Comments on: A Consumer Economy at a Standstill

By: walter_map

walter_map — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:07:18 +0000

They don’t want to borrow…and banks don’t want to lend to them anyway.

Why should banks want to lend to anybody? Lending entails risk. Consider how much better it is to have the federal government simply give the banks money. No risk, plenty of profit.

On the other hand, what exactly is the point of having banks which don’t make loans? Isn’t that what banks are for? If they don’t make loans, are they still banks, or should we call them what they really are?

Parasites.

By: Rango

Rango — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:54:10 +0000

Phelps who can’t swim sounds like he’d make a good guest columnist here.

By: Phelps who can't swim

Phelps who can't swim — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:23:20 +0000

I don’t know who is right about the economy, whether it is DR, or the mainstream econ.s on t.v. who only want to give us numbers, which don’t mean a damn thing to most people. I’ve lived most of my life in an area of the country where most jobs available were in manufacturing. In this tiny location factories built motors, ACs, furniture, fishing equip., tires, etc. Many of these jobs are now gone sent to Mex, China or God knows where. The jobs that replace these industries were banks, Wal-Mart, Target, Books-a-Zillion, hairdressers and various Gov. emp. Obviously, the new jobs rely on consumer spending and borrowing. The old ones were based upon production, which allowed folks to spend at the retailers and borrow from the banks and created a balance in production and consumption. Those days are almost gone here and what we are mostly left with is the consumption jobs. Does anyone who doubt the folks here at DR really believe there will be a recovery without production related employment to counter-balance all the consumption related industries? Here in AR the consumption related industries outnumber production related ones by a number I don’t know, but the fact is production is outnumbered, which is why so many ARs are poor. The StateGov is our largest employer and some of the most despicable people you would ever meet work for them. We have many small towns with almost zero crime rate, but they have 6-10 police officers working for them and are equipped with swat teams, which is just one example of the waste and over-employment in the Gov sector is out of control. How long do you think the Gov. and the banks can bleed us before this entire system comes tumbling down? I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.

By: will peters

will peters — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:10:12 +0000

The day of wreckowning has arrived,£2000 to part with your four wheelerred and dealerred bustrucket and anyone can sell “their” shares [wether they own them or not ]in the titanic economy before her bare stern goes up up and away and buy with the proceeds one of the few remaining slow lifeboats to china[they are only expencive when everyone wants one ,at which point money ceases to represent wealth and has to take its place in the queue behind the other recipiants of the caxTonyian con stants ,or they that can carry on believing in anything and sit it out and play abide with me on the harpo with their fellow marx and spendsir brothers ,whilst the water which they hoped would recede as surely as the moon goes overhead laps up arround their ankles on its way to a major naval engagement where they will lose their cutty sark.

At which point every chicken little that refused to cross the road will ask why, as they see the sky falling and realise that they have been seriously plucked, at which point they will realise that the Great Gordoni b of inkland was/is to economics what Tommy cooper was to magic.

By: JMR bayou bobby

JMR bayou bobby — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:11:12 +0000

well, there ya go

Maybe it’s like stopping the car when a dog is chasing you, just to see what happens. And when you learn what happens, you go seeking a car wash.

By: Cosmo Hippy

Cosmo Hippy — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:56:13 +0000

America has a SPRUCE GOOSE ECONOMY.

By: Cosmo Hippy

Cosmo Hippy — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:54:46 +0000

This site never posts my comments.

By: Bloomer

Bloomer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:33:17 +0000

I know a lot of people in this recession, who are on the ropes. Should the economy bounce back and we all prosper as a result, I would be elated. However, as we have seen, one can pay a huge price for over-optimism. In my view, reducing or eliminating household debt is the surest path to prosperity. By cutting out interest expense and building equity one can secure their future.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:20:17 +0000

Harry Harry Harry……
Why is BB right?

By: john

john — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:17:36 +0000

It was hurricanes that caused me to wake from my sleepy American dream. First was Isabel a few Septembers back. When the wind and rain was over there was a beautiful calm. The weather was warm and the air smelled clean and good. There were not too many trees down and it seemed we would all be fine. But the winds had piled the water up in the Chesapeake Bay. Silently, in the middle of the night, as the tide came in, the water rose seven feet above normal high tide and quietly damaged homes and businesses.
The next year Katrina did her worst and left all those people on roof tops waving bed sheets and waiting, waiting, waiting, for the government to save them.
I suspect we will have a replay of these events in the economy: Like Isabel, after it seems the storm has past and good times are here again the dark muddy tide of inflation will creep into our homes and businesses. Like Katrina, those who wait for the government to save them will be disappointed.
Those who survived Isabel prepared with sand bags and plastic or moved valuables up ahead of time. Those who survived Katrina got out early and/or were armed and prepared.