Whether it is four more years of Trump, or a Biden landslide, we will all still be Americans when we wake up tomorrow.* We are on the same team. We always have been. We all want the same things – a prosperous economy, access to quality education, equal opportunity for all, clean water and air, a safe community to live in, justice, and peace – even if we disagree about how to achieve them.
Democracy is messy. It always was and ever will be. If I have learned one thing over the last four years, it is that one person, even a President, cannot break America. Our founders created a system of government that divides power equally among the three branches with those beautiful checks and balances. The political pendulum swings too far one way, and it heads back in the other direction. Progress is not a straight-line but a jagged path.
There are valid arguments on both sides of the aisle.The best thing that could happen to our country would be the end of the two-party system. All of us are struggling to fit our round pegs into those square holes. Some of us are triangles, and others are ovals.
As for the stock market, Morgan Housel put it best when he wrote about risk in a blog post earlier this year:
The riskiest stuff is always what you don’t see coming.
Paying attention to known risks is smart. But we should acknowledge that what can’t see, aren’t talking about, and aren’t prepared for will likely be more consequential than all the known risks combined.
Find me a person on Earth who isn’t worried about the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election. It’s the risk we all know about, which means the market is ready to price it in.
For more on politics, elections and markets, we have a post from everyone on the crew this week. TLDR: Short of a military coup, it doesn’t matter much for long-term investors.
Here’s Josh: The stock market doesn’t care who wins
Ben: Presidential Terms and Market Cycles
Michael: Portfolio Tweaks Before the Election
Nick: What Does the Stock Market Do Around Election Day?
Whether your man (sadly no first female President this time either) wins or loses, we will still be friends tomorrow. Heck, some of us are even family.
*at least those of you who were already Americans. I realize I have a few readers overseas. Hi! I promise we haven’t lost our minds over here.
