According to TFA, it wasn't the 1930s or last week. It was "the 1981-82 recession, widely considered America's worst since the depression."

The more you tell people the economy
is getting worse, the worse it will get.

Sentences eviscerated.

Boobie troll.

People stampeded, and cattle raped.

People committing suicide at alarming levels. A 25% unemployment rate. Starvation throughout the country. Tents being set up in Hoovervilles. Work lines for daily help every morning.

Yeah, just like the depression. Especially the unemployed collecting welfare checks and going home to their 50" flat panel HDTV's.

We're such a lazy farking country these days.

Most of you won't remember the early '80s, but I do. I was just as bad then as it is now, except no one figured out exactly who scammed the money like they did with Madoff.

BBC ran an inseresting article last week that said our current economy downturn is much more like the 1876-1893 recession than it is the 1930's.

If you don't make stuff your screwed.

Paper doesn't count.

Capitalism is dying a painful death, and all the suffering is put onto the shoulders of the working man. Managers and investors are offered bail outs and will recieve big, juicy checks for their troubles.

This is time for revolution. Bastille 2.0. The townspeople should take arms and hang their leaders.

inflation isn't soaring



but uh, deflation ain't too good either

zvoidx: The more you tell people the economy
is getting worse, the worse it will get.


Just like you should never yell fire in a movie theater. That way, even if the theater is on fire, everyone will be just fine!!!

DON.MAC: If you don't make stuff your screwed.

Paper doesn't count.

What if you make newspapers?

AliasUndercover: Most of you won't remember the early '80s, but I do. I was just as bad then as it is now, except no one figured out exactly who scammed the money like they did with Madoff.
I remember. I remember never seeing a "help wanted" sign until i moved 350 miles away from my home town.

Ross Perot was right and is sitting at home saying I told you so.

Quote: "Ya hear that big sucking sound, ya know what that is, that's American jobs going south to Mexico"

These days it's not only Mexico but many Asian countries. It's getting to the point that we are even importing canned Tuna and frozen fish from China. The US used to have a fishing industry.
We should NEVER get into the position where we are dependent on another country for our survival. If we are to stimulate the economy we should have an aggressive campaign to bring permanent manufacturing jobs back onto US soil. About the only products made here anymore that can be sold overseas are military weapon systems and movies,....what else do we make that foreign countries cannot sell cheaper but is an inferior product ?

/end of rant

The cool thing about tough economic times is that guys who have a job are more likely to get laid.

What if you make newspapers?

Then you're really screwed. There are some trends picked up in the last years that will kill you with or without economic troubles: people read less and they read less paper media.

There are two (coincidentially) left-wing newspapers here in Italy that risk closure. Such news are a really bad omen in a time where left-wing parties are at shambles. I think that they are not victims of a right-wing conspiracy, but of an economic trend, which is ironic.

If I didnt read the news I would have no idea that anything was wrong.
Is this just a bunch of hype?

BuzzBoy: many Asian countries. It's getting to the point that we are even importing canned Tuna and frozen fish from China.

I bought frozen green beans that came in a "microwavable bag" that were a product of China. Not used to seeing Chinese produce except at an Asian market. These were from Fry's.

xav: Capitalism is dying a painful death, and all the suffering is put onto the shoulders of the working man. Managers and investors are offered bail outs and will recieve big, juicy checks for their troubles.

This is time for revolution. Bastille 2.0. The townspeople should take arms and hang their leaders.

You've met my city commissioners, I take it.

You ain't seen nothin' yet!
The same wall street gangsters and banksters,than are responsible for this mess are still running around loose,thieving,looting and destroying America.
That bribed,80% Bedouin tribe,called CONgress is largely to blame for this fiasco.

atomic-age: xav: Capitalism is dying a painful death, and all the suffering is put onto the shoulders of the working man. Managers and investors are offered bail outs and will recieve big, juicy checks for their troubles.

This is time for revolution. Bastille 2.0. The townspeople should take arms and hang their leaders.

You've met my city commissioners, I take it.

Maybe. Are those the ones that twitch their bodies or the ones theat stick out their tongues (and eyes) out?

Psumek: What if you make newspapers?

10 years ago... yes.
today... I'm sorry.

The super loose money policies that lead to credit so loose people could get credit cards for their dogs has been going on since at LEAST the 90's Daddy Bush recession through the 8 years of Clinton and the 8 years of Dubya Bush.

Both parties have the smell of this shiat on them.

foxo: That bribed,80% Bedouin tribe,called CONgress is largely to blame for this fiasco

Congress is 80% Bedouin?

I don't remember the recession of 82 being this bad. Of course I am in Michigan and we have been in a recession for quite some time.
I think it began in '82.

Oldiron_79: Both parties have the smell of this shiat on them.

Well, of course they do. They're both just fronts for the Big Money Party.

Unknown_Poltroon: zvoidx: The more you tell people the economy
is getting worse, the worse it will get.


Just like you should never yell fire in a movie theater. That way, even if the theater is on fire, everyone will be just fine!!!

Your analogy is different because, with the economy, if you tell people it's getting worse, then they won't spend and it will perpetuate the problem.

If the goal was to have the people survive the theater fire, (as compared to having people survive the recession), the theater manager shouldn't yell into the crowd that everyone should panic and get out vs. telling everyone to calmly exit in an orderly fashion...

The second scenario has a better chance of achieving the goal.

Yo Malbar, the idiot who helped cause the 80s recession sired the even bigger idiot who caused this one.
No one can drive an economy into the ditch like a good Republican like Bush.

AliasUndercover: Most of you won't remember the early '80s, but I do. I was just as bad then as it is now, except no one figured out exactly who scammed the money like they did with Madoff.

See, this is what I'd like to hear more about. I was around for the recessions from the 70's to present. All meant belt-tightening, but we lived.

I don't remember this level of panic, though. My parents were New England stoics, so they would not have let on to us kids even if they had been shiatting bricks. But still. All the freaking out is really freaking me out.

So, old Farkers, what's your opinion? How does this one rate as compared to past recessions, in terms of the general mood? If there is a large difference, why? Is it the 24 hour OHMYGODWEREALLGOINGTODIE media? Or have we felt this way before, and have a really short collective memory?

eraser8
According to TFA, it wasn't the 1930s or last week. It was "the 1981-82 recession, widely considered America's worst since the depression."

Yup. Two years into Reagan's administration, but it wasn't his fault but Carter's.

And yet, two months into this current crisis and people are claiming this is Obama's fault, not Bush's.

Malbar
The idiot who caused the 80's recession by raising interest rates to eliminate inflation is now one of Obama's most trusted economic advisers. Expect it to get much worse before it gets better.

I don't think I've read of too many people - either left or right - who ever considered Paul Volker an 'idiot' for doing what he did. Most people think it was brutal, but necessary and most importantly, successful.

But if you have some other brilliant theory about combatting double-digit inflation other than contracting the money supply, do tell. We're all ears.

I live in Michigan too and I also remember the early 80's recession. Back then, if you lost your job and found one out of state then you could sell your house and move. Today if you lose your job and find one out of state can't move because you can't sell your house. Things are much worse now.

First came revisions in the rules of who should get home loans. Then came a gross overestimation of the telecoms. After that came real estate bubbles that were sustained by loans made to people who should never have received them. I remember the calls in government for reducing the loaning standards for low-credit individuals because it was "unfair" to charge high interest rates for people just because they had a past and were now trying to own a home. Now we see that lots of similar loans were made into Eastern Europe in the heyday of the end of the Cold War. In all cases it looks like there were lots of loans made withotu people doing their homework, and a financial house of cards developed that began to come down at the first sign of an economic downturn.

To solve the current problem, I think we need to rebuild in the infrastructure in the US and start developing real industries again. GM should be restructured to get rid of its current management, renegotiate its UAW contracts, and hit the ground running. Chrysler should be absorbed into Ford and the folks getting paid $50-70/hr with a GED and guarenteed job must realize that those days are OVER. We need high-speed rail to every major city in the US and help industries needed to build it, including construction and steelmaking. Finally I think there must be a law stating that we must produce 70% of certain goods for domestic consumption within our own borders, including but not limited to steel, certain electronics, and scientific equipment. Education should also be reformed immediately so we can start preparing our children for the future workplace instead of running social engineering experiments at the cost of our country's future.

/end rant

DON.MAC: 10 years ago... yes.
today... I'm sorry.

Newspapers aren't dead. The print product, maybe, but demand for news is actually at an all-time high. Most newspaper online departments I visit are working 24/7 just to keep up with demand.

Kurmudgeon: Yo Malbar, the idiot who helped cause the 80s recession sired the even bigger idiot who caused this one.
No one can drive an economy into the ditch like a good Republican like Bush.

Please explain how VP George H. W. Bush helped cause the 1981-1982 recession.

Malbar: The idiot genius who caused the 80's recession by raising interest rates to eliminate inflation is should have been allowed to do his damn job so that a balancing recession would have only made things mildly uncomfortable for wall street while preventing total economic collapse two decades later due to the artificially lowered interest rates, leaving us nowhere to go.

There, ftfy.

"You don't have that certainty today," he said. "It's not only that the downturn is sharp and widespread, but a lot of people worry that it's going to be a long-lasting, substantial downturn."

Because media moguls continue to sensationalize the situation...

But it was the 1980's, so everyone was too high to care.

Fellows: DON.MAC: 10 years ago... yes.
today... I'm sorry.

Newspapers aren't dead. The print product, maybe, but demand for news is actually at an all-time high. Most newspaper online departments I visit are working 24/7 just to keep up with demand.

Those guys haven't figured out how they are going to get paid yet. They may be OK if they fix that other wise its just delaying the inevitable. But they still fit in the group that "makes stuff" so there is hope for them.

dipdunk Quote 2009-03-08 11:03:18 AM
First came revisions in the rules of who should get home loans. Then came a gross overestimation of the telecoms. After that came real estate bubbles that were sustained by loans made to people who should never have received them. I remember the calls in government for reducing the loaning standards for low-credit individuals because it was "unfair" to charge high interest rates for people just because they had a past and were now trying to own a home. Now we see that lots of similar loans were made into Eastern Europe in the heyday of the end of the Cold War. In all cases it looks like there were lots of loans made withotu people doing their homework, and a financial house of cards developed that began to come down at the first sign of an economic downturn.


Yet Congress is still trying to make those loans available with a new bill introduced; HR-600 which DPA and is a return to More of the Same lending practices. So much FAIL in that.

Here is one source:

One Source (new window)

Just google HR-600 and research it for yourselves.

To be fair, there will be people lined up at soup kitchens in major cities regardless of the state of the economy. There's just more of them now.

Mmm soup.

I make my own chicken broth too and I have lots in the freezer...

I think I know what I'm having for dinner.

xav: atomic-age: xav: Capitalism is dying a painful death, and all the suffering is put onto the shoulders of the working man. Managers and investors are offered bail outs and will recieve big, juicy checks for their troubles.

This is time for revolution. Bastille 2.0. The townspeople should take arms and hang their leaders.

You've met my city commissioners, I take it.

Maybe. Are those the ones that twitch their bodies or the ones theat stick out their tongues (and eyes) out?

They're the ones who ramrodded an eminent domain project through, gave the seized land to a private development firm--along with buckets of cash, and who continue to throw dumpsterloads of cash at the aforementioned firm.

BuzzBoy: Ross Perot was right and is sitting at home saying I told you so.

Quote: "Ya hear that big sucking sound, ya know what that is, that's American jobs going south to Mexico"

Don't you know that Ross Perot was crazy for saying all that, and globalism was our way to wealth and security?

/voted for Perot
//where's all the sarcastic "they took our jorbs" people these days?
///Oh! I know! At the SOUP KITCHEN.

Boloxor the Insipid: If I didnt read the news I would have no idea that anything was wrong.
Is this just a bunch of hype?

I can see the effects of the economic downturn every day, and I'm in DC...an area I feel is delayed in feeling the full effects. Half of my department got laid off recently (and along with another 5 people that lost jobs in my company, that makes about 9% of my company), and two close friends have lost jobs so far. I've got a few other friends that work at non-profits who are sweating bullets and I know that if I can't keep the pipeline full for my department, the three of us remaining aren't going to be employed for too long. Where are you that you haven't seen any fallout from this?

namegoeshere: So, old Farkers, what's your opinion? How does this one rate as compared to past recessions, in terms of the general mood? If there is a large difference, why? Is it the 24 hour OHMYGODWEREALLGOINGTODIE media? Or have we felt this way before, and have a really short collective memory?

I'm not an old farker myself but I had the pleasure of speaking with a 78 year old lady the other day and she was claiming she'd never seen anything like this in her life and she was worried about what was coming.

Bushville






George Bush and the Republicans found a solution to the high gas prices last year. TG. Oh, well. As long as McDonalds has their Shamrock shake in March, the Americans will be happy.

When can I blame Obama and not sound stupid or at least the people who made him a viable presidential candidate?

As much as I hate to point out the errors in blaming specific people for the current mess we're in, it needs to be done.

The majority of the blame goes to --------------------- John Q. Public.

After all, who bought gas guzzling SUVs during the fuel 'shortage,' which, naturally, kept the gas demand high and did nothing to encourage OPEC to cut the prices?

Who jumped on every unnecessary, expensive leisure toy out there, such as personal water craft, ATVs, 4 wheel drive off roaders, cell phones that made Star Trek communicators look lame, GPS systems and huge plasma TVs?

Who started flipping homes for profit, ignoring the fact that doing so drove the prices and property taxes up?

Who invested in the stock market on their $3,000 lap tops while drinking their $6 cups of coffee, thinking only of major, short term profit?

With gas prices rising, who invested in crude oil stocks, which helped keep the barrel price high?

Who invested in over priced homes and encouraged the construction boom which would eventually force thousands of low wage folks to take out high risk mortgages -- provided by investors eager to make major bucks fast?

Who started little businesses that pushed products with inflated prices and clogged up late night TV with infomercials?

Who sued the krap out of everyone for everything, ignoring the fact that the cost of massive payouts get passed on to the consumer in the way of higher prices?

Who made the high end luxury business profitable enough for it to pop up everywhere?

Why do we have more billionaires in such a short amount of time than ever thought of? (The US has 1000 billionaires.)

Who sat there as Ethanol companies grabbed up the major food grains for fuel, ignoring the fact that doing so was going to dramatically increase the cost of nearly every food product down the line?

What farmers started growing grains for fuel for a higher profit instead of for food?

Want to know who?

Look in a mirror and say hello.