Farewell, 2025

Farewell, 2025- you won't be missed.

There's been worse years- 2001, obviously.  COVID in 2020.  There have even been worse years on a personal level.  But 2025 may be the most unpleasant year I've experienced.  The entire year just felt emotionally exhausting.  Like I lived next year to the Hatfield and the McCoys in the middle of their feud.  Even if I wasn't in the fight myself, it was constant nonstop brawls, screaming matches, and garbage that ended up on my lawn.

Economically, it feels like we're in a bad bubble that's about to pop.  There's such a focus on AI, and the stock market is so top heavy with the "Magnificent Seven" companies, that it feels we're right on the edge of a recession.  And maybe my fears are overblown- but the Buffett Indicator shows the stock market is so overvalued that a recession could be devastating for the country.

Worse, the checks and balances we use to save the country from our worst impulses seem to be going away. I'm a process person- Even if the rules aren't ideal, they were placed there for a reason, and we shouldn't just ignore them to get a short term advantage.  Well, we're bombing Venezuelan boats (I don't recall Congress issuing a declaraction of war, or even apssing a bill authorizing the use of force), cancelling funds already authorized by Congress, and having Congress keep the government shut down, to try and hide the fact that the President was buddies with the devil himself.

I've been an optimist by nature.  Eventually, we do the right thing.  But 2025 has tested my optimistic resolve.  Here's hoping that as the calendar changes, things get better for all of us.