Five Years Later, Here We Are

John Ransom | September 16, 2013 11:42 AM

Now that Larry Summers has bowed out of race for Fed chair, let's talk about the anniversary of the financial crisis that all but assured that Obama was elected.

The stock market has picked up about 500 points on the S&P since the September financial crisis in 2008 standing now at 1703 more or less.

But are will really that much better off today then we were in 2008?

Measured by the S&P. That's a 41 percent gain since then. GDP since then has grown only 0.73 percent over the same time period.

The difference between the performance of the economy and the performance of the stock market is the prime criticism of Obama's economic detractors, and especially those who have criticized quantitative easing efforts.

Assets are more concentrated and the financial industry is still subject to wild volatility that could necessitate a government rescue if the dominoes start to fall again. Jobs are not being created in a meaningful way and joblessness is overly extended.

I still believe that the stock market eventually represents the prospects for the economy. And if that's the case, something eventually has to give. Usually in a democracy, it's party power that gives. And that's what 2014 will be all about.