In 1929 US debt was 150% of GDP, today it is 300% of GDP. Once again you forget there are other countries outside of America. British and European Banks are going down like 9 pins, Sth American Banks have completely frozen up. A tough year. The Democrats are as reviled as the GOP. Forget it's all over. The fat lady is singing. This will be the last election for the country once known as the United States of America
mike532 [ Republicans for Obama ] wrote: > Job Losses at 600,000 - and Counting > http://www.truthout.org/article/job-losses-600000-and-counting > Freeze in credit would only worsen unemployment as economic > slowdown intensifies. > > New York - Job losses have been mounting, and the slowing economy > and credit crunch is likely to take an even greater toll in the coming > months. > > Analysts on average forecast that the monthly employment report > expected Friday will reveal that the economy shed 105,000 jobs in > September - the largest monthly loss in five years. The economy > already has lost 605,000 jobs this year. > > Unemployment is expected to remain at a relatively high 6.1%. > > What's more troubling is that hiring trends have deteriorated even > further in recent weeks - and that won't be reflected in government > statistics until later this year. > > Failing mortgages and struggling banks have made it difficult for > businesses and consumers alike to borrow money. If businesses can't > borrow money, the thinking goes, they can't expand stores or hire more > people. > > "A complete lockup of the credit markets will reverberate > throughout the economy in a very severe fashion," said Martin Regalia, > chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby > group. "If the economy weakens further, we'll see truly dramatic > unemployment." > > Regalia expects unemployment to reach 6.5% by the end of the first > quarter next year, and 7% if nothing is done by the government to free > up the capital markets. While the economy may stop shedding jobs at > that point, he said those stubbornly high rates of unemployment could > persist until the end of 2009. > > Actual job losses are more difficult to predict. Regalia said > 150,000 to 175,000 a month could be likely, significantly higher than > today's levels but far below the rate of 250,000 to 300,000 lost > during the last recession in 2002. > > The government is still negotiating a package that would enable > the purchase of distressed assets from banks in the hopes of getting > them to lend again. The $700 billion bailout was rejected in the House > of Representatives on Monday, and the Senate is going to vote on a > revised version on Wednesday night. > > "If we don't have measures to correct the situation, we will see > more [job] losses," said Joyce Bastoli, a vice president at Ajilon > Finance Solutions, part of the staffing company Adecco. "If companies > don't have access to capital, we will see it trickle down." > > The Real Problem: Slowing Economy > > Still, while there were some encouraging signs that the credit > crisis is not having as devastating an impact as some fear, the > slowing economy looms large. > > "We're not seeing anything besides the normal tightening of credit > you usually get at the end of an expansion," said Bill Dunkelberg, > chief economist for the National Association of Independent > Businesses. > > Alan Tonelson, a research fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry > Council, which represents smaller and mid-size manufacturers, said > that most manufacturers are conservatively managed and have fairly low > levels of debt. Tonelson is urging caution on any government bailout, > saying banks should not be encouraged to resume their free-lending > ways to consumers already overburdened with debt. > > Even if businesses aren't yet impacted by the credit crunch, they > are certainly planning for slowing sales as credit to consumers dries > up. That could mean fewer orders for goods - and fewer people needed > to manufacture, ship, stock and sell those goods. > > "It's reasonable to expect not only job losses, but wage losses as > well," said Tonelson. > > Said Daniel Penrod, an industry analyst with the California Credit > Union League, a trade association for credit unions: "We haven't > really seen small businesses getting hurt because of access to money, > but rather just because of the slowdown." > > With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, the next > sector ripe for a hit is retail, said John Challenger, chief executive > of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. A survey by > Challenger released Wednesday said that the number of job cuts in > September rose 7.2% to 95,094. > > "Consumers are tapped, it's going to be a tough year," said > Challenger. "Unemployment is going up by leaps and bounds." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
