Lessons from 2011 & Cause for Optimism

*If you're prone to earthquakes, never stick a nuclear plant on the beach...

*If you're a ruthless dictator, keep the peasants off the internet...

*Socialism is fiscally unsustainable... As Margaret Thatcher stated in February 1976, "Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them." And in the words of Thomas Sowell; "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."

*We (President Obama) justify intervention (Libya) by "a moral imperative to prevent the massacre of citizens." Yet, when the same occurs elsewhere, our actions [in Libya] were inspired by a "unique set of circumstances"...

*Not smart to even suggest trying 9/11 terrorists in civilian courts in, of all places, New York City...

*Never mess with Navy Seals...

*Harold Camping doesn't know, after all, when the world's going to end...

*There's no buying an NBA title...

*The Amazon's current can wash away any Border (as in Amazon.com and Borders bookstores)...

*The banks of the Mississippi contain mother nature about as well as debt ceilings in Washington contain political ambition...

*Standard and Poor's couldn't foretell the disasters of Lehman and AIG, but they'll downgrade a country that prints its own money...

*Gold is no safe haven...

*By and large, pundits, politicians and the populace don't seem to understand that when you buy something, regardless of where it's made, with a U.S. dollar, you're supporting the U.S... Go find a Euro and try to spend it at Starbucks...

*Protesting cronyism is a worthy pursuit... That is until the politics are exposed... The "Occupiers" will never make a serious play at their own party...

*Those who would protest capitalism haven't the slightest clue what they're protesting...

*The last resort for failed socialist states is to privatize state-owned enterprises... Shoulda tried that first...

*Welfare states eventually become states on welfare...

*You can run [for President], but you cannot hide [your past]...

*Anyone who's aware of child abuse and doesn't do everything humanly possible to prevent its reoccurrence deserves prosecution (and should do time!!)...

*Payroll tax "holidays" cannot, by definition, produce long-term [positive] economic results... You have to come home [to reality] when your holiday's over, right?

*$trillions, stubbornly stuck, oncorporate cash and in bank excess reserves tell the 2011 story; uncertainty-induced inertia....

*Stocks can stay cheap for extended periods...

*Government intervention into the economy presents headwinds of its own, in that it generally comes laced with stifling new regulations... The current annual cost of regulatory compliance sucks $1.7 trillion annually from businesses... That would be roughly 40 million new jobs... Watch this 2 minute video...

*And lastly, in the words of Yogi Berra; "a nickel ain't worth a dime anymore"...

All that said, bumpy ride notwithstanding, there's cause for optimism going forward... As;

*Emerging nations, with their favorable demographics, have huge infrastructure needs, substantial growth prospects within, and welcome foreign investors...

*Better than 50% of the earnings of the companies comprising the S&P 500 come from abroad (emerging nations in particular)...

*Companies, by and large, are in good fiscal shape...

*Liquidity, interest rates and equity valuations line up nicely going forward...

*Pent-up demand will drive U.S. consumer purchases of autos and homes (ultimately).

*Pent-up demand will drive business investment (including acquisitions)... I.e., all that cash is burning a hole in balance sheets...

*Common-business-sense will [ultimately] outlast common-political-nonsense...