Pic Of The Moment: S&P Breaks 2,000 For The First Time

[EarlG]

Follow @demunderground

[George II]

1. Dow performances are similar under Clinton, bush, Obama

Clinton's administration started at 3,301; ended at 10,646 +7,345 points
bush's administration started at 10,646; ended at 8,077 -2,568 points
Obama's administration started at 8,077; now at ~ 17,100 +9,023 points

Failed economy my ass!

[geardaddy]

2. Oh goody.

More money for the 1%

[JDPriestly]

3. What about wages under Clinton, Bush and Obama?

Wages are the test of the economy. The stock market reflects a lot of things, but not the health of the real economy. When the long-term unemployed get jobs, then we can start bragging about our economy. When a mother of two pre-school children can earn enough from her job to pay for top-quality day-care, then we can brag about our economy.

When interest rates go up a bit, then we can talk about a healthy economy. This economy is being goosed by the Fed. That pushes money that would normally be invested in other things into the stock market.

The Clinton boom was based on unrealistic exuberance too. Rich people hope to make lots and lots of money and invest in the stock market. Meanwhile, businesses trying to attract more buyers for their stock lay off employees. That is not a healthy economy. It is a repeat of the boom and bust cycle.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. Greenspan was a fan of the Stock Market....

He SHOULD have been a fan of the Bond Market.

He was a creature of the 70s when inflation was all the rage and he was still fighting that war but he bought the Reagan Era LIE that inflation was all Carter's fault. It really started under Nixon and ran through the Ford years with Carter ending it just in time for Reagan to take credit. You could tell that he bought the whole "tax and spend Liberal" crap.

Clinton and Obama's measure of success is to show the rich they can be richer with Democrats than Republicans.

The rest of us are supposed to be their cheerleaders for that goal.

Because what makes America great is we have the richest rich people in the world.

[lastlib]

36. It was really Carter who was responsible for bringing inflation under control....

...via his appointment of Paul Volcker to head the Fed. Yes, it was painful, the way Volcker tightened the screws on money supply, but absolutely necessary to tame inflation. We might not have been headed toward Zimbabwe-style inflation, but it was threatening to do serious harm to us on many fronts.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

38. Greenspan, on the other hand lowered interest rates so low,...

.....it was like he was telling the world the dollar was worthless.

[MannyGoldstein]

10. IIRC, today's high stock prices are the result of

Cost savings (layoffs, offshoring) and cheap money (Fed).

[iandhr]

4. Obama is still black.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Yes, well-to-do Americans have done very, very well

under Clinton, Bush, and Obama.

Incredibly well.

The top 1% own about 40% of the stock market, the next 9% about another 40%. It's been a fantastic ride for them.

[hibbing]

6. But I thought he was a communist socialist fascist dictator?

What a crock, those people that call him that could not even define any of those.

We are all reminded of the horrors of the idiot son ever day, rather it be the economy or the death, destruction and mayhem in the Middle East.

Peace

[Scuba]

9. And an atheist Muslim!

[underpants]

8. Also, heard from a friend in the trucking industry

That a major carrier ( that we all know) is at "full capacity" - all truck runs are full. No place to even sell more space on the freight vehicles.

[SpankMe]

13. This makes sense.

I listen to SiriusXM satellite radio all the time, and I've noticed a large number of commercials advertising/recruiting for truck drivers and teams. The frequency of these commercials increased starting about 4 years ago.

These companies sound desperate to hire.

It's a tough job, though. I respect these long haul truckers. The trucking and ground transportation part of the gross supply chain is truly the main vertebrate in the backbone of the economy.

[underpants]

14. Yeah just after I posted that I ran across an article on the shortage if truckers

Especially long haul. The company I was speaking of has their own drivers so any shortage in the industry really doesn't affect them much. They do hire some independents but not that much. They are just sold out right now at this time.

[truedelphi]

11. And to think that to make this possible, all the American people had to put up w/ was having

A gazillion jobs outsourced, some 29 wars being perpetuated with American monies and weaponry, 8 to 12 million homeowners foreclosed upon, and a rampant prison industry that puts poor people in jail for failing to pay court fines or for smoking a little weed.

[h2][font color=red]YOU GO -- S & P! You Go![/h2][/font color=red]

I also sit here wondering if the decision to spend a gazillion dollars on the F 135, a piece of weaponry even the heads of Armed Services do not want, and that will cost more than an amount it would take to put 30 million college students through 4 years of college, helped push the S & P into the record numbers!

[George II]

12. Unbelievable, around here apparently every silver lining has a cloud!!!

[progressoid]

34. What silver lining?

Most of us only have clouds.

So, great, the rich get richer. Can't wait for this to trickle down to us. Any day now that trickle down thing will kick in. Any day now...

[trumad]

15. Damned if you do and damned if you don't...

I suppose the knucklehead Anti-Obama clan would prefer if the S&P was still in the toilet.

[whereisjustice]

28. I'm sure Fergusons of the nation appreciated the day off in celebration, oh wait... I forgot

every day is a day off for about 90,000,000 because the profits from jobs sent to India and China and rest of Asia get funneled right into the pockets of a handful of CEO plutocrats.

So let's call it damned if you don't.

[trumad]

32. LOL...

The straw burns heavy from your Man.

[geretogo]

16. The graph says it all . Can you imagine the economy now if the Rethuglicons had not tried to

sabotage it ? Of course the middle class would still be disappearing .

[SoapBox]

23. OMG...if NitWit Mittens was in charge?

I can't even imagine that horror movie!

[geretogo]

41. He is going to run again and with Koch money he could steal the presidency like they've stolen the

the House and Senate .

[MNBrewer]

17. So Democrats are good for Wall Street.... Yay?

[truedelphi]

18. It's a shame that the fuss about Wall Street earnings is more important than the Middle Class.

Which losses ground every damn day.

And its loss to society could have been prevented:

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-obama-could-curb-corporate-inversions-on-his-own-ex-us-official-2014-28

[raouldukelives]

30. Not to mention the actual evil Wall St accomplishes as daily goals.

People act like assisting Chevron, Lockheed, Pfizer & Dow and becoming a partial owner of them is a good thing. Good for themselves I guess in a small way. But certainly not in any long range, create a better world and a better life for our children kind of way. Which I kind of thought was the whole point of being a liberal and by extension being a Democrat. Not providing funds for our enemies privately while boasting of support for the environment, the middle class, the oppressed and the weak openly.
We need to toss some money changers out of our temples while they still mean something.

[truedelphi]

31. I am here to help you tossing those money

Changers out on their butts, any time night or day.

[Rex]

19. I think it should be obvious by now even to the dullest dullard.

Repukes destroy, Dems build. Repukes are horrible with the economy, Dems are great with the economy.

Anyone that says otherwise, ignores CLEAR PROOF over decades of evidence. Then again GOPukers do love to live in denial.

[BrainiacV]

20. Republicans are good...

You have to admit that Republicans are good at looting the economy.

Anyone remember the S&L's?

[Rex]

21. They are masters at it! Yes! Bush and Bush and Bush

all stealing back in the day of the saving and loan scandals! Of course nothing happened to them then, I wonder if that was when they realized they could do anything they wanted to and not worry about the law?

Welcome to DU!

[SoapBox]

22. Funny how the masses can't admit how Dems are good

and how bad Pukes really are.

[GeoWilliam750]

24. I think it is more a question that the media will not admit it

[SoapBox]

37. Agreed.

[True Blue Door]

25. The way the market works is...

Democratic Presidents are directly responsible when the stock market goes down, but have nothing whatsoever to do with it when the market goes up.

Republican (chuckle) "Presidents" are directly responsible when the stock market goes up, but have nothing whatsoever to do with it when the market goes down.

Econ 101*, stupid!

(*as taught in Texas charter schools)

[liberal N proud]

26. That's the spin and they are sticking to it.

[True Blue Door]

27. Or, more precisely, sticking it to us.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

29. Damn that Obummer

[Jamaal510]

33. With numbers like these,

one has to wonder how Democrats don't have more support from the rich than they do now. Under Democratic administrations, it's basically like a tidal wave where all classes historically get lifted up and even the stocks start booming. It's time for Democrats to take the message away from Republicans that they're the party of prosperity, just like how they've done with having a competent foreign policy.

[lastlib]

35. Sure hope Obama keeps on "wrecking the economy" like he has!

[Cha]

39. And, President Obama came after another bush who had wrecked the economy.

fucking bush.

[samsingh]

40. repug supporters are so stupid not to see that

prosperity happens under Democratic Presidents

repugs come in to take it away and give it to the top 1% of the top 1%

[JackRiddler]

42. With all due respect: Fuck the S&P. Fuck the Dow Jones.

Fuck Wall Street. Fuck the 1% who own the majority of interest in the banks, the holding companies, the multi-death corporations, the "philanthropic" foundations, the FIRE sector. Fuck capitalism.

What is the development of the GINI coefficient? For the U.S.? For the world?

What about the Human Development Index, how has that gone? How about the attempts at a "happiness" index, how do those look?

Tell us about student debt, the amount spent on education, the rate of imprisonment. Tell us about the median wage. Those say something about how the people are doing. The S&P is mainly a measure of how much money is going to the motherfucking rich who think they're entitled to own the world.

What about the pollution, has that gone down? Are there fewer bombs? Are there fewer dead children in the rubble, killed by bombs made by U.S. corporations?

How many wars are being waged? How many bases does this empire maintain? How much money is going into the MIC and "Top Secret America"? How many crimes are committed on behalf of this state?

A billionaire is by definition a gangster, a warlord, a monopolist, a beneficiary of mass murder. Has the number of this class been diminished? Obviously not.

How many prisoners in Guantanamo? How many missiles flew?

Fuck capitalism. Fuck war. Fuck the S&P.