Breaking News: This Economy Stinks

[marmar]

from HuffPost:




Peter Smith
Breaking News: This Economy Stinks
Posted March 7, 2008 | 03:15 PM (EST)


As I begin to write this, CNN.com has a big red banner across their home page. It reads: "Breaking News: AP: President Bush's top economic adviser says economic growth may be negative for the current quarter."

No sh*t, Sherlock.

And now George Bush is on TV, talking about how the government anticipated this downturn and got on it early.

Breaking news, George: Out here in the real world, it looks like you're seven years too late. People's economic growth has been negative since you and your crony capitalist crowd rode into power with the help of legions of Florida-bound lawyers aboard Enron planes and a Supreme Court decision so tortured it makes waterboarding look legal.

Out here, the only thing the government got on early is the control lever for of the Smoke, Excuse and Promise Machine. The economy may be sputtering, but the Smoke, Excuse Promise Machine is going full-tilt.

For years now, Bush and his buddies have been spoon-feeding the stenographers in the mainstream media a meme.

"The economy is strong."

And for the most part the mainstream stenographers have turned around and fed the meme to a country where working men and women could see it was crap. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-smith/breaking-news...

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Shock and AWWWWWWWE, shucks. Smirk." -Commander AWOL

[0007]

2. ...

No Shit?!?

[elizfeelinggreat]

3. is this true

"And for the most part the mainstream stenographers have turned around and fed the meme to a country where working men and women could see it was crap."

I think an awful lot of them didn't realize it was crap ... I think people who voted for him were too embarrassed to admit it if they were having problems and if they weren't they didn't bother to look past their own noses. On this board there are posters who have argued against the idea that the economy has done poorly under Bush (always citing their own experience).

[Lasher]

6. That's a Republican talking point: "Hey, I've been doin' great the last 7 years."

It doesn't matter how one individual does, the economy is measured by averages of how the overall population is doing. If 10% of us have prospered while 90% have fallen into decline then that's a bad thing. Which, BTW, is just about how the Bush economy has done.

[elizfeelinggreat]

7. I know that

it's a talking point.

I'm uncertain how savvy people are about the economy anymore though - could you reread my second paragraph? I don't know if they really thought what he said was crap or perhaps they believed it WAS a good economy just because they were told it was so. Then considered themselves failures within a good economy and therefore they were the exception and not the rule? If they don't know any better, and the MSM certainly isn't putting up any interference with Bush and company claiming the economy is great, perhaps they didn't use those critical thinking skills because they're blinded by their own trust in this administration? (and perhaps fox news and talk radio's insistence that everything is great - investors are happy, blah, blah, blah)

edited to add: Oh, perhaps you were explaining why people on this board argued it was a good economy. I mean people in general.

[Lasher]

11. All those angles apply.

Some know better but they're too proud to admit they were wrong.

Some know better but will say and do anything whatever to perpetuate Junior's tax cut policies because they personally benefit from them. I had a big long email fight with a guy like that and at length realized he was getting a lot of income from taxable stock accounts. He was saving a lot of money on taxes thanks to the lower 15% rate on all capital gains and dividends and literally didn't care about fairness or ramifications or anything else whatever, just as long as he continues to get that big windfall. And the other cuts for the top marginal rates have helped him a lot too because he really is in the top 10% of the most affluent.

To some the Republican party is their religion and if the economy has been flushed down the toilet it can't be the fault of Saint Ronnie of Reagan or his disciples Poppy & Junior. And to admit the trickle down scam for what it really is, or to any failure of any of these saints would be blasphemy.

And then there are those who are dumb as rocks and really believe the crap they espouse, helped along in their delusions by hate radio and the like despite overwhelming evidence of the collosal failure of Reaganomics.

Good question, and that's my best answer. You seem to have an inquiring mind. Have a look at this website if you would like to read a thing or two about demand side economics:

http://www.unlawflcombatnt.proboards84.com/index.cgi

And then there's the Economy Forum here at DU, in case you haven't run across it yet:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

4. We can't take another 8 years of this shit. So afraid we're going to blow it.

[DemocratInSoCal]

10. NONE Of The Current Candidates Have The Answer

Unfortunately, I don't see that things are going to turn around too quickly. They've had Eight Years to tear this country apart, unchecked, and they've used it well. The next President is not going to be able to fix it.

So long as it's a Democrat, the bleeding will at least stop, and steps will be taken to correct the situation. But the problems might be so insurmoutable, that the damage is so great, that no one man, or woman, and especially not the ones we have to choose from, will be the answer.

I think both Obama and Clinton are enough of the problem, and not the solution. Were Mr. Gore or Mr. Edwards or Mr. Kucinich in the race, I would feel more hope for the future. But I don't. I'm 41, and might be in my 50's by the time this corrects itself.

[HughBeaumont]

12. They don't have answers because What the Wealthy Want, the Wealthy Will Get.

Politicians don't run this country. The wealthy do.

Doesn't matter who is in office, this country is all about pleasing and bending backwards for one class of people and one class only: the wealthy.

You need to step on the wealthy and stop their unparalleled greed; otherwise, our horrible economy is going to continue bleeding for everyone except them. Unbridled corporatism, just as it has been the source of every major problem this country has experienced over the last 35 years (and not coincidentally, during every Republican administration in that time), will continue to wreak damage in the trillions unless collectively we grow a spine and rise up against them.

When you watch Sicko's extra footage, there's an interview with the author of The Two Income Trap, Elizabeth Warren. She makes a very true statement about America's utterly lousy health care system, but I think the same thing can be said about every other aspect of human life:

"Unless you're a multi-millionaire . . . you aren't safe."

When did THAT happen?

I don't want to be a lottery winner. I just don't want to have to WORRY constantly . . . about bills, job security, sudden illnesses or accidents or a financial disaster taking away everything I've ever worked and saved for, having to get multiple college degrees just to remain employable . . . God forbid maybe have a little bit of money at the end of the month rather than the other way around. I don't really think I'm asking or demanding too much here.

[Breeze54]

5. What!?! You're kidding, right?

Thanks for posting this!

& Recommended

[madokie]

8. yep, no shit sherlock

[goforit]

9. This was purposeful intent to destroy America Bush/Cheney are KGB!!!

[HughBeaumont]

13. I don't think their intention was ever to win 2008.

I think they know this is only the beginning and they want a Dem in office when the house of cards comes crashing.