in Iraq, which the leading Democrats in Congress had already declared to be lost, and with the increasing chance of losing the war in Afghanistan, which is being fought with widespread political and public support.
(7) It was a year during which millions of people lost their jobs, and new jobs were virtually impossible to find. During the year, many people who were still employed but looking forward to retirement realized they would not be able to afford to retire. People who were already retired saw their retirement assets plunge in value and their retirement income reduced.
(8) It was a year during which the news media lost whatever credibility it had left by virtue of its shamelessly biased reporting of the news.
(9) It was a year during which the government decided to print money with reckless abandonment on the theory that spending massive amounts of newly printed money would cure the financial problems caused by over-spending. During the year, the government incurred trillions of dollars of debt that will have to be repaid by our children and grandchildren. Many of those from the younger generation who will have to repay our debts are too busy playing with their computers and text-messaging their friends to notice what is happening to them.
(10) Finally, 2008 will be remembered as the year during which the country elected its first black President, who promised to bring hope and change. He has already brought hope even to those who did not support him as evidenced by his currently high approval ratings. My hope is he will bring the type of change we need rather than the type of change he promised.
On a personal note, the year 2008 brought both joy and sadness. My wife and I welcomed two new grandchildren into the world during the year, bringing our total to six. In July, my wife’s brother, Sam Straus, died at age 58 after a brief battle with cancer. Sam had been my friend for 43 years and my brother-in-law for 41 years. His cancer was not detected during a routine physical examination during the fall of 2007. The cancer had spread to multiple parts of his body by the time the first symptoms of pain appeared a few months later. Sam put up a brave fight but the cancer had too much of a head start.
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