by Jeff D. Opdyke
The Sovereign Investor
Two plus two is four. At extreme values of two, two plus two can be five — as in 2.45 plus 2.45 (rounded down to 2) equals 4.9, or five rounded up. But two plus two can never equal six.
And therein lies one of the great misconceptions in the U.S. economy today: Once you exceed the limits of some given number, you have to start borrowing to get to the next level. And that’s where the breakdown begins.
To be clear, I’m talking about the U.S. consumer — a beast upon which the U.S. economy largely rests, but a beast upon which little extra straw can be added without a bone snapping.