Too big to fail? -- Who said?

Whenever I hear the words: "Too big to fail" I'm reminded of a poem I read in my high school English Literature class by Shelley titled Ozymandias. The lines that come to mind are:

"....Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Can you think of anything but GOD who is now and always was? Just look at the DJIA. Since its inception in 1896 GE is the only original component. The list of recent drop outs include GM, Citigroup, AIG, Altria Group, Honeywell. 57 percent, 17 of the 30 have come on the list since 1990. The S&P 500 constantly changes and so does the Forbes Wealthiest 400.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty sprit before a fall" -- Proverbs 16:18


When I flip through the history books I see the Roman, Ottoman, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian Mongolian, Egyptian more recently the Hapsburg Empires . I read of Kangis Khan, Kublai Khan, Suleiman the Magnificent, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon Bonaparte. Ever day new discoveries of lost cities and civilization in both the Western Hemisphere and Africa are uncovered. What of the Aztecs and Incas?

I can still remember a Friday in 1963 back at Ft. Lauderdale High School -- Home of the Flying L's. It was just after lunch and I was sitting in Coach Duke Maltby's American History class. We were watching a TV broadcast from central educational unit when the talking head said " The President has been shot in Dallas, Texas but time marches on and so must we." We were all in shock. After the class everyone was in the hallways crying. Most kids left school and walked home, not even waiting for the school buses. For 3 days nothing but the assassination of the President was on TV. The whole country was in shock and some froze and cried thinking the world had come to an end.

I'm not trying to be a downer. My point is nothing is too big to fail. No one is too big to fall. Every major civilization, every major corporation and even the greatest empires that ever were have eventually failed and are no longer.

The lesson comes from the human spirit's ability to rise after every major disaster. In the future companies too big to fail will fail. People too big to fall will fall. Governments too good to fail will fail. But I'm also assured that within the blink of an eyelash new entities and new leaders will emerge to take their place and tomorrow will be another day......and a good day at that.

Look for a bright new future. Have a nice day.

Jim Van Meerten is a full time investor and blogs here on MSN Top Stock Blogs, Seeking Alpha and his own blog Financial Tides. Please leave comment below or email him at FinancialTides@gmail.com