Is it Miss Do.Rflex or Mr Do.Rflex, "That's a similar attitude to those whose 'expert' economic back ground got us into this mess in the first place. The same kind of in-it-for-the-wealthy 'experts' who fought tooth and nail against FDR's New Deal spending...."
Actually 300 million Americans got us into this mess in the first place, we all lived way beyond our means since 1980. We all borrowed too much, too much debt... And the housing mess was certainly created by congress, Clinton and Bush by putting pressure on banks to make subprime loans so that everyone could own a house, even if they could not afford to make the payments. And of course Greenspan's easy money did not help either. Derivatives, off balance sheet SUV's, CDO's also contributed to mess. VP Joe Biden said the "stimulus" has a 70% chance of working.....which really means it has a 50% chance of working. It is laden with pork and programs that are wasteful, and it has aspects to it that are beneficial. If you recall LBJ's great society in the 60's and early 70's.....Ten years later, the "misery index" -- the unemployment rate plus the inflation rate -- was 19.9, heading for 22 percent in 1980. So this Obama stimulus is not a sure bet and I would bet anyone that before years end he will be back again for Stimulus part 2 because this one that got passed last week is off the mark and its effect is too far out into the future.... the stock market is a voting mechanism, and it has dropped approx -10% since the bill got passed, so that is a vote of no confidence in the bill and the current "fix it" proposals out there.... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rf...@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bettyblue109 <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > "Stimulus Package" what a bill of goods the American people have been > > sold.....it is not a "stimulus", it is plain old government spending, > > they call it a stimulus though....excuse me, I have a degreee in > > economics and have studied it for 30 years....what are they > > "stimulating"?.......they missed the target by miles....but its > > politicians "hard at work".......telling us what they want us to hear! > > > That's a similar attitude to those whose 'expert' economic back ground > got us into this mess in the first place. The same kind of > in-it-for-the-wealthy 'experts' who fought tooth and nail against > FDR's New Deal spending. The same kind of thinking found with the > obstructionist right wingers who ran the GOP economic titanic we face > today. > > [NOTE: Stock market crash was in 1929 under Republican President > Herbert Hoover. FDR was inaugurated in 1933.] > > > Here are some hard facts: > > The New Deal worked, worked well, and worked quickly. > > The economy had hit rock bottom in March 1933 and > then started to expand. As historian Broadus Mitchell > notes, "Most indexes worsened until the summer of > 1932, which may be called the low point of the > depression economically and psychologically."[18] > > Economic indicators show the economy reached nadir in > the first days of March, then began a steady, sharp > upward recovery. Thus the Federal Reserve Index of > Industrial Production hit its lowest point of 52.8 in > July 1930 (with 1935-39 = 100) and was practically > unchanged at 54.3 in March 1933; however by July 1933, > it reached 85.5, a dramatic rebound of 57% in four months. > > Recovery was steady and strong until 1937. Except for > unemployment, the economy by 1937 surpassed the levels of > the late 1920s. The Recession of 1937 was a temporary > downturn. Private sector employment, especially in > manufacturing, recovered to the level of the 1920s but > failed to advance further until the war. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal > > - U.S. Gross Domestic Product 1929-1941 - > > See chart: > http://images2.dailykos.com/images/user/363/Depression_GDP_output_1.gif > > http://snipurl.com/cxnm2 > > > Total employment in the United States from 1920 to 1940, excluding > farms and WPA. Data was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau > Statistical Abstracts and converted into SVG format > > GRAPH: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Employment_Graph_-_1920_to_1940.svg > > http://snipurl.com/cxnsn > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rflex@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "raunchydog" <raunchydog@> > wrote: > > > > > > > > "The banking system often has been characterized as parasitic. The > > > > metaphor is appropriate on more than one plane. Most people think of > > > > parasites simply as leeches, draining nourishment from the host. But > > > > biological nature is more complex. In order for parasites to succeed > > > > they must first numb the host's pain-warning system so that they can > > > > get a foothold. They then take control of the host's brain. The > trick > > > > the host into believing that the parasite is part of its own > body, and > > > > indeed even its child, to be nurtured, protected and given > preference. > > > > They turn the host into a zombie. So the problem we are facing > is not > > > > "zombie banks," but the ability of Wall Street to create a zombie > > > > economy." -- Michael Hudson. Read More: http://tinyurl.com/dync4n > > > > > > > > > The stimulus package arrived with the price tag and on roughly the > > > schedule Obama had set for it. > > > > > > "The president's job approval percentage now ranges from the mid 60s > > > (Gallup, Pew) to mid 70s (CNN) not bad for a guy who won the > > > presidency with 52.9 percent of the vote. > > > > > > While 48 percent of Americans told CBS, Gallup and Pew that they > > > approve of Congressional Democrats, only 31 (Gallup), 32 (CBS) and 34 > > > (Pew) percent could say the same of their G.O.P. counterparts." > > > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/opinion/15rich.html?_r=1 > > > > > > > > > Gallup - February 27, 2009 - Obama Approval Rating *Increases* to 67% > > > > > > http://www.gallup.com/poll/116224/Obama-Approval-Rating-Increases.aspx > > > > > >
