As wealth advisors, we’re seeing the affects of the Trillionaire Government on the investment markets.
The decisions of our government has always had a large effect on the investment markets. These decisions include government spending, government borrowing, government regulation of markets and business, taxation – in short, fiscal policy and monetary policy.
Increasingly, they have one thing in common: they’ve shifted from billions to trillions. It has reached a point where the average person doesn’t understand the magnitude of these decisions.
Just how much is a trillion?
Maybe this will put it in perspective:
- One million seconds is about 1½ days.
- One billion seconds is almost 32 years.
- One trillion seconds is more than 30,000 years!
When you see the word trillion used, realize the immense magnitude of what is being said. Here are some recent examples in the news:
- The President’s budget for 2010 totals $3.55 trillion. [You can view the details in a Wikipedia article here]
- Total Federal debt outstanding as of 12/31/10 was $14.0 trillion [You can view the details in a Wikipedia article here]
- Social Security unfunded liability: approximately $17.3 trillion [You can view the details in a Forbes article here]
- Medicare unfunded liability: approximately $36.4 trillion [You can view the details in the same Forbes article here]
What can anyone do about the growing size of these numbers? Obviously, if you care about this, vote for fiscal restraint.
In your investment strategy, equally obviously, choose a full strategy – one that includes both and offense to make money and a defense to protect your money.