Think Progress

With Recession Looming, McCain Offers Happy Talk: ‘Underpinnings Of Economy Are Strong’

Unwilling to take accountability for the last seven years of mismanagement over the nation’s economy, conservatives are eager to portray the current economic downturn as a momentary hiccup and a temporary drag:

John McCain: “I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong.

President Bush: “I believe we can find common ground to get something done that’s big enough, effective enough so that an economy that is inherently strong gets a boost.”

Ed Lazear, Chairman of Council of Economic Advisers: “The structure of the American economy is sound.

Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/01/structureecon.320.240.flv]

Such happy talk overlooks the fundamental weaknesses of the U.S. economy — a weak labor market, large budget deficits, massive trade deficits, low productivity growth, and a nationwide decline on house prices.

Since 2001, family incomes in the United States have not risen, yet the costs for important consumer items such as housing, health care, transportation, energy, and food all climbed at often breathtaking rates. To afford these basic necessities, families buried themselves in deeper and deeper debt relative to their income — “at a rate more than four times faster than that in the 1990s.”

Due in part to the Bush administration’s laissez-faire, deregulatory approach to the markets, lenders preyed off low interest rates and offered risky loans, financing them by borrowing heavily overseas. As a result, a vicious cycle of debt has resulted from the meltdown in the housing market; and the burgeoning crisis has enveloped global markets.

The fundamental weakness of the current economic structure is one reason why Fed chief Ben Bernanke is privately offering economist forecasts that are “much worse than he has admitted to publicly.”

UPDATE: McCain: “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.”




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97 Responses to “With Recession Looming, McCain Offers Happy Talk: ‘Underpinnings Of Economy Are Strong’”

  1. raynman Says:

    Just like in 1928, the underpinnings of our economy were strong enough for the country to recover... in about a decade....


  2. bilbobaggins Says:

    Well, this just goes to show how dumb McCain is. When the election comes around and we are in a deep recession bordering on a depression, this "happy talk" will come back to bite him in the butt if he is the Republiscum candidate.


  3. GSD Says:

    John McCain will deal with the economy by launching the Happy Talk Express!

    -GSD


  4. hellinabucket Says:

    How Hooveresque.


  5. PeterW Says:

    Really? Underpinnings are strong?

    A decimated manufacturing sector?
    A negative savings rate?
    Consumer liquidity stretched to the limit and beyond?

    Really, what are our strong underpinnings?


  6. Zimzone Says:

    IS McPain a better liar than Bush?

    Tune in tomorrow for more remarkable statements from unremarkable people.


  7. tarazan Says:

    There will never be a strong economy based on accumulating debt. Unless this problem is solved and we have a stict and reasonable fiscal policy,we will always be in the danger zone.
    Borrowing is nothing but postponing debt.
    Yesterday I heard Romney who claims to be the bad economy big solver saying that we need to spend more on defense...,the same with McCain anf Giuliani.
    Right after the president offered a tax break, and th Treausry secretary lowered the intererest rate by 3/4 points,the stock market reacted negatively..Because there is no room to borrow and take more money from the Treasury.
    We need to tighten our belts and administrations stop passing the debt t to another administration and another generation.
    Countries who have been lending us money might not be round soon to do so...to take care of our debt..
    They are selling their dollar holdings,and changing their monetary portfolios to have more other currencies beside the dollar.They are simply diversifying
    The war is a big expense...a huge one on a country that is accumulated so much debt.
    We need a president who understands that; a president who thinks beyond just wars and military spending.


  8. hellinabucket Says:

    Well said tarazan.


  9. bobcat_grad Says:

    Sure, the underpinnings are strong. You know, underpinnings like people.

    There are lots of people in the country. And they do... um... stuff. Like work - that involves money, right? And they spend it, too, right? There's money involved there, too, I think. Soooo... therefore, logically speaking (all-Republican like), the economy is always strong because there are people.

    Simple, guys.


  10. EmilyD Says:

    Hmmmmm,

    Now what could have occurred in 2001 to cause the U.S. economy to slump and middle and lower class wages to remain stagnant? There has to have been some monumental event, some catastrophic change to cause such damage to our economy. Oh yes, now I remember, George W. Bush was inaugurated January 20, 2001.


  11. bobcat_grad Says:

    Tarazan - dead on.

    America has been living beyond it's means for a long time. Clinton tried to start reigning it in, but Bush just blew that to hell. Borrow, borrow, borrow.

    If I acted in the same manner that the US government has regarding fiscal issues, I would bankrupt and everything I have would be gone. Imagine an individual citizen going to a bank and saying, "Yea, I know I already owe you a lot of money that I don't know how I'm going to pay back, but can you give me more?"

    You'd be laughed at.


  12. DRxJ Says:

    John McCain: “I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong.”

    Also from McCain: "I know how, and will, capture Osama Bin Laden"

    Sure Happy! Whatever you say! But please explain why you've kept this secret for the last 7 years!


  13. DRxJ Says:

    Wasn't there a time when our country had a surplus.

    Anyone? Anyone? Buehler? Hendler?


  14. koko the talking gorilla Says:

    “Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.” —Herbert Hoover, November, 1929.


  15. tarazan Says:

    I am amazed that in all these countless presidential debates,the issue of our 'debt' is not considered even an issue worthy a presidential debate.
    The interest that American taxpayers pay every year on the national debt is in the hundreds of billions,yet the attitude toward such an issue is ...stay the course...,just the same attitude toward the war in Iraq...stay the course...
    We need a good problem solver president...and not problem creator.


  16. DRxJ Says:

    Can anyone spell C-O-R-R-E-C-T-I-O-N?????????????????????????????????????

    Comment by John Kerry is a true hero (I am not) — January 23, 2008 @ 11:32 am

    I see our west coast troll is up.
    What?
    Mom won't let you play X Box this early, Mr. P?


  17. pbg Says:

    “Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.”

    —Herbert Hoover
    November, 1929


  18. The Dogfather Says:

    The underpinnings of that interstate bridge in Minnesota were strong, too. Until they weren't.

    Obviously, the repug approach to "managing" the economy is to keep telling everyone it's doing well -- until it collapses entirely and brings down a lot of us with it. I mean, no sense in acknowledging that there might be some economic instability there and doing something to fix it (that doesn't involve a token tax rebate payoff that will only serve to delay the inevitable collapse by running up the deficit and national debt...).


  19. PatrioticLiberalChristian Says:

    Ooh, ooh, I can spell correction: E-L-E-C-T-I-O-N-2-0-0-8


  20. The Dogfather Says:

    Let's recall when the two biggest collapses in the stock market and the US economy happened -- during repug-lickin administrations (Hoover and RayGun). And now, the third time's the charm for them...


  21. tarazan Says:

    #18...pbg

    You made the point in a very convincing way.



  22. Art Says:

    If you can't say something nice...
    then don't say anything at all.


  23. barfly Says:

    "Can anyone spell C-O-R-R-E-C-T-I-O-N?????????????????????????????????????"

    For you? Midol.

    Dow is currently down 173.


  24. LeftWind Says:

    The levees won't break.


  25. Nature Rules Says:

    Correction! Yes indeed. A correction is needed. House prices are far too high and a correction is needed. Unfortunately, the governments meddling in the market delays the correction until some later date. When the government gives a 150 billion dollar boost that doesn't work as expected and then lowers interest rates which doesn't work as expected then the government is wasting all their shots and soon will be firing blanks. At that point the correction will take place and world will be a little more chaotic because of it.

    Oh and John Kerry the troll is stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Because it bears repeating.


  26. lefty Says:

    Optimism don't fix nothing and don't pay the rent


  27. rmwarnick Says:

    "The fundamental business of the country, that is production and distribution of commodities, is on a sound and prosperous basis."
    -- Herbert Hoover, Oct. 25, 1929


  28. jb Says:

    Do these Rupugs actually believe that all they have to do is think "happy" thoughts? Or are they just too lazy to do any real work?


  29. Arn Gunnutes Says:

    Dow down 170 as of 11:43 AM.

    2.4 TRILLION for a "war" by WAR CRIMINALS is beginning to take its toll.

    FKVC TRAITORS Bush and BETRAYUS.


  30. Zimzone Says:

    Conservatron: Noun / People who refuse to change mind or Party, regardless of the quality or morals of those whom they elected. Can usually be found spewing Rightoric at loud volumes.

    Somewhat related to Rodents, Conservatrons scurry for dark corners whenever sunlight is introduced, making squeaking sounds and dropping small turds in their haste for cover.


  31. PatrioticLiberalChristian Says:

    If I drive my car, with its "sound underpinnings", off a cliff there's going to be one big crash. Same goes for our economy and the leaders (?) driving the policies on taxes and expenditures.


  32. lefty Says:

    It's funny how we hear about defaulting mortgages for months and months but once the stock market tanks 450+ points to open the week, they jump up off their rears and do something.


  33. bilbobaggins Says:

    Can anyone spell C-O-R-R-E-C-T-I-O-N?????????????????????????????????????
    Comment by John Kerry

    Since you seem to have so much confidence in our stock market, I suggest you take every penny you have available and invest it today!

    How the stock market goes has very little to do with the health of our economy. Stagnant wages, lack of jobs, the cost of consumer goods, especially gasoline, our national debt (both our government's and personal debt) all have a much bigger impact on our economy than the stock market.


  34. PeterW Says:

    #30, Do these Rupugs actually believe that all they have to do is think “happy” thoughts?

    Well, it works for Tinkerbell, why not the economy?


  35. TXProgressive Says:

    And they continue to say that there aren't 2 Americas!

    They're wrong - there's those who feel the pinch, and those who are oblivious to what's happening.


  36. Arn Gunnutes Says:

    Now down 202.

    Bush will BURN IN HELL for the MURDER and MISERY he has caused, both domestically and WORLDWIDE.


  37. jb Says:

    The fat, lazy, sit by pool, and watch their stocks, wing of the Repug Party is the worst segment of the population. Greedy and lazy. That's who's been running the country.


  38. jb Says:

    Well, it works for Tinkerbell, why not the economy?

    Comment by PeterW — January 23, 2008 @ 11:49 am

    I knew there were fairies in the GOP. Tinkerbells: McCain, Bernanke, W, etc. need a lot of stardust to get out of this mess.


  39. Witch1 Says:

    This is not just a yesterday problem or even last year.....We have been headed down this path for over 7 year's...The created war, allowing companies to go off our shores and pay no tax, dumping cheap good's with no tariff's from foreighn countries on our market's and borrowing from all sources that were suposto be held in trust has got us here. Add to that allowing the very rich to pay little or no tax and poluter's to get off scott free when they have oil spill's is just the tip of the ice berg...Stick the tax payer's with all the bill's...Screw the working class.

    .Our coutry has been in a recession for many year's.....It's just who has been in the recession, indeed more like a depression for many...The food bank's have been overwhelmed since the beginning of this administration...Few of the upper middle class have noticed, it's rarely reported..Very little has been reported about our military having to go on food stamp's and food bank's to survive....Now they are silent about the hospital's....Anything more about the fact Dubi still own's those port;s we were opossed to....Nope... all's quiet.

    Out of sight out of mind...Any idea of how many people are in shelter's, unemployed, out of benefit's...Sleeping under bridges..Inflation has jumped every year on good's and serices to the point people on S.S. can't buy necessary item's to survive.....The fiasco drug deal that AARP helped push through, that take's another $30.00 or more from retired citizen's pocket's....The AARP is just another insurance company after all...The Gov. dole's out tiny little S.S. increases every year, usualy around $24.00, for them selves our representative's cut another increase of $3,000. on top of the $165.000 or more they are already making.....They have free medical no cost's and good wage's....Those of us that realy did work all our live's to pay taxe's raise our famalies and sweat equity in our country get the dreg's at the bottom of the barell..

    Mccrap and all these polatician's have a charecter flaw, perhap's it is a genetic disorder....Wanting to be the king or queen, who know's...At any rate it isn't working and as thing's go from bad to worse for the real people out here in worker land sooner or later it will infect the rich and all will crumble it has in the past and will again...Untill there is a true learned behavior it will remain the same...Sorry for the length...Blessings and Peace, we realy need them now.


  40. tarazan Says:

    #34...Lefty,

    I agree with you on this, the housing and mortgage problem did not happen overnight. It has been growing to be a big tumor for a while ..and now we claim to feel it,and know about it, at later stage.

    Now that this administration knew about it....what is their solution..


  41. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    The underpinnings are strong? Yes, Bushitler, Repukes, and Demublicans took a good dump on the USA and their underpinnings certainly stink.


  42. lefty Says:

    Comment by tarazan

    They have no solution. WE are the solution. George Bush and his Republican fluffers do not fix things, they only break them.


  43. wisedup Says:

    More war and everything will be fine....bomb bomb bomb....when you torture people,you can see what happens...McCain.


  44. toasterhead Says:

    Now that this administration knew about it….what is their solution..

    Comment by tarazan — January 23, 2008 @ 11:56 am

    I'm guessing it'll be like their response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush will do a quick flyover and observe the broken economy from 5,000 feet. And then maybe give a press conference praising Ben Bernenke for doing a heckuva job.


  45. plunger Says:

    Keep saying really stupid stuff, John.

    While you're at it, tell all American's what they think. That one always goes over really well.

    Then top it all off with telling everyone that they are better off now than they were before the BushNazi and AIPAC coup on 9/11.

    Actually, put Joe Lieberman right next to you and have him nod his head up and down and smile while you speak.

    That will really seal the deal.


  46. Zooey Says:

    Here's the problem I spotted about these bozos attitude about the economy -- or anything:

    John McCain: “I still believe...
    President Bush: “I believe...

    No need to base your words on actual facts -- just BELIEVE!!



  47. plunger Says:

    The Globalist Banksters figured out how to take Congress completely out of the oversight function of the US Government.

    Congress was said to have "The Power Of The Purse."

    Rumsfeld and Zakheim depleted the Pentagon's budget of $2.3 TRILLION - with Rummy announcing it less than 24 hours before the 9/11 attacks.

    This meant that Congress would have no choice but to dump in a massive amount of money to fight the BOGUS WAR ON TERROR, which Rumsfeld himself created along with his Zionist Co-Conspirators.

    Well prior to that time - prior to the Iran Contra Scandal, The INTELLIGENCE Complex figured out that that could completely circumvent Congress and accomplish any goal they chose by trafficking in cocaine and heroine - and using the profits to fund their operations.

    A Shadow Government was created with these funds - with its own objectives - in concert with Israel and the Crown.

    Congress is essentially powerless as long as the funding for the Shadow Government's Operations comes from drug sale headed by one GHW Bush.

    CNN -- SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT
    November 17, 1991

    In the United States of America there is a hidden government about which YOU KNOW NOTHING.

    Tom Golden, Chief of Counter Intelligence Strategic Defense Command: "It is highly classified and the largest program of it's kind that I had ever become involved in"

    In the United States Federal Government there is a super-secret agency which controls this Shadow Government.
    http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/shadow/doomsday.htm

    "There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy,its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself."

    — Senator Daniel K. Inouye at the Iran Contra Hearings

    http://www.sweetliberty.org/shadow.htm
    http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/secgov.html
    http://villagevoice.com/news/0211,ridgeway,33050,6.html#cheney

    This is being implemented by executive decisions; intrusive, unconstitutional laws being passed at the state and local levels of government; and a shadow government (the Doomsday Plan - Continuity of Government) of non-elected people that we're told was implemented by the president on the day of infamy. . . 9-11-01.

    In fact, it is NOT a plan for the Continuity of Government. It is a plan for the Continuity of the Executive Office -- one branch of government.

    http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/homeland/phaseiii.htm

    How ironic it is that their greatest fear is the legalization of drugs.

    The DEA is actually just a protection racket to ensure that the Bush/CIA Crime Family remains the number one drug trafficker on earth.

    Ask talking head / operative General Barry McCaffrey all about it.


  48. plunger Says:

    http://www.arcticbeacon.com/18-Aug-2006.html

    A TOP GLOBAL CONSPIRATOR CONFIRMS THE GLOBAL CONSPIRACY

    For the benefit of knee-jerk 'smart fellows' whose minds are befogged by 'slides' and who will be inclined to accuse the Editor of International Currency Review of being a 'conspiracy theorist', the following statement by one of the leading globalist strategists, Mr David Rockefeller, published in 2002*, will no doubt come as a shock:

    'For more than a century ideological extremists [sic] at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicised incidents such as my encounter with Castro, to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and over economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as "internationalists" and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure ? one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it'.

    As will be seen, David Rockefeller acknowledges that he is part of a secret cabal (synarchy) which works against the best interests of the United States. Why has he not yet been indicted, then, for conspiring against the United States under Section 371 of the United States Code, Title 18, 'Crimes and Criminal Procedure', which states that 'if two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both'?


  49. DieNowForPeace Says:

    Time to put this guy out to pasture, like a weak, old, dying horse...


  50. plunger Says:

    McCain Says Major Financiers Will Back His 2008 Bid

    December 15, 2006

    One of the most prominent on the list of finance committee co-chairmen is the head of the New York Stock Exchange, John Thain. Mr. Thain, whose title is CEO of NYSE Group, Inc., previously served as president and CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

    A New Jersey-based investment banker deeply involved in fund-raising efforts for the 2004 Republican convention, Lewis Eisenberg, is signing on with Mr. McCain. Mr. Eisenberg is a former Goldman Sachs partner who served as chairman of the Port Authority board at the time of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

    WHAT A COINCIDENCE!

    It was Eisenberg who passed the $15 billion Asbestos Liability represented by the Twin Towers onto Larry Silverstein, the man who confessed publicly to having Building 7 "PULLED" by explosives – despite the fact that no plane struck it:

    Rescuer 2: "Keep your eye on that building, it will be coming down soon."
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr5TxKTMRx0

    LISTEN to the firefighters and police:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnbpz9udYus

    Listen to the owner:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYaUeGvYYxc

    http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0823-03.htm

    COLLEGE STUDENTS DYING FROM INHALED ASBESTOS:

    http://www.bupipedream.com/pipeline_web/display_article.php?id=3259

    ALL SO HALLIBURTON COULD REMOVE THE WTC ASBESTOS LIABILITY FROM ITS BOOKS - HALLIBURTON HAD ACQUIRED DRESSER TO SAVE THE BUSH FAMILY FROM THE LOSING POSITION IT WAS STUCK IN…all because of the pending Asbestos law suits

    Planning days in advance to bring down WTC7 by planting explosives inside it implies only ONE THING...FOREKNOWLEDGE OF THE ATTACK ON 9/11.

    Google: "Dancing Israelis"

    The Zionists did it. McCain is in their employ. Lieberman is absolutely his running mate. Apparently McCain doesn’t realize that once they are “installed” in the White House, his own days on planet earth are numbered by dark forces who will not rest until Israel has installed a Zionist as President in YOUR White House.

    Follow the money.

    Google: Greenquest


  51. Dave C Says:

    With Asian markets up , up, up and with so far the U.S. market rebounding even you wacked out libs who have intelligence can’t continue with this con!!

    Can anyone spell C-O-R-R-E-C-T-I-O-N?????????????????????????????????????

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 11:32 am

    Correction? That implies that the market was booming and now it's correcting itself. Hardly the case. When Bush took office the Dow was 10,581. Right now it's 11,764. That's an increase of 11% in 7 years. You figure it's going so well it's due for a correction? The GWB experiment has failed. Not a single positive thing for the U.S. or the world has come from this administration.


  52. PollM Says:

    Is McCain the right person to lead the economy?

    http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=1616

    .


  53. VerbalKint Says:

    Talk like this will sink McCain's wobbly candidacy for good.


  54. plunger Says:

    The cancer growing out of the side of McCain's face is his conscience trying to escape his body.

    McCain once stood for removing money from politics. The Rockefeller elite and Israel have put him in his place - through threats and blackmail. He is a broken man who does not believe the words he speaks. He is a shill, and he knows it. Divide & Conquer - that's ALL politics is about - just a game played by the elite to keep us baffled and divided.

    The concerted effort that you see now in the media reveals the end of the slippery slope. Not a day after the most recent elections, the media were already hyping the next ones - 24/7. The effort by so many states to move up their Primaries means that the American People will be buried in political banter on a year-round basis. Politics. Not News. Politics - 24/7 - forever.

    Rockefeller's wet dream is coming true. He controls the media, he controls Congress, he controls the banks and he controls the oil.

    Is there not a single patriot in Congress who will step forward and reveal the truth of the blackmail, bribes and intimidation in order to save our Republic?

    Aaron Russo - The most important interview of our time:

    http://tinyurl.com/29gyyb

    You MUST watch this and share it with EVERYONE.

    A shorter version is here:

    http://tinyurl.com/392w7j

    The Council On Foreign Relations DID 9/11
    The Rockefellers DID 9/11.
    The “War On Terror” does not exist.
    “Bin Laden” does not exist.

    If you don’t STOP – and take the time to watch this, you cannot ridicule those who risk their own personal security to tell the truth.
    If you do watch it, and love America, you’ll never again ridicule a TRUTHTELLER.

    STOP what you are doing.
    WATCH THIS INTERVIEW.
    Then share it with EVERYONE.

    Google Video Search: Historic Interview With Aaron Russo

    Here’s the Video that Google Video PULLED DOWN!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U_GISl3aAA


  55. DieNowForPeace Says:

    Ooh, ooh, I can spell correction: E-L-E-C-T-I-O-N-2-0-0-8

    Comment by PatrioticLiberalChristian

    Maybe JK should look at this pretty graph. Maybe words are too difficult for it to understand.

    We're A LONG way from any sort of "correction", including the Election.


  56. Dave C Says:

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 11:32 am

    btw, just for comparison purposes... when Clinton took office the Dow was 3,292, when he left it was 10,581. Bush took over and in 7 years he's carried it to 11,764. But it's a correction right now. Good call.


  57. Fred Says:

    With Asian markets up , up, up and with so far the U.S. market rebounding even you wacked out libs who have intelligence can’t continue with this con!!

    Comment by John Kerry

    I would just like to re-iterate how un-American jk is....I don't believe he is stupid....I believe he is a liar.

    Stock markets plunge worldwide
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080121/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets;_ylt=AjNKVfqcz3sn4NmRijtcdj2s0NUE

    Please read this jk so you will understand why everyone thinks you are stupid when some of us know you are just a liar.....

    did I say that jk was a liar....oh yeah....by the way jk is a liar.


  58. plunger Says:

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 11:32 am

    btw, just for comparison purposes… when Clinton took office the Dow was 3,292, when he left it was 10,581. Bush took over and in 7 years he’s carried it to 11,764. But it’s a correction right now. Good call.

    Comment by Dave C — January 23, 2008 @ 12:25 pm

    The stock market is net-negative when you factor in the declining value of the dollar over that period. The stock market is just paper and cheerleaders. The people who are presently trapped in it, always will be. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

    The money that was invested there, is gone.

    It's all just an illusion.


  59. Fred Says:

    You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

    Comment by plunger

    Welcome to the hotel California........


  60. Dave C Says:

    The money that was invested there, is gone.

    It’s all just an illusion.

    Comment by plunger — January 23, 2008 @ 12:31 pm

    If the money invested in the markets is gone now then it was never real to begin with. Though the U.S. market has moved little there have been great opportunities on all markets to make money in the last 7 years. If that money is an illusion then all money is an illusion. So I don't get your point and how it relates to the stock market.


  61. RUCerious Says:

    Johnny Mac, not faint of heart, but definitely faint of brain.


  62. plunger Says:

    #

    #

    The money that was invested there, is gone.

    It’s all just an illusion.

    Comment by plunger — January 23, 2008 @ 12:31 pm

    If the money invested in the markets is gone now then it was never real to begin with. Though the U.S. market has moved little there have been great opportunities on all markets to make money in the last 7 years. If that money is an illusion then all money is an illusion. So I don’t get your point and how it relates to the stock market.

    Comment by Dave C — January 23, 2008 @ 12:35 pm

    Using paper to buy paper - then watching as the "market" moves up and down...what's REAL about that?

    The FED just created more paper out of thin air to prop up the "market" of paper, and in so doing, reduced the value of the fiat it's all based on.

    When the US dollar goes all the way off the cliff, what will the stocks be worth?


  63. MCMetal Says:

    Asking Frankenstein McLame about economic matters makes about as much sense as asking Dickhead Cheney and Limpballs about the rigors of military life .................


  64. MCMetal Says:

    You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

    Comment by plunger

    Welcome to the hotel California……..

    Comment by Fred — January 23, 2008 @ 12:34 pm


    Great band to equate with McLame ; The Eagles blow..........


  65. Shayne Says:

    did I say that jk was a liar….oh yeah….by the way jk is a liar.

    Comment by Fred — January 23, 2008 @ 12:29 pm

    I beg to differ fred. I know jk is a liar but I think he is also stupid. Why else would he fall for all the old talking points?


  66. plunger Says:

    Current and former CIA officers tell ABC News that they were trained to handcuff the prisoner and cover his face with cellophane to enhance the distress. According to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., himself a torture victim during the Vietnam War, the water board technique is a “very exquisite torture” that should be outlawed.

    “Torture is defined under the federal criminal code as the intentional infliction of severe mental pain or suffering,” said John Sifton, an attorney and researcher with the organization Human Rights Watch. “That would include water boarding.”


  67. Veritas Says:

    McCain's "insane"~


  68. Veritas Says:

    tarazan: These so-called "fiscal conservatives" have amassed the largest national debt ever!! Looks like they can't use that platform any longer. The fact is each and every one of these Rethug candidates are total LIARS.


  69. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Great band to equate with McLame ; The Eagles blow……….

    Comment by MCMetal — January 23, 2008 @ 12:53 pm

    I would have said Consolidated's "Friendly Fascism"


  70. Dr. Matt Says:

    In 1979 we were the largest creditor nation in the world, now we are the largest debtor nation in the world.


  71. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    McCain’s “insane”~

    Comment by Veritas — January 23, 2008 @ 1:05 pm

    Then he has all the qualifications to be a Repuke candidate for p-Resident.

    BTW, I am beginning to think this John Kerry on TP might be a Stephen Colbert character, or something out of Firesign Theatre. This could be a really good parody of someone insane by using all of the catch words, and pretending to be a Neo-Fascist. I don't think even a Freeper could take this punishment.


  72. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    I am beginning to think this John Kerry on TP might be a Stephen Colbert character, or something out of Firesign Theatre. This could be a really good parody of someone insane by using all of the catch words, and pretending to be a Neo-Fascist. I don’t think even a Freeper could take this punishment.

    Comment by Brain From Planet Arous — January 23, 2008 @ 1:12 pm

    I see your point, but even if it is a parody, it's not a very clever one.

    And if it's NOT a parody, it's really REALLY stupid.


  73. Leftside Annie Says:

    Nothing worse than a senile warmonger.


  74. Fred Says:

    I beg to differ fred. I know jk is a liar but I think he is also stupid. Why else would he fall for all the old talking points?

    Comment by Shayne

    I guess you could be right.....I know I make my share of mistakes but I like to think I'm learning and try not to make the same ones over and over......


  75. Bobwurst Says:

    Back in the dark days of Reagan I used to think it couldn't get any worse. Now, after living through 7 years of bush, I actually look back and smile at my naiviety about Reagan. If we get one of the republican'ts for our next pres, will we be looking back at the good old days of bush facisim with misty eyes? Let's not find out. Just say no to Mcain't, or mittens, or 9ui11iani!


  76. MCMetal Says:

    Back in the dark days of Reagan I used to think it couldn’t get any worse. Now, after living through 7 years of bush, I actually look back and smile at my naiviety about Reagan. If we get one of the republican’ts for our next pres, will we be looking back at the good old days of bush facisim with misty eyes? Let’s not find out. Just say no to Mcain’t, or mittens, or 9ui11iani!

    Comment by Bobwurst — January 23, 2008 @ 1:22 pm


    The US will not survive another horseshit GOP president.......
    It simply cannot be allowed.


  77. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    I see your point, but even if it is a parody, it’s not a very clever one.

    And if it’s NOT a parody, it’s really REALLY stupid.

    Comment by ralph the wonder llama — January 23, 2008 @ 1:14 pm

    Yeah, it's a dumb parody, if it is. Good Satire and parody suspends the belief that the person is "one of us", and actually makes you think he/she is the dummy. On second thought, we are thinking JK is an idiotic Bushista. So there ya go!!

    An intelligent Neo-Con supporter simply does not exist, so right there it would be a give away. In other words, to do a good Repuke/Neo-Con parody, you would have to appear to be a dolt.

    Something to think about when answering these Freepers/Repukes/Bushies.


  78. texaslady Says:

    Three months ago top Financial guys Warren Buffet and others said we were slipping into a recession, but hey those are just people who have made a success in life what do they know? Trust this administration to ignore experience and listen to blowhards sucking up to bush.


  79. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Back in the dark days of Reagan I used to think it couldn’t get any worse. Now, after living through 7 years of bush, I actually look back and smile at my naiviety about Reagan. If we get one of the republican’ts for our next pres, will we be looking back at the good old days of bush facisim with misty eyes? Let’s not find out. Just say no to Mcain’t, or mittens, or 9ui11iani!

    Comment by Bobwurst — January 23, 2008 @ 1:22 pm

    You should have heard back in the days of Nixon. people used to say the same thing. My friends and I, always more politically aware than the standard "Hippys who became yuppies", said that it can always get worse. My Vietnam Vet friends are writing articles comparing Nixon to Bush, and Vietnam to Iraq, and they ALL feel it is worse now. I knew the crap hit the fan when Tricky Dick took us off the Gold Standard, and Kent State happened. I know Bob Casale from DEVO, who witnessed the Kent State shootings from 20 feet away, and it is what motivated the band to become one of the strongest political bands in history, no matter what you think of DEVO (yes, they were MUCH more than flower pots on their heads..."Pot" heads as Bob and Mark used to say).

    Eisenhower was attacked as being a "Communist" by McCarthy and crew because he was the last Constitutional Republican we had, who actually warned us of the "Military Industrial Complex"


  80. DieNowForPeace Says:

    Comment by Brain From Planet Arous — January 23, 2008 @ 1:36 pm

    Don't you think Dick Cheney looks just like Booji Boy?


  81. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Don’t you think Dick Cheney looks just like Booji Boy?

    Comment by DieNowForPeace — January 23, 2008 @ 1:48 pm

    He sure does

    Here is Jihad Gerry with George Bush cutout

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlU20YC6Ly4&sdig=1


  82. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    You all are SICK!!

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 1:53 pm

    You are one good master of Parody JK!! A liberal/progressive pretending to be a dummy.......Excellent!!!!!

    I may join as another email account, and try the same thing myself.


  83. Fred Says:

    84 if you didn't just hit and run like a coward jk maybe everyone wouldn't think you were so damned stupid......just something to think about...bye bye


  84. Dave C Says:

    Using paper to buy paper - then watching as the “market” moves up and down…what’s REAL about that?

    The FED just created more paper out of thin air to prop up the “market” of paper, and in so doing, reduced the value of the fiat it’s all based on.

    When the US dollar goes all the way off the cliff, what will the stocks be worth?

    Comment by plunger — January 23, 2008 @ 12:49 pm

    The fact that our form of currency is paper is a given. Your point that paper is meaningless when the $ gets devalued is correct but it's correct regardless of the stock market. You could put your money under the mattress and it will still be worth less now then it was 7 years ago. Had you bought a basket of Dow stocks 7 years ago at least it would be worth 11% more then it was. You could sell it today and be up 11%. It's still worth less because your $ dropped about 1/2 but it's better then had you put it in your mattress. So I don't understand how you're connecting the bad $ with the stock market. If your $ goes "all the way off the cliff", whatever that means, some companies will prosper, some will fail. But you personally will suffer just as much, if not greater, by having your money sitting in your pocket compared to having it in the stock market. Gold would be a preferable spot but it has its problems too. I'm not arguing that your $ is in the $hitter, just that you're not worse off in the last 7 years by investing in the Dow. You're just worse off then you would have been with anyone else in office.


  85. Joe Public Says:

    Hey JK-

    A market correction is defined as a temporary drop of 10%. So far the Dow is off its high by 15% and counting.


  86. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    The really really BAD news for you wackos is that the market WILL rebound, probably within the next week or so and, as usual, your type will NOT mention it.

    You all are SICK!!

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 1:53 pm

    I'm thinking about starting a troll archive, in which i save and store the most abjectly stupid predictions of the familiar trolls on here. That way I'll have evidence to shut them up when their predictions prove miserably off-base.

    This one's a good place to start.


  87. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    …. and that drop is temporary, Joe.

    Comment by good_golly — January 23, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

    Gigi is probably right. Historically markets always advance in the long term. But by saying this is "temporary" she ignores that a drop of 15% indicates an unhealthy economy. She, like Troll JK, also ignores the multitude of negative signs for the economy in order to declare the Bush Economy sound and healthy.

    Inflation is up, unemployment is up, corporate earnings are down, consumer spending is down. Consumer spending has been the primary engine keeping the Bush economy afloat over the past few years, and that spending was driven by two factors: expanding home values, and expanding consumer debt. In other words, consumers were outspending their incomes too, just not as drastically as the Bush Administration.

    Now, with home prices crashing and foreclosures skyrocketing, consumer spending is being reined in. Not good news for an economy that has depended on that spending for so long.

    So, yes, GiGi, the downturn is temporary. But if it lasts three years instead of three days, it's still temporary, right?


  88. RUCerious Says:

    Great idea Ralph, you could call it, the dumbest shit ever told!


  89. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    They don’t call you the Brain for nothing! You’re obviously too smart to be fooled!! Damn! I had everyone fooled but YOU, Braino Boy!

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 2:15 pm

    I just love a good laugh, whether it's The Three Stooges, Marx Brothers, Firesign Theatre, Abbott and Costello, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, DEVO, Lucille Ball, Professor Irwin Corey, or a poster named John Kerry doing an impersonation of a Republican Half-Wit.

    You are really very good at it.


  90. SP Biloxi Says:

    John McCain: “I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong.”

    Underpinnings?? What in the hell is that?

    Memo to McCain: English please.

    No, McCain, the economy is in the tank. Enough said.


  91. Fred Says:

    …. and that drop is temporary, Joe.

    Comment by good_golly — January 23, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

    Gigi is probably right.

    Comment by ralph the wonder llama

    Hmmm, these folks don't seem to agree...
    Stock markets plunge worldwide

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080121/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets;_ylt=AjNKVfqcz3sn4NmRijtcdj2s0NUE

    I got all of your point ralph....just wanted to add to it......gg knows things we don't know....heard that before?


  92. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    I hear you, Fred. I hear you.


  93. PeterW Says:

    Dave C, it's worth pointing out that stocks that don't pay dividends are only worth what someone perceives them to be worth; in that sense, they're only paper.

    Part of the problem with corporate governance is that dividend pay-outs have become much rarer than in the old days. It's a sign that companies are now run by their executives, rather than their owners (the shareholders).


  94. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    LIBS LOSE!!!

    Comment by John Kerry — January 23, 2008 @ 4:39 pm

    Now, JK, I know that you are an intelligent person posing as an idiot for giggles, and you know that the Fed's pumping of money into the market is the upswing today. The Bank of China issued a statement denying awareness of any reasons for recent declines in its stock price amid reports as it may face significant losses from U.S. mortgage-backed securities. Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. reported losses of nearly $10 billion in the most recent quarter after writing down the value of mortgage-related securities. Rate cuts will eventually boost margins for banks and other lenders, which have been working to lower costs and boost cash levels through layoffs and stock sales. This does not translate to higher liquidity for the average consumer. The Fed's continued obsession with slashing interest rates and printing money in order to maintain the facade of the grossly overvalued stock market while the dollar collapses is precipitating a financial holocaust. the stock market is grossly overvalued due to the weakness of the dollar and is due a severe correction seems impossible to accept for the average and large investor. Today Motorola and Apple nosedived both around 20% with speculation consumer spending will be down. So in effect, no one benefits from this volatility.


  95. mike831 Says:

    "Part of the problem with corporate governance is that dividend pay-outs have become much rarer than in the old days. It’s a sign that companies are now run by their executives, rather than their owners (the shareholders).

    Comment by PeterW — January 23, 2008 @ 3:09 pm"

    I couldnt agree MORE Peter!



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