Here’s a hearty ‘erin go bragh’ and top o’ the mornin’ to you all, let’s get to it…
- This is news that you want to read to start a new day and week; traders across the globe are bracing for a miserable start on Wall Street today following the sale of brokerage house Bear Stearns and some emergency action by the Fed… and the recession
startscontinues… and the blind-eye of the Bush(whacked) Administration continues as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on CNN that the economy is going through a “tough patch” but refuses to call it a recession. He also said that the US is taking the proper steps to turn things around… (Can we say ‘ivory tower’?) - Sen. Obama is under more scrutiny regarding his ex-pastor...
- Michigan has submitted a proposal that would call for the state to hold a new presidential primary in June… (meanwhile, Florida continues to whine like a spoiled
bratrepublican and refuses to make any consecsions to the DNC. Again, as I’ve said before, screw ‘em. They broke the rules… too bad, so sad…) - Soon to be retired republican Rep. Tom Davis (VA) told WaPo this past weekend; “You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He’s just killed the Republican brand.” (I would gloat, but I don’t want to bring any Karma into play…)
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says it would be damaging to the Democratic party for its leaders to buck the will of national convention delegates picked in primaries and caucuses (Finally, someone in the leadership of the Democratic party has come right out and said it. For the super-delegates to ignore the will of the people would have such a staggering backlash to the party, it might take years to recover… and we don’t have that kind of time)
- Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan wrote in the Financial Times today that the current economic crisis is “likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war” which is great company to keep, ain’t it? Greenspan also wrote that “market flexibility and open competition” are the nation’s “most reliable and effective safeguards against cumulative economic failure.” (“President” Bush, are you listening?? I doubt it, it’s Monday morning and he’s probably watching ‘Regis & Kelly’…)
- On the heels of the Senate shooting down a bill he co-sponsored that would have instilled a one-year moratorium on earmarks, Sen. McCain says that Congress is “disconnected” from Americans… uh-huh… I suppose we should all ignore the fact that this was the first time McCain has returned to the Senate in a month to vote for anything? Yeah, that’s what I thought…
- And have we mentioned? That the Bush(whacked) Administration isn’t doing their job on yet another front? A new study by the National Security Archive finds, despite ordering improvements more than two years ago,” “President” Bush has barely made a dent in the enormous backlog of unanswered requests under FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act. (this is nothing new as most of the government agencies in his administration are so backlogged that metric tons of bran wouldn’t help… way to go Bush!)
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7 comments:
By definition, those that think we are in a recession are, technically, wrong at this point. Most at least agree we are in a slow-down, but a recession can't be proven until at least "two consecutive quarters of decreasing real GDP" are observed. The first quarter of decreasing real GDP was the fourth quarter of 2007. The first quarter 2008 real GDP numbers haven't happened yet, so it can't be said that we are in a recession until we meet the qualifications for one.
Unfortunately, that hasn't stopped the liberal media, politicians that benefit from such a downturn, and other politically-minded people that would love to blame Bush for something else. It seems now that Iraq is seeing relatively great progress and success, they must refocus everyone on the Economy. If the Economy was doing better, there would no doubt be some other crisis to replace it.
In any case, this constant talking down of the economy is only going to cause more economic problems in the long-run. I'm not saying we ignore economic problems, but I am saying that we should be more careful and responsible in identifying and communicating possible problems. Let's not declare a recession before it is possible to know if we are in one.
Uh-huh...so the fact that the Wall Street Journal just published a poll showing that 70% of economists say the US has “slid into recession" is wrong? Personally I put more stock into the opinions of economists than I do yours...
"Uh-huh?" A little cocky, aren't we. That's okay. Let's see what I can do about that.
In regards to the poll you cite, it is just that -- a poll, not solid evidence of a recession. They wouldn't need a poll if it could be proven that we are in a recession. Your citing a poll should have been your first tip-off. It may eventually be found that we are in a minor recession, but you can't prove it until after "two consecutive quarters of decreasing real GDP." Try as you might, you can't prove a recession using the traditional definition. Look it up.
Why not wait until the numbers are out to prove your point? That's right, I already answered that question in my first comment. Thanks for proving both of my points correct so succinctly.
As cocky as your first comment was... and your point was not proven correct nor succinctly, so you can stop the gloating.
If you don't like our site and our opinions, stop coming here and go back to reading Malkin or Coulter or some other dittohead slop.
troll - \ˈtrōl\ - noun: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.
The other point that is being missed is that a majority of Americans seem to not care about the 'technical' definition of a recession.
Just as everything changes, perhaps it is time to redefine what constitutes a recession.
Perhaps it would be in everyones best interest to identify a recession a little sooner than 6 months or more into it?
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has been monitoring the economy and have been providing the start and end dates to recessions since the 1930s. They look at GDP (which they appear to have invented) as well as other indicators to determine if a recession has started. At this point, they aren't declaring a recession. Then again, they usually don't declare a recession has started until it is already over. Which brings me back to the point I have been trying to make. We are not in a position to say if we are in a recession or how bad it is. And, by the time we know for sure, it will likely be over. It can only further harm the economy to constantly hype the issue.
Congress has passed a stimulus package which by virtue of its passing is an admission that the government has over-taxed and over-burdened the people. If giving more money back to the people will help the economy, it stands to reason that taking too much money away from the people can damage the economy. We should not be in such a fragile state that the difference between a good economy and a bad economy is a tax cut. The bigger and under-reported problem is over-taxation.
Except for the fact that the 'Stimulus' package is not 'giving' money back to the people as a result of overtaxation. It is mearly an advance on next years tax refund.
Which means that it is not 'additional' money being put into the economy, just moeny that would have been returned to the American taxpayer anyway.
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