I've read the first two pages so far...
Losing our perceived role as world leader isn't so bad. I think it will reign in the aspects of our government I most dislike while realigning our ideals back to the era where we strove to excel versus our current entitlement mentality.
We're just lucky our financial $hitstorm is dragging everyone down with us. Had the rest of world not bought tickets on the Greed Express we'd be truly ****ed.
We're just lucky our financial $hitstorm is dragging everyone down with us. Had the rest of world not bought tickets on the Greed Express we'd be truly ****ed.
Not surprised.
Twice? Don't hold your breath
LOL at some 2d rate euro rag...
Omg!!!!!!!11113113v3nty!!!111
one that has naked chicks in it duh
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
And most Americans apparently didn't agree with the bailout plan. Nice.
Has anyone ever added up how much money was made by those leading, co-operating or investing in scams or other such funny business that lead to the collapse? Or how much the "richest" percentile has in liquid assets? If I were an ordinary American (proudly Canadian thank-you very much), I'd be asking for little help from some big fish. For sure unreal... definitely unAmerican.
I bet if you vote in Obama, the rest of the world might help you out... might...
Ummm... how about benevolence and forward thinking? Sign some international agreements and fix some of the messes you've caused...
Awesome... let's move forward.
Michael Moore rejoice! Do your next film on Alain [sic] Greenspan for free or donate all proceeds, please!
Can I use [sic] if I did it on purpose?
Add Enron and the other corporation evil-doers... oh, don't forget crappy gas guzzling cars and frivolous lawsuits! well... the article dit mention the tech bubble burst and the dot-com demise...
Ya think? I guess what bothers me is the lack of complacency in financial efforts void of any type of ethic save greed. In engineering, if we have a process that shows ascending or descending trends, more than seven, then it is out of control. My beef is financial people really have no idea what they are doing. The first people laid of in the tech bubble were tech people. They didn't see it coming, but I'm sure some people did.
The G-8 appears inept as an organization in effecting realistic change and control. It makes me laugh that China might buy up US stuff. Might be a better idea for Asia to show America how to work hard. I'm also dumbfounded that people expressed concern and the ones riding the wave didn't listen. Sounds like the environment... sorry... pointless paragraph.
Uggh. I am hesitantly optimistic though that the American people will do what they should to pay for the misgivings of a select few. What sucks though is the burden of this quagmire falls on the shoulders of many, though I suspect the middle class will feel it like a brick with a slice of lime to the head.
der spewgel: socialist mouth piece of der commizar
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/02/europe/russia.php
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/02/europe/russia.php
Yeah **** the world! We are #1! USA USA USA USA!
uicide:
uicide:
Seems like a well researched and balanced article.
What I'm finding hard to grasp (and I'll admit to no formal education in economics or psychology, but not to stupidity) is who people are blaming and expecting to "pay for this"..
There appears to be a degree of opinion that the failure of the (relatively) poor to save and their willingness to take out loans for such fripperies as a house is the root cause of this financial crisis. Here we have a body of people who have been told repeatedly that the best economic system in the one that is also selling them the loans. That speculating is the way forward (and, after all, buying a house on a mortgage is a form of speculation) etc... (I could go on but the basic point is the same).
So, let's agree, the poor or uneducated are not going to spot the flaws in the economic system, so can we blame them?
On the other hand it seems that many do not favour govt intervention as it lets the bankers off the hook at the expense of the tax payer. Is the alternative any better, are the wealthy really going to pay themselves? Personally I'll take the option of a job and higher taxes than no job at all. Look at it as investing in your nation.
Yeah, I know, I'm oversimplifying.
What I'm finding hard to grasp (and I'll admit to no formal education in economics or psychology, but not to stupidity) is who people are blaming and expecting to "pay for this"..
There appears to be a degree of opinion that the failure of the (relatively) poor to save and their willingness to take out loans for such fripperies as a house is the root cause of this financial crisis. Here we have a body of people who have been told repeatedly that the best economic system in the one that is also selling them the loans. That speculating is the way forward (and, after all, buying a house on a mortgage is a form of speculation) etc... (I could go on but the basic point is the same).
So, let's agree, the poor or uneducated are not going to spot the flaws in the economic system, so can we blame them?
On the other hand it seems that many do not favour govt intervention as it lets the bankers off the hook at the expense of the tax payer. Is the alternative any better, are the wealthy really going to pay themselves? Personally I'll take the option of a job and higher taxes than no job at all. Look at it as investing in your nation.
Yeah, I know, I'm oversimplifying.
I think pretty much everyone owns a piece of this mess and that the blame can't be laid in place. There were buyers who over extended, but there were banks that were all too happy to let them overextend. No one cared, or questioned, when everything from their house price to their stock prices rose. As is normally the case, the few people who saw the mess coming were ignored.
For the fix, I think neither option is attractive; the taxpayer bails out the financial industry to keep the economy from going down further, or we say f*ck them and risk a nasty recession that will see many of us become unemployed. Personally I'll take the bailout in hopes that we can create a floor to the downward march.
yeah, but Obama likes arugula. so there's that.referring to n8's avatar
Agree, except that the "fix" doesn't actually ask anyone to sacrifice ANYTHING. Everyone keeps throwing around huge numbers, all of which are purely theoretical and will be lumped into the "general debt" of this country. Palin last night said she didn't think paying taxes was patriotic. How the hell else are we going to get out of this mess after spending a trillion dollars we don't have, a bake sale??!?
We need *REAL* leadership in this country. We need a leader who will stand up and tell the Americans that it's everyone's fault for not saving enough, spending too much, and not living within their means. Fk the "Bush response" after 9/11 of going out and spend spend spend, we need the opposite now. Yes, cutting the capital gains tax would help people invest more, but also raise the sales tax and increase interest rates. Make it advantageous for people to save their money, and not just for retirement. Right now the savings rate at your local bank is 0.25%, which is like 1/16th the rate of inflation. Basically the government is encouraging people NOT to save their money, since if you put that $1000 in the bank you'll end up with $1025 next year. However, if you buy that big screen tv instead, that same tv will be selling for $1040 next year, PLUS you'll have owned a gorgeous new tv for the entire year. (inflation numbers approximate)
We're at a zero savings rate in this country. Aside from the 2nd qtr with everyone dumping their "stimulus check" into their bank accounts, this graph tells everything:
And as much as I'd like to think that whoever the next president is is going to take the reigns and lead this country forward, I have my doubts... God why couldn't Bloomberg have run for the nomination?
I just read this article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/163272
There is some egg on the Europeans face now as their financial system slides downhill. Not that I don't think we fvcked up...
There is some egg on the Europeans face now as their financial system slides downhill. Not that I don't think we fvcked up...
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yer img link iz nawt werking.Ummm... print a bunch of this. Duh.
i think it is due to the economic meltdown.