It’s the Economy Stupid… Again!
Now that reality and what it means to be an actual American is in the head lights of the politicians running for President maybe they will all see that it is the economy that is the heartbeat of America. With the hundreds of billions of dollars flowing out of America to pay for an endless war it is finally hitting home in the nations capitol.
We have had eight years of a President that simply can not stand Americans but loves to only show up at military bases and closed public meetings that are invitation only events. It has been a late revelation to me but something I have slowly put together over the last few days but I’m sure others have conceived the thought before I. George Bush is terrified to be President.
We have had eight years of a President that does not see the tasks of lenders that would lead to a housing market and ownership collapse. One thing that all economist know as the standard bar to base our economy on is the housing market. Right now and for a long time now the housing market has been in a free fall. And just not the President but the entire Congress has looked the other way from the millionaire club seats that most of them come from. None of them have lost their homes and most likely not one soul that they are familiar with has lost their home. While President Bush is on the road to the Middle East all you have to do is watch his body language to see that the suit does not fit. He is no more comfortable with that situation as much as he is facing the fact that he and our government can no longer fix the housing market free fall.
Some Fear Economic Stimulus Is Already Too LateBy PETER S. GOODMAN and FLOYD NORRIS
Published: January 13, 2008As leaders in Washington turn their attention to efforts to avert a looming downturn, many economists suggest that it may already be too late to change the course of the economy over the first half of the year, if not longer.With a wave of negative signs gathering force, economists, policy makers and investors are debating just how much the economy could be damaged in 2008. Huge and complex, the American economy has in recent years been aided by a global web of finance so elaborate that no one seems capable of fully comprehending it. That makes it all but impossible to predict how much the economy can be expected to fall before it stabilizes.
The answer could be a defining factor in the outcome of the fiercely contested presidential election. Not long ago, the race centered on the war in Iraq.
But now, as candidates fan out across the country, visiting places as varied as the factory towns of Michigan and streets lined with unsold condominiums in Las Vegas, voters are increasingly demanding that they focus on the best way to keep the economy from slipping off the tracks. - New York Times
Americans need to face the facts and know that the government is no longer there to help you. That is till you stop paying taxes and feeding the machine with a bottomless appetite. Then they really care about you as an individual. So much so they will provide you with three square meals a day, a bed and a room mate to talk to in your prison cell.
Some how it was decided that everyone needs to stand on their own two feet. Be you man, woman or beast you must stand on your own two feet! Then the Republicans gutted the Veterans Administration that treated all the so called leaches needing medical help that fought for the nation they love. That is the true difference between a Democrat and a Republican, Democrats will recognize a veteran that was disabled in service to their nation, Republicans look at them as an expense on the backs of hard working people. One of them is wrong.
I know what the loss of hope is. I’ve lived it, I’ve fought it and still fight it every single day. So does every single American under the screw you and do it your damn self policies of the Republican Party. That is why change is so critical in our nation right now in this point in time. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can bitch and moan who moved or advanced civil rights to the center stage of American politics and it wasn’t John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson or even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was people that were sick and tired of the loss of hope. People like you, your neighbor and people that knew America could be better. People in mass made the difference by seeking change in their elected leaders.
A good friend reminded me that some people believe that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves but it was not only his actions and words that eventually lead to that freedom existing in this nation. It was the actions of many willing to fight for that freedom and die for it. Not just white men but black men as well. Words are easy, fighting for what you believe in and putting your life on the line for it are true forms of courage that few politicians have the stomach for.
When Barack and Hillary figure out who is a racist and who is a bitch then somebody please pass a note or tell them that “It’s the damn economy!” Vote for change or fight for your bread in the next economy.
Maybe the problem we as Americans have is we keep electing millionaires as President that have forgotten what it is truly like to be hungry. Not politically hungry, stomach pain, have not eaten hungry.
Papamoka
Feel free to link to this post…
Originally posted at Papamoka Straight Talk and Cross posted to Michael Linn Jones.com
January 15th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Mat.. thanks for a very sober analysis. 2008 is going to be a very interesting year. Personally I fear for our form of government. i just finished watching a program on C-Span featuring a gentleman from Baron’s discussing the emerging economic problems in our nation. He discussed the economic problems we face and the various plans being offered by candidates for president. Frankly, I believe he greatly underestimates the problems and the solutions being offered are more of the same prime the pump crap which has got us into so much trouble. America is now for sale and China and other cash rich countries in the middle east are buying it up in great chunks. Our insatiable appetite for junk and oil is costing us dearly. Unfortunately, the real kind of hunger is just beginning.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Thanks for the compliment Rube and the follow up commentary as well. You should write political opinion Rube. Although we do not always agree I love to read your thoughts on the issues. Do you have a website Rube? If you don’t you should start one.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
mat… i am an old man, and am honered to think you might think i have something to offer. But I’m not capable, or frankly interested in learning about the formal procedures of developing and maintaining a website. i don’t even know how to use spell check.
My gay son, who lives in Paris, because he got tired of the bullshit in this country came home a couple of years ago and told me i ought to learn about the computer. He knew I could type, and that i would enjoy the banter that is available in this dimension. He purchased this machine for me, set it up, taught me how to use it and turned me loose. Occasionally he comes home and gives me some directions. But for the most part i just dabble. I send comments to lots of sites but have found that some are just too busy for me. BIO has an interesting mix of folks who serve up interesting topics and seem to tolerate my out of date and enigmatic thoughts. For old timers the time has passed. i know that, but sometimes I feel opinions are offered which are contrary to reality and i just enjoy putting in my two cents. thanks for your tolerance. “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace” –Thomas Paine
January 15th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Well Rube, you are a Papamoka favorite elder son and I think you rock. I have a spell checker and would love to see what you can do. Send me an email if you like. I’m of the belief that if you do not listen to those that went before you then you are destined to learn mistakes the hard way.
I think you summed up the idea of Bring IT ON in the nutshell too!
January 17th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Mat,
Thanks for another good one. One thing that is striking is your dead-on observations about Bush being essentially fear-driven. We can see it not only in his body language and public-avoidant behavior, but in most of his rhetoric. A valuable insight a supervisor shared with me early in my career as a psychotherapist is that when working with children and other people who lack the ability to examine their own emotions and perceptions and tell you about them, they communicate them by doing things to get you to feel the same way they’re feeling - so if you find that dealing with a certain person leaves you feeling frustrated and helpless, that’s how he/she is probably feeling, and so on. With Bush, an awful lot of his speech and policy is aimed at making us as fearful as possible. Contrast that with FDR’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
You might really enjoy the book “Bush On the Couch” - the author, a Washington-area psychoanalyst, just released a new edition updated with his comments on Bush’s reactions to the 2006 elections. I just finished it. It leaves me both feeling more compassionate toward Bush - he really does deserve our pity - and more scared of him - he is mentally and emotionally more crippled and dangerous than nearly anyone realizes.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
rube THANK YOU.
JOIN The American 21st Century Revolution.
CYBER SPACE USA TOWN MEETING.
>BIO
January 17th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
IT WAS
>BIO
January 17th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
IT WAS
” >BIO
January 18th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Thanks LJ…. I appreciate the compliment.