An Intriguing Counter-Argument

Jim Paulson, the chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management, is always insightful. He has a nicely honed contrarian streak. I liked this excerpt from his latest newsletter:

"Worst Ever" Post-WWII Crisis??!?

If this is the worst ever crisis why are layoff announcements still extremely low, why is the 4-week average of initial unemployment claims still below 380,000 and why do 95 percent of Americans which want a job, have a job? Why are the balance sheets of nonfinancial corporations stronger today than almost anytime since the 1960s? If conditions are the "worst ever" for the consumer, why has aggregate household liquid asset holdings risen by the outstanding rate of almost 10 percent in the last year? Finally,if this is the "worst crisis ever" why does the world economy still enjoy healthy growth coming from more diverse places in the globe than perhaps ever in U.S. history? There are indeed serious issues surrounding the contemporary crisis, but do you think perhaps there has been just a bit of an overreaction????