Welcome to "The Double-Dip" Economy

[Metternich]

With the poor job numbers, everyone has done a bit of navel gazing (including myself) and what seems to be the consensus is that, yes, the U.S. 'Recovery' is slowly crawling to a halt. Obviously, it's hard to find any silver lining in an additional half a million Americans out of work but it seems now, more than ever, that silver lining is increasingly opaque.

For not only is job growth and Pennsylvanian industrial growth off, so are many leading economic indicators. This has lead to a plummeting of American (and a few international) stock indexes, and hopes that increasingly strained retirement funds will have some of the pressure eased off.

On top of this, Gallup released some numbers that basically affirm what everyone has been thinking all along: there are no jobs and that the future is increasingly dim. An 18.3% under/unemployed rate is not good; not good for anyone.

Even the CBO, hardly an emotional outfit, was clanging the warning bells as hard as anyone.

So I ask you, USMB, what does this mean? What does this economic future, and current crisis, create for our country; politically, socially and financially?

Personally, what springs to my mind is that the Republicans, at this point, could probably nominate Caligula's horse to the Senate and still win. There's nothing wrong with a horse Senator that 18.3% unemployment can't fix. *nods*

 

[KissMy]

For every person the Obamacrat government allows to continue living in a foreclosed home for free it kills many local Main Street jobs & local taxes but increases profits for mega multinational corporations on Wall Street & increases jobs in foreign countries like China. Government has inserted itself & wall street between local business & customers thus destroying the main street economy.

These slackers no longer pay their payments for property taxes or homeowners insurance so their local insurance agent fires all their employees & goes out of business. A big insurance company like AIG has deals with banks to put forced place coverage on homes that homeowners stop paying premium on. The slacker is likely not saving that money because he is going to file bankruptcy so he blew it on a Big expensive LCD HDTV made in China for a mega multinational corporation & sold by a Big Box store. Along with an expensive satellite HDTV subscription package. This all propped up Wall Street but killed the main-street economy, local taxes, & jobs in the USA.

The same goes for the local land lords who buys foreclosed homes & used to rent them to the slacker that now lives for free & lets the house fall apart around him & even steals the copper wiring & plumbing if he ever leaves. Government is propping up home prices so land Lords cant buy them & expand. It hurts the property managers, property maintenance companies, lawn care companies. The slacker blew his excess money on some expensive expensive sneakers, clothes & I-Phone made in China & sold by a Big Box store. He upped his cell phone plan to an expensive plan that include data. This propped up Wall Street but killed the main-street economy & jobs in the USA. These local companies used to invest their earnings right back into their local economy. Now the Big Multinational Companies invest in China.

This all slowed home sales which wiped out local realtor's, loan officers, home inspectors, movers, painters, carpenters, tree services, news paper advertising, direct mailers, office equipment service technicians, & the list goes on. The slacker spent his money on a vacation to Europe on a foreign airline & blew his wad over there. This just killed the main-street economy & jobs in the USA. These local companies used to invest their earnings right back into their local economy. Now the Big Multinational Companies invest in China.

The free market is the best path to prosperity & Obamacrat communism is just trickle up poverty.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Well so far the consensus for the powers that be is to reward vice and punish virtue; to take from those who did the right things and give it to those who did not.
This is a terrible precedent to set, has been tried before - and failed abysmally each time.
Afterall giving something for free to someone is at first appreciated, then expected - then demanded.

For all of the "tax the rich" manics, you have to define what is rich. And WHO is rich. In those folks minds they always see a slick white haired fat cat laughing at all of the poor bastards who have to drive their own cars, but in reality the vast majority of "wealthy" Americans are....employers. People who reinvest a great deal of their companies profits back into the business - which is an absolute necessity to stay in business. And since reinvestment is a necessity...less profits in the form of higher taxes means less margin, means he/she must cut expenses. And what is THE first and most effective way to cut expenses? Let someone go.
And that - is a no win situation.

 

[Metternich]

Both very interesting positions! Though definitely of a far-right perspective...

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Both very interesting positions! Though definitely of a far-right perspective...

How is it "far right" to recognize the obvious?
Obama loves to go on and on about "Those wealthy wall streeters" when talking about who to tax more. Problem with that sentiment is that "wall streeters" make up a tiny-tiny-tiny percentage of wealthy people.
Imagine if he stated it in a far more realistic way, such as : "And we need to tax those who own businesses more, they should not only be paying your wages and giving people jobs, but they should also pay for those who don't have jobs...it is high time these people paid their share!!!"

I imagine the result would be somewhat less effective..eh?

 

[Pepe]

Citizens using their vote to offload their responsibilities to others is a cancer that is killing this country.

 

[Terral]

Hi Kiss:

KissMy is WAY off base with this nonsense ...

For every person the Obamacrat government allows to continue living in a foreclosed home for free it kills many local Main Street jobs & local taxes but increases profits for mega multinational corporations on Wall Street & increases jobs in foreign countries like China. Government has inserted itself & wall street between local business & customers thus destroying the main street economy.

Obama (just like Bush) allows 20 to 30 MILLION Illegal Aliens to run around loose everywhere stealing identities and JOBS from American Workers. The Obama Administration and Congress have adopted policies that reward NAFTA Offshoring of the Manufacturing Base that destroy JOBS here in America. We have 23 Guest Worker Programs that bring in 1.5 MILLION more Foreign Nationals that displace U.S. Workers from JOBS, then KissMy cuckoo rants about Obama allowing displaced U.S. Workers to stay in their foreclosed homes. Obama and the corrupt Congress are destroying the American Consumer Base and Tax Base, so what you see is what you deserve ...

These slackers no longer pay their payments for property taxes or homeowners insurance so their local insurance agent fires all their employees & goes out of business.

Slackers??? You have some nerve!!!! A member of my family has worked at Cocoa Masonry of Pinellas County since the mid 1960's. This company employed more than 350 people, but today the doors are closed; because the competition is using more than their fair share of Illegal Aliens. Right now, people that have never received one cent of unemployment benefits are exhausting those benefits and falling behind on house payments. These hard-working people have been 'displaced' by Illegal Aliens and unscrupulous contractors willing to hire them at less than half the price to 'lower' prices to below cost!

Explain to me how real Americans with house payments and tax payments and insurance payments are supposed to compete with 20 Illegal Aliens living in one house??? No sir. You are defending Barry (Obama) that is destroying America right before our eyes ...

GL,

Terral

 

[KissMy]

Hi Kiss:

KissMy is WAY off base with this nonsense ...

For every person the Obamacrat government allows to continue living in a foreclosed home for free it kills many local Main Street jobs & local taxes but increases profits for mega multinational corporations on Wall Street & increases jobs in foreign countries like China. Government has inserted itself & wall street between local business & customers thus destroying the main street economy.

Obama (just like Bush) allows 20 to 30 MILLION Illegal Aliens to run around loose everywhere stealing identities and JOBS from American Workers. The Obama Administration and Congress have adopted policies that reward NAFTA Offshoring of the Manufacturing Base that destroy JOBS here in America. We have 23 Guest Worker Programs that bring in 1.5 MILLION more Foreign Nationals that displace U.S. Workers from JOBS, then KissMy cuckoo rants about Obama allowing displaced U.S. Workers to stay in their foreclosed homes. Obama and the corrupt Congress are destroying the American Consumer Base and Tax Base, so what you see is what you deserve ...

These slackers no longer pay their payments for property taxes or homeowners insurance so their local insurance agent fires all their employees & goes out of business.

Slackers??? You have some nerve!!!! A member of my family has worked at Cocoa Masonry of Pinellas County since the mid 1960's. This company employed more than 350 people, but today the doors are closed; because the competition is using more than their fair share of Illegal Aliens. Right now, people that have never received one cent of unemployment benefits are exhausting those benefits and falling behind on house payments. These hard-working people have been 'displaced' by Illegal Aliens and unscrupulous contractors willing to hire them at less than half the price to 'lower' prices to below cost!

Explain to me how real Americans with house payments and tax payments and insurance payments are supposed to compete with 20 Illegal Aliens living in one house??? No sir. You are defending Barry (Obama) that is destroying America right before our eyes ...

GL,

Terral

Look idiot, your family member had a good job for over 50 years & should have paid off his home over 20 years ago.

I am talking about the majority of people who still have a job but are allowed to live in a home for over 2 years without making a payment. These people are hurting the local economy.

 

[topspin]

Obama is going to back of the rhetoric and give us some big supply side treats.
Watch and see, he's all but declared he's supply side with the 98% getting a tax cut. He's going to extend the Bush cuts for about two years and may cut the corp tax.
He has to or he's out.

 

[william the wie]

Obama is going to back of the rhetoric and give us some big supply side treats.
Watch and see, he's all but declared he's supply side with the 98% getting a tax cut. He's going to extend the Bush cuts for about two years and may cut the corp tax.
He has to or he's out.

Judging from election results in New Zealand, UK and Australia Obama's out no matter what.

 

[uscitizen]

I think Polands election results also proves Obama is out.

 

[Dr Grump]

Obama is going to back of the rhetoric and give us some big supply side treats.
Watch and see, he's all but declared he's supply side with the 98% getting a tax cut. He's going to extend the Bush cuts for about two years and may cut the corp tax.
He has to or he's out.

Judging from election results in New Zealand, UK and Australia Obama's out no matter what.

Australia's election is still going. NZ's govt (for some strange reason) is usually opposite of the US. Currently it has a conservative govt...

 

[uscitizen]

Obama is going to back of the rhetoric and give us some big supply side treats.
Watch and see, he's all but declared he's supply side with the 98% getting a tax cut. He's going to extend the Bush cuts for about two years and may cut the corp tax.
He has to or he's out.

Judging from election results in New Zealand, UK and Australia Obama's out no matter what.

Australia's election is still going. NZ's govt (for some strange reason) is usually opposite of the US. Currently it has a conservative govt...

It seems that theirs might be more of a real conservative govt than we get here stateside though.

 

[Avatar4321]

Seems like a Depression to me. Funny how government interference always does that.

 

[uscitizen]

Seems like a Depression to me. Funny how government interference always does that.

Isn't that what Hoover said?

 

[Avatar4321]

Seems like a Depression to me. Funny how government interference always does that.

Isn't that what Hoover said?

I think he said something more along the lines of "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"

 

[2Parties]

We really need more stimulus. I'm not going to be convinced the recovery is in full swing until unemployment is 30%, gas is $10/gallon, and Paul Krugman is satisfied.

 

[Old Rocks]

Well, we had a real gift to the rich in the terms of the taxes that they pay by the Bush Admin. So how did that turn out? After all, with nearly eight years of that, we should be doing great, right? Not only that, the regulatory processes were nearly shut down under that administration. How did that work out?

But go ahead and put the Repukes back in. Give away your jobs to the ideololgy of the Conservatives. After all, when the average factory worker has to work for a bowl of rice, we will all be better off, correct?

 

[uscitizen]

But Rocks, we did not cut taxes enough nor did we deregulate the finiancial industry enough. And we still have those evil socialistic Unions.

And besides FDR started it all.

 

[topspin]

bullshit, republicans can even roll out someone who didn't lose to Mcain.