The higher financial markets rise, the harder they fall.\u00a0 By any objective measurement, the stock market is currently well into bubble territory.\u00a0 Anyone should be able to see this \u2013 all you have to do is look at the charts.\u00a0 Sadly, most of us never seem to learn from history.\u00a0 Most of us want to believe that somehow \u201cthings are different this time\u201d.\u00a0 Well, about the only thing that is different this time is that our economy\u00a0is in far worse shape<\/a>than it was just prior to the last major financial crisis.\u00a0 That means that we are more vulnerable and will almost certainly endure even more damage this time around.\u00a0 It would be one thing if stocks were soaring because the U.S. economy as a whole was doing extremely well.\u00a0 But we all know that isn\u2019t true.\u00a0 Instead, what we have been experiencing is clearly artificial market behavior that has nothing to do with economic reality.\u00a0 In other words, we are dealing with an irrational financial bubble, and all irrational financial bubbles eventually burst.\u00a0 And as I wrote about\u00a0yesterday<\/a>, the way that stocks have moved so far this year is eerily reminiscent of the way that stocks moved in early 2008.\u00a0 The warning signs are there \u2013 if you are willing to look at them.<\/p>\n