The Global Economic Slowdown... Should we suffer or is there a way out?

I am kind of surprised to see the tremendous turmoil the recession has created in the lives of average middle class people like us. Even though we have a positively growing GDP, many people are cutting down on costs and improving their efficiencies. One thing I really doubt is: Is it really because of the recession that many companies are retrenching their resources or is it to keep the share prices ticking. I am no person to comment on the working of a company, but the fact remains that when a company lays-off people, its share price increases.

Common people, fearing that their money will sink, have started panicking; a trend which has not been seen for years. Consequently, more and more people have started looking for a second income through part-time jobs. They are willing to work 16 hours a day – the regular 9 hrs at office plus the additional part-time hours. This is the culture that the West have been following for almost half a century now. Multi-billionaires also point out that its highly secure, from the financial view point, to take up an additional job or a partime business.

To quote some words from Robert Kiyosaki’s book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’:
In 1923 a group of our greatest leaders and richest businessmen held a meeting at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Among them were Charles Schwab, head of the largest independent steel company; Samuel Insull, President of the world’s largest utility; Howard Hopson, head of the largest gas company; Ivar Kreuger president of the International Match Co, one of the worlds largest companies at that time. Leon Frazier, president of the Bank of International Settlements; Richard Whitney, President of the New York Stock Exchange, Arthur Cotton and Jesse Livermore, two of the biggest stock speculators; and Albert Fall a member of President Harding’s cabinet. Twenty Five years later nine of them (those listed above) ended as follows. Schwab died penniless after living for 5 years on borrowed money. Insull died broke living in a foreign land. Kreuger and Cotton also died broke. Hopson went Insane. Whitney and Albert Fall were just released from Prison. Fraser and Livermore committed suicide. (THE RICHEST BUSINESSMEN, pg 74)

This was after the Great Economic Depression of 1929. There is a lesson to be learnt from the above stated fact. Even though we haven’t made a significant contribution to the economy like these people, have you ever thought what our lives would be like 25 years from now, if we cannot do something to beat the recession? What if the current situation is worse than the recession of 1981-82 or 1973-75 or even bitter than the 1929 experience? But its also a notable fact that the maximum number of billionaires have risen in the post recession period.

Its time, to stop talking and start doing. Try to think for yourselves, what can be done to beat the recession? What is it that could bring us out of this tornado? Research for yourselves, the industries that have beat the recession in their entire lifetime, keep yourselves up to date on what the economists and billionaires predict  and ultimately put them into practice….

That’s enough ‘food for thought’ until the next edition. These were strictly my view points. Post your comments to let me know what you think…..