As a financial planner I’m often asked by clients and non-clients for my opinion about the economy. My stock answer, “I have no idea!”, is driven by the fact that I really don’t have a clue.

Yes, I consider myself pretty knowledgable about economics, I read extensively about global economics, about business, about financial issues, etc. But I don’t know what I’ll be having for dinner this evening, much less what the economy is likely to do in the next few weeks or months.

But it’s clear that the “recovery” is not following the expected pattern, any more than the ‘great recession” was the result of simple market forces that got out of whack. Like the Great Depression some 70 years ago, and various financial upheavals that happened around a similar interval going back some 300 years, this was different and getting out of it is going to take time, patience, and creativity. Something the boys and girls in Washington don’t seem to have much of.

So this post is to draw your attention to a great article that appears in this weeks issue of Time Magazine. It talks about 5 destructive myths that will put us on track, only they probably won’t. It’s an interesting read for all, especially if, like me, you are trying to figure out how we’re going to move out of the mess we happen to be in. Read it here…