economy – The Frustrated CFO

Wow! Like a fucking parrot I have been repeating the same thing for years now. But it's okay, I can do it again:

People (not just the economists and market analysts, EVERYONE!), stop applying old concepts to current economic situation! This was not a recession and we are not experiencing recovery! This is our new reality. Get used to it!

Look at the graph above. That historical +15.6% gain after severe recessions of the past – it's never going to happen again. Moreover, even the 1.7% reptilian movement upward, we supposedly experience right now, seems to me miraculous. And it is definitely not assured – we may start rolling down at any given moment.

The picture is so undeniably obvious, even the politically-controlled outlets, such as NBCNews.com, have no choice but to talk about it. They are the ones, who published this morning the Credit Suisse's chart above in their Economy Watch blog's post cautiously named "Economy may be permanently stuck in slow-growth mode." The more appropriate title would be "Economy May Be Permanently Stuck." Period.

The article is basically a compilation of data and quotes obtained from various resources, including a number of "prominent economists" and the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake. The blogger, John Schoen doesn't express his own opinion or adds any commentary. Nevertheless, the piece as a whole leaves an impression that all cited contributors and the policy-makers are also stuck in a perpetual state of having no clue, of not knowing what to do.

This doesn't surprise me at all. These people have been in denial far too long, but they cannot hide from reality anymore. And now fear seizes their beings, because they start realizing that it's only going to get worse. It's beyond depressing, it's funereal.

Invariably, one particular tidbit of information puts me into a vile mood, whenever it catches my eye. In this assortment of bad news Mr. Shoen mentions in passing that 70% of US economic activity comes from consumers. To me this is a reminder of terrifying fact that our country predominately retails (largely imported goods) and creates services for end users instead of producing industrial products for domestic commercial market or export.

And it's astonishing that not a single of the quoted "dignitaries," not even for shits and giggles, raises a voice of reason and demands that the politicians stop sticking crutches into the armpits of clay giants and let them fall; that the Feds stop buying long-term bonds with our social security contributions; that the Supreme Justices stop passing laws guaranteeing highest ever compensations for CEOs of health-management companies. Is Lynn Tilton and I are the only people who understand that only by supporting smaller privately-held DOMESTIC businesses we may be able to revive the economy? That if "the powers that be" don't start this process right away, the country will become more and more restless?

I like whatever Mike White (a friend of Jack Black) does. Ever since "Chuck & Buck," "Orange County," "The Good Girl," and "The School of Rock" I've been a fan of his writing, which is always quirky and amazingly original. And his new series on HBO "Enlightened" is fantastic: honest, insightful, filled with an incredible array of complex and realistically fucked-up characters. On a human level, it makes me laugh, cry, sigh in recognition, squirm from awkwardness, nod and shake my head – all within the same episode.

Yet, the economist in me cannot stop being constantly mad at the show's protagonist, Amy Jellicoe (played by always fabulous Laura Dern, who shares the show's executive-production credits with Mr. White). And it's not because I don't believe in the phony enlightenment through expensive retreats and self-help books. It seems that the creative team shares my opinion on this issue - the persistent cracking of the artificial facade exposes the impossibility of achieving peace in the realm of contemporary American existence, plagued by social and monetary fights for survival. What really makes this CFO frustrated is the fact that this woman DOESN'T PERFORM ANY WORK, BUT STILL GETS PAID.

There is nothing wrong with coming to realization that there are important things in your life beyond the job. Take if from me, most people work for a paycheck, not for self-realization, including those at the very top of the business hierarchy. That's a sad truth about our lives. However, "WORK" is an operative word. Coming to the office whenever, occupying yourself with personal matters throughout the day, and then waltzing out smiling before anybody else, like Amy does - there is only one word to classify that kind of an attitude: STEALING.

If the job heavily bears on your psyche and you feel that you will not be able to tolerate the meaningless work for one extra second, leave and quit getting paid. That's the honest thing to do. And Amy does find a job, which agrees with her newly-acquired outwardly predisposition. Guess what? It pays only $25K a year and she "cannot survive on that!" If only she could continue getting the regular direct deposits from the bad-wolf corporation, while contributing her time at the shelter – that would be a blissful combination!

Amy seems like a person who wouldn't be toiling for eight hours in front of a computer screen even for the most noble purpose – it's just too much for an "enlightened" person. But she especially despises the fact that her department analyses the employees performance metrics. I am not going to judge here what the corporation does with the results – there is not enough information in the show to do so, only vague hints. Yet, I can definitely say that there is nothing wrong with productivity analysis per se. Companies of all shapes and sizes must to do that, if they want to survive and prosper.

Socialist countries provided most people with work (albeit at incredibly low salaries), regardless of their efforts. Many people there would come to places of employment without any impulse to attend to their jobs. Look what happened to those economies! It's people like Amy Jellicoe who end up at Zuccotti park hanging out and screaming about the disappearance of the middle class, while the real members of that class continue going to work, doing their jobs, helping their businesses to survive. Those, who don't want to work are the reason why the quality of products and services continuously goes down, why the economy deteriorates right in front of our eyes.

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