So, Wall Street doesn't like THE STIM? I guess they think we should all be good little salmons, swimming upstream, fighting a life-or-death battle against the elements just to keep feeding their greed. It's so rich to hear rich people complaining that too much government money will be spent on things other than them! Tax cuts for the wealthy and riskfree corporate welfare weren't enough?And what's all this FOX GOP noise that the impending deficit spike is a "generational theft"? They certainly weren't concerned about mortgaging our grandchildren's future to pay for unecessary wars (wars ostensibly fought against terrorism that actually increased the breeding grounds of terrorism)! Do we have to remind them that Mr Ex-VP Cheney said in 2001 that "Reagan proved deficits don't matter"? Most economists, like Paul Krugman, worry that THE STIM is too small.
Why do they keep flapping their lips about Hoover having the right idea, like it would be preferable to do nothing, to sit and watch people suffer and starve (they should know we only do that in regards to African nations)? George Will and other members of the Greedy Old Prick club say that the FDR depression-era programs did not solve The Great Depression, that WWII did. My parents and grandparents would beg to differ!
As the chart below shows, unemployment was decreasing during FDR's first term when he scared the pants off the establishment by instituting such radical programs as Social Security (which earned him the moniker of "class traitor" by his fellow Have-Mores). As unemployment dropped back to 15% (from a high of 25%), FDR's big mistake was to listen to conservatives telling him it was time to slack off big government spending after he won reelection in 1936. The result was unemployment spiking back up again. And what was WWII anyway, if not another massive government spending program .... another STIMULUS, if you will?
Another question that's bothering me is who is fooling whom by calling this economic meltdown "Obama's Depression"? Maybe it's the same people who blamed 911 on Bill Clinton?Well, those are just some of my questions, as I plow through a busy week. ps, the artist of the bear/salmon painting at the top of this post is Jeff Ham. Some of the homes I'm touring this week are featuring his work.
10 comments:
I think it is the typical GOP history revisionist. Their was even one congressman last week who said FDR caused the depression. He finally retracted his statement but to even suggest that was just stupid...but he put it out there.
They can't admit FDR did anything well, to do so would be to admit this plan of Obama's might work, and we can't have that... then they look like the fools they are.
Annette:
I heard that guy last week, can't remember who he was, but he almost caused me whiplash when my head spun around wondering WTF?
Thanks for sticking with me during all this. I really appreciate your comments. I know I've been a bad blogger and worse blog visitor. But the good news is this is my 5th and final Home Show, so things should settle back down for me next month.
I'm not sure why anyone till pays homage to the discredited 'markets'. They blew it! Funds managers and analysts employing astrologers and seers are reporting the same level of dismal failure as those relying on gut feeling. Few, it seems, sought the safety of tried and proven.
Instead these financial warriors chop and change direction like a frightened herd of wildebeest.
They have no credibility and should be ignored.
But the salmon... I'm still processing that.
They of course are dead wrong but they do not care if they are right or wrong as long as they keep Obama from succeeding and can get back in to finish off us and their mis agenda. We can't let that happen!
Maybe we need to just coin the phrase *Bush Bankruptcy* here in the Blogosphere??
If $10.8 in the hole is not bankrupt, what is???
That is why the STIM funding fight really bothered me.... giving money to the people for the people.... why that's an outrage!!!
Even my alleged dem congressman voted against it because he said there was not enough in roads & construction money????
He was also one of the spineless dems who constantly wielded the APPROVED stamp for Bush's wars.
He is getting lambasted in the editorial section of the paper. For every one positive comment , there are 5 seething, mad-as-hell remarks.
He would have us continue to fight the upstream battle.
Cart:
It's true the "market" reactions are often as mysterious as astrology! The salmon ... I was feeling like a fish swimming for my life only to end up in the jaws of a bear (market). I think that feeling is happening whenever we work up the nerve to look at our anemic pensions.
Avg Patriot:
OMG, it's the "get back in to finish us off" part of your comment that keeps me up at night!
Fran:
I was surprised that our Blue Dog Dem Rep wasn't one of the house dems that bolted on The Stim. But he comes from an old-time UT family, one that actually profited from FDR's programs.
It sounds like your rep thought that The Stim was going to be a one-time shot or something. Didn't he realize this is just the beginning? If he wanted more infrastructure spending, he should've realized he'd be seeing it soon, in the next stim, or son of stim, or whatever. Gotta start somewhere & see what works!
But oh yeah, just thinking how the congress always caved to Bush's incessent "supplemental" spending bills for his war ... wow, what leap of logic let them allow him to plug in ZERO for war year after year? Because they didn't know how much they would need, they couldn't even budget an estimate? I guess that allowed them to deceive themselves that they weren't running up huge bills ... until it came time for the inevitable "supplemental". Twisted!
Sadly, we will be supplementing the surge in Afghanistan AND we are sending drones to drop bombs in Pakistan. At least 3 bombing occasions already, in Pakistan.
Funny how there was no budget discussion about those items.... war spending is a given.
I was wanting total Iraq troop withdrawal, and a break from wars, maybe just enough time to realize we are bankrupt & can' t afford more wars, or even take time to think of other possible options.
what a beautiful painting....hmm, swimming...at this point many of us are treading water....I think that there needs to be a reality check in DC....I am confused don't they read or talk to their people at home outside of the DC Bubble....???
thanks for sharing economic articles and information....
it's a damn shame the Media can not participate in such an educationally minded way....
Enigma:
Yeah, we are treading water to gain strength just before we have to swim upstream & get past that BEAR! I think Steven Colbert should use that painting. I have a few more of Jeff Ham's paintings to post if I can think of a way to tie them into a topic.
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