The Argument Against the Doom and Gloom Crowd

Elizabeth - You Rock! I love an intelligent woman! My small construction business is growing dramatically. What recession?

Elizabeth, you are missing the most important ingrediant of all. Cheap energy. We cant move the economy without it. In all past depressions and recessions over the last 158 years we have had cheap energy to drive technology to improve living for all and get out of economic jams. You did touch on foriegn oil, but your not seeing the magic wand. Without the oil everything in the economy ceases. We can always fix issues in the economy, but that resource alone is going to take us into a spiral like the world has never seen. Based on your facts and statistics yes you're right. But that is not the situation we are in.

We may not be in a recession, but... ...20 years ago the Dept of labor changed the way they calculate the unemployment rate. They fudged the figures and the process. They round "down", effectively minimizing the actual number, or so my statistics prof told our class. ...Inflation is just under 4%? You're kidding right? I heard an analysis the other day that said - if you factor in housing, energy, food, etc., it's much closer to 7%. ...anyone who sells stock for a living wants his potential customers to believe in the health and wellbeing of the economy. No one wants to take a chance on a dog or a long term downer. find another expert please. ...the above being said, we have a very strong economy, especially if you factor in the fact that NAFTA and Chinese manufacturing have all but killed the manufacturing base in the US. Strive for a little more balance, please.

This article is right on the FACTs.. Please help get this acurate and true messgae out to the Main Stream Media Thanks

Great article! Thanks for writing it.

it doesn't matter. we signed away our freedom with the passing of the federal reserve in 1913. fractional reserve banking has proven to be destructive in all societies that have implented it. fiat currency based on the borrowers ability to pay back the debt is the nail in the coffin. it's only a matter of time until we are slaves to international bankers.

You haven't understood the Credit Crunch at all! Lending is about Risk and Reward. The Credit Crunch was lenders saying that the Rewards were not commensurate with the Risk. So what has Bernanke done? He has reduced the level of reward to lenders. What this mean is that foreigners won't entertain lending to you especially in a Fed IOUs. It also means that all the smart money in the US is being invested in Eastern Europe and Asia. Loans may be cheap but they are not easy to obtain, unless I am missing something. In the UK, you get 125% Mortgages last year. now your are going to struggle to get 90% Mortgages, and even though the Central Bank rate has dropped, the average loan is much more expensive. Now house prices are dropping because nobody can afford to buy. And this is just the ripple effect of what is happening in the US. I am sure many American's will be cheered to read this article. I very much doubt they will be better informed.

I agree with Brian Hamilton's points. Unfortunately "good news" or even "not so bad news" about the economy doesn't sell media time.

Most of the doom and gloom crowd, highlighted by the comments above, are those people too lazy to go out an get a job or a better one.

MY FEELINGS EXACTLY!! A LOT OF THIS GLOOM AND DOOM IS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED. I SEE A MUCH STRONGER ECONOMY.

I cannot believe what I just read. I started to list all the economic factors that were totally ignored in this article, but that chore was much too daunting. It is amazing what dribble comes from the mouth of the ignorant and into the press.

In the real world, of which I work an average of 60 to 80 hours per week, less than $50,000 per year, as an income is living on the edge. If you have no house payment, car payment and don't travel much, this amount may be fine, but for a family of four, with a house and car payment, it does not take much to be ruined. Ten years ago, You might ask yourself: What was gas selling for? What were homes selling for? What were cars/trucks selling for? What was the cost of Health Care? What were commodities, goods and services selling for? Just so you know: I pay off my credit cards each month and never carry a balance. I have no equity line of credit. And what about no health insurance? Just so we are clear, I do not feel that government should provide handouts for homes, gas, food or other issues that we in the real world are having to confront. The Fed needs to back off and the raise interest rates, as the value of the dollars I make continue to evaporate away. Sincerely, Bob

Like one of my all time favorite teachers said (Mrs. Sharp, 5th grade)-"If you lived in a city and father had a job, you could not sense the Great Depression of the 30's." The woman was so wise - I still remember her views of the world, she taught us the horrors of the Holocaust, and she gave great slideshows of her trips to exotic places. To make a lasting imprint on a ten year old is pretty cool, she was wonderful.

Hello Cuz, I engage major retailers daily and many are seizing the opportunity to strike real estate deals with developers for 09 and 10. Granted this is the typical pipeline for major buildouts, but stable Sage of the Plains type retailers with real stores and real profits are forging ahead albeit not at the harried pace fueled by the latest bubble. Retailers are taking a more proactive that reactive stance in their decisions. This is a good thing for the long term as employees who depend on the positions created by these retailers will be less likely to fall victim to the cyclical nature of reactionary expansion. So buck up Americans.

Unemployment...Dummy do you actually believe those stats? Take out the birth/death model adjustment and see what it really is. Inflation....Dummy your are quoting CPI numbers not inflation. Inflation is defined as the increase in the money supply and credit. Its running well over 12% GDP....Dummy if we are running a 10% inflation rate and growth is less than 1% how is the economy growing? If inflation was 0% and growth was 1% you would have a valid point. Interest Rates....Dummy. Why are you talking about buying houses? Too many people are upside down to start with and who wants to buy an asset that is declining in value even if interest rates were 0. Dummy...Dummy..Dummy Keep regurgitating the nonsense stats put out by the Feds. Remember they were the ones that caused the mess and they will get us out...right. You still listen for reindeer hooves on your roof Christmas Eve?

The power to tax is the power to control. Pass the Fair Tax proposal and "we the people" will be much better off. The media and the politicians have much too much control.

great article. I plan to forward it to all my salespeople.

Denny: What I love is intelligent conversation. Calling people dummy may make you feel better, but you lower others' estimation of you. I like eMac's discussions; don't always agree, but at least she putting out material for which we have the opportunity to comment. Who else does that? Disagree all you want, but use your manners.

Harry - My sentiments exactly! Elizabeth, keep up the smart reporting!

"US inflation: The current rate of inflation is 3.98%. Last year, it was 2.78%." Bull...the fed's have been hiding true inflation since they started altering the way it is calculated back in 1993. Our inflation rate, if calculated in pre-'93 style, is running about 11.6% The unemployment rate does not take unto account underemployment...people who hold one or two inadequate-pay jobs and cannot meet basic survival costs such as mortgage, water & sewer, groceries, heat, & gas for their car...oh, and food & gasoline prices are not figured into our inflation rates because their considered "too volatile" in their price swings...a more crooked and obvious method of cooking the books I have never heard of. This economy is being kept afloat by short term, cheap cash & lies. In my opinion, the major correction we face will be allowed to occur probably right after the next presidential election, so we'll have 4 years to recover (if we can) and forget who was in office when it happened...so as not to taint the next election.