January 20th can't come soon enough.

[phantom power]

In this case, I'm wondering if it's literally true. If we assume a scenario where the BushCo/Paulson team basically continues to screw up their attempts to stop the bleed-out, I wonder if the wait until Jan 20 will mean the difference between a recession and a depression. Or the difference between a recession and a much longer, more painful recession.

I've decided I don't really know what's going on*. Anybody else have an opinion?

Retail Sales Collapse

It's really quite stunning, and it's hard to see how it gets better soon.

I'm pessimistic because I worry that with Bush in office nothing sensible can be done quickly enough, and side debates about the auto companies provide a distraction (it may be an important debate, but it isn't central to the question of immediate stimulus). Last Spring we did the shitty stimulus of giving people a few bucks, which unsurprisingly didn't cause the pony to appear. We need extension of unemployment benefits, food stamp increases, SUPERTRAIN and other infrastructure expenditures, and of course aid for state and local governments. And it's needed, you know, yesterday.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_11_09_archive.html#6036903782417196539

*Which will in no way stop me from going on about it.