You Call this a Depression?

Someone once said if your unemployed it's a recession if I'm unemployed it's a depression.

I did not grow up in underpriveledged circumstances, nor am I miserable. I'm also reasonably well positioned if the economy continues to go in the direction I expect it to. That said, the don't-worry-be-happy approach won't solve the challenges the country is facing, although life as a bobble head must be blissful. For the last 10-15 years, any time there was a report on economic growth, they mentioned how it was driven by consumer spending. Hmmmm...but weren't real wages falling during that whole period? So...what drove the economy? Home equity. Hmmmm...how did that work out? And, by the way, now that the equity has been sucked out of 80% (my guess) of the houses in this country, what will fuel economic growth when the downturrn starts to level off? From an economic standpoint, I don't think either of the candidates the MSM and major corporations have blessed us with undo the damage that has been done to the economy in the short term. It will take decades.

It willl get much, much, much worse, and then we will be justified in calling it a Depression.

What else is for sale in America....our state parks...well we have already given 2 million tech jobs to India at a cost of 50 billion dollars, which would have kept us paying our mortgages. What's next. Americans unemployment is probably REALISTICALLY at 20+ percent. Thanks HR and CIO's, you got your $20,000 bonus for saving the company money.... Great Work!!

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard183.html

It's going to get bad. There's no money in the coffers. America is broke and so are many Americans. The spend and borrow Republicans have bequeathed debt to generations of Americans.

What a bunch of wishful thinking. The worst thing Bernanke could have done was cut interest rates. The middle class is screwed and the dollar is on its way to being totally worthless, like this article.

When I had to take my economics class in college, I disagreed with the professor on several issues. Just like that professor, who ever these economists are, they must be totally brain dead. But then 99% of the reporters and journalists at Newsweek are brain dead too, or they are in their rapture over their "God, Obama", that they can't see whats really happening.

Who pays these economists to make these outrageous statements of the economy? They must be living in another America in another time dimension, they sure as hell don't live in this America!!

One has to wonder just what these economists are smoking.
The whole concept of "trickle down economics is fudamentally flawed and when it started to eliminate the middle class it became death incarnate.
This economy has a long way to go and for every job lost, for every price increase that decreases the consumer buying power, for every illegal taking the jobs that remain in this country the middle class continues to shrink. and the economy continues it's downward spiral.
When we hear that for an unemployed worker to stay in the middle class in our "new economy" he will have to go back to school and get a degree and become a lawyer? a IT professional? Hmmm economist would be a good career move for a 40 yo unemployed auto worker.
But the fact is the bar has been raised too high for the middle class to survive if we continue on this course of trickle down economics as McCain will do the downward spiral will continue.
This country has managed to survive an administration that has drained the Treasury and whose only interest is how to continue it beyond the next election,
But the lose of the middle class is only the tip of the iceburg,
America won WW2 in 4 years because of the manufacturing capacity and the strength of the people.
Now it takes 5 years to develop an IED resistant vehicle and deploy it in Iraq, Still not deployed in Afgahanistan, some 800 are scheduled for the first of the year and a portion of those are being built in South Africa.
We have come a long way all in the wrong direction.

Samuelson is correct, at this very moment in time we aren't in a depression. Doesn't mean that the stage isn't set for an epic adjustment either. I deal with Wall Street hedge traders as part of my business and as of 6 months ago they didn't even have a recession built into their pricing models. The stock and bond markets are reaching for good news and reacting accordingly by fluctuating wildly on a daily basis. This has the smell of fear and I can assure you that there are many more shoes to drop before we're through. Nobody is discussing the commercial mortgage securitization issues, which are likely to dwarf the housing crisis and will probably cause many more bank failures as loans that have been securitized and re-cut into derivative loan investments go bad. Hold on for the ride and remember....cash is king so start hoarding now.

Wow - an amazing story! Samuelson doesn't feel any pain! And neither do his neighbors!

Phew! Never mind the 15% structural unemployment, our massive trade deficit, our overpriced housing, our horrible national debt, the collapse of middle class incomes. Samuelson feels none of that, and the GDP is not going down, so shut up, you whiners!

Another "Cheer Up, America" article from a conservative economist in the Greenblatt tradition. Just remember that it was Greenblatt who played a big role in getting us into the real estate/banking disaster we are in now.

Us economic looks bleak ahead,this why americans must realise their American Dreams slipping away day by day since depression days.The troubles of mortgage finance giants are pushing up home loan rates to their higest levels in five years.While the us inflation is up since 17 years.the average interest rate.

The average rate for very big,so called 'Jumbo Loans' which cannot be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was 7.8%,the highest since December 2000.
Loan rates are rising because of concerns in the financial markets about the future of Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac,which own the guarantee nearly half of the nation's US$12 Trillion mortgage markets to foreign bond investor.

The Washington can only try to stablise the Market by adding the cost is being passed on to comsumers via mortagage markets when,the the time US have the highest inflation ,unemployments,when personel income become flactuate.The rate hike is the greatest concern to home owners,whose mortgages required them to pay only the interest on thier lons for the few years.If such borrowers are unable to refinance into lower-cost loans,many of them will face the propects of having to pay both interest and principle at higher,adjustable rates.

Let's me show you example for borrowers with a US$400,000 loan,such a jump could send their monthly payments to US$2,338 from US$1,417 that estimate the mortage payment .Im wondering how on earth the americans going to face this reality of future.

US economy not going to be looks bleak "IF" the Confidence level with foreign fund manager is sinking day to day by removing out billion Fund out from US soil.

Only Obama policy looks much more brighter future for US to bring the confidence back in America compares to any B.S John McCain policy.

American public at large can be excuse for being naive about the facts in US economy, its always been well kept secret till now,Only the few of those in Wall Street,Washington,Banking sector knew all along about this "REAL" danger situations that facing America now.

This all about the reality,vanishing before our own eyes the "CONFIDENCE-IN- AMERICA " which have a deep history ,that rooted since the depression days, slowly GONE the days with the wind when "TRADITIONAL" large foreign Fund managers moving out the"FUND" out of US soil Day by Day .You may blame part of it of drastics of "Political"policy "desicions,washington knew it in early days during their first day in Oval Office .

Administration may have the stringent "LAW' that prevent moving huge fund out.But what law can it "PREVENT" when a country like Japan have a Quake in Japan moving billion back to Japan for restructuring.What can the "LAW" prevent when like the Chinese having the deposit more then US 1.69 trillion in CM bank,ML bank in bond,beside the LOAN multi-billion that they borrowed to Washington,when it's their opportuniy when organising a multi-billion Olympic Event,they have their own huge fund in their respectives countries "BUT" its "JUSTIFY EXCUSES" reasons moving out its fund out of America,The real culprit truth is "LOSING CONFIDENCE" in America .

Who can blame them when the situations now facing America?How much did Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae actual DEBT? The answer is US $5 Trillion and this number kept out from public,do you think US $25 billion tax payer money to be proposes in senate,do think this amount can do much? maybe its worth some effort then nothing.

Im priviledge to has the experience informations,I know someone are watching ,some from banking sector knows what im saying about, lets it be i'hve nothing to hide from the truth,but this TRUTH can benefits the Americans at Large from the lies for years.

Thank you Samualson! The Dreary Democrates in the Congress would prefer to hear economic news square with thier Americans Suck Fisrt campaign in which bad Americans out there are bringing us to "these" depressed times (Sniff whine) and ohhhhhhh.
Of course it will be Americas' achivers who are causing all this missery (whine sniff) according to the campaign. The Big Pitch will be "so we got to elect democrats to fix this!"
The US econmoy is continueing on in its ups and downs, here and there and is durable!
Americans do NOT Suck First and America is a very nice place! It ROCKS! It's the one place you can go where you can be surrounded by AMERICANS! Awesome people!
Thanks for a fair and objective report! it is refreshing to see!