"Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years." ~ Warren Buffett

As we all know (or at least should know), the United States economy became imbalanced in the late-1990s as too much speculative capital surged into the Internet and Telecom sectors of the economy. As this speculative boom expanded, rising asset prices allowed the boom to move into the broader economy. Throughout the late-’90s, speculative funds and increased leverage played a primary role in the expansion of credit throughout the economy. If someone wanted cash and had a semi-viable story as to how he would pay it back, he could procure a loan or venture funds quite easily. This process played out throughout the economy, as consumers, businesses and every level of government piled into debt in order to finance projects for current consumption, with little or no concern given to having to pay it off. Our fiat monetary system, with limitless fractional reserve banking made possible by low reserve requirements and a general lack of prudence by our questionable Federal Reserve establishment, played a significant role in creating the initial imbalance.

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