Chicken Little or Chicken OMFG?
In Paul Krugman’s blog post today, he admits he’s a bit worried about next year.
1. The economy is falling fast. We’ll see what tomorrow’s employment report says, but we could well be losing jobs at a rate of 450,000 or 500,000 a month.
2. Infrastructure spending will take time to get going — a new Goldman Sachs report suggests that projects that are “shovel-ready” are probably only a few tens of billions worth, and that a larger effort would take much of a year to get going. Meanwhile, it’s very questionable how much effect tax rebates will have on consumer demand. So it may be hard for stimulus to get much traction until late 2009 — and that’s even if Congress goes along, which may be a problem given all the bad analysis and disinformation out there.
With the lame duckiest President in my lifetime, can we afford to wait 37 days or so? The only good news I can think of is that the Obama Transition team is going to hit the ground running on January 20th. There is no time for delay, no time for cud chewing that Cheney and crew did with foreign policy prior to 9/11.
As I sit back and watch the super-capitalists come for handouts from the government and the Radical Right making excuse after excuse for the travesty they have created, I wonder if Obama is going to be drastic enough in his economic plan. I can only hope that the days of pre-Depression American capitalism are over.
Tags: Bush's Fubar Economy
He better come on like Gang Busters at least 10 times the plan that FDR had .
Dude, this is Chicken OMFG all the way.
For reasons tied to comments I’ve made in another post today (the thread that just keeps on chugging along), my wife and I are assessing our options and are seriously discussing a downsizing of our home. Of course, when we looked at the aftermath of just getting to the settlement (from her being hit head-on) and the massive gaps laying ahead, we realized that we may not qualify for shit in trying to do the sensible and right thing! This doesn’t even take into consideration the horrible market.
It’s totally O…M…F…G all the way.
just found out I may be getting let go…
Frick. Dude, I am sorry to hear that. Even if you are retained, having that shadow of “may be” sucks all by itself. Every day is a “may be” here anymore, as I am sure it is in most places.
It’s not tangible, but I will certainly be thinking of you, hoping you pull through it.
It’s 4:20 all is well.
Quick question, is it possible to remain in the fetal position for three years? ‘Cause that’s my plan.
You have a beard, right? ‘Cuz that’ll be one hell of an itch fest if you follow through on the plan.
lol
Mr. Pandora forwarded me an email from his job. Not looking good. Hopefully we’ll make the cut. Geez, how many of us our hoping for the same thing?
cobra insurance with a new born! wohooo
frick!
DTR here I come!
We are all hoping for the same thing. It is really hard not to take all of this personally — everyone is nervous and nothing seems to be fixing it.
One of the problems as I see it is that we’ve got the guys who drove the bus into the ditch, driving the bus into the ditch on the other side of the road.
Small prediction: When we get out of this mess, the Radical Right will say it was the Bush Administration that did it.
so it’s sort of like Atkins behind the wheel after a good night out with the boys then?
I heard DuPont was laying off today. Does anyone know how many?
Rod, looks like it was contractors, but don’t quote me.
“There is no time for delay, no time for cud chewing that Cheney and crew did with foreign policy prior to 9/11.”
I guess Pres. Clinton gets a pass on Al Qaeda? Too busy chasing Monica to protect the nation?
Protack – Yes, Clinton gets a pass. He had people on AQ for years. Everytime he moved against them, you and your ilk said he was wagging the dog.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/index.htm
You’re welcome.
Dupont to cut 4000 contract employees and 2500 real employees(7%).
http://my.earthlink.net/article/bus?guid=20081204/493763d0_3ca6_15526200812041663899209
Also Hercules was just absorbed by Ashland, inc. Look for consolidation there.
AT&T to cut 15,000 jobs (4%).
Under the heading of the right just doesn`t get it, they were talking about infastructure jobs on CNBC and Stephen Moore, a right wing reporter for the WSJ, who gets everything wrong anyway, proposed that the workers not be paid prevaling wage but be paid half that so we could hire twice as many. Another graduate of the arkansas school of economics who doesn`t understand that the constant drop in disposable income is how we got in these dire straits in the first place. Low paying jobs with no benefits hurt the economy not help it.
“the constant drop in disposable income is how we got in these dire straits in the first place. Low paying jobs with no benefits hurt the economy not help it.”
Bingo. That is precisely the problem. If workers made god wages in the US, we wouldn’t be in these straights. They could pay their mortgages & other bills.
While I’m all for good wages, it seems to me that many in the US have been living beyond the means of good wages. Good wages put decent food on the table, pay the mortage in a modest home, buy a reliable, safe vehichle that lasts for ten or more years, and pay part of a college education.
Good wages do not replace working tvs with giant flat screens, or buy a beach house, or allow for dining out every night, or upgrade cars before the last one has been paid off. Exotic vacations are generally for the wealthy folks.
People living well beyond their means is certainly contributing to the problem.
And while I hate to sound harsh, if your job is going away, you probably were not really necessary in the first place.
Ouch, that does sound harsh. Hope I’m not next. Oh wait, I already made contingency plans.
HEY Mike DID YOU FORGET THAT CLINTON CAUGHT THE FIRST WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBERS AND THEY ARE NOW IN PRISON THAT’S MORE THAN YOU CAN SAY ABOUT BUSH. sorry about the caps folks
Meatball; The essence of capitilism is growth and spending by the masses, the system doesn`t mark time for long without falling flat on it,s face. Consumer demand for bigger and better things creates wealth and jobs for every one. The living with in your means style of life you are talking about is pure socializm. That`s a system that provides for all your wants and needs, but someone else dictates what those wants and needs are.
I feel, maybe wrongly, that your mind has been under the spell of some wrong headed republican doctrine that asserts that corporations create all wealth and jobs, when in fact it`s consumer spending that performs that function. The corporations create ways to take advantage of it by creating new and attractive products that consumers want to by. In the process employees are hired and paid enough to build and market these products and also to have enough disposable income to serve the dual role of consumers themselves.
It`s starting to unravel now because average incomes are not keeping up with inflation, and have not been for the past 8 years. This is causing the corporation to lose customers which causes them to contract and layoff workers and stop innovating and developing new products.
A good example of whats happening now is what happened to t. v. and home airconditioning during the great depression. Both where ready to go by 1935 but with average incomes having fallen 45% from their 1929 levels both carrier and RCA held off on marketing them until after the war. So no jobs were created and no corporate profits were made, no one watch football on t.v. no one livid in an aircondition house and so on. this is the spartan life style we are headed for again, unless people wake up to the fact6 that average incomes must start rising instead of falling. Every generation wishes for a better life style for their children, ours might not have a chance at it.
“While I’m all for good wages, it seems to me that many in the US have been living beyond the means of good wages. Good wages put decent food on the table, pay the mortage in a modest home, buy a reliable, safe vehichle that lasts for ten or more years, and pay part of a college education. Good wages do not replace working tvs with giant flat screens, or buy a beach house, or allow for dining out every night, or upgrade cars before the last one has been paid off.”
Very well said, Meatball. We are spoiled as hell. And reality catches up with spoiled people.
RAY K,
So when wages fail to keep up with inflation, consumers reach for debt to fuel the engine of capitalism and buy stuff that really doesn’t improve their lifestyle.
Paycheck to paycheck, even with a plasma tv, is still a subsistence lifestyle.
It’s kinda funny. In a different thread someone wrote of the Texan opinion that homosexuality tears at the fabric of society. I see a much bigger rip occurring with the institution of “irrational exuberance.”
I love that people think b/c that 80% of a population has a cell phone it means their standard of living is somehow better….
You’re right DV-only their living is better, not their standard(s).