On the verge of a Depression ?

[kentuck]

To paraphrase Rush Limbaugh, "stupid people are too stupid to know they are stupid".

Being stupid, people react more from emotions and propaganda than they do from facts and reality.

I think it is a safe bet to say that we will enter into a very severe economic depression if Mitt Romney and the Republicans win the next election. They will pass legislation and make changes that will make it very difficult for a lot of people to survive, especially those on the fringes. We will quickly slip into conditions not unlike those of the Great Depression.

I hope I am wrong. I hope Barack Obama and the Democrats win the next election. At least, there will be hope of survival for the many living on the fringes.

Perhaps you think that things are not so bad? The economy is getting better and we are actually pulling out of this economic mess we have been in for the last four years. The glass is half full - not half empty.

But if we listen to the Republicans right-wingers, we hear some dire changes blowing in the wind. The top 1% has finally gained control of everything and they plan on consolidating their gains. They don't even try to hide it anymore. It is the 1% against the socialist black man. They believe this is their time. Do not underestimate the stupidity of the American people. The Republicans are depending on it.

[obxhead]

1. With the passing of the JOBS act

it's really not about "the 1% against the socialist black man." It's about the 1% working quite well with President Obama, who is no socialist.

[kentuck]

2. But the stupid believe that he is...

and therein lies the challenge of our society.

[mowsepotato]

5. True

Sad but true.

[banned from Kos]

3. The JOBS Act is a 99% legislative act designed to bypass Wall St

The concept of crowdfunding is very egalitarian.

Its like playing the lottery - don't do it if you are risk adverse. The lottery is a bigger scam than crowdfunding.

[HereSince1628]

4. What I see with come clarity about the r's is depressing but not an immediate deeper depression...

The folks with BIG money who are organized and consequently really positioned to direct and guide government at all levels are intent on exploiting the great recession to gut anti-trust, banking, labor, environmental, food & drug safety, and transportation law. They aren't embarrassed about this and through their various institutional means are pushing this agenda with surprising success. Even under the current administration they are having success in their grand project.

What they want is nothing short of repealing any and all safeguards put in place since at least the 1789.

If Romney wins and follows the wishes of those masters (and I personally think he would make a great Kulak for them) then the greedy creative minds of the Wall St banksters and conglomeraiders will be at liberty to do the high risk things that history reveals they are very prone to fail at.

That will undoubtedly result in further economic disaster and chaos sometime down the road. But, having already pillaged the most vulnerable of their assets it will take a while to build a large enough house of cards to once again create a real existential threat...so the immediacy of 'verge' seems years, rather than months away from a Romney victory.

[dawg]

6. I respectfully disagree with you.

There have been no fundamental reforms to our financial system. Our labor-force participation rate has not recovered. U.S. treasuries are selling at "bubble" levels. Collapse isn't imminent, but all it would take is a really hard push. Republican dissolution of the safety net could be just such a push, and the results would be devastating.

[banned from Kos]

7. US Treasuries are cheap - the 10-yr yields only 2.2%

how is that a bubble?

There has been significant financial reform. The bank capital levels are sound today. TBTF's have the hammer of Liquidation aimed at them.

Romney could change all this.

[dawg]

8. Prices are inversely related to yield.

Yields are so low because the underlying bonds are priced so shockingly high. If market rates were to suddenly shift upwards, the value of the bonds people are holding would fall dramatically. Many people believe that bonds are a "safe" investment and cannot lose value. That is true only if they are willing to hold to maturity. A rise in interest rates could cause a major crash in bonds and bond mutual funds.

[JNelson6563]

9. When yields are low, prices are high.

It's the opposite of the stock market. If you see yields dropping that means Treasury buying.

I find it interesting there is still so much money in Treasuries with the markets up as much as they are in the past few years. Gold has started to come down from it's peak, could Treasuries be not far behind? It should be interesting to watch it all play out.

Julie