Ah, the economy

[vinceconaway]

I am having a great time busking here in Seattle, and it's been going quite well for me.  But it's been a weird week.

On Wednesday I did very well, both in tips and CD sales, but then Thursday and Friday (while both being good days for different reasons) were much less financially remunerative.  What happened?  On Wednesday night Microsoft announced layoffs of 5,000 employees, and I think that took a huge psychological toll on the city.

I've caught flak from friends who see me reading the financial pages, saying "who cares about that stuff?  I don't have any stocks, why should it bother me?"  The short answer is that we're all in this together, and the stock market is little more than a large-scale barometer of economic perceptions.  The market doesn't react to facts, per se, but to impressions caused by those facts, as well as those caused by an infinity of other variables.  So the more depressed we get the worse things seem, which perversely makes things worsen further.

I know I'm not saying anything new or original, but watching it in action is rather humbling.

Comments

of course we're all connected

[michimusic.livejournal.com]

Not having stocks isn't a better plan than investing in a bad market. We're already invested in it by living in this country. Better to pay attention, always.

Re: of course we're all connected

[vconaway.livejournal.com]

And, in this mess, living in another country isn't much of a savior either! I like that Italians don't say "pay attention" but instead "lend attention". It strikes me as a more active and continuing process (you pay once, but lending lasts).