Why do so many people think the economy is in a healthy position? Strong performance now means nothing. e.g., Department Store Sales 3-month average was $17B in 2008 and is now down to under $11B. It's a bloodbath. It has been steadily trending down since 2008.

"Bill Ackman warns economy will fall off a cliff if the Fed doesn't hurry and cut rates"

The Fed isn't going to cut rates for years. They're refusing to blink. These are Volcker-sized balls on JPow.

Any rallying now is squeezing blood from the stone. Any massive layoffs, sales, mergers, bankruptcies, or consolidations is hedging for the unavoidable cliff.

These are just smart, safe moves by corporations -- getting their affairs in order, per se.

And now the workers are going to suffer because they didn't organize labor when the economy was booming and they weren't feeling the pinch. Hopefully they learn this time and don't let the unions weaken if they want to avoid being battered and left for a cheaper workforce or replaced with automation.