Sunday, December 31, 2017

Some Thoughts on 2018

The NY Times has a piece on the lack of any accuracy on financial or economic projections. I have said this of economists for the past decade here. Economics is not a science it is at best a forum for political opinions shrouded in numbers, often incomprehensible numbers.

They note:

If one were to avoid the straight-line projections, political biases and single factors that so often distort forecasts, what would a 2018 forecast look like? Not like the consensus, which is euphoric over the current combo of high growth and low inflation. Usually staid Wall Street economists are giving their 2018 forecasts headlines like “Boom Shaka-laka-laka” and “As Good as It Gets.” Inspired by a cocksure consensus, investors are holding less money in cash than they ever have before — meaning they are all-in on risky investments. Confidence this solid is a warning sign of complacency. For one, gross domestic product growth is at the top end of the range that has prevailed over the past decade, so it is more likely to slip than accelerate. That should be sobering for every major power, including Trump’s America. But please, it’s not all about him. For better or worse, Mr. Trump had less impact on the global economy than most experts expected in 2017. The lesson — the inevitable rarely happens, the unexpected often does — applies as well to forecasting 2018.

 What can we say about 2018? I think, and most likely I am wrong as well:

1. Russia will be unpredictable.
2. China will be upset
3. North Korea will be a threat
4. Iran will be unstable
5. The Stock Market will go up or down
6. The Press, especially the NY Times, will continue to attack Trump
7. Twitter will survive as a Government sponsored network like NPR
8. Government employees will continue to get overpaid and will be under-worked
9. Taxes will increase, yes increase
10. New Jersey will go Bankrupt with its pension fund

Otherwise Mrs. Lincoln what did you think of the play? Happy New Year.