It's time to tell the American people the truth about this economy.

[kentuck]

.


This is one humdinger of a recession.

This is not a normal economic downturn, like we have experienced many times before. This is some serious shit.

People have no money to spend. They no longer have their credit cards. And they no longer are able to re-finance their homes for spending money. All they have left is their meager wages which have stagnated or flat-lined for the last 30 years. That is all they have and that is not enough.

That is the basic problem with our present economy. When there is no money, business cannot sell their products. When they cannot sell their products, they lay off workers. It doesn't matter how much capital they have on hand or how big of a taxcut you give them, they are not going to hire anyone if there is no demand for their products.

Do not expect the economy to get better anytime soon. It has been too long in the making. Until the workers of this country have money in their pockets once again, our economy will continue to slug along, barely alive. That is what we have to look forward to.

Until the politicians recognize the severity of this "recession" and do something to put people to work, we will continue to suffer this economic decline. What should be done?

The taxes should be raised on the wealthy. The Bush taxcuts should be allowed to sunset. That money should be put into a jobs program to help the unemployed. Somebody has to pay for it so why not those with the money? Why not those that have robbed the working person's productivity for the last 30 years? Let them call it "class war". Just do it.

[RKP5637]

1. Yep, it gets down to a fundamental question, "What is the purpose of the country?" To me,

it's not really about "We the People" anymore. If it were, all of the things you have mentioned should have happened by now and all politicians, all parties, would be working to benefit "We the People" and the success of our country.

[applegrove]

15. Yup.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. "What is the purpose of the country?"

To make the select few richer.

[RKP5637]

34. Yep! That's the NEW America, sadly, USA, Inc. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

43. we traded one aristocracy...

for another one.

[Lorien]

48. Which GOP talking head said " The Stock Market IS America!" ?

Joe Scarborough or Sean Hannity, I can't remember which. Very telling.

[awoke_in_2003]

56. yep, and most dems agree. nt

[autorank]

100. Thats the current plan

It's all about The Money Party, which is now on steroids!

[SoCalDem]

2. Demand has to come first

and we have ourselves a big ole game of which came first egg or chicken?

or just plain chicken..

people will not buy if they have no faith that their jobs/money will last

manufacturers/purveyors will not produce/stock stuff that no one wants to/can buy

employees along the way become unnecessary burdens

rinse repeat

[kentuck]

3. The demand is there.

Most people would buy if they had the money. If they were able to get a new $25,000 platinum credit card or if they were able to refinance their home for $50,000, they would spend that money. Most folks are unable to get their hands on cash. I'm sure there are some, as you say, that do not have a lot of faith in the future and simply refuse to spend on anything.

[sendero]

60. Demand..

... when discussing economics, implies not only desire but ability to pay.

Demand is indeed the problem. And the "recession" is not going away any time soon, and even then it will take drastic action, action I don't think our government has the stones to take, to end it.

The middle of the bell curve outcome here is several years of stagnation. That's the most probably. Possible is a full blown depression, or on the happy end huge govt stimulus directly into the hands of consumer that lifts us out.

[kentuck]

62. I agree.

The demand may be there but if there is no ability to pay, it does very little good.

"I don't think our government has the stones to take, to end it." That is the problem we have with the Democratic Party. The stimulus was too small. And they don't seem to understand that this is not a normal recessionary period. This joblessness could go on for years.

The situation calls for government intervention. How much more proof do they need that businesses are not going to provide jobs. They are sitting on almost $2 trillion dollars in capital. There is no demand for their products. With the end of easy credit and easy re-financing of homes, the demand spigot has been cut off. There is no money to spend for a big part of the consuming population.

When the banks and the housing market and the stock markets crashed, so did the scam to put easy money into the hands of poor working people. That had been their substitute for wage increases. It was intentional and now we are stuck with the consequences.

[relayerbob]

95. Interesting comment

"People would spend ... a new platinum credit card ... if they had cash ..."

Looking at a number of comments in this thread, it's clear that a huge number of people don't understand why the economy is in the mess it's in. Huge consumer debt, coupled with massive leveraging means the economy was based on funny money. Apparently still too many people consider a credit card as "cash", just as too many investment bankers still consider ponzi schemes as "cash".

[kentuck]

97. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

That was the point of the thread. The only thing that has kept us going this far was the credit cards and re-financing. Now that is no longer possible and we are stuck with the wages that have been stagnant for 30 years. There is no cash.

[Donnachaidh]

4. I'm seeing more and more of the *we're having a SALE SALE SALE ads in my area

It's almost like the old stock car ads. There is a shrill desperation to those ads. So if the companies don't want to hire anyone, it will only be their OWN fault they fail.

Playing *chicken* with your potential customers pretty much guarantees those customers will REMEMBER and walk past your storefront when they do find other jobs.

[tnlefty]

35. And I just ignore and walk on by when I see that most of

the merchandise is labeled 'made in China' or 'Viet Nam' or where ever else. I can come home and buy clothing made in America from the web....just sayin'.

[tavalon]

45. Reduce, recycle, reuse

I don't, and haven't bought new anything but food for about two decades. I have a mad scientist in my house who is all about repurposing and reuse is just the most common.We have created cleaning supplies with borax, vinegar, and small amounts of bleach. I'm lucky that my son is so autistic, he doesn't care about the mythical trends. I just repurposed an old bathtub into a salad garden and I have herb gardens by the kitchen. I'm learning sock darning techniques and can do simple sewing. The main things that go back to the thrift stores are the ones that no longer fit my rapidly growing teenager.

I find malls make me feel claustrophobic and really, the only place I buy new produce is farmers markets. I like to know who is making my food. I'm slowly letting go of fish and have given up long ago beef and chicken, both for humanitarian and health reasons. I just realized that without actually being especially thoughtful, I'm becoming a vegetarian, not the kind who stridently demands the same of others nor one who spends much time talking about it unless anyone has a great new recipe for Tofu or Quinoia.

This may seem like the new audacity measures but it doesn't feel all that awful.

[CrispyQ]

50. Sock darning. Wow. My mom used to do that. She used a light bulb.

We buy white vinegar & soda in bulk at Costco. :) I could never stand to walk down the soap aisle of a grocery store. It's toxic!! If it makes me gag in the store, why would I use it in my house?

Several years ago, we got rid of everything in a storage bin that we were renting & I decluttered the house. By the end of summer, the three thrift shops that I donated my stuff to knew me well & loved seeing me drive up in my little truck. It was liberating beyond belief to get rif of all that stuff!

I would love to see your bathtub salad garden!

[tavalon]

111. You know, in all the years I've been here I've never bothered to learn how to

put pictures in posts. Now that I think of it, that's downright silly. When my little guys come up, I'll take a picture and figure out a way to put it on here. I had forgotten the light bulb trick my grandmother used to use. Unfortunately (or not, as one might see it) these days I don't have any incandescents, but putting something of that shape in them might make the darning a darn bit easier.

[high density]

10. Yep. Companies cut workers

The employees remain jobless and there is less money to spend on the company's products. The company then has to lay off more people since demand and cash flow are even worse. Repeat. It seems like a cycle that we can't escape until companies have an outlook of decades instead of quarters, which will simply never happen. Greed trumps everything else for the decision makers in these companies.

[annabanana]

99. Sorry ... people can't spend money they don't have.

"Faith-based" economics are voodoo.

[NashVegas]

109. Demand and Sacrifice and Risk

And what are we willing to sacrifice and risk?

Will we sacrifice our internet connection? Cell phone? Cable TV?

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. Strange part of this is looking around LA & OC you wouldn't know there

was even a recession. Restaurants & clubs are packed, high priced cars & antiques fly off the showroom floor, baseball games & events are sold out & on & on.

And these are the "hardest hit" places according to the press. There must be
enough people making more & more to compensate for those making less & less around here.

[kentuck]

7. There are still enough people to keep the economy breathing...

but there are so many at the bottom and lower middle class, the vast number of consumers in this country, who are no longer participating in this economy, in any meaningful way.

[Chan790]

9. Same with DC.

I can't walk down Columbia Road or 14th, 16th, or 18th Sts. NW without seeing a "Help Wanted" sign in every retail window. Funnier is that I know the owners of these businesses and they're all bitching about having to pay a higher wage than the next guy to get applicants...for retail jobs. You still can't live on what they're paying but they can't get applicants at 125% of minimum wage, minimum wage is all most of these jobs pay typically.

[kentuck]

11. Henry Ford was smart enough to realize...

that he had to pay his workers enough to buy the cars they made.

[Chan790]

13. DC has an labor-demand inversion problem and has since the end of WW II.

Jobs>Places for workers to live. Not slightly, drastically.

Further, we've not had any recession locally so people are flocking here because they hear there is more work than can go around, creating yet more population. Significant portions of the working public of DC now live past Frederick or north of Baltimore or south of Prince William Co. That's over 1 hour away without traffic in all three cases.

Rents are high. So people demand higher pay for the same work which pushes rents higher, which creates higher pay-demand which pushes rents higher. (My apartment would be 30% cheaper in midtown Manhattan for a comparison) There is no way to increase housing stock drastically and DC requires 3-4x the population to operate as a city that it's capable of housing within 20 miles of the city. The mayor's solution is to eliminate public housing except in SE DC, effectively creating a class-ghetto. It frees up a lot of housing to the public market but it's driving lifelong residents from their homes with 100% rent increases over the past 36 months.

[Hannah Bell]

28. "rents are high". that might be why people aren't taking jobs at 125% of minimum wage.

would that be $9.40/hr?

$19.5K/yr?

if i were going to take a minimum wage job, i wouldn't commute 2 hours round trip for it. it wouldn't pay.

[Chan790]

32. .Exactly. n/t

[Carni]

81. If we had passenger trains from NOVA to DC

They could probably solve a whole lot of their employment shortage!

I am in a rural area of NOVA and the unemployment situation is unreal (BAD) but who can afford to drive 60 miles each way to work in DC for 9 something an hour? There's nothing more galling than to listen to numerous trains rumbling through many times a day with no passenger rail service!

[Chan790]

91. Why is that anyways?

They run a train line north to Aberdeen, MD and Perryville, MD. They run one west 90% of the way to WV. They run one to Frederick. They don't run one south to speak of. It's like they think nobody lives south of Woodbridge or Manassas or McLean. There is the semi-hourly Amtrak trains to Richmond and V. Beach. That's it.

[RKP5637]

20. +1000 +++ n/t

[a la izquierda]

53. That's what kept Peron popular...

with the industrial capitalists and the workers. He told the factory owners that if they didn't pay workers enough, who the hell would buy their stuff?(okay, that's not exactly what he told them, but that's the message behind it)
He didn't stay popular for too long, but economically, his ideas did make sense (and he didn't become unpopular because of the economy anyway).

[Hannah Bell]

25. "high-priced" is the clue. the top 5% do 1/3 of consumer spending. they're doing fine.

the top 1% gets 23% of total national income. they're fine too.

the bottom 50% gets only 13% of total national income. they're drowning.

[kentuck]

38. Bingo!

Therein lies the problem. The disparity in income and the dwindling middle class.

[Crystal Clarity]

46. Caught some analysis on NPR the other day

about how Greenspan is calling the current situation a 'dual economy' (paraphrasing). Greenspan spoke of 'very disturbing indicators' that demonstrate basically the exact same phenomena that you are pointing out. And this disparity is also seen in large wealthy corporations/banks ect. vs small business' and small hometown/local banks; not just individuals.

I'm not much of a Greenspan fan, but in this case I think he's just re-affirming the obvious for those willing to open their eyes to it. I didn't catch the whole segment, but I'm pretty sure that I heard no suggestions as to what can be done about it. Very depressing stuff.

[Jackpine Radical]

84. Greenspan knows exactly what to do about it.

Tax cuts for the rich and elimination of entitlements.

[Lorien]

49. There's big money there. I live in Orlando Florida, and there's a business

going under in my neighborhood every week. Just a few years ago building and renovation was nonstop here, but now all we see are gleaming empty store fronts, restaurants and condos.

[WinkyDink]

59. The have-nots are not desperate AND angry enough. It was Louis XVI who took the fall, not Louis XIV.

[Bluenorthwest]

86. This is not really even true

I know owners of restaurants and high end shops in both LA and OC, and while they are doing ok, they'd laugh at words like 'packed' and 'fly off the shelves'. The foodies would tell you about the decreased wine sales, price points, tips. The shop people would say they have sales, and not robust, not as deep or as steady as in the past.
In terms of your ball games, this took ten seconds, and is from last month:
Andy Dolich, a Bay Area sports consultant with executive experience in each of the four major North American sports leagues, said no one factor could explain why the Dodgers draw fewer fans today.
Dolich pointed in part to the recession, to fans out of work or otherwise needing to cut their expenses.

[Knight Hawk]

87. You are right

My son has had a business for 10 years.Things are much tougher than they were a few years ago.I also have s friend in the antique business there ,very tight.LA has deteriorated in the last few years.Many new and shiny malls are really hurting.If there is anyone left in the country who does not know "the truth" about this economy by now ,nothing will save them.

[girl gone mad]

93. I had dinner with a group of LA business owners..

a couple of weeks ago. They all said that business has never recovered since the start of the recession. Customers are spending less, choosing the least expensive option and trying to make their money go as far as possible. A couple of people in the group own "trophy" businesses that never really generated good income, but have now become real money pits. One keeps the doors open only because the family members he employs would have nowhere else to go, but he is burning through 50K a month to do so, where he used to essentially break even.

[ozymandius]

6. NAFTA needs to be revamped.

If not outright pitched. There would be trade benefits with our neighbors they could redeem through a complete shakeup of NAFTA. Maybe Mexican farmers could make corn farming profitable again?

Another thing - Reaganomics was a load of shit. A chorus of prominent intellectuals and firebrand politicos ought to denounce this trickle down poison for its symbolic and mechanical aims: to enrich the investment class and to make everyone else subservient to the banksters. Wages flatlined. Wages pegged to inflation were supplanted with easy credit.

But then there is an aspect of political courage that we need to see: a return to the corporate and high-income tax rates of the Reagan administration. Or even better: the tax rates of the Eisenhower administration.

[Sanity Claws]

8. What is the truth?

I arrived at some hard truths within the past month.

The mainstream economy works very well for some of us. The ones for whom it works want to keep it the way it is. Unfortunately for the rest of us, they are in control.

The mainstream economy does not need or care about the rest of us. By the rest of us, I mean the unemployed and underemployed. We must create an alternative economy, one based on workers cooperatives and other organizations rising from the grassroots.

I would love to connect with people who are working on alternative economic structures or models.

[blindpig]

52. Here ya go...

[Ghost Dog]

108. See also here?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_economics

[MichiganVote]

12. Japan all over again

[Blutodog]

78. Unfortunately, your right.

If this is the Japan situation of the last 20 yrs. were not going to be getting out of this any time soon folks, because it's not the usual post -war recession. This is a structural depression like the one in the 30's. The jobs have gone offshore with the factories and the stockholders and owners /top mgrs. have basically fired America's workforce. All they need us for now is to clean their toilets and mow their lawns and be good patriotic cannon fodder to protect they're overseas investments. Beyond that were no longer needed by these folks. They live off of the GLOBAL economy in the NWO and the rest of us get to learn about dumpster diving and other methods to stay alive as they gut SS , Medicare etc.

[AnArmyVeteran]

14. With the $800 billion from taxing the rich we could use for jobs.

An estimated $800 billion would be raised by letting the bush tax cuts end. With that money we could use toward building bridges, clean energy devices and the infrastructure and put millions of people to work.

Republicans say if the rich keep that money they will create jobs, but they haven't done anything with the tax cuts they have been receiving since 2001. Only a million jobs were created under bush. It's obvious the rich have no intention of using that money to help Americans. They couldn't care less about the unemployed or the struggling families.

I am sick and tired of the deadbeat rich getting fat off of our country and not contributing anything. They are not even paying for bush's two wars, although only the rich are profitting off of them. All the debt amassed under bush will have to be paid for, and as usual, when the rich get tax cuts that means the poor and middle classes will have to pay the country's debts. I'm sick and tired of corrupt and soulless republican politicians and their corrupt corporate pimps selling out the American people.

Let's all say "ENOUGH!". Let's force the rich to pay their share. I'm tired of these rich deadbeats living in a perpetual corporate welfare state and living on the backs of those who truly built this country, the average, hard working Americans.

[RKP5637]

23. And many don't even work anymore, the money has been passed onto the

next generation in many cases.

What made this country great was a stratification of opportunity, jobs, education and pay. Now it has degenerated into the few percent controlling wealth and politics, and many of them could give a F about the vast majority of citizens or the country.

They work all angles to benefit themselves. A true ruling class of wealthy oligarchs, duping many clueless and it's only going to get worse. But yet many citizens will continue to vote them in falling for their rhetoric, their hot button manipulations and propaganda, and we have an expanding ignorance in the population.

[lib2DaBone]

16. This is a Depression.. a total collapse of our old banking system...

The Bankers have been allowed to run wild for the last 40 years. They have sent all the jobs to China... and sold worthless pieces of paper called "derivatives" across the globe.

They have corrupted all the media, the Congress and the Senate. They own the Corporations, the Banks, the Schools and every man, woman and child in the United States.

There is NO RECOVERY on the way... tomorrow, next week, next month or next century.

[DemReadingDU]

17. Agreed

It's going to get a lot worse when the global financial Ponzi implodes.

[Odin2005]

18. You beat me, I was gonna say the same thing!

[RKP5637]

24. I think you are right on target, a realistic view of the situation. Yet some will

still feel there is some magic potion that will cure all. In short, we are F'ed for the time being. And the next step is to control the internet to prevent free discussion of the situation. We have already seen that beginning. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. Much of the population will remain clueless and will vote for the wrong people for the wrong reason. I think we are going to muddle in this mess for a long time.

[kentuck]

39. Damn, what a depressing post...

But you are probably correct.

[Mimosa]

106. ^ lib2DaBone, you are 100% right ^

We need leaders with courage to pull the curtain aside, show the Wizard. Do something for God's sake!

[Odin2005]

19. This is just like Japan, a long period of stagnation because we bailed out the status quo.

The Big Investment Banks should have been allowed to fail.

[RKP5637]

27. Frankly IMO all that's been done is propping up a failed system, the root

cause of the problem has not been corrected. And the wealthy and powerful that far exceed the duration of politicians have strongly rigged the system in their favor... and basically pull all of the strings.

[Hannah Bell]

29. except japan didn't have 10% unemployment during their long recession.

more like 5%.

[tnlefty]

21. I'll bite!

My hard right brother voted for Obama for two reasons:

end the stupid wars

and he said to me, "soak the rich", apparently when he realized he wasn't ever going to be in the bracket of the Bush** tax cuts. Oops, too bad he didn't realize it earlier and we have so much hell to deal with. :shrug:

[Curmudgeoness]

22. The truth is that we should stop calling this a recession. The "d" word

is so repulsive to economists that they just refuse to admit it. This is a depression, even if you have a job. Daily, most workers are worried that they will not have a job tomorrow, or the next day. High numbers unemployed. One job open for every five people looking. Losing money in investments in 401(k) and IRA. Thoughts of retirement gone. Depressing to me.

[PSzymeczek]

98. I've given up.

I'm 57 and I know no one will hire me, so why bother.

[Curmudgeoness]

110. I am about that age too, and if I were out of work, I would not give up.

Hell, I have at least 10 years of work before I could think of retiring. I would not give up looking but have a feeling that I would have to take a serious cut in pay. Don't give up.

[Greybnk48]

26. The gutting of the middle class is/was the "class war."

We were attacked by people who had possession of all of the weapons and power.

[flyarm]

64. they still have that power with this administ. eom

[Timbuk3]

30. Re: The Bush Tax Cuts

My first choice is to let those that benefit the wealthy expire. This includes cuts on dividends, which greatly favor "Mega Corp" over "Joe's Business on Main Street".

My second choice is, "do nothing and let them all expire".

Let the GOP scream all they want to. They knew when they passed them BY RECONCILIATION (which is something the Democrats didn't have to do with Health Insurance Reform) that they'd come to an end if no further action is taken.

The Democrats hold ALL the cards, this time.

Let's see if they can play them.

[hayu_lol]

33. Since we have not seen fit...

to force industry(tariffs or taxes)to return home, maybe it is time for some cash redistribution. Lets start with maybe $10,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. Most of us would almost immediately put that money into circulation--pay bills, hang on to houses, try to buy goods made here, and this might bring the depression we are experiencing down to a simple recession.

No excuse for any more H1B visas...send holders home. Pull call centers back into our country. Fully paid tuition for any student qualifying for college.

Might have to give up some defense goodies in the process but that isn't entirely a bad thing.

[kentuck]

40. You should post this idea as a stand-alone...

This concerns me more than anything right now. If the Democratic Party deserts we, the people, we are really up shit creek. So long as we have someone fighting for our side politically, we have a chance. If they fold their cards, I don't even want to think about it..

[w4rma]

94. Better end the political lives of every DLCer then. They need to be replaced, yesterday. (nt)

[southernyankeebelle]

36. Your preaching to the choir most people realize what you are saying. It is the republicans that are

the ones who need to change their thinking. They are so f**king working on getting back into the white house and taking over congress that they are hurting the working people. I want to know when the hell are these people who are low income going to realize the teapublicans don't give a damn about you.

[Safetykitten]

37. It is not a recession. It is a deflationary depression.

People in 1930 had no idea they were in a depression. We will find out for real this fall and winter.

[DemReadingDU]

44. It's coming

When the global financial Ponzi implodes, the whole world will be impacted with a deflationary depression.

[WinkyDink]

57. Take over from the banksters. Governments and societies need to fight back, not fall.

And yes, some leaders will have to literally risk their own lives.
Perhaps Obama is all too aware of this.

[liquid diamond]

68. I keep hearing bold talk of revolt. What do you propose? n/t

[Blutodog]

79. Where is Madame Defarge when we need her?

[liquid diamond]

104. Hahaha. I still think about that scene where she chops that guy's

head off. That look she gives him before doing it is chilling.

[Steely_Dan]

41. I Hate To Say It....

but I wish this administration had focused on JOBS FIRST.

-PLA

[depakid]

42. A few comparisons

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/were-number-one/

[Blutodog]

77. The BV$H Depression

Whose surprised at the chart. It maps the BV$H Depression being handled by Barack "Hoover" Obama a gutless wanker and Corp. sock puppet. Don't expect jobs any time soon folks. You see Obama is being told by his team all is well out here and for them things are great.

[TBF]

47. Here is a table that shows the top marginal tax rate since 1913 -

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=213

From 1931-1932 the top rate increased from 25% to 63%, and topped out at 94% in 1945. That is what should be happening during this crisis. It stayed above the 70th% until the 80's (which is why you saw actual "middle class" in the 40's-70's. Those days are gone, and you can see the story in the rates.

[WinkyDink]

58. Reagan.

[Barack2theFuture]

51. It's a permanent 'reset,' with the rich MUCH richer

and everyone else MUCH poorer.

Hint: the non-wealthy will get MUCH poorer before this is over.

[femrap]

54. We're a Third World Nation. nt

[Blutodog]

80. I agree!

Maybe we can China to send us some foreign aid?

[femrap]

90. They've been loaning us

a lot of money for a quite a while. Maybe they'll let us renege on all of those Treasuries!!!!

[many a good man]

55. There ought to be a law

The goal of Congress should be to work toward full employment.

http://www.answers.com/topic/full-employment">Full Employment: The condition that exists when all who want work can find jobs. Because some individuals will always be between jobs, full employment does not mean that one hundred percent of the workforce is employed. Rather, it is customarily defined as ninety-six percent of the total potential workforce.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Act">The Employment Act of 1946:

Compromises

The original bill, called the Full Employment Bill of 1946, was introduced in the House as H.R. 2202 and introduced without change by Congressman Wright Patman in the Senate as S. 380. The bill represented a concerted effort to develop a broad economic policy for the country. In particular, it mandated that the federal government do everything in its authority to achieve full employment, which was established as a right guaranteed to the American people. In this vein, the bill required the President to submit an annual economic report in addition to the national budget. The report, designated the Economic Report of President, must estimate the projected employment rate for the next fiscal year, and if not commensurate with the full employment rate, to mandate policies as necessary to attain it.

There was strong opposition to the wording of the bill. In particular, a number of congressmen argued that business cycles in a free enterprise economy were natural and that compensatory spending should only be exercised in the most extreme of cases. Some also believed that the economy would naturally drive toward full employment levels. Others believed that accurate employment level forecasting by the government was not practical or feasible. Some were uncomfortable with an outright guarantee of employment.

The bill was pressured to take on a number of amendments that forced the removal of the guarantee of full employment and the order to engage in compensatory spending. Although the spirit of the bill carried through into the Employment Act of 1946, its metaphorical bite was gone. The final act was not so much a mandate as it was a set of suggestions.

President Harry S. Truman signed the compromise bill into law on February 20, 1946.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey%E2%80%93Hawkins_Full_Employment_Act">Humphrey–Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978

Unemployment and inflation levels began to rise in the early 1970s, reviving fears of an economic recession. In the past, the country's economic policy had been defined by the Employment Act of 1946, which encouraged the federal government to pursue "maximum employment, production, and purchasing power" through cooperation with private enterprise. Some Congressmen, dissatisfied with the vague wording of this act, sought to create an amendment that would strengthen and clarify the country's economic policy.

As before, Congress turned to Keynesian economic theory for a solution, which emphasized economic control through government action to affect demand-side factors. In particular, the government can minimize the shock of business fluctuations by compensatory spending, essentially maintaining or inflating investment levels with government spending.

Furthermore, Congress encouraged the government to develop a sound monetary policy, controlling inflation and pushing toward full employment by managing the amount and liquidity of currency in circulation.

As a last resort, Congress believed that unemployment could be temporarily relieved by the creation of government jobs as they did during the Great Depression.

Finally, Congress sought to involve more elements of the federal government in the economic policy process, and to clarify the role of those elements that were already involved. In particular, the central bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve, and the Presidency.

We've been compromising too long and we fail to leverage the victories we've already won.

[Individualist]

61. Government knows that consumers are the engine that drives the economy,

yet they keep funneling money to corporations and leave the average Joe to fend for himself the best that he can. What's wrong with this picture?

Reagan's trickle down economics is bullshit! What that equates to is the little guy getting pissed on.

[kentuck]

63. This is just my opinion but...

I believe the best thing our government could do at this time to stave off a coming depression is to transfer present government expenditures into jobs and more productive ventures. They need to end the wars and put that money into jobs. They need to end the Bush taxcuts. They need new tax revenues from the stock market sells and trades. We need to rebuild America's infrastructure and we need to cease corporate welfare and taxbreaks for foreign operations. That would be a good start.

[Overseas]

65. 30 Years of Corporate Welfare have not served us well.

I've been listening to David Cay Johnston's talk about our national priorities in subsidizing the already very wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.

http://fora.tv/2008/04/14/David_Cay_Johnston_Talks_About_Free_Lunch


And I sent a friend this link to a great article about how closely 2008 resembled the times of the Great Depression. http://live.thenation.com/doc/20080630/extreme_inequality

That's why I longed for a serious Truth & Reconciliation Commission-- not only about how the Bush Gang drove our country off ethical cliffs with their torture policies, but then also about how unbalanced our country had become because we allowed our legislators to become more and more dependent upon campaign contributions (aka bribes) from multinational corporations.

[Sherman A1]

69. Agreed & Well Said

It has been 30 years of Corporate Welfare and Class Warfare in which wages did not anywhere stay in line with increased productivity.

[Overseas]

88. Thank you.

You are right. The rich have gotten a lot richer while the rest of us have lost a lot.

I like the Warren Buffet quote on class warfare, especially on who's making it.

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html

[theaocp]

66. If we had any guts in this country

the Bush tax cuts would not be allowed to merely "sunset." They would be rescinded, straight up, and given a kick in the ass on their way out the door. Then the reichwing noise machine could bitch and complain all they wanted while progressives everywhere stated simply, "We welcome your hatred."

Oh, and I'd like a pony, too.

[PSzymeczek]

101. We'd also rescind

the Reagan tax cuts, and return the top marginal rate to at least 70%.

[Uncle Joe]

67. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kentuck.

[truedelphi]

70. What is the problem here? Are you wanting a pony...

Our experts already know this, and spent several hours this week explaining this to some committee on The Hill.

Their main message was that 'jobless recoveries" are the norm, and have been for the past fifteen if not twenty years.

The experts explained about how our economy has been set up since the initial days of Mr Greenspan as a "bubble economy." And continues as a "bubble" economy ever since.

We had the Big Mergers of the Eighties fueling growth. Followed by a recession that didn't end until the dot com tech bubble appeared in the mid to late nineties. When that went belly up, we then had the housing bubble.

The new bubble will be that of bank takeovers (Sorry middle class speculators - unless your relatives own a bank, you probably won't be able to take advantage of this bubble. Bank flipping requires far more capital that house flipping.)

And of course, commodity trades will also be bubblized.

If this nation were to consciously avoid bubbles as a means of life support for the economy - well, that would be akin to Communism or Socialism.

No five year plans for this nation!

We must remain pure to the goals of Uber Capitalism, except for when our Biggest Players bring down the house of cards, in which case, a Uber Socialism to rescue the Big Players is the norm.

But then, it is right back to Uber Capitalism. No food stamps for those who are unemployed because the Big Players ruined everything, exported our jobs and brought about a half quadrillion dollars of indebtedness to the world economy via their derivative trading.

[PSzymeczek]

102. This is the result

any time the top marginal tax rate drops below 50%.

[demi moore]

71. start a new economy?

if 1% of the people have 99% of the paper thingies, then 99% of people need to tell 1% of people to roll that paper up onto a toilet roll.

you should invent "liberal dollars" and trade goods and service for them :). just stop accepting American dollars lol

[MissDeeds]

72. We're in serious trouble

Not sure if we're in free-fall or a death spiral, but things are not good. Politicians aren't willing to acknowledge that the economy is in dire straits, but it's true nonetheless.

[Ricochet21]

73. I agree

I agree

[laughingliberal]

74. K & R nt

[Vincardog]

75. Don't stop at Bush the lessor's tax cuts. Repeal RayGun's tax cuts for the top 2% Too.

[abq e streeter]

76. To millions of my fellow citizens, there's one obvious solution: Vote in more republicans

And stop that dang soshulizm that's a-killin us.:dunce:

[DeSwiss]

82. The taxes should be raised on the wealthy.

YES. And lowered for everyone else. And the government needs to begin creating jobs to improve, repair and replace our infrastructure (real and virtual) as was done during the previous Depression.

[Fearless]

83. The time to worry will be when deflation begins.

[jmowreader]

85. First thing we do, let's kill all the MBAs

Of all the people who share blame for this catastrophe (and there are many), the MBAs are at the very top of my list. Let's see...

Worrying more about short-term results than long-term success.

Selling the ping machine you own outright then leasing it back because it moved the thing off the books probably to evade property tax on it.

Finding out people in China work for two dollars a day, so you fire all the people you pay $14 per hour, move production to China, watch quality go down because if you're pretending to pay people they pretend to work, and then watch a much cheaper version of your item appear on the shelves because the Chinese use the same characters to spell the phrases "research and development" and "theft of intellectual property."

- - - - -

Apparently the concept that firing all your employees means they won't be able to afford the shit you make is foreign to them.

Now...one of the bibles of the Right is Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. The "one lesson" actually turns out to be "the crack epidemic has been going on longer than we thought," but that's beside the point. What's NOT beside the point is Hazlitt has convinced the RW, among other things, that if you increase the amount you pay your workers by 30 percent, the price of the product must necessarily rise 30 percent. Okay, sometimes that's true...if you're making something that's almost all labor, the price of labor necessarily determines the price of the item. If you are a strudel chef, you'll use $1 worth of ingredients plus $9 of labor to make $10 worth of strudel--it is a very labor intensive treat. If you make cars, you will use $9000 worth of materials plus $1000 in labor to make $10,000 worth of car, because the ingredients in a car are so expensive. (Hazlitt also says each public job created equals one private job destroyed because the public workers grab tax dollars people could have used to buy "the things they needed most." Apparently public workers in Hazlitt's world walk to work, labor in the nude and don't eat because in the real world, if you build a navy base and put 50,000 "public workers" on it, the first fucking thing that happens is about a million businesses pop up right outside the main gate to sell clothes to the sailors, feed them lunch, fix the alternators in their Humvees and bend the propellers on their ships back into shape.

[Poboy]

89. This toon belongs here too-

[greytdemocrat]

92. The taxes should be raised on the wealthy.

Good job, you just reaffirmed the Dems perceived answer to everything. Raise Taxes. I'll vote for that.:sarcasm:

[w4rma]

96. Soak the rich. That is now a winning campaign slogan. (nt)

No :sarcasm: whatsoever. I'm quite serious.

[defendandprotect]

103. Obama stated about 6-7 weeks ago that this is a "Depression" ... quickly scrubbed from Yahoo...

the word was quickly replaced with "Recession" -- though some of our

Congress people are referring to it as "The Great Recession"!!

Both Bush and Reagan tax cuts for rich should be overturned -- now --

And, we have to stop financing these wars bankrupting our Treasury --

Reregulate capitalism according to New Deal regulations -- reassert Glass-Steagall --

Overturn the trade agreements sucking jobs out of US --

And STOP OBAMA from putting any new trade agreements in place -- evidently he's working

on some new ones!!

[DallasNE]

105. You Saved The Best For Last

Productivity is the key word. Workers take risks just like the owners do yet the owners hog every cent gained through productivity improvements and have done so for the last 30 years or so. (This can be pretty directly tied to the demise of labor unions). In fact, workers take more risk than the owners because, as we have seen, owners often take their companies overseas to cheaper labor markets as they race to the bottom.

[Mimosa]

107. K&R n/t