Foist!!!!

I love the Yahoo news photo! GW looking heavenward as if THAT'S where he gets his economic info!

I think it's time to stockpile food, water and weapons, juuuust in case...Looks like the shit MIGHT be hittin the fan soon. Better to have it and not need it, than the opposite.

Ordinarily the naked body of an older man is not in and of itself repulsive. But when you stick chimpy's head on it.....EEWW!! Damn, that was nasty! Excuse me while I gouge my eyes out.

Their strategy for the past two years has been "deny, deny, deny, then blame it all on the next guy"

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

His boobies are bigger than pickles.

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

BTW Part of our failure is our success. As the dollar goes down internationally, it makes our export products more affordable globally. Remember this downturn is from a rate of growth that many thought was unsustainable. And all you people who are the least bit green should welcome any slowing of our economy. Any slowing means less natural resources consumed.

Marcus Aurelius @ 14:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

You are full of shit.

Nice. I pull up facts and you call me names. Do your own research.

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

I beg your pardon, but how much money do you make a year? Most of my cash each month is going to gas, mortgage, energy, food and NOW HEALTHCARE. All are skyrocketing, so I can't afford any extras...and I'm solidly middle class (supposedly). Everyone I know is in the same boat.

The emperor not only has no clothes, but is a certifed moron as well. Only in Bush world can oil rise to $104+ a barrel today on its way to $115 within a couple of weeks. Only in Bush world is gold nearly at $1,000 an ounce with silver of $20 and as these two metals are the only true baromemter of inflation, you now know why our ever increasingly worthless dollars have any purchasing power. Only in Bush world can the entire housing industry crumble before your eyes while government regulators looked the other way. At the rate things are going, we should be in a full blown depression by 2009-10.

GB @ 22:

Strawberrybitch @ 19:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

I beg your pardon, but how much money do you make a year? Most of my cash each month is going to gas, mortgage, energy, food and NOW HEALTHCARE. All are skyrocketing, so I can't afford any extras...and I'm solidly middle class (supposedly). Everyone I know is in the same boat.

Like I said above. It is not the economy and the mortgage crisis that is causing this. It is the wealthy ripping us off.

Cause and effect. The economy is tanking. Sharper Image and the like are bell weather marks.

Bush's fictional "Ownership Society" meets the fitctional "Pottery Barn Rule" but with realistic resulsts:

"You didn't break it, but you own it and you have to fix it"

Jeebus. The economy cannot expand every year forever. It expands and shrinks in cycles. This HAD to happen. I mean think about it in layman's terms. You start a job at 16 earning $10/hr. Do you honestly think that after working 50 years, your wage would go up every year by a buck? It isn't realistic.

You shoulda had Condi giving him a reach around.

Strawberrybitch @ 19:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we’d still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

I beg your pardon, but how much money do you make a year? Most of my cash each month is going to gas, mortgage, energy, food and NOW HEALTHCARE. All are skyrocketing, so I can’t afford any extras…and I’m solidly middle class (supposedly). Everyone I know is in the same boat.

Like I said above. It is not the economy and the mortgage crisis that is causing this. It is the wealthy ripping us off.

Total crap! The economy is heading down hill because we have a central bank known as the Federal Reserve that creates money out of thin air. The more you print, the higher inflation rises. That is just an simple economic fact. The mortgage crisis was caused by the banking industry that believed there was money to be made fleecing borrowers who were less than educated when it came to sub-prime and Alt-A mortagges and what they really ment. The bankers sold this junk world wide and now the law suites are piling up because those foreign entities that purchased these bonds can't prove in any US court of law, that they are the true holders of the notes. Further these notes were then underwritten by derivitives which as a market itself has no regulation what so ever.
As keneys stated many years ago. " Inflate or die". " In the end, we're all dead anyway". Helicopted Ben Bernanke will drop dollars from B-52's if necessary to keep things afloat a little longer, but ultimately the markets will crash as they did in 1929. This is a ponzi scheme of epic proportions and it will not end well.

c. atrox @ 29:

You shoulda had Condi giving him a reach around.

NO! c. atrox. NO! BAD atrox!

The economy is GREAT !
The surge is working !
War is Peace !
Up is Down !
Black is White !

Now, watch this drive.

GB @ 26:

There is a class war on, not an economic failure of our economy. Who gets these houses after foreclosure? They don't go away. The rich snap them out of foreclosure or the bank gets them. Oil is up and yet American oil barons are making record profits. There have been more billionaires created in America in the last 6 years than any time in our country's history. This is not good for the working class and terrible for the middle class, but the economy is not tanking, it is being handed over to the rich. the doomsayers and people calling me names are just creating a smoke screen -the guise of "recession" - so the robber barons can take over ownership of our country with no one the wiser.

I'll agree with you here, but to say that we are exaggerating the effects is wrong.

Two Dicks and a Bush.

Loans to homebuilders and other developers are the latest slice of the credit market under duress, and analysts say banks could face hundreds of millions of dollars in losses as a result.

As commercial and residential real-estate prices decline, banks of all sizes face a growing number of loan defaults from builders unable to sell houses, and from developers whose malls and other properties turned out to be less desirable than anticipated.

This is from MSNBC - business section today http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23480155/

Add this in to the "downturn" and I think we'll be in more than an "economic downturn" for a good length of time.

My husband and I both work - he's a "professional", have four kids who all hold jobs as well as attending school (three in college, one in high school) and we are paddling as fast as we can just to keep our little status quo going. Ol' Buck-nekkid in Chief is clueless, and karmically he's doomed. I just hope his karma comes around to settle up soon before things are irretrivably f*cked up for not only my kids, but their kids too. Oh wait... too late...

GB @ 17:

Marcus Aurelius @ 14:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

You are full of shit.

Nice. I pull up facts and you call me names. Do your own research.

I think it is just that, GB. The question is out of where are you are pulling the facts. (fill in the metaphor, please)

Numbers can be juggled to mean anything and support any preconceived conclusion. The bottom line is that the average American is in deep shit financially while the top income bracket and the corporations are doing fine.

If you by some amazing chance are not in the top income bracket and are still doing well financially, then I applaud you for your resourcefulness in not being affected by this recessive economy. Just don't assume everyone else is so fortunate.

JackMormon @ 32:

The NY Times reports that the corporations now have an unprecedented amount of cash on hand. They have no econom,ic problems thanks to W"s economic policy. Tax everyone except the rich, but give them huge tax cuts while we are fighting an expensive war. Corporations have the greatest ratio of cash on hand versus debt in recent history. They have so much money they can't find instruments to invest in to give a good return. The Carlyle Group is awash in cash and no place to put it. Shame on this adminstration.

Thank you.

Again, yell at the top of the mountain "The economy is tanking" The price of a house drops. The owner is upside down on the mortgage. He or she walks away. The bank gets it and needs to resell fast. A rich person swoops in and buys it for 5% below market price. These numbers are not being reported.

If oil, at $100+ a barrel is so bad, why are the oil companies still making huge profits? So, they can justify $3-4 a gallon and fleece the American people for more.

These guys will make it seem so bad that they will be getting our public commons - they will be buying our highways and putting tolls on them, buying our cities and running them like businesses, buying our national parks and turning them into franchises....hold it. That is already happening.

Motley Fool is not a British web site, but a DIY financial website and book system, run by some guys in Manhattan.

Its also worth noting that the use of the term stagflation is wrong because the numbers don't so any inflation. Staglation was no economic growth coupled with inflation, so you got hit doubly hard as a consumer. The neoliberal economy, which is now in place, was the counter to the inflation problem, but the major, and some would say intended, side effect was that the economy trended towards the greater inequality seen in the robber baron era of capitalism. So the numbers tell two stories. 1 is that the little people get hammered to death in downturns. The other story is that the aggregate numbers loook ok even when people are getting hammered. The aggregate numbers are the problem. We turn to over all GDP as the answer to what our economy is doing rathr than how are the people in the economy faring.

I want to be clear, because people here still aren't getting it:

The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting enslaved.

It is not the economy that is causing this.
It is not the collapse of the housing market.
It is not oil at $100+ a barrel.

It is the ruling class. Plain and simple.
There is a ton of money being made as pointed out by Jack.

Andrew @ 31:

Strawberrybitch @ 19:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we’d still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

I beg your pardon, but how much money do you make a year? Most of my cash each month is going to gas, mortgage, energy, food and NOW HEALTHCARE. All are skyrocketing, so I can’t afford any extras…and I’m solidly middle class (supposedly). Everyone I know is in the same boat.

Like I said above. It is not the economy and the mortgage crisis that is causing this. It is the wealthy ripping us off.

Total crap! The economy is heading down hill because we have a central bank known as the Federal Reserve that creates money out of thin air. The more you print, the higher inflation rises. That is just an simple economic fact. The mortgage crisis was caused by the banking industry that believed there was money to be made fleecing borrowers who were less than educated when it came to sub-prime and Alt-A mortagges and what they really ment. The bankers sold this junk world wide and now the law suites are piling up because those foreign entities that purchased these bonds can't prove in any US court of law, that they are the true holders of the notes. Further these notes were then underwritten by derivitives which as a market itself has no regulation what so ever.
As keneys stated many years ago. " Inflate or die". " In the end, we're all dead anyway". Helicopted Ben Bernanke will drop dollars from B-52's if necessary to keep things afloat a little longer, but ultimately the markets will crash as they did in 1929. This is a ponzi scheme of epic proportions and it will not end well.

Agreed. I come at this from the Austrian School so I agree 100% with what you stated. The main problems in my opinion is the massive Government spending compounded with the Fed's own monetary policies. Everytime I see Ben Bernanke I just want to dump the dollar more and go into something else. For an advanced view of what things could look like just take a look at Zimbabwe because they use the exact same system just like everyone else.

L.A. Confidential @ 42:

BOGOTA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush backed Colombia on Tuesday in an escalating Andean crisis as Venezuela moved troops to its border and Colombia accused President Hugo Chavez of genocide for supporting rebels.

Of course he does. Media reports from down there indicate US military involvement in the raids that just so happened to occur at night. Basically, they slaughtered people in their sleep. More news you won't read or see on the mainstream media.

Bangkok Bob @ 16:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

The economy your speaking of is the investment community, the Corporate part of America. Sure their alright, just the people are fucked, wages are down, people can't afford insurance, and now the cost of staples like bread have almost doubled as the price of fuel goes up. And why, look to the NeoCon and the PNACers and the bush crony's..

thank you, Bob.

GB, our imports are dwarfing our exports. and our exports aren't shrink-wrapped small goods representing big manufacturing/shipping/service positions. they're raw goods assembled (or harvested, slaughtered, etc) by low-wage "temps" and/or illegal immigrants. then shipped by wealthy executives. in other words, we're not exporting Levis jeans and Ford cars at record levels, we're exporting shit like beef and steel at record levels.

the "class war" comment doesn't even do justice to the situation. the upper classes are suffering too (boo hoo, I know) because they're over-invested - and international banks are demanding American banks/investment firms pay up.

the "economy" dropping, and the "dollar" dropping are incidental, not necessarily connected at the hip.

the majority of American jobs are low-paying service positions and/or temp/contractor positions. these people are usually not provided healthcare (or at the very least, affordable healthcare), so the burden rests on the state to provide them with healthcare. the state obtains the funding for this healthcare from... taxes... which it obtains from Americans with low-paying service positions and/or temp/contractor positions.

I would assert that every export we send is contributing to our diminishing dollar, which in turn, contributes to our diminishing economy. it would be smartest for us to cease importing, and focus solely on creating stronger (and diverse) exports-based full time positions.

chris @ 56:

Memo to libs: Bush does not control the economy, he does not decide who buys and house and who does not... We live in a MARKET BASED economy, not a planned economy, which I'm sure many of you on this site would like to see..

A market based economy would not have tax breaks for corporations because they would not need any. Memo to you: go read a book.

chris @ 56:

Memo to libs: Bush does not control the economy, he does not decide who buys and house and who does not... We live in a MARKET BASED economy, not a planned economy, which I'm sure many of you on this site would like to see..

Memo to Chris: Who said that he did? If you would like to dispute the assertion that his comments were correct, please do so. Making-up goofy comments to avoid doing so, does not make you look real bright, however.

The Magical Mysterious Market Hand!

ConcernedCanuck @ 55:

L.A. Confidential @ 42:

BOGOTA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush backed Colombia on Tuesday in an escalating Andean crisis as Venezuela moved troops to its border and Colombia accused President Hugo Chavez of genocide for supporting rebels.

Of course he does. Media reports from down there indicate US military involvement in the raids that just so happened to occur at night. Basically, they slaughtered people in their sleep. More news you won't read or see on the mainstream media.

Geeeezus!! I heard on NPR last night, that they found alot of dead people in their pj's...and now OUR military may be involved in yet ANOTHER atrocity...great...just fuckin great. The hits just keep on coming.

"Beefed Up Brazil Firm Is Top U.S. Packer [,,,] Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD) has agreed to sell its beef-processing operations to Brazilian meatpacking company JBS SA (JBSS3.BR) for $565 million, part of a pair of deals JBS is making that will create the nation's largest beef processor. [...] The U.S. market is particularly attractive for foreign buyers at the moment. The Brazilian currency, the real, has appreciated by about 25% against the dollar in the past year."

So the Brazilian Co, is making this purchase at about a 25% discount for them.

BI BUSHIES!!!

ashton @ 61:

chris @ 56:

Memo to libs: Bush does not control the economy, he does not decide who buys and house and who does not... We live in a MARKET BASED economy, not a planned economy, which I'm sure many of you on this site would like to see..

Memo to Chris: Who said that he did? If you would like to dispute the assertion that his comments were correct, please do so. Making-up goofy comments to avoid doing so, does not make you look real bright, however.

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

chris @ 56:

Memo to libs: Bush does not control the economy, he does not decide who buys and house and who does not... We live in a MARKET BASED economy, not a planned economy, which I'm sure many of you on this site would like to see..

Memo to Chris: Who said that he did? If you would like to dispute the assertion that his comments were correct, please do so. Making-up goofy comments to avoid doing so, does not make you look real bright, however.

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

Keep going. It would help if you could actually quote the figure, by the way, not ask a question in the process of supposedly making a point.

ashton @ 71:

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

chris @ 56:

Memo to Chris: Who said that he did? If you would like to dispute the assertion that his comments were correct, please do so. Making-up goofy comments to avoid doing so, does not make you look real bright, however.

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

Keep going. It would help if you could actually quote the figure, by the way, not ask a question in the process of supposedly making a point.

Chris,
I was unemployed for over 3 years. My UI ran out in less than one year. I am but one example of those unreported unemployed. After my UI ran out, I no longer was factored into your reality, but I still existed... unemployed. See, the system is set up to NOT count the least fortunate.

.

burnt @ 57:

Bangkok Bob @ 16:

GB @ 11:

Actually the doom and glooms are exaggerating the problem. Our export economy dwarfs the housing market failures and the annual trade deficit declined for the first time since 2001.
In 2007, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 12.2% to $1,621.8 billion. All the mortgages involved in this total only a fifth of that gain. If every one of those houses suddenly were worth nothing at all we'd still have an overall gain in our economy.

We are definitely on a downturn, but not nearly as bad as you all are making it out to be. Most of the nay saying only drives down consumer confidence and discourages domestic investment in our economy.

The economy your speaking of is the investment community, the Corporate part of America. Sure their alright, just the people are fucked, wages are down, people can't afford insurance, and now the cost of staples like bread have almost doubled as the price of fuel goes up. And why, look to the NeoCon and the PNACers and the bush crony's..

thank you, Bob.

GB, our imports are dwarfing our exports. and our exports aren't shrink-wrapped small goods representing big manufacturing/shipping/service positions. they're raw goods assembled (or harvested, slaughtered, etc) by low-wage "temps" and/or illegal immigrants. then shipped by wealthy executives. in other words, we're not exporting Levis jeans and Ford cars at record levels, we're exporting shit like beef and steel at record levels.

the "class war" comment doesn't even do justice to the situation. the upper classes are suffering too (boo hoo, I know) because they're over-invested - and international banks are demanding American banks/investment firms pay up.

the "economy" dropping, and the "dollar" dropping are incidental, not necessarily connected at the hip.

the majority of American jobs are low-paying service positions and/or temp/contractor positions. these people are usually not provided healthcare (or at the very least, affordable healthcare), so the burden rests on the state to provide them with healthcare. the state obtains the funding for this healthcare from... taxes... which it obtains from Americans with low-paying service positions and/or temp/contractor positions.

I would assert that every export we send is contributing to our diminishing dollar, which in turn, contributes to our diminishing economy. it would be smartest for us to cease importing, and focus solely on creating stronger (and diverse) exports-based full time positions.

Actually, our imports are dropping as our exports are increasing ( . Your analysis is correct though. We should stop exporting our resources, but this is one way the rich are getting richer. They won't stop until the resources are gone. Also, where are you getting that the upper class are suffering too. Luxury Yacht and private jet sales are in double digit growth rates. To create this kind of consolidation of wealth from the poor to the rich, there must be hundreds of thousands of people driven into poverty for each billionaire created.

Next to the condo complex I live in in Signal Hill, CA, a development of 11 single family homes was started about two years ago on what used to be a lovely hillside of chapparal. The developer carved out the hillside, put up a huge retaining wall and started putting the houses in. The developer abandoned the project completely about a year ago, and even the access roadway has not been finished. Four of the 11 homes remain with walls unfinished and open to the elements. Only 4 of the houses have been completed and only 3 of those have been sold. The other three are empty and still lack plumbing and other elements needed for completion. It's not looking very pretty. (:>

GB @ 51:

I want to be clear, because people here still aren't getting it:

The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting enslaved.

It is not the economy that is causing this.
It is not the collapse of the housing market.
It is not oil at $100+ a barrel.

It is the ruling class. Plain and simple.
There is a ton of money being made as pointed out by Jack.

Yea, a ton of money that is devaluing at increasingly faster rates against a wide majority of currencies. If you look at other commodities, a vast majority are rising at inceasingly faster rates as well so its not just oil. Everything from wheat, cocoa, coffee, gold, silver, natural gas, milk, you name it are all rising to record highs. The companies that use these goods pay for them at those higher rates to make their products and then pass those costs on to the consumer. The increased money supply created by the Fed's policies to bail out the banks coupled with increasing Government domestic program costs along with a massive increase in defense spending are devauling the dollar at a rapid pace.

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

chris @ 56:

Memo to libs: Bush does not control the economy, he does not decide who buys and house and who does not... We live in a MARKET BASED economy, not a planned economy, which I'm sure many of you on this site would like to see..

Memo to Chris: Who said that he did? If you would like to dispute the assertion that his comments were correct, please do so. Making-up goofy comments to avoid doing so, does not make you look real bright, however.

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

approx 25% of employed Americans are either working in the service industry (ie tech support call centers, McDonald's, etc) or have a long-term "temporary/contract" job (ie working at Ford Motor Co or Hewlett Packard under a Kelly or Manpower contract with low wages and expensive or non-existent health care packages). manufacturing jobs created in Q407 are overshadowed by services jobs created in Q407 by a ratio of 5 to 1.

look for yourself if you don't believe me:
http://www.bls.gov/iag/home.htm

soooo, thats not "pretty good", thats pretty shitty... - no wonder so many people can't afford their mortgages. people who built cars in Detroit bought a house, then their employers laid them off and outsourced all the "good" jobs to China. so now those guys are stuck flipping burgers or greeting customers at Wal Mart. awesome.

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

burnt @ 81:

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

chris @ 56:

Memo to Chris: Who said that he did? If you would like to dispute the assertion that his comments were correct, please do so. Making-up goofy comments to avoid doing so, does not make you look real bright, however.

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

approx 25% of employed Americans are either working in the service industry (ie tech support call centers, McDonald's, etc) or have a long-term "temporary/contract" job (ie working at Ford Motor Co or Hewlett Packard under a Kelly or Manpower contract with low wages and expensive or non-existent health care packages). manufacturing jobs created in Q407 are overshadowed by services jobs created in Q407 by a ratio of 5 to 1.

look for yourself if you don't believe me:
http://www.bls.gov/iag/home.htm

soooo, thats not "pretty good", thats pretty shitty... - no wonder so many people can't afford their mortgages. people who built cars in Detroit bought a house, then their employers laid them off and outsourced all the "good" jobs to China. so now those guys are stuck flipping burgers or greeting customers at Wal Mart. awesome.

Maybe the people who built some of these products, just built crappy products at too high a cost?

GB @ 75:

burnt @ 57:

Bangkok Bob @ 16:

GB @ 11:
The economy your speaking of is the investment community, the Corporate part of America. Sure their alright, just the people are fucked, wages are down, people can't afford insurance, and now the cost of staples like bread have almost doubled as the price of fuel goes up. And why, look to the NeoCon and the PNACers and the bush crony's..

thank you, Bob.

GB, our imports are dwarfing our exports. and our exports aren't shrink-wrapped small goods representing big manufacturing/shipping/service positions. they're raw goods assembled (or harvested, slaughtered, etc) by low-wage "temps" and/or illegal immigrants. then shipped by wealthy executives. in other words, we're not exporting Levis jeans and Ford cars at record levels, we're exporting shit like beef and steel at record levels.

the "class war" comment doesn't even do justice to the situation. the upper classes are suffering too (boo hoo, I know) because they're over-invested - and international banks are demanding American banks/investment firms pay up.

the "economy" dropping, and the "dollar" dropping are incidental, not necessarily connected at the hip.

the majority of American jobs are low-paying service positions and/or temp/contractor positions. these people are usually not provided healthcare (or at the very least, affordable healthcare), so the burden rests on the state to provide them with healthcare. the state obtains the funding for this healthcare from... taxes... which it obtains from Americans with low-paying service positions and/or temp/contractor positions.

I would assert that every export we send is contributing to our diminishing dollar, which in turn, contributes to our diminishing economy. it would be smartest for us to cease importing, and focus solely on creating stronger (and diverse) exports-based full time positions.

Actually, our imports are dropping as our exports are increasing ( . Your analysis is correct though. We should stop exporting our resources, but this is one way the rich are getting richer. They won't stop until the resources are gone. Also, where are you getting that the upper class are suffering too. Luxury Yacht and private jet sales are in double digit growth rates. To create this kind of consolidation of wealth from the poor to the rich, there must be hundreds of thousands of people driven into poverty for each billionaire created.

the import drop is a very recent drop. as in, last year or so drop, following a record high.

you can create one billionaire by driving hundreds of thousands into poverty... *or* by chopping 5-15% off a few dozen million Americans' income.

ConcernedCanuck @ 85:

burnt @ 81:

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

approx 25% of employed Americans are either working in the service industry (ie tech support call centers, McDonald's, etc) or have a long-term "temporary/contract" job (ie working at Ford Motor Co or Hewlett Packard under a Kelly or Manpower contract with low wages and expensive or non-existent health care packages). manufacturing jobs created in Q407 are overshadowed by services jobs created in Q407 by a ratio of 5 to 1.

look for yourself if you don't believe me:
http://www.bls.gov/iag/home.htm

soooo, thats not "pretty good", thats pretty shitty... - no wonder so many people can't afford their mortgages. people who built cars in Detroit bought a house, then their employers laid them off and outsourced all the "good" jobs to China. so now those guys are stuck flipping burgers or greeting customers at Wal Mart. awesome.

Maybe the people who built some of these products, just built crappy products at too high a cost?

I guess so? I dunno though, the Chinese-made crap I pick up at Wal Mart today, breaks on me way faster than made-in-America Wal Mart crap I bought in the early 90's.

chris @ 56:

Memo to libs: Bush does not control the economy, he does not decide who buys and house and who does not... We live in a MARKET BASED economy, not a planned economy, which I'm sure many of you on this site would like to see..

Perhaps, but he's quick to take credit whenever those forecasts have looked peachy.
And you folks from Blogs for Bush were quick to back him up on it.

The quote “I believe that our economy has got the fundamentals in place for us to …"

is actually another Bush malpropism. He meant to say

“I believe that our economy has got the fundamentalists in place for us to …

Was he actually naked at the podium?!?
(We've gone past "unbelievable" so many times, tough to tell what is real or not anymore.)

Max-1 @ 73:

ashton @ 71:

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

Keep going. It would help if you could actually quote the figure, by the way, not ask a question in the process of supposedly making a point.

Chris,
I was unemployed for over 3 years. My UI ran out in less than one year. I am but one example of those unreported unemployed. After my UI ran out, I no longer was factored into your reality, but I still existed... unemployed. See, the system is set up to NOT count the least fortunate.

.

If you can't find a job for three years then your not trying hard enough, I'm guessing you wanted a certain kind of job and would not settle for anything less....

Actually, the Emperor Has No ‘CLOSE’ (In Iraq)

Here in Sarasota County, small businesses are closing in record numbers. Especially if they are construction related businesses.

centralilgirl @ 100:

liberalNmoderation @ 65:

ConcernedCanuck @ 55:

L.A. Confidential @ 42:

Of course he does. Media reports from down there indicate US military involvement in the raids that just so happened to occur at night. Basically, they slaughtered people in their sleep. More news you won't read or see on the mainstream media.

Geeeezus!! I heard on NPR last night, that they found alot of dead people in their pj's...and now OUR military may be involved in yet ANOTHER atrocity...great...just fuckin great. The hits just keep on coming.

Do you ever lay awake at night wondering why our soldiers are being trained to kill civilians and to do it under cover? A few years ago, I asked a newly returned soldier from Iraq that if his commander ordered him to fire on US civilians would he do it. He stated "Yes, I would have to." Now we have civilian labor camps all over our country, our economy seems to be purposfully crashed and we have the most blatently corrupt government in our history out to rule the world who has passed laws removing pretty much any protection that we as a citizen had from our constitution. Ever lay awake at night over this crap?

No.Because of this crap,I drink til I pass out.

Can't rebut denial with rationality.

Mitt @ 93:

The quote “I believe that our economy has got the fundamentals in place for us to …"

is actually another Bush malpropism. He meant to say

“I believe that our economy has got the fundamentalists in place for us to …

It's all his Regency appointees.

GB @ 51:

I want to be clear, because people here still aren't getting it:

The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting enslaved.

It is not the economy that is causing this.
It is not the collapse of the housing market.
It is not oil at $100+ a barrel.

It is the ruling class. Plain and simple.
There is a ton of money being made as pointed out by Jack.

I don't get this post.......It is so contradictory.
How does ruling class(in this, let's call them extremely rich) make even more money at the same time general public poorer?
I'm sure they don't directly steal people's money and move it their accounts...Perhaps, using economy and it's economic forces based on rules they control or lack of rules?

Homes they thought it will go up in value and people have put time and equity into it is no longer a value but a negative net asset......
How did this happen?
Easy money with no regulations perhaps?
Willingness to share some of the profits with smaller greedy individuals who helped promote these easy money lending and spending?

What is needed to survive in this world besides actual money?
Main commodity seem to be "ENERGY" and what is used to produce that energy?
How is food growing and brought to market?
What is used to keep you warm in winter and cool in summer?
Do you drive? Do you need to drive? Do you need public transportation?
What does it take to make these things go and what happens price skyrockets because of among other things illegal war within a oil-rich nation?

We need to fix the system and try to put responsible people that will take proper actions for overall good and not select few. Do not isolate a problem saying that it is totally unrelated. Ruling class knows what they are doing. It is the general public willingness to accept crumbs when desperate and care about neighbor's well-being at the same time.

I wish I could've expressed it better.

Absolutely the stupidest c********r that ever survived live birth, even in HIS family, which is saying something.

chris @ 97:

Max-1 @ 73:

ashton @ 71:

chris @ 69:

Keep going. It would help if you could actually quote the figure, by the way, not ask a question in the process of supposedly making a point.

Chris,
I was unemployed for over 3 years. My UI ran out in less than one year. I am but one example of those unreported unemployed. After my UI ran out, I no longer was factored into your reality, but I still existed... unemployed. See, the system is set up to NOT count the least fortunate.

.

If you can't find a job for three years then your not trying hard enough, I'm guessing you wanted a certain kind of job and would not settle for anything less....

That response says everything that needs to be said about you. What a fucking loser you are, Chris.

Iron Gator @ 111:

Absolutely the stupidest c********r that ever survived live birth, even in HIS family, which is saying something.

Actually his family seems to have difficulty getting anything said, at least with the syntax straight.

The funny thing is if you buy an American car it's German engineered, with Japanese electronics, constructed in Mexico, financed by China, marketed by the British and maybe only the CEO is an American.

ConcernedCanuck @ 84:

There is some truth to what the media says. The more the word "recession" is tossed around, the more people wait to spend on stuff that they don't need, and it does hurt the economy. And they've been tossing the word around for what, the last three years?

OR........maybe the rest of the world has figured out the best way to bring down a superpower is through finances, and not war????

Bingo! China forecloses on the US. She becomes the worlds only superpower left.

Meaning, the average American’s outlay on debt service, housing, medical care, food and energy now accounts for over two-thirds of his total spending....

Is that all?! Mine is well over 75% if you count filling up the gas tank as energy and the cats' stomachs as food, and I'm putting a ton away in savings.

IgnoranceIsNotBliss @ 120:

118 ConcernedCanuck Says:

ysbaddaden @ 117:

The funny thing is if you buy an American car it’s German engineered, with Japanese electronics, constructed in Mexico, financed by China, marketed by the British and maybe only the CEO is an American.

Yep, you nailed it. There is no such thing as an “American Corporation” any more than a “Chinese Corporation”……the buggers have little subsidiaries all over the damn world. You aren’t buying American even if you think you are. It’s like saying there is no way you’d buy a stereo unless it’s made by Pioneer….yet alot of “no-name” brands are made by……..yup…Pioneer….

Someone told me that if the opening to the gas tank is on the drivers side, the vehicle was manufacture here in the States. If it's on the passengers side, then it was manufactured abroad.

I wish someone would manufacture me a broad.

When boosh gives speeches like that, how many alarms can he set off with his farts?

Good think Tom Ridge isn't still around.

ysbaddaden @ 125:

When boosh gives speeches like that, how many alarms can he set off with his farts?

Good think Tom Ridge isn't still around.

Threat-level Brown

Absolutely mind boggling. There is something horribly wrong with the Bush Administration...there something horribly wrong with our Government. I know it, most the folks who visit here know it and over seventy percent of the country know it and have known it for a few years now. Yet the very people, our Congress and our Senate, who should asking questions and investigating these matters aren't? It is as if our system of Government has gone completely cowboy, or have just plain gone stupid...and to what ends?

After our country is free from the eight year Cheney/Bush nightmare in January, I don't think it will get much better. It could be the beginning of the real nightmare.

besides weapons, what else does the U.S. export? We aren't manufacturing much, other than bombers, and weapons. We made the switch to service based society back in Rayguns' era. Our food is being made into energy, while other foods are created by fake seed products, ones you can't use the seeds from.

No, our economy is taking another side track, one that pours wealth into the hands of a few, while others are left to fight for scraps. Staple prices are going up, don't we produce the wheat here?

GB is wrong, but he'll have to wait until talk radio or the president tells him so.

chris @ 102:

burnt @ 81:

chris @ 69:

ashton @ 61:

Unemployment is at, what 5.2%, thats pretty good......

approx 25% of employed Americans are either working in the service industry (ie tech support call centers, McDonald's, etc) or have a long-term "temporary/contract" job (ie working at Ford Motor Co or Hewlett Packard under a Kelly or Manpower contract with low wages and expensive or non-existent health care packages). manufacturing jobs created in Q407 are overshadowed by services jobs created in Q407 by a ratio of 5 to 1.

look for yourself if you don't believe me:
http://www.bls.gov/iag/home.htm

soooo, thats not "pretty good", thats pretty shitty... - no wonder so many people can't afford their mortgages. people who built cars in Detroit bought a house, then their employers laid them off and outsourced all the "good" jobs to China. so now those guys are stuck flipping burgers or greeting customers at Wal Mart. awesome.

The people who lost jobs are not flipping burgers, teenage kids are..

sure they are buddy. hey but check THIS out!

http://www.tacotime.com/images/Jobs/Rnd_Cowrkr1.jpg
http://www.foodfacts.info/blog/uploaded_images/mchero-photo.jpg
http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060922/060922_pizza...

them there are some GRIZZLED ass lookin teens, yo!

ironic that just two posts up you demand that Max@97 was unwilling to "settle" for a lower-paying job after searching for 3 years... - then go on to assert that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans are "settling" for lower-paying jobs.

nope. just teenagers at the Taco Time. oooooonly teenagers. no 33 year old moms there. no 67 year old grandpas there. nosiree, not in Chris's world of stereotypes and contrasting sound bytes.

do you even eat fast food? do you, like, look the cashier in the eye when you place your order?

oh hey, check it out! a lawsuit against McDonald's, alleging agism. 66 out of 208 employees were laid off because of downsizing, and 66 of the 208 were over the age of 40. http://altlaw.org/v1/cases/170982

I mean, that comment "most burger flippers are teenagers" is so obtuse it almost hurts. if "only teenagers" work in fast food, who do you think is flipping burgers during the breakfast rush, or at high noon, smart guy? you're not the brighest brick in the barrel, are you Chris?

Bush see life through Cheney colored glasses, so life is what ever the hell he wants it to be.

Oh, excuse me - Nonny Mouse did. But Nicole was complicit. Seriously, that was worse than tub girl.

Now that thier are over 400 billionaires in America alone, they will have to get security detail to follow them everywhere, guess that work will go to Mexicans as well, because WASP wouldn't want a jop where you might have to stand all day.

I think it's really Cheney's body with Bush's head glued on. Funny, I always had the notion it's the other way around??!!