Another piece of info for you Bush bashers..

[fredk]

The only wasted vote is the one you didn't cast.

Voting is a privilege that many in this world do not have.

 

[loserwife]

The only wasted vote is the one you didn't cast.

Exactly.

So I will vote for the lesser of the two evils.

 

[DD66000]

Dont get me started on his economic policies, but suffice it to say that job security is in the field of unemployment counsellors in the Obama economy.

Bush/McClain policies are what put us there already, over 2 million Americans with no jobs and few to be found. Record high gas prices, gee who would have thought that would happen, with an oil man in the White House. Just like peanut prices went sky high back in the late '70's, with a peanut farmer in the WH then.

 

[bandphan]

Bush/McClain policies are what put us there already, over 2 million Americans with no jobs and few to be found. Record high gas prices, gee who would have thought that would happen, with an oil man in the White House. Just like peanut prices went sky high back in the late '70's, with a peanut farmer in the WH then.

And what would those policies be The number of americans that were unemployed was 8.8 million according to the Dept of Labor and some 2 million added to the work force. The largest percentage of unemployeed to increase were teenagers. As for jobs to be found, thats covering a broad range factors and fields to say that there are few to be found.

 

[DD66000]

And what would those policies be The number of americans that were unemployed was 8.8 million according to the Dept of Labor and some 2 million added to the work force. The largest percentage of unemployeed to increase were teenagers. As for jobs to be found, thats covering a broad range factors and fields to say that there are few to be found.

That 2 mil I quoted are the people who have been laid off just in the last 9 months. I saw numbers that, as of July, over 1.5 million people had been out of work for more than 6 months. Add to that, since the first of the year, about another 1/2 mil have been laid off.
And I guess you're not really looking at the construction industry, Most of that work force are not teenagers. Just in the state of Nevada, which has less than 3 1/2 million population, or less than 1/2 the pop of LA, from the end of '06 to the end of '07, 80,000 construction jobs were lost. That's huge considering the total pop of the state.
I was told by a California unemployment case worker that there are so many people out of work in that state, they're not sure how many are out of work.

Those are just two reasons the Fed Gov opened up extended UE benefits, for only the 3rd or 4th time, I can remember, over the last 40 years.

The housing industry is in the worst condition since the '30's great depression. Of coarse alot of that has to do with bad mortgage lending. And for the majority of Americans their pay checks don't go as far today as they did 30 years ago. Things have gotten totally out of hand, at least for the working class.
I read that there are more millionaires in this country than ever before, but the other side of that coin is the fact there are more people in poverty than ever before. Which I suppose is the reason for a payday loan office on most any corner of every city, something that not seen at all 30 years ago.

The oil companies get the huge tax breaks (and other large companies) and, through price gouging, creating record profits, while the rest of us get screwed at the pump.
But I guess that has nothing to do with Bush being an oil man.

 

[annunaki]

The housing industry is in the worst condition since the '30's great depression. Of coarse alot of that has to do with bad mortgage lending.

Please provide proof of this. There are more homeowners now or in the past 10 yrs. than at any other point in our history. This sounds quite sensationalized.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Please provide proof of this. There are more homeowners now or in the past 10 yrs. than at any other point in our history. This sounds quite sensationalized.

Here is one economists look on the housing market as of the last few years.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/housing-deepest-most-rapid-decline/story.aspx?guid={A811AA1E-D0D3-4AA8-917C-95F7F154AA08}

 

[MinusTheBear]

Here is a look at the percentage change in housing prices from the previous year from the 1920's to 2008 in the United States.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11453745

 

[Sheep]

Here is a look at the percentage change in housing prices from the previous year from the 1920's to 2008 in the United States.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11453745

Easy MTB, you don't want to get to close to one of these things....


SheepStar

 

[MinusTheBear]

Easy MTB, you don't want to get to close to one of these things....


SheepStar

I share your sentiment, I don't do politics (treding awful close), I can feel the wrath from the gates of hell however...I can see I am already 2 posts over my quota.

 

[DD66000]

Please provide proof of this. There are more homeowners now or in the past 10 yrs. than at any other point in our history. This sounds quite sensationalized.

You just don't get it. Of coarse there are more home owners, just as there are more of everything else. Why, because our population is more than ever before.
More millionaires, more houses, apartments, malls, stores, sports teams, more homeless, more people in poverty, more home foreclosures. The list is endless.

But in just the state of Nevada, which has one of the smallest state populations, has, at the last count I saw, 26,000 vacant houses, many of those are foreclosures.

For the past 3 years (feb '05 ~ apr 08) I worked on about 45 different housing tracts, throughout Northern Nevada, installing staircases.
At the time I was laid off, and the Reno office closed, there was only one of those tracts in operation. Some of those 45 tracts were already closed out, having sold all lots. But the majority of those tracts just halted building last year, as sales fell through the floor.

http://nevada.foreclosurelistings.com/

 

[bandphan]

That 2 mil I quoted are the people who have been laid off just in the last 9 months. I saw numbers that, as of July, over 1.5 million people had been out of work for more than 6 months. Add to that, since the first of the year, about another 1/2 mil have been laid off.
And I guess you're not really looking at the construction industry, Most of that work force are not teenagers. Just in the state of Nevada, which has less than 3 1/2 million population, or less than 1/2 the pop of LA, from the end of '06 to the end of '07, 80,000 construction jobs were lost. That's huge considering the total pop of the state.
I was told by a California unemployment case worker that there are so many people out of work in that state, they're not sure how many are out of work.

Those are just two reasons the Fed Gov opened up extended UE benefits, for only the 3rd or 4th time, I can remember, over the last 40 years.

The housing industry is in the worst condition since the '30's great depression. Of coarse alot of that has to do with bad mortgage lending. And for the majority of Americans their pay checks don't go as far today as they did 30 years ago. Things have gotten totally out of hand, at least for the working class.
I read that there are more millionaires in this country than ever before, but the other side of that coin is the fact there are more people in poverty than ever before. Which I suppose is the reason for a payday loan office on most any corner of every city, something that not seen at all 30 years ago.

The oil companies get the huge tax breaks (and other large companies) and, through price gouging, creating record profits, while the rest of us get screwed at the pump.
But I guess that has nothing to do with Bush being an oil man.

I agree with some of your points above , Im just not seeing how any or what policy orginated through the White House that has directed cause to the problems you have mentioned. While oil companies make record profits, they also pay record taxes, that coupled with the 18.4% federal tax on gas sales generates alot of revenue to the goverment . There hasnt been any bills introduced that have made it through for the White House to sign. Im for making changes where they count the most to me and my family. I think many Americans are seeing that congress has to be held accountable for themselves, and it's showing in there approval ratings. Yes IMO the prices at the gas pump are not because Bush is an oil man.

 

[Sheep]

I share your sentiment, I don't do politics (treding awful close), I can feel the wrath from the gates of hell however...I can see I am already 2 posts over my quota.

I was trying to find that family guy clip where Quagmire gets sucked into a fight between two raving lunatics, and then is thrown out saying "Did I just get laid?".

SheepStar

 

[Davemcc]

But in just the state of Nevada, which has one of the smallest state populations, has, at the last count I saw, 26,000 vacant houses, many of those are foreclosures.

For the past 3 years (feb '05 ~ apr 08) I worked on about 45 different housing tracts, throughout Northern Nevada, installing staircases.
At the time I was laid off, and the Reno office closed, there was only one of those tracts in operation. Some of those 45 tracts were already closed out, having sold all lots. But the majority of those tracts just halted building last year, as sales fell through the floor.

http://nevada.foreclosurelistings.com/

This makes sense. For most of this decade, Nevada saw some of the strongest growth in real GDP in the nation, often from 8-11% annually from 2000 to 2005. http://www.bea.gov/histdata/Releases/Regional/2005/GSP/state/advance_June-06-2006/gsp_NAICS_Jun2006.csv In 2006, Nevada's GDP rose by only 5.4%, then in 2007, dropped to only a 0.6% rise in GDP, making it one of the slowest growing economies in the nation. http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/gsp_newsrelease.htm 2008 numbers are not out yet, but quarterly figures don't look good for Nevada.

But what does all that mean? #1, it means that the whole nation is not affected. Florida, Nevada and California have taken the worst hits. Places like Utah are still growing their GDP at a healthy rate. #2, I would surmise that in such a quickly growing economy as Nevada experienced during the first part of this decade that many of the thousands of homes built were built on speculation. #3, in light of what we now know about the housing and credit fiasco, I suggest that many thousands of the people buying these houses were not in a financial position to afford the houses that they bought. Once the economy cooled, they were left holding debt they couldn't sustain.

But Nevada is not typical of the rest of the country and should not be held out as such. Economic data do not support that theory.

On the broader scale, US unemployment as a whole rose to 5.7% in July, which is still within the generally accepted range of full employment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_employment Further, if you care to examine unemployment State by State, you will find that there are many States which currently have an unemployment rate which is very low and these States likely need a massive influx of workers. http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm Overall, the U.S. has a generally sound economy, despite the ravings of the fear mongers or the pandering of the politicians. The U.S. has pockets of local economies in difficulty, notably Michigan, Ohio, etc. and these seem to get the most attention, despite the relative economic health of the country as a whole.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

The primary reason for the economic downturn caused by Bush is not his economic policies, as bad as they are, but his war. The billions he keeps spending on his private war (which has nothing to do with freedom or democracy) are bankrupting the country.

 

[bandphan]

So the war/s that are on going are the cause of the country's economic situation OK

 

[darien87]

So the war/s that are on going are the cause of the country's economic situation OK

While saying that the Iraq fiasco alone is the reason for our economic whoes is a bit simplistic, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that spending BILLIONS of dollars outside of the U.S. doesn't do much to help the economy inside the U.S.

 

[Tomorrow]

The primary reason for the economic downturn caused by Bush is not his economic policies, as bad as they are, but his war. The billions he keeps spending on his private war (which has nothing to do with freedom or democracy) are bankrupting the country.

Wars historically have translated into more jobs, more trade, better technology, stronger markets, and on and on. A course in American History should be mandatory for all citizens. WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Bosnia all begun under Democrat presidents by the way, all resulted in better and stronger economic conditions in the U.S.

Like it or not, war is historically good for the economy.

 

[rnatalli]

Wars historically have translated into more jobs, more trade, better technology, stronger markets, and on and on. A course in American History should be mandatory for all citizens. WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Bosnia all begun under Democrat presidents by the way, all resulted in better and stronger economic conditions in the U.S.

Like it or not, war is historically good for the economy.

The economics of war has changed since the 90's. These days more and more items are outsourced to countries overseas who benefit.

The war isn't draining the economy yet since it's being put on plastic right now. Eventually someone will have to pay the bill of course. You can put a some blame on Bush for running up the debt, but Clinton also helped get us into this mess by over-inflating the economy.

Bottom line, if you're poor or rich you have something to gain from this election. If you're in the middle, prepare to be bent over as usual.

 

[Tomorrow]

The economics of war has changed since the 90's. These days more and more items are outsourced to countries overseas who benefit.

The war isn't draining the economy yet since it's being put on plastic right now. Eventually someone will have to pay the bill of course. You can put a some blame on Bush for running up the debt, but Clinton also helped get us into this mess by over-inflating the economy.

Bottom line, if you're poor or rich you have something to gain from this election. If you're in the middle, prepare to be bent over as usual.

I sure agree with you on who gets to bend over. What's hard to swallow is that these two bozos are the best America has to offer?????!!!! We're in deep trouble with a huge leadership vacuum in front of us. Annunaki has been right on in his assessments, I believe.

But what has changed since the '90's regarding the financial benefits of war? Certainly we're more enmeshed in a global economy, but the results will be the same. If you'll look back at the periods of war I mentioned, there were homeland economic sacrifices during the wars (rationing, inflation, etc. as is the case now), but the results were always the same...improved economic conditions from prior to the wars. If you'll note, the dollar has already made a sizeable rebound in value against the yen and euro.

The historical nature I've mentioned is surely related to the matter of actual fiscal policies, but more, it involves psychology and productivity momentum.