Robert Reich: I’m sorry to have to deliver the bad news, but it’s better you know

[kpete]

The Truth About the Economy that Nobody In Washington Or On Wall Street Will Admit:
We’re Heading Back Toward a Double Dip
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011

Why aren’t Americans being told the truth about the economy? We’re heading in the direction of a double dip – but you’d never know it if you listened to the upbeat messages coming out of Wall Street and Washington.

....................................

To the extent non-financial companies are doing well, they’re making most of their money abroad. Since 1992, for example, G.E.’s offshore profits have risen $92 billion, from $15 billion (which is one reason it pays no U.S. taxes). In fact, the only group that’s optimistic about the future are CEOs of big American companies. The Business Roundtable’s economic outlook index, which surveys 142 CEOs, is now at its highest point since it began in 2002.

Washington, meanwhile, doesn’t want to sound the economic alarm. The White House and most Democrats want Americans to believe the economy is on an upswing.

.....................

I’m sorry to have to deliver the bad news, but it’s better you know.

the rest:
http://robertreich.org/post/4218613020

[Hotler]

1. kicking n/t

[bl968]

111. single dip

It's a single dip, not a double dip. The bailouts were intended to restore confidence in the markets just enough for the big investment banks and corporations to be able to get out of the markets. Leaving small investors holding the bag. This time there will be no bailouts.

[xchrom]

2. recommend -- if it's all right with you -- i'll x-post this in SMW? nt

[kpete]

6. if you are asking me....

xchrom -
do whatever,
because

[xchrom]

14. ...

no, you --:headbang: :yourock: :headbang:

[Tansy_Gold]

55. Ditto! Ditto! n/t

[Oceansaway]

3. K&R...n/t

[ChoppinBroccoli]

4. But I Thought When Big Companies Did Well, The Success Would "Trickle Down"

You mean to tell me that the Republicans have lied to me about THAT too???

[truebrit71]

9. Oh it's trickling down alright...

...the middle class and the poor are getting pissed on pretty heavily..

[florida08]

54. *******

I like succinct

[mikekohr]

116. The correct term is "Tinkle Down Economics" because the rich are pissing down our backs and telling

us it's raining.

http://bureaucountydems.blogspot.com/2011/03/52-years-of-tax-cuts-for-rich-and-what.html

52 YEARS OF TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH, and what do we get?
Working people should not be surprized that they are hurting, after all they have been getting screwed by an elephant for the last 52 years.

?




AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT OF THESE TAX CUTS FOR PLUTOCRATS BEEN?

?

SOURCE:
http://wealthforcommongood.org/shifting-responsibility/

RELATED ARTICLES:
2/3rds of US Corporations Pay Zero Federal Taxes:
http://www.alternet.org/story/150387/2_3rds_of_us_corporations_pay_zero_federal_taxes%3A_us_uncut_movement_builds_to_make_them_pay_up?akid=6742.271528.amLtl8&rd=1&t=8

Fox News Freaks Out Over GE's Taxes - While Doing The Same Thing http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/540444/fox_news_freaks_out_over_ge%27s_taxes_-_while_doing_the_same_thing/#paragraph10
Posted by Mike at 9:19 AM 0 comments

[Fire1]

120. What middle class?? There's a middle class????? n/t

[Donnachaidh]

12. they are now trickling down on employees in other countries

you know, the ones who *appreciate* being trickled down on -- and *appreciate* for less....

[roguevalley]

52. A republican president once said all this country needed was a

good five cent cigar. Little did he know how right he was ...

That may not make sense but then what does these daze? :)

[ProSense]

5. Reich offers absolutely no evidence of this.

What's he basing his claim on?

<...>

But isn’t the economy growing again – by an estimated 2.5 to 2.9 percent this year? Yes, but that’s even less than peanuts. The deeper the economic hole, the faster the growth needed to get back on track. By this point in the so-called recovery we’d expect growth of 4 to 6 percent.

<...>

The above has nothing to do with double dip. Growth is not a dip.

Good grief!

[JoePhilly]

13. The double dip prediction gets made at least once a quarter. nt

[jaxx]

16. Kind of an alarmist article, isn't it?

I was surprised when he backed out half-way through....

In other words: Watch out. We may avoid a double dip but the economy is slowing ominously, and the booster rockets are disappearing.

[ProSense]

20. Fourth quarter GDP was 3.1 percent. Look at how many times in the last 20 years

that GDP was actually over 4 percent:




How on earth did he anticipate that at this point in the recovery, after the worse recession in more than 70 years, GDP would be at 4 percent to 6 percent?

[TheKentuckian]

23. Where is that growth going? To the have mores as the bottom 80% are harvested

[ProSense]

24. The trend has been the same since the 1970s. n/t

[TheKentuckian]

32. Yup, and continuing which mean societal level failure.

[eridani]

40. Unfortunately, we're all out of bubbles and other means to paper this over n/t

[russspeakeasy]

96. The trend may be the same, that doesn't make it right.

[WillyT]

29. Apparently You And Your Chart Missed This Part...

What about the 192,000 jobs added in February? (We’ll know more Friday about how many jobs were added in March.) It’s peanuts compared to what’s needed. Remember, 125,000 new jobs are necessary just to keep up with a growing number of Americans eligible for employment. And the nation has lost so many jobs over the last three years that even at a rate of 200,000 a month we wouldn’t get back to 6 percent unemployment until 2016.

But isn’t the economy growing again – by an estimated 2.5 to 2.9 percent this year? Yes, but that’s even less than peanuts. The deeper the economic hole, the faster the growth needed to get back on track. By this point in the so-called recovery we’d expect growth of 4 to 6 percent.

Consider that back in 1934, when it was emerging from the deepest hole of the Great Depression, the economy grew 7.7 percent. The next year it grew over 8 percent. In 1936 it grew a whopping 14.1 percent.

Same article.

And remember... we're in the SECOND DEEPEST HOLE IN HISTORY!

:shrug:

[ProSense]

38. "You And Your Chart"?

So you're going to ignore the data? I didn't miss anything.

What about the 192,000 jobs added in February? (We’ll know more Friday about how many jobs were added in March.) It’s peanuts compared to what’s needed. Remember, 125,000 new jobs are necessary just to keep up with a growing number of Americans eligible for employment. And the nation has lost so many jobs over the last three years that even at a rate of 200,000 a month we wouldn’t get back to 6 percent unemployment until 2016.

But isn’t the economy growing again – by an estimated 2.5 to 2.9 percent this year? Yes, but that’s even less than peanuts. The deeper the economic hole, the faster the growth needed to get back on track. By this point in the so-called recovery we’d expect growth of 4 to 6 percent.

Consider that back in 1934, when it was emerging from the deepest hole of the Great Depression, the economy grew 7.7 percent. The next year it grew over 8 percent. In 1936 it grew a whopping 14.1 percent.

1) Despite Reich's claim, 200,000 jobs is not peanuts by any standard. In fact, most projections were that this year would average around 200,000 per month[/b>. It's a single month of trending growth, and not a double dip.

2) Reich's claim that GDP growth is peanuts is his opinion, but this is even more subjective: "By this point in the so-called recovery we’d expect growth of 4 to 6 percent." Who expected full (booming) recovery, which is what that represent, by this point, especially given the size of the stimulus? It's clear more needs to be done to stimulate job creation.

3) "In 1936 it grew a whopping 14.1 percent." Then it dropped the following year and into negative territory a year later.



The fact is that GDP growth of more than 4 percent has been rare over the last 60 years. No one is claiming that the current rate of growth is represents a solid recovery, but the double dip claim is over the top. There is no evidence that the economy is heading in that direction.

[Kolesar]

43. Acknowledged...eom

[MannyGoldstein]

106. Unemployment rose in 1937 because FDR

became a deficit hawk.

Fortunately, we've learned from that mistake, and would never do it again!

[Selatius]

115. Echoing MannyGoldstein's post, but it did drop in 1937 because FDR pulled back on social spending.

That year, the worry about deficits placed Democrats in the Senate and House on a defensive once the deepest part of the Great Recession ended. Republicans were quick to demand that the government should let the economy operate without massive government spending. It was only after Democrats pulled back and the economy again fell down did they reconsider becoming deficit hawks, and the deficits they ran up soon became a side-show with the attack on Pearl Harbor. In that instance, deficit spending skyrocketed to astronomical levels in the bid to retool the entire manufacturing base to push out war materiel. Sadly, World War 2 became the biggest and best jobs program in American history.

My only serious issue with the stimulus package was that it, in my view, contained a woefully small job creation package. This recession could've been a lot less painful if there were a much bigger jobs program included. I still believe aggregate demand for products and services drives an economy and not the producers, so it makes sense that putting money into people's pockets is the way to "prime the pump."

[Mojorabbit]

37. I saved this chart from a couple of years ago

and I post it ever so often. Until this mess is straightened out things will not improve

[Roy Rolling]

60. longer-term chart

deleted...someone posted it.

[sendero]

63. And the previous quarter.

... has been revised down DRASTICALLY. Don't stop believing, hold on to that feeling but THERE IS NO RECOVERY, PERIOD.

I've been trying to warning DUers since before this crap began. This is why I have GIVEN UP on Obama, he's done NOTHING to help main street except useless window dressing crap like fooling with bank fees.

There is no recovery, housing prices continue to soften, jobs are going nowhere, the big banks are still bankrupt, the Fed is playing with serious inflation but backed into a corner, I could go on forever but the bottom line is, repeat after me: THERE IS NO RECOVERY.

And there cannot BE a recovery without JOBS.

[davidwparker]

77. +1

[girl gone mad]

110. Many of us fought that losing battle, but now it's time to move on.

No point pretending this political system will ever serve us. We are on our own.

[sendero]

114. Exactly what.

... I'm trying to say. The disaster is not over and our leaders cannot or will not do anything of substance to stop it.

Round two is just around the corner. Everyone should be as ready as possible.

[Hawkowl]

104. Growth is irrelevant

If all the growth accrues to the top 5% of the population, while the bottom 95% sees income decline and increasing costs for basic food and energy, what does it matter? What does the constant growth of corporate profits do for the majority of workers who generate the profits?

Your posts are tedious with their child like simplicity.

[AlbertCat]

124. What does the constant growth of corporate profits do

Make CEOs and the already wealthy richer.... and they don't spend it at home. And we all already know the rich are doing fine and making money.

This is of no help whatsoever to the country if those with all the money pay no taxes. These things don't seem to be in the charts....hmmmmm....

[MannyGoldstein]

107. It's typically well above 4% after a recession

Once again, it's "I suck a little less than Bush".

[eridani]

39. Whether you call it a recovery or a double dip is irrelevant

We have been in the middle of an ongoing economic disaaster for people of average or less means. What you call it doesn't mean jackshit.

[Chris_Texas]

18. The question is: growth in WHAT

[uponit7771]

31. gdp

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lorien]

48. Who are we gonna believe? You, or our lyin' eyes?

Let's see; one job for every seven unemployed persons, food pantries bare, record number of applications for food stamps, wages are stagnant...but it's all roses because the CEOs have got theirs, right?

So why DOESN'T Obama believe that government should be in the business of job creation? Worked for FDR.

[AikidoSoul]

53. The real estate market is where the double dip is

most noticeable apparently. A graph with figures was shown on national news last night.

[QED]

70. And commercial real estate is next...

I read somewhere that a lot of defaults are coming.

[MannyGoldstein]

58. "What's he basing his claim on?"

Did you read his post?

Here's just one thing:

Consumers are 70 percent of the American economy, and consumer confidence is plummeting. It’s weaker today on average than at the lowest point of the Great Recession.

The Reuters/University of Michigan survey shows a 10 point decline in March – the tenth largest drop on record. Part of that drop is attributable to rising fuel and food prices. A separate Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence, just released, shows consumer confidence at a five-month low — and a large part is due to expectations of fewer jobs and lower wages in the months ahead.

Pessimistic consumers buy less. And fewer sales spells economic trouble ahead.

Plenty more in his blog post - falling housing prices, real hourly wages falling, etc. And he is an economist.

[Bluebear]

108. 'Did you read his post?'

I doubt it.

[sendero]

62. The evidence is EVERYWHERE..

... and if you cannot see it I don't know what to tell you.

Phony GDP numbers with no jobs do NOT equal "growth".

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JDPriestly]

83. Reich was comparing the growth during the recovery in the1930s

to the growth we are experiencing today and saying that our growth rate is not high enough to keep the economy going as the government money is pulled out of it.

What he says makes good sense.

The present growth level is not high enough to generate new jobs in the private sector. The public sector stimulus is slowing down.

Reich is probably right. So, even though we have a slight increase in the number of jobs, we could easily slip back into the double dip recession.

[Sonoman]

89. "Growth" is a dip when it is not real growth.

Greenspan logic held that "growth" is growth, no matter how it balances with reality.

Sonoman

[neoralme]

94. Baloney. I never known Reich to be wrong. I would certainly trust

him more than you.

[fasttense]

119. He does provide evidence.

During the 1st RepubliCON Great Depression, GDP grew twice as fast.

It's right there after the paragraph you quoted.

"Consider that back in 1934, when it was emerging from the deepest hole of the Great Depression, the economy grew 7.7 percent. The next year it grew over 8 percent. In 1936 it grew a whopping 14.1 percent.

Add two other ominous signs: Real hourly wages continue to fall, and housing prices continue to drop."

[OwnedByFerrets]

129. You're an idiot if you don't see this.

[handmade34]

7. knowledge is power

...if we use it!!!


(I have always respected Robert Reich)

[Donnachaidh]

8. anyone who has been paying attention has seen this coming

And it's going to be far worse, with puke Governors cutting UI benefits. And cuts to WIC etc.

But hey -- let's get those flags out and cheer on the latest war in the Middle East. Perhaps the government should issue free wifi, so the folks living under bridges can listen to the latest news and cheer enough to cover the rumblings in their stomachs for lack of food.

[fascisthunter]

10. Pitchfork and Torches

[Dappleganger]

11. Not surprising at all.

So do we get to call it a depression this time???

[Overseas]

15. K&R.

[leveymg]

17. Thanks. I already know. My hours got cut yesterday. Business is way down.

"Double-dip" suggests nice, creamy chocolate ice cream on a waffle cone. I'll tell you, that doesn't begin to describe the bad taste in my mouth.

[SoCalDem]

19. There's only so much "pie"

and when Wall Streeters gobble up the whole thing, there's only an empty pie tin & some crumbs for the rest of us..

It's shameful:(

[eridani]

41. God rest ye wealthy gentlemen--

Let nothing make us sigh
We give our workers tiny crumbs
So we can keep the pie.
We pay off politicians
so they bear our needs in mind
As they line up to kiss our fat behinds
If they're inclined
As they line up to kiss our fat behinds.

Don't worty wealthy gentlemen
Let nothing make us twitch
This new global economy's
designed to keep us rich.
We ply our trade in many lands
Let all their leaders come
To bend down and kiss us on the bum
There's a good chum
Just bend down and kiss us on the bum.

[The_Casual_Observer]

21. Gasoline approching $5 only makes this worse.

[Safetykitten]

22. The economy will be much worse in 2012.

[Zorra]

25. Yep, it's comin'. Might be a good idea to be prepared as much as possible. nt

[Tatiana]

26. Bookmarking this thread.

I think he's right. If we're looking at $4-5 gas prices next year and fighting 2-3 wars with unemployment above 7% and the dismantling of organized labor... well there will be serious tough times ahead.

I don't feel positive at all about this economy. I wish we'd had a bigger stimulus and a public works program to start fixing some of this crumbling infrastructure.

[snappyturtle]

50. +1 yes, what you said! nt

[Hawkowl]

130. I wish for a president with leadership skills

Instead of an uncle Tom corporate lackey. I'd also wish for a president with a rudimentary grasp of alternatives to supply side economics and some serious ethics and code of moral conduct a la Feingold.

[OwnedByFerrets]

131. I only WISH unemployment was at 7%.

[WillyT]

27. K & R !!!

:kick:

[librechik]

28. This is what happens when white collar crimes are not addressed

Perhaps we'll learn this time?

[stubtoe]

127. Well that's the thing, isn't it?

spot on

[me b zola]

30. i fully expected a double dip at best

...when the same policies/ideology was used to "fix" current problems that got us here in the first place. its not going to be better for a long time--not until progressive policies are inacted.

[moondust]

33. That's generous.

I thought it was more like a steady decline into corporate feudalism with an occasional uptick to make us all feel good.

:shrug:

[girl gone mad]

34. k & r

[amborin]

35. k&r

[craigmatic]

36. I can believe that. The economy is already bad for the average person as is while corporate profits

are up.

[freshwest]

42. Honestly, IDK what he's talking about. But this system is not conducive to life, being dead itself.

All I know is that during the Great Depression, which in terms of death and the theft of property through paper chicanery, we had a much smaller population, more rural than urban, more resources untapped and a greater ability for self-sufficiency.

Yet people died because of the paper. We are faced with a country with limited natural resources being destroyed almost in a satanic manner, people being driven crazy with propaganda to hate each other, and no success bringing back our manufacturing base. I watched as every tool to even create parts was auctioned off.

We have no ability to bring ourselves back in the ways that Americans did a century ago, no way to meet up to the way the economic wonks that advise our government believe is prosperity. People are still being run off farms, out of homes, and the way our society is currently organized there is no way to get things back to meet these standards that the economists, bankers and politicians claim we need to survive.

The only hope I can see are persons actively and aggressively getting back to nature and away from the systems of power resulting on less strain on the fabric of interconnected society. Imagine your world with no electricity for a few years and if you would survive, because many of us won't, we're too connected and we are at the bottom of this controlled system.

:rant:

[Kolesar]

44. Our manufacturing economy is huge

We don't make the clothing and commodity products, but we make a lot of products. Employment has suffered because of automation and because labor intensive products got "offshored".

[rhett o rick]

46. Oh come on. We make a lot of products? Like what? Hamburgers. nm

[Kolesar]

47. Hold the malaise

and the pickle

[rhett o rick]

49. Between my knees? nm

[freshwest]

51. Yes, those who claim that should give the list.

And you got that right, the GOP under Bush did categorize making hamburgers as manufacturing.

Probably did the same with making beds and packing crates of stuff made in China...

Of course, RW pundits manufacture a lot of hot air. That's it! Our most profitable production line.

[Ikonoklast]

64. It's a pretty large list.

We are still the largest manufacturing economy on this planet.


Half of the revenue of the S&P 500 is derived from manufacturing exports from this country.
We still export a lot of higfh-value manufactured goods.


China will surpass us by the end of this decade.

[BOG PERSON]

85. yup

the problem is, there's very little surplus labor in automation. sadly with all of our technological advances, we still cannot figure out how to exploit a robot... YET.

[Kolesar]

67. You claim "no success bringing back our manufacturing base". Prove it...eom

[freshwest]

102. Who are you talking to?

You wrote to my reply #51, which was about Bush and burgers:

'You claim "no success bringing back our manufacturing base". Prove it...eom'

Not my words.

[AllTooEasy]

56. Let's wait an see...I'm hesitant to believe either side

Plus, I don't think a recovery or double dip will consistant throughout the country.

[emilyg]

57. k/r big time

[RBInMaine]

59. Christ, can't this guy find a dictionary and look up the term "optimism."

[davidthegnome]

73. I'm sure he can

Optimism is a good thing - but to some extent you would be wise to temper it with realism.

I'm more of a pessimist myself, for which I make no apology. A Mainer, like you, one from Aroostook County where job growth is... simply not there. I survive because I was blessed with great parents who are fortunate enough to earn a fair living. I can't afford college even with federal aid - every time a new job pops up in the paper or anywhere else there are dozens ready to jump on it. I simply can't compete in this economy. Health insurance is unavailable to those in my position - and while my parents earn a fair living, they can't afford my medical bills. Due to health issues I was born with, that debt continues to rise.

I'm twenty seven (or nearly, turning on the 10th) and I have yet to see any great reason for optimism regarding economic growth. I have been trying for the last seven years to find work - aside from the occasional odd jobs it simply isn't there for someone at my age without marketable skills or any higher education to speak of.

Give me a reason to be optimistic - and I'll try. As tired as I am of trying, I don't want to be a pessimist, but I can't help the fact that I see my glass as half empty - it is. So many people have it far worse than me, I grieve for them but can do nothing to help them and apparently, neither can anyone else.

Curious... what does the RB stand for?

[tomp]

113. and you should do a little research on the research....

....showing the value of pessimism to keep us safe (and i might add, honest).

[sendero]

61. Reich is one of about 3 pundits..

... I trust and agree with every time. Everyone with two brain cells to rub together knows the "recovery" is a joke and a lie but very few have the guts to say it.

[bvar22]

82. That can't be true.

I saw a post on DU yesterday that said The Economy was just peachy.

[I Drink Water]

65. Which economy? John Edwards was spot on about there being two Americas.

[vicarofrevelwood]

66. Anyone who has studied the Great

Depression Knows that this is 1937 all over again. with both the Liberty League, (teabaggers of the day) and the GOP (assholes then as now, Somethings never change,) screaming Austerity,Austerity,Austerity. The double dip is inevitable now as then. Wealth was then and is now too concentrated.

[abelenkpe]

71. +1 nt

[FailureToCommunicate]

72. Yes, and it took what happened next to bring America out of it:

Hitler and WWII.

[MannyGoldstein]

118. +1937 nt

[roamer65]

69. Food and fuel prices are doing it.

[xiamiam]

74. housing is doing it..they screwed around with the bogus loan mods

for a year and a half..then the banks pulled the trigger..all those folks trying to get help are about to lose their homes as well..NO ONE is talking about that..its a crime..no one gives a crap..multi millions will lose their homes ..starting now and in the next 6 months..by which time the damage will be so serious i expect people to finally get in the streets

[Creideiki]

75. My Accounting and Finance professor last year gave us signs to look for

Commercial Real Estate is a mess.
States and municipals are struggling to not default.
Austerity measures that would stop about everything that's keeping the country moving.

If the debt ceiling doesn't get raised, we're screwed.
If OPEC starts using a different currency for oil trading, we're screwed.
If the munis start defaulting we're screwed.

It's really sad, but I think we're living through the Chinese curse.

[Modern_Matthew]

76. It's sad that giving people tedious, labor intensive jobs is the way we propose to fix the economy.

I have no alternative to propose, but it makes me so frustrated that when people do have jobs they have to work a majority of their time to enjoy so little of it.

[Major Hogwash]

78. Either get with the program or get under the bus, Reich!!

He hasn't had anything to say worth listening to since 1993!!!

[Jakes Progress]

79. You can count on one hand the elected officials who give a damn about you.

It certainly doesn't seem to be anyone in the administration. Wall Street appears to be their concern.

All republicans and almost all Democrats in office have sold their soul. They are living it up now because they know the hell is waiting for them.

[harun]

90. Americans have absolutely no control of their gov't anymore.

None, nada, zilch.

[stockholmer]

98. +1 the most factually accurate post in the thread

[Citizen Worker]

109. In reality how much control did we ever have? The only time politicians even know we exist is when

they're running for election. In the interim, we the people, are mere irritants to be dismissed out of hand while the lobbyists, who write the checks, reign supreme.

[Jakes Progress]

128. Even during the elections, the public is just icing.

Their real money is corporate. They love us during elections and love our money, but the campaigns and candidacies are financed by the people that get the service between elections.

America is broken.

[Grinchie]

101. They are catering to the upper crust you know...

Those Upper Crust have got the politicians convinced that they can keep them in office and safe from the hungry huddling masses, which is a total fallacy. When it comes down to the wire, there will be a great many more unwashed hungry people then the upper crust.

People need to rent Trading Places with Dan Akyroyd and Eddie Murphy and take from the example of Louis' fall from the upper class into the realm of the real world.

If 1% of the population holds 95% of the wealth, that means there are a lot of people that can just withold everything from the upper one percent once they wise up. Unfortunately, it will take some time to convince people that working a shit job for something as worthless as money is not worth it. Until people realize that they can be happy without the bling and the blang, there will always be suckers to exploit.

As soon as the huddle masses re-learn how to work together, feed and clothe each other, and work together to escape the system, the sooner the rich will feel the sting of irrelevance.

Yes, it's a monumental task. Many people don't have the stamina to actually learn what it takes to produce their own food, clothing, and shelter, let alone potable water and a moderate bit of electricity for nightime lighting, but it needs to be done or we will forever be trapped in a system that keeps us trapped in consumption instead of production.

I went off the grid almost 7 years ago, and it was a real learning experience, and what I learned is that or Corporate masters have fooled us into believing that we need machinery in order to create things. This is wholly untrue, and once you realize that you can build a very nice house with an axe ans a chisel, you realize how stupid we all have become at the hands of the Corporation. Forget about productivity.. It's meaningless if all you produce is crap..

[Plucketeer]

80. That's OK

I'm thinking I'm better off "in the dark" like I was for the first 45 years of my life.

[Kablooie]

81. Just like Christmas for the big banks. Bet they can't wait to see how much they get this time.

[lonestarnot]

87. Since August, September and October 2008.

:patriot:

[defendandprotect]

84. Economists told Obama that what he was asking for was only 25% of what was needed ...

and in the end I think Obama settled for even less -- !!

In August, a Yahoo article popped up where Obama was calling the economic

situation a "depression" -- it was immediately scrubbed and "recession" substituted.

Meanwhile, we've all avoided from the beginning in calling this what it should have

been called -- a Depression.

Congress members resorted to calling it "The Great Recession" -- though it seemed

often they really wanted to say "depression."

One very quick cure for all of this would have been MEDICARE FOR ALL --

medical expenses are a huge drain on our economy while the criminals in Big Pharma and

the insurance industry and private health care industry continue to bribe our elected

officials. Obama, sadly, made crippling back room deals with Big Pharma and the private

health care industry to ensure that there would be no Medicare negotiation on drug

prices -- and no single-payer on the table.

Corporations running our lives is fascism --

[BOG PERSON]

86. what we need to make this country great again

is a war against a country that's roughly our own size. a big, fuck-off war that'll traumatize an entire generation of young dudes.

[lonestarnot]

88. hmmmf. Where would that be held? Iran?

[BOG PERSON]

91. no, not iran

i think it ought to be a war with another nuclear power.

[harun]

92. I think we just had an economic war with the Chinese and got our asses handed to us.

Now we are going to be their slaves paying them back for the next 100 years.

[lonestarnot]

97. No the banks, SCOTUS, and corps did that to us and I say we fight them, but not with nukes as the

poster above suggests. :eyes:

[Michigan-Arizona]

93. K&R n/t

[Beacool]

95. Meanwhile, back in Washington...........

The Obama campaign reportedly plans to spend $1B on his reelection and who knows how many millions the Republicans will spend in trying to get their candidate elected.

Both parties are making me sick.

:puke:

[Iwillnevergiveup]

99. Rec #200

Robert Reich - a big, big man. Yes, it is better that we know what you know.

[Imagevision]

100. Currently foreclosures are up over last year, notice all the new commercials - spend-spend-spend

forget what's really happening.

[lonestarnot]

126. mmm mmm mm, smell that smell.

:puke:

[avaistheone1]

103. Thank you RR.

[indimuse]

105. What is going on with this president?

knr!

[LawnKorn]

112. K&R

[deacon]

117. and, look at the big banks. We bailed them out and they are screwing us to the wall. n/t

[ewagner]

121. what disturbs me

is that our national leadership is more worried about getting their own sorry asses re-elected than creating prosperity for as many as possible.

[ck4829]

122. K&R

[hifiguy]

123. Kick n/t

:kick:

[walerosco]

125. K & R

The rich are still getting richer and the poor are seeing little or no improvement. What can we do to turn this trend around? It sure cant lie in giving more tax cuts