Hi Zen_machineI think the economic wheel or cycle is a very...

Hi Zen_machine

I think the economic wheel or cycle is a very useful reminder of the major economic forces at work and of the consequences in our society of those forces. What it cannot do is pigeon-hole our, or any other economy, into a neat time-slot or position on the wheel. It oversimplifies the economy more than a little.

Take Australia for example. We are currently at:

1:00 Falling Property Prices (although if you live in western Sydney this started 2 years ago but in much of Melbourne only 3 months ago.)

1:30 Rising Inflation

2:00 Rising Interest Rates

9:00 Rising Commodity Prices

10:00 Rising Employment

In the US, they might be:

1:00 Falling Property Prices

1:30 Rising Inflation

4:00 Rising Unemployment

5:30 Falling Interest Rates

9:00 Rising Commodity Prices.

It's not as simple as asking where are we on the wheel imo. We are at several places at once on the wheel and will go forward and backwards and forwards again all at the same time depending upon which economic factors we choose to look at.