but for different reasons that the WSJ wrote, yesterday:
Investors Hope It's a 1983 Flashback but...
By MARK GONGLOFF
It's beginning to look a bit like 1983: Stocks are soaring, unemployment is above 10% and the sci-fi TV miniseries "V" is back. Stock investors can only hope for a repeat of that year, which continued the first leg of an 18-year bull market.
(snip)
The market is not nearly as cheap now as it was then. When the 1980s bull market began, the S&P 500 was priced at less than 7 times trailing earnings. Even after a 69% rally, that multiple was just 10 times earnings. The latest rally began with the market at a P/E of 13. The ratio has bloated to nearly 19, compared with its long-term average of 16.
In April 1983, when unemployment was last at 10.2%, it was on its way down. Now it looks like unemployment could rise for months. And when the 1980s rally began, the Federal Reserve's key policy interest rate was 11%, meaning it could simply slash rates to get things moving again. Today, the fed-funds target rate is nearly zero. Baby boomers then in their prime earning and spending years have since lost trillions of dollars in net worth, with uncertain retirement and health benefits.
U.S. consumers in 1983 hadn't yet embarked on a 20-year debt binge. Household debt was 62% of disposable income, a level that had endured since the 1960s. That percentage now stands at 122%, even with debt growth stalled for the past two years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125772177019637211.html (subscription)
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No, 1983 was the start of the decade of greed. We were moving from a manufacturing economy to a service based one. Many employees still had pensions and good jobs.
But then came "Voodoo Economic" (papa Bush was correct the first time) when it was more profitable for corporations to raid other companies, to dissolve the assets - including long time employees - and to use the cash.
Also, when investment bankers and Wall Street Journal were making millions with those mergers and acquisition - win or lose.
And, CEOs were making about 100 the average salary of their employees, while these days they still make 500 and up.