Recession
GDP was up 0.6% for the second straight quarter. If you consider population growth we are in a recession. If you consider the phony baloney inflation statistics, then we are in a recession. If you look at consumer confidence and public opinion polling we are in a recession. If you go to your local mall and talk to the store managers you will find that we are in a recession. The only place that we are not in a recession apparently is in the "official world" of Washington DC.
Looking into the GDP report we find further evidence of a contracting economy, recession and the possibility of a looming depression. Sales of final goods fell by 0.2%. People cut back across the board except in areas where they had little or no control such as medical, housing, and utility expenses. Investment in housing, equipment, and non-housing structures are all falling at a noticeable pace. The only positive areas are exports (we are giving away our production on the cheap because of the falling dollar) and defense spending. Inventories also rose and that also "contributes" to GDP. All three of these "winners" really reflect badly on the US economy.
The cycle continues................
Comments (6)
In the USA Today they are having a party as the total employment at all levels of government increased. They honestly believe that they are fighting economic downturn with this.
I have to give them credit though, I was mildly suprised that they mentioned the negative LONG TERM effects of having ever more workers draining resources from the productive part of the economy. As if there are no negative short term effects?
Published: April 30, 2008 11:30 AM
Perhaps the Area 51 policy maker was tranferred to DC, and has applied some of the "deny and it will go away" concepts to economic policy. I just hope there are no such things as aliens. Because if their are; and if they will work for cheap, on the back of my child's VTech Laptop, it may just say Made in NGC1875, instead of Made In China.
Published: April 30, 2008 3:03 PM
Thing look even better when expressed in Zimbabwe $'s.
This is simply the "Phony Fiat Money Effect". Look at yesterday's headline "Oil Companies make $17 billion - record quarter". An easy way to expose the fallacy is to express the result as 1.7 million barrels of oil a day, or better still as 170,000 ounces of gold a day.
Published: April 30, 2008 9:57 PM
... But the FED is making the American dollar more competitive abroad. Surely they know how the economy works. They have seemingly destroyed the purchasing power of the dollar deliberately since its inception in 1913.
Published: May 1, 2008 7:53 AM
Mark,
Interesting to find your post in a Google blog search on "recession" - right next to one from Kudlow's blog entitled, "Recession? What recession?"
http://kudlowsmoneypolitics.blogspot.com/2008/04/recession-what-recession.html
I think your point on official Washington denial is key. I was struck, once again, by this "it's not official until the NBER says it's official!" stance while watching the start of Bloomberg's recent video program "Surviving the Slowdown".
http://financetrends.blogspot.com/2008/05/bloomberg-surviving-slowdown.html
Note that people like Warren Buffett and Roger Altman, high as they are on the economic ladder, still manage to notice that the overwhelming majority of the US population is feeling a recession right now.
Published: May 1, 2008 2:33 PM
It is interesting to note that some poll announced today found that 80% of Americans believe we are in a recession. Maybe Kudlow needs to start hanging out with some real Americans. I guess personal interview opportunities with President Bush can turn anyone's glasses rosy.
Published: May 1, 2008 3:19 PM