Not happy with Obama on the economy? Let's see how other countries are doing:

[RBInMaine]

Ireland (recently in a huge economic boom): 13% unemployment

Greece: 11% unemployment

Spain: 20% unemployment

Japan: still struggling through YEARS of recession

England: struggling bigtime with recession

Canada: lost jobs last month

Iceland: not a pretty financial picture at all - they got whacked


This is global. People need to remember the severity of this thing. We are damn well in better shape than we were before Obama INHERITED this shitpile. There is a very long way to go, and it is a bumpy ride. But is Obama to blame for the entire global recession? Let's keep a perspective here.

[Clio the Leo]

1. But are their bloggers treated with respect?

Because, ultimately, that's all that matters.

[Forkboy]

2. You just answered your own question.

[liberalmuse]

3. OMG, the Gibbs thing...

On any given day, some Republican twit says something much more heinous and yet we choose to draw and quarter Gibbs all over the leftosphere for 2 straight days (thus far - I'm sure it will be almost a full week). You'd think the 'professional left' would have thicker skins (I'm kidding...sort of). Some days I wish I could get on an intercom, cuss out the entire human race, grab a couple of cold beers, open the exit door, and eject from the earthplane by hopping on a massive slide to another galaxy. Or parallel universe. Or whatever.

[applegrove]

4. LOL!

[Exilednight]

5. What you fail to leave out is the fact that the recession hit each of these countries ...........

other than Canada, much later than it did the US. Also, you can look at other countries who saw the signs and were ready for it.

And to be honest, Canada is in pretty good shape.

Japan is a myth. All the data I managed to find showed that they are plowing right on through this thing and are once again showing solid signs of growth.

India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and many other developed countries seemed to do just fine.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

18. Oh, for shits sake, are you kidding?

India's per capita income ranks it 139th in the world. Woo Hoo!
Hong Kong's economy shrank by 3.9% last year and New Zealand's shrank by 1.9%. Virtually none of the G-8 countries "seem to do just fine" in the current economy, and with the exception of Communist China, it's only in developing economies (that have no where to go but up) that you're seeing any significant growth at all.

And Japan? You're fucking serious? Japan? Their economy shrank by 5% last year and they're currently in a deflationary spiral and the current deficit is 200% of GDP.

Just out of curiousity, is there anything that is so preposterously stupid that you WON'T post it in an attempt to make this administration look bad?

[Exilednight]

24. So, you have links within the past thirty days to back that all up, right? n/t

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

28. Let's try this again...

It's called www.google.com

[Exilednight]

32. I googled it. I found nothing that supports your statement and plenty that ............

contradict it.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Germany? France?

And everyone in those countries gets health care and they're not homeless in the streets.

Really, "we suck less" is never a good rallying cry although the DLC seems to think it is.

[fogonthelake]

31. see LBN about Germany (good news for them)

[depakid]

7. Australia (who took progressive economists advice)

5,3%

(up a bit this month, thanks in some part to Obama and the Dems failure to heed said advice) with their half measure and ill targeted stimulus.

[pampango]

15. Australia has benefitted greatly from China's economic growth, too. Their progressive policies

have indeed benefited their economy greatly, as you say.

"China is Australia's largest trading partner, with total trade (goods and services) in 2009 valued at A$85.1 billion, an increase of 15.1 per cent over the previous year."

In 2009 China surpassed Japan to become Australia's largest export market, with total merchandise exports to China valued at A$42.4 billion, an increase of 31.2 per cent over the previous year.

China is also Australia’s largest source of imports, with China’s total merchandise exports to Australia valued at A$35.8 billion in 2009, an increase of 1.5 per cent on the previous year.

Australia is working closely with China to conclude the WTO Doha Development Agenda. We will continue to cooperate closely on trade and investment facilitation through the G20, APEC and other regional forums. Moreover, reaching agreement on a comprehensive high-quality Free Trade Agreement will offer the greatest potential to take the economic relationship to a new level across merchandise trade, services, and investment. - China and Australia have been negotiating an FTA, like the one China and New Zealand concluded in 2008, for the past five years.

http://www.china.embassy.gov.au/bjng/relations2.html

[eleny]

8. I judge us by how we're doing now compared to how we've done in the past

And we have fallen way behind ourselves.

My parents put my brother and I through private university while they worked in factories back in the 1960s. Try that now.

So, no, I won't be content over being better off than other countries. They aren't my yardstick.

Shame on you for lowering the bar and inviting us to join you. But carry on with your tambourine.

[sandnsea]

9. It's not the 1960s though

We had no competition back then. Europe was still rebuilding from WWII. Asia was more third world than the emerging economy many of those countries are now. We built everything for the entire world. That's why we had that economy. Now these other countries are having their own industrial and automotive and high tech revolutions. It's not realistic to think they're not going to be able to do things cheaper than we can. We have to get our unions into these countries and start raising their standard of living so that we aren't competing with slave labor.

[TheKentuckian]

11. Or stop the absurd trade policies based off of radical secular theology

They can unionize if they choose but we shouldn't be trading with slavers against our own interests.

[eleny]

12. So you're justifying why we're in this mess

Go ahead, keep pulling the lever on your excuse machine while I continue to refuse to set the bar lower for our country.

[sandnsea]

13. We're in "this mess" because of Wall Street

Believing we can magically go back to the 60s is another matter. Also, look at the expenses your parents had. Mortgage and cheap power and water. My water bill is as much as my power bill. Then look at all the "extras" people expect to have, cable, internet, cell phone, game machines, all kinds of sports equipment. Look at the difference between a 1960 sewing machine and a computerized 2010 machine.

It's not 1960 anymore. We'll need an entirely new economy and half the country doesn't trust the government to be involved in it, or believe we need it. What if Republicans had opposed Eisenhower's interstate highway system?

You can't just snap your fingers and demand results. It has nothing to do with justifying this economy or setting low expectations. It has to do with what it will take to overcome this mess, and that means everybody working together in a positive way. I don't see that happening either.

[Chulanowa]

14. No, he's introducing you to reality

1960 was fifty fucking years ago. Half a century. Things change. It's not an "excuse" it's simply pointing out that we live in the real world, instead of this fucking mythical wasteland where the 1960's are eternal.

We are no longer the economic center of the universe. This contributes a great deal to our economic woes.

[treestar]

22. Now this is DU, you are not allowed to make sense

It's the only solution to this outsourcing business.

[treestar]

21. The OP was talking about the world

You are just talking about your own family only.

Some people can think of more than just their own situation. Shame on you for thinking only about yourself.

[30rock]

10. Other countries usually respond to the situation in the United States accordingly

As the US goes, so goes the world.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. woodchuck fail

The claim is that it could be worse than it is here so we should be happy with our particular shit sandwich. On examination, the list of worse places is highly selective and in many of these alleged nightmares, being unemployed is far less of a disaster than it is here.

[Donnachaidh]

17. oohhh lookie -- a smoke machine AND a fan! Oh my goodness!

Breaking out the BIG GUNS, ain't we?

[hugo_from_TN]

19. Germany - 7.6% unemployment rate

[treestar]

20. good reminder

The recession is global.

[TheKentuckian]

23. Sing it with me RB! Ohhhhh Jimmy crack corn

When I was young I used to wait

On master and hand him his plate

Pass him the bottle when he got dry

And brush away the blue-tail fly
Chorus
Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care

Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care

Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care

My master's gone away
When he would ride in the afternoon

I'd follow him with my hickory broom

The pony being rather shy

When bitten by the blue-tail fly
Chorus
One day he rode around the farm

Flies so numerous that they did swarm

One chanced to bite him on the thigh

The devil take the blue-tail fly
Chorus
Well the pony jumped, he start, he pitch

He threw my master in the ditch

He died and the jury wondered why

The verdict was the blue-tail fly
Chorus
Now he lies beneath the 'simmon tree

His epitaph is there to see

Beneath this stone I'm forced to lie

The victim of the blue-tail fly


 


learn more about this player

[Ignis]

25. Ireland is a prime example of the vast failure of Neoliberal economics.

Citing that 13% unemployment figure without understanding the history and context of how Ireland got there is the result of disingenuity and/or ignorance.

I'll be charitable and assume it's the latter.

[ProgressOnTheMove]

27. Exactly staying on the same course will give the US one of the strongest recoveries out there..

[denimgirly]

29. YOU LIE!! Canada is Prospering while the U.S. is floundering

When you look at the overall year and even include last year we have weathered the recession completely and continue to be praised and looked on by the world for how we did it. Recall the G20 submit? So please dont give the impression that Canada is in bad shape when in fact it is the US that was dumb enough to give their banks the keys to rob the place.

We have regulations and we forbid banks to do what the US enjoys allowing their banks to do. This is why the US is in so much pooh.

[fogonthelake]

30. The eurozone economy grew by 1% during the quarter.............

Forum Name Latest Breaking News
Topic subject German economy sees 'record' growth of 2.2%
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
4502497, German economy sees 'record' growth of 2.2%
Posted by dipsydoodle on Fri Aug-13-10 08:27 AM

Source: BBC News

The German economy grew by 2.2% in the three months to the end of June, its fastest quarterly growth in more than 20 years, official figures show.

"Such quarter-on-quarter growth has never been recorded before in reunified Germany," the national statistics office, Destatis, said.

The main reason for the higher-than-expected growth was strong exports, helped by a weaker euro.

The eurozone economy grew by 1% during the quarter.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10962017