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Obsession is one of the best movies of the decade.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also one of the best stories in recent film history.<\/p>\n
Writer-director Curry Barker is 26 years old. The budget for the movie was just $750k. It\u2019s made almost $500 million in worldwide box office.<\/p>\n
I love that fact that a low-budget indie flick can feel so high quality. I love a great movie with a bunch of relatively unknown actors who feel like they\u2019re going to be stars.<\/p>\n
And I love the premise of the movie.<\/p>\n
The plot is about a guy who makes a wish that a girl who is out of his league will love him.<\/p>\n
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That wish comes with some scary unintended consequences.<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t spoil it but this is the kind of movie you need to watch at least twice to fully appreciate it.<\/p>\n
My finance brain immediately had me wondering about the unintended consequences if people got to make their economic wishes come true.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s give it a shot:<\/p>\n
I wish for 3% mortgage rates again.<\/p>\n
Done. Now here\u2019s a recession that causes unemployment to spike, income growth to slow and a stock market crash. Good luck borrowing money.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like waking up one day with duct tape covering your door.<\/p>\n
I wish prices would go back to 2019 levels.<\/p>\n
Done. The economy will now go through a period where prices fall but consumers delay spending, revenues drop, profits take a hit and GDP declines, leading to an economy with severe deflation.<\/p>\n
For a highly indebted country, deflation actually\u00a0increases the debt burden.<\/p>\n
That deflation is also accompanied by a 30% haircut in your wages.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t even think about asking for a raise or going to boy\u2019s night out.<\/p>\n
I wish housing prices would fall to become more affordable.<\/p>\n
Done. Here\u2019s a massive financial crisis where banks are failing, employees get laid off and lending standards make it nearly impossible to borrow money.<\/p>\n
Household wealth drops precipitously, especially for the middle class, who have the bulk of their net worth tied up in their primary residence.<\/p>\n
Housing prices are lower but few people who need financial relief can now afford to buy one even at depressed levels.<\/p>\n
I wish for income inequality to improve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This one already happened.<\/p>\n
Income inequality improved substantially coming out of the pandemic:<\/p>\n
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The lowest wage cohorts experienced the fastest wage growth.<\/p>\n
The Covid stimulus led to a tight labor market. That increased wages substantially, especially at the lower end of the wage spectrum.<\/p>\n
And people hated it.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Because it also led to a 9% inflation rate and a cumulative 30% increase in consumer prices.<\/p>\n
Economic sentiment in the 2020s looks like this because of the inflation:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/awealthofcommonsense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-06-165704.png\")
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I wish the stock market would fall 50% so I could buy stocks on sale.<\/p>\n
Take your pick of the economic environment that has caused stocks to fall this far in the past 100 years:<\/p>\n
The Great Depression
\nThe 1937 depression echo-crash
\nThe 1973-74 great inflation
\nThe 2000-2002 bursting of the dot-com bubble
\nThe 2007-2009 Great Financial Crisis<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong. Young people should be especially open to stock market declines.<\/p>\n
You just need to understand that the biggest stock market crashes typically happen because the economy is in a very bad place.<\/p>\n
One minute you\u2019re in love, the next minute you\u2019re eating dead cat sandwiches.<\/p>\n
Obviously, there are other ways to\u00a0get better economic outcomes without a pandemic, recession or financial crisis.<\/p>\n
But just know that economic outcomes do not play out in a vacuum. There are trade-offs to consider.<\/p>\n
The economy in the 2010s was one of slow GDP growth, low inflation, stagnating wages, a high-ish unemployment rate and 0% rates.<\/p>\n
The economy in the 2020s has seen higher GDP\u00a0 growth, higher inflation, higher wage growth, low unemployment and higher rates.<\/p>\n
If you want higher wage growth you have to deal with higher inflation.<\/p>\n
If you want higher economic growth or a better labor market you have to deal with higher borrowing rates.<\/p>\n
If you want a girl who shows total devotion you might have to sit through her dark Hansel and Gretel poem in front of all your friends at a party.<\/p>\n
Careful what you wish for.<\/p>\n
Michael and I talked about Obsession, unintended economic consequences and and much more on this week\u2019s Animal Spirits video:<\/p>\n
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Subscribe to The Compound<\/a> so you never miss an episode.<\/p>\n