Those who study Austrian economics and understand the business cycle that is caused by government/ central bank tampering, often have reason to be negative.  But we often forget that for as bad as the government is, the free market is a great force for good.  Even with huge government intervention, the market still often finds a way around things.

An article on LewRockwell.com today, by Dom Armentano, points out that not everything is gloom and doom.  This is important to remember.  While I think we have a lot of problems and that the economy may get worse before it gets better, it is probably not the end of the world.  There is a huge growth in the liberty movement due to the internet and these forces will eventually have an influence in weakening the government.

While you should certainly make some preparations, financially and otherwise, for things getting worse, it doesn’t mean that things won’t ever get better.  For all we know, a drastic reduction in government at all levels and a return to liberty and free markets might be right around the corner.  If we ever had the economic freedom of 19th century America with today’s technology, it is mind boggling to think of what could be achieved.  Our standard of living would go through the roof and everybody would be living like kings.

While we should be realistic, there is also good reason to be optimistic.