Tony Liokossis sent the following comments which also should be considered. I have attached a link to the report he mentions at the bottom of his comment.

“Since you asked, my thoughts are that a massive chunk of the growth, innovation, construction and therefore, earnings that we are seeing in the world today is artificially stimulated and has been for decades. We are 40 years into the current currency paradigm that started in earnest when Nixon closed the gold window in ‘71. The 2008 meltdown was the inevitable consequence of easy money and should have been the end game with a painful new start. By borrowing and printing and nationalizing, we’ve pushed it off to the future probably to come back again, maybe worse next time.

The causes of the crash identified in the film ‘Inside Job’ were not causes, they were symptoms. When you combine human nature with fractional reserve banking, the boundaries and leverage always get pushed because that’s what people do. The particulars of CDOs and mortgage lending and securitization are just the technology that was used this time around.

The only difference between Larry Summers (perpetrator) and your average Joe (victim) who got burned in housing or lost his job on the line at GM is talent and opportunity, not character. If their positions were reversed, each would have fulfilled the other’s role without missing a beat.

I wrote extensively about these problems starting in 2001. I wrote a huge report in late 2004 about what was coming (attached). You probably don’t have time to read it but it’s a good insight into where my mind has been for years. The problem 10 years ago was I had no effective way to deal with it in client’s portfolios. Now I do and I thank God every day that Dave Sanderson introduced us to you 3 ½ years ago.”

Subscriber Only Content: http://lloydwilliamsinc.com/subscriber/LiokossisLetter2005SpecialReport.pdf