Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown, 4th Edition

CHAPTER 8 “You're No Fun” What I Hear Traveling across Our United States

By Aftershock Co-author Robert Wiedemer

From California to the Carolinas and from Florida to Wisconsin, I spend a lot of time traveling across this great country—sometimes for fun, often for business. Though often I'd rather be home with my family (and, fortunately, I sometimes get to take them on trips), I do enjoy seeing different parts of the country and talking with all kinds of people. On the road, I get to hear what people are thinking about our economy, and more specifically what they think about my writing on the Aftershock. These candid conversations are the inspiration for this chapter and its title. In telling you about some of these conversations, I hope to give you more insight on how myself and other people see the current state of the economy and our investment outlook in this critical period before the Aftershock.

Florida: ”You're No Fun”

In late 2014, I was in Florida, giving a presentation on “The Aftershock Outlook for the Economy and Investments.” The audience was primarily wealthy investors. Most had made a lot of money in stocks, real estate, or both.

At the end of the presentation, I opened up the floor for questions. I always enjoy this part of my presentation. Not only does it give me a sense of how the presentation went, but it also gives me a chance to improve my communication and writings in the future. If a significant point is not coming across very clearly to my audience, ...