Im fortunate for today to have employment. But living and working in one of the highest economically challenged counties in Florida can take its toll. Daily I see more and more people standing on corners begging for money and not even just men anymore, but whole families.
I cant help but think so much more could have been done to help the unemployed and build new job markets if the president would allow drilling for oil around the country. yes, we need an alternative source, but in the meantime we need oil now and we need to break our dependence on the middle east oil barons.
London Standard has the blow by blow details on precisely how the G7 as well as Congress were explicitly warned about derivatives, toxic assets would cause a global economic crisis.
I think we all know here that the claim "no one could have foreseen this calamity" is pure bunk to the point we're really wondering if it was simply used for Shock Doctrine purposes.
They outsource the low value added jobs to the US and keep the high wealth generating jobs in China.
It appears that the conservative side of our nation appears to be unable to adopt to a changing world where the US is only the top banana in the ideology and dogma of the past.
I think we will need two or three more economic beat downs before we wake up and realize that we are going to lose our standard of living.
I put that court win in the Bernanke is reappointed post.
They put in a Freedom of Information Act and are moving it also through the courts to find out exactly received and what happened with the $2 trillion dollars the Fed "made available" to "various institutions" during the financial crisis.
On Ben Bernanke, I'm torn. Firstly I worry about frying pan to fire and supposedly Larry Summers wanted the job, which to me is assuredly fire. Then, while I find the Fed's refusal to release information, save the financial oligarchy, was TARP even necessary, this list goes on an on...
There are a couple of things which he did right. One was to guarantee the money market funds, which created a massive run when they went to negative return...that was a crisis event and the other is to increase the money supply.
At the time I thought that was nuts but it really appears to be the right thing to do and it was so massive, I wasn't alone in thinking it was disaster, so it also makes it a fairly bold move considering the criticism.
Oh yeah, he didn't even see this entire collapse coming, that too.
Anyway, Bloomberg is moving it's way through the courts and their story/findings is going to be a bombshell assuredly.
Which raises the question of what a central bank is for. If the Fed makes loans to private parties, what interest rate does it charge? Is Uncle Ben going to open a pawn shop for the rest of us (I have a very nice Casio watch)?
Frank T.
The collapse in global trade, while the absolute numbers, i.e. exports show (as well as industrial production and so on) we're not producing, in a way it also helps because imports dropped off more than exports and helped the deficit numbers (which in turn helped the GDP figures).
We also have the largest domestic economy, so we could make up a large portion of that domestically.
But export driven economies, i.e. China, Japan, they seem to be intent on returning to this massive "let's sell to the American consumer all of our stuff" agenda...
I mean the China non-oil trade deficit is 83% of the total U.S. trade deficit...
so if the collapse of global trade means the U.S. is buying less Chinese made products...I don't see this as a bad thing.
But considering how all are looking to China to led the globe out of this recession....what does that really mean for the United States...more job losses, more wage repression, more increased trade deficit?
I don't know how long this will last -- perhaps until happy days are here again. Maybe in 2012 we will have forgotten all this. Maybe those conspiracy theory guys weren't so crazy after all. RebelCapitalist is absolutely right on -- globalization and financialization are shrinking the middle class, and the rage you see on these forums is born of the powerlessness the middle class feels. Yes, Bernanke gets reappointed -- did we expect, Wall Street Larry instead? Same policies, whose turn is it?
The only response available to the MC is more savings, less debt, and that is becoming the default option. Here in Florida, unsold condo projects sit waiting for buyers while people find reasons to walk away from contracts or can't get financing. Maybe this is the silent populism.
Frank T.
The questions actually are on the conference board survey and in Econompic's graph too.
But ya know, perception vs. what's real?
I didn't comment on the case-shiller, might have done a "links" for it with various opinions....
I mean I just not real happy with prices being out of reach for most people period. I know that implies a lot of negative equity on the other side.
But one thing is the stock market has been on fire lately and it looks like they all believe a "V" full bore recovery or something. Talk about something not matching other economic data as well as other markets....
how many f'ing links do I need to click through to find the definition of 'middle'?
furthermore, how many households are in that middle?
by statistical abstract of the us, 2006 data, table 670, money income of households - there are about 35 million outta 116 million households with money income over 75,000...
I'm 49, I grew up on welfare, I'm in career #3, I've made 51,000 a year ONCE in my life and less every other year
and I can PROMISE you that there is NO chance at retirement security, health security, transportation security, retraining security, unemployment security, housing security on LESS than 75 grand.
WHO THE F'K IS THE MIDDLE? if (116-35)/116 is on the edge?
rmm.
screw it. I don't have time to do dig this up -
rmm.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous
This is what I'm getting out of reading around...and since we are The Economic Populist, obviously rage against the machine is fine here...
but this is it...people are totally, completely pissed about any talk of recovery and the reason is they are getting financially screwed. I don't think people know about or care about various EIs or GDP projections are because they know....the treatment of working people in this country sucks.
All of this really goes all the way back to year 2000 but you could really go back to 1980 to get technical about it.
Kind of makes me wonder if all of this outrage, this energy from all of the people out there, the people commenting here....is going to even get lip service but you can feel the rage growing...
And since nobody bothered to answer my favorite trivia question:
What do bacon & eggs, women smoking cigarettes and shaving their underarms, and the public sanitizing of American overthrowing of democratically-elected foreign governments have in common?
Answer: Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud, and the PR and advertising maven who gave us all of the above, once upon a time known as United Fruit's best friend (and employed by the CIA -- today United Fruit is known as Chiquita, with present Attorney General Eric Holder having formerly represented them in that lawsuit involving mercenaries, and assassins of union organizers in South America).
Outstanding blog, says it all. And perhaps most importantly of all, there is simply too much debt --- and no one left to purchase it all --- an inconvenient factoid which appears to be overlooked by all but the most brilliant economists (such as Paul Craig Roberts, Michael Hudston and several others).
Scary and scarier.....but at least we have a phantom recovery.
This is very interesting. Suddenly, President Obama announces Whirlybird Ben to continue on in a second term after Bloomberg (shockingly to me, although the judge's decision is the logical one) wins their FOIA against the Fed.
Doubtless, with the upcoming congressional move to audit the Fed, any information gleaned from Bloomberg's FOIA into those mysterious trillions will impact negatively on Bernanke (strangely enough labeled as a "Great Depression expert"), thus best to move on his continuance at the official controlling bank.
And my humble prediction #1: the vast bulk of those trillions went to the usual suspects -- Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citi and BofA.
Prediction #2 if #1 is incorrect: the vast bulk went to the private equity firms -- Blackstone Group, KKR, Carlyle Group and GS Private Equity....
I am not being flippant when I say that there will not be any kind of "useful", or meaningful" or "acceptable" (or pick your adjective) recovery, at least for us below the 95th percentile of American wealth holders. Indeed, even those above the 95th percentile are not all safe. And we (here at EP) know it!
Look back at all of the blogs and instapopulists written here over just the past 2 or 3 months. Look at the comments too. There is ample evidence and broad agreement that the gov't programs, statistics, leaders are lying about virtually everything. The research and links provided here, as well as the comments and analyses given, overwhelmingly indicate the level of corruption and outright thievery going on with our political leaders; of BOTH PARTIES!
We do not live in a functioning democracy now, if we ever really did at any time in our history. We have been, and continue to be, gamed at every turn by our government. It is the elephant in the room and it is time we see it and admit it is there. This is not a right vs left ideology admission. It is a matter of survival for the vast majority of Americans who have had their common senses dulled by 30+ years of neo-liberal dogma and have no idea how else to think. The numbers do not lie and MG, RO, RC, and others have demonstrated in numerous posts that there is a giant disconnect. Bernanke says we are beginning to recover and he saved the world from financial armageddon! How does he know? Why isn't he required to prove it and be subjected to just some of the critical analysis presented here?
Geithner said that he had THE plan and no plan B was necessary because his plan would work if we had the will to stick with it. How did he know that? And just who was his plan designed to "work" for? Why do we just accept this tripe without serious critical analysis?
I know, this is the role of Congress, right? Yeah, well I already stated that I think we do not live in a functioning democracy and I need offer no more proof than the actions (and deceit) of virtually everyone in Congress, especially in the Senate. But it has been brought to our attention over and over, right here at EP; almost daily for chrissakes!
Having said that, in all of the blogoshpere, the best suggestion I have seen so far regarding what the average citizen can do to effect a real change to current events and momentum was presented by Larry Flynt, of all people. His proposal for a national general strike is just the kind of message that the financial elites in Washington/Wall Street can understand. We may not have a lot of wealth individually, but collectively we have real power. Boycotts work, just ask Glenn Beck who has recently lost a lot of his advertisers.
Again, just look at the totality of what has been written here in just the past couple of months. Use your intelligence and common sense and acknowledge the elephant in the room. Let's do something about it ourselves. At least let us go down trying.
What the heck are you DOING talking about fundamentals, are you nuts! Do you want to give poor Ben "Bubble Blowing" Bernanke a heart attack just before his coronation?
You sure know how to kill a good green shoots party .. Tim .. load up the bong with some more green shoots .. and bring out the Green Shoot Dancers for another number!
Didn't the Aztecs increase the rate of human sacrifice to their gods when the Spanish came in with guns and slaughtered 'em?
So, the Over Paid Over Credential Over Educated F'king CHARLATANS who did NOT see that a "foundation" of
gov't debt AND
consumer debt AND
rich people pyramids AND
corporate thievery
would equal a clusterfuck ... they're still relying on their sacrifices and chants and incantations to the gawds of fake - ass prosperity!
(oops! stoooooooopid me! NO econ degree! Just a math degree!)
Im fortunate for today to have employment. But living and working in one of the highest economically challenged counties in Florida can take its toll. Daily I see more and more people standing on corners begging for money and not even just men anymore, but whole families.
I cant help but think so much more could have been done to help the unemployed and build new job markets if the president would allow drilling for oil around the country. yes, we need an alternative source, but in the meantime we need oil now and we need to break our dependence on the middle east oil barons.
London Standard has the blow by blow details on precisely how the G7 as well as Congress were explicitly warned about derivatives, toxic assets would cause a global economic crisis.
I think we all know here that the claim "no one could have foreseen this calamity" is pure bunk to the point we're really wondering if it was simply used for Shock Doctrine purposes.
They outsource the low value added jobs to the US and keep the high wealth generating jobs in China.
It appears that the conservative side of our nation appears to be unable to adopt to a changing world where the US is only the top banana in the ideology and dogma of the past.
I think we will need two or three more economic beat downs before we wake up and realize that we are going to lose our standard of living.
I put that court win in the Bernanke is reappointed post.
They put in a Freedom of Information Act and are moving it also through the courts to find out exactly received and what happened with the $2 trillion dollars the Fed "made available" to "various institutions" during the financial crisis.
On Ben Bernanke, I'm torn. Firstly I worry about frying pan to fire and supposedly Larry Summers wanted the job, which to me is assuredly fire. Then, while I find the Fed's refusal to release information, save the financial oligarchy, was TARP even necessary, this list goes on an on...
There are a couple of things which he did right. One was to guarantee the money market funds, which created a massive run when they went to negative return...that was a crisis event and the other is to increase the money supply.
At the time I thought that was nuts but it really appears to be the right thing to do and it was so massive, I wasn't alone in thinking it was disaster, so it also makes it a fairly bold move considering the criticism.
Oh yeah, he didn't even see this entire collapse coming, that too.
Anyway, Bloomberg is moving it's way through the courts and their story/findings is going to be a bombshell assuredly.
Which raises the question of what a central bank is for. If the Fed makes loans to private parties, what interest rate does it charge? Is Uncle Ben going to open a pawn shop for the rest of us (I have a very nice Casio watch)?
Frank T.
The collapse in global trade, while the absolute numbers, i.e. exports show (as well as industrial production and so on) we're not producing, in a way it also helps because imports dropped off more than exports and helped the deficit numbers (which in turn helped the GDP figures).
We also have the largest domestic economy, so we could make up a large portion of that domestically.
But export driven economies, i.e. China, Japan, they seem to be intent on returning to this massive "let's sell to the American consumer all of our stuff" agenda...
I mean the China non-oil trade deficit is 83% of the total U.S. trade deficit...
so if the collapse of global trade means the U.S. is buying less Chinese made products...I don't see this as a bad thing.
But considering how all are looking to China to led the globe out of this recession....what does that really mean for the United States...more job losses, more wage repression, more increased trade deficit?
I don't know how long this will last -- perhaps until happy days are here again. Maybe in 2012 we will have forgotten all this. Maybe those conspiracy theory guys weren't so crazy after all. RebelCapitalist is absolutely right on -- globalization and financialization are shrinking the middle class, and the rage you see on these forums is born of the powerlessness the middle class feels. Yes, Bernanke gets reappointed -- did we expect, Wall Street Larry instead? Same policies, whose turn is it?
The only response available to the MC is more savings, less debt, and that is becoming the default option. Here in Florida, unsold condo projects sit waiting for buyers while people find reasons to walk away from contracts or can't get financing. Maybe this is the silent populism.
Frank T.
Based on income distribution, I would argue that middle class is: $30,000 to $100,000.
The income distribution graph above has the high end $109,000.
Poverty line for a family of 4 is $21,200
Median Income (2007): $50,233
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
It's a Planned Demolition
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney08102009.html
The questions actually are on the conference board survey and in Econompic's graph too.
But ya know, perception vs. what's real?
I didn't comment on the case-shiller, might have done a "links" for it with various opinions....
I mean I just not real happy with prices being out of reach for most people period. I know that implies a lot of negative equity on the other side.
But one thing is the stock market has been on fire lately and it looks like they all believe a "V" full bore recovery or something. Talk about something not matching other economic data as well as other markets....
The Expectations Index is such an outlier that I have to question what questions it is asking and how it is created.
this is seriously annoying.
how many f'ing links do I need to click through to find the definition of 'middle'?
furthermore, how many households are in that middle?
by statistical abstract of the us, 2006 data, table 670, money income of households - there are about 35 million outta 116 million households with money income over 75,000...
I'm 49, I grew up on welfare, I'm in career #3, I've made 51,000 a year ONCE in my life and less every other year
and I can PROMISE you that there is NO chance at retirement security, health security, transportation security, retraining security, unemployment security, housing security on LESS than 75 grand.
WHO THE F'K IS THE MIDDLE? if (116-35)/116 is on the edge?
rmm.
screw it. I don't have time to do dig this up -
rmm.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous
This is what I'm getting out of reading around...and since we are The Economic Populist, obviously rage against the machine is fine here...
but this is it...people are totally, completely pissed about any talk of recovery and the reason is they are getting financially screwed. I don't think people know about or care about various EIs or GDP projections are because they know....the treatment of working people in this country sucks.
All of this really goes all the way back to year 2000 but you could really go back to 1980 to get technical about it.
Kind of makes me wonder if all of this outrage, this energy from all of the people out there, the people commenting here....is going to even get lip service but you can feel the rage growing...
And since nobody bothered to answer my favorite trivia question:
What do bacon & eggs, women smoking cigarettes and shaving their underarms, and the public sanitizing of American overthrowing of democratically-elected foreign governments have in common?
Answer: Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud, and the PR and advertising maven who gave us all of the above, once upon a time known as United Fruit's best friend (and employed by the CIA -- today United Fruit is known as Chiquita, with present Attorney General Eric Holder having formerly represented them in that lawsuit involving mercenaries, and assassins of union organizers in South America).
Outstanding blog, says it all. And perhaps most importantly of all, there is simply too much debt --- and no one left to purchase it all --- an inconvenient factoid which appears to be overlooked by all but the most brilliant economists (such as Paul Craig Roberts, Michael Hudston and several others).
Scary and scarier.....but at least we have a phantom recovery.
So we have Judge Preska and Judge Rakoff, therefore we now know we have at least TWO honest judges left in America.
Any word on a third honest judge out there?
This is very interesting. Suddenly, President Obama announces Whirlybird Ben to continue on in a second term after Bloomberg (shockingly to me, although the judge's decision is the logical one) wins their FOIA against the Fed.
Doubtless, with the upcoming congressional move to audit the Fed, any information gleaned from Bloomberg's FOIA into those mysterious trillions will impact negatively on Bernanke (strangely enough labeled as a "Great Depression expert"), thus best to move on his continuance at the official controlling bank.
And my humble prediction #1: the vast bulk of those trillions went to the usual suspects -- Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citi and BofA.
Prediction #2 if #1 is incorrect: the vast bulk went to the private equity firms -- Blackstone Group, KKR, Carlyle Group and GS Private Equity....
I am not being flippant when I say that there will not be any kind of "useful", or meaningful" or "acceptable" (or pick your adjective) recovery, at least for us below the 95th percentile of American wealth holders. Indeed, even those above the 95th percentile are not all safe. And we (here at EP) know it!
Look back at all of the blogs and instapopulists written here over just the past 2 or 3 months. Look at the comments too. There is ample evidence and broad agreement that the gov't programs, statistics, leaders are lying about virtually everything. The research and links provided here, as well as the comments and analyses given, overwhelmingly indicate the level of corruption and outright thievery going on with our political leaders; of BOTH PARTIES!
We do not live in a functioning democracy now, if we ever really did at any time in our history. We have been, and continue to be, gamed at every turn by our government. It is the elephant in the room and it is time we see it and admit it is there. This is not a right vs left ideology admission. It is a matter of survival for the vast majority of Americans who have had their common senses dulled by 30+ years of neo-liberal dogma and have no idea how else to think. The numbers do not lie and MG, RO, RC, and others have demonstrated in numerous posts that there is a giant disconnect. Bernanke says we are beginning to recover and he saved the world from financial armageddon! How does he know? Why isn't he required to prove it and be subjected to just some of the critical analysis presented here?
Geithner said that he had THE plan and no plan B was necessary because his plan would work if we had the will to stick with it. How did he know that? And just who was his plan designed to "work" for? Why do we just accept this tripe without serious critical analysis?
I know, this is the role of Congress, right? Yeah, well I already stated that I think we do not live in a functioning democracy and I need offer no more proof than the actions (and deceit) of virtually everyone in Congress, especially in the Senate. But it has been brought to our attention over and over, right here at EP; almost daily for chrissakes!
Having said that, in all of the blogoshpere, the best suggestion I have seen so far regarding what the average citizen can do to effect a real change to current events and momentum was presented by Larry Flynt, of all people. His proposal for a national general strike is just the kind of message that the financial elites in Washington/Wall Street can understand. We may not have a lot of wealth individually, but collectively we have real power. Boycotts work, just ask Glenn Beck who has recently lost a lot of his advertisers.
Again, just look at the totality of what has been written here in just the past couple of months. Use your intelligence and common sense and acknowledge the elephant in the room. Let's do something about it ourselves. At least let us go down trying.
What the heck are you DOING talking about fundamentals, are you nuts! Do you want to give poor Ben "Bubble Blowing" Bernanke a heart attack just before his coronation?
You sure know how to kill a good green shoots party .. Tim .. load up the bong with some more green shoots .. and bring out the Green Shoot Dancers for another number!
Voyage Gov't Data!
Can I have a commercial selling pantyhose now?
Didn't the Aztecs increase the rate of human sacrifice to their gods when the Spanish came in with guns and slaughtered 'em?
So, the Over Paid Over Credential Over Educated F'king CHARLATANS who did NOT see that a "foundation" of
gov't debt AND
consumer debt AND
rich people pyramids AND
corporate thievery
would equal a clusterfuck ... they're still relying on their sacrifices and chants and incantations to the gawds of fake - ass prosperity!
(oops! stoooooooopid me! NO econ degree! Just a math degree!)
rmm.
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