President George Bush is right, the country is "not headed for a recession". It has arrived - Remote Helpdesk 1 knows we are there. Besides politics, recession is the major concern of the common man as the summer vacation season hurdles towards the masses. Winter will soon be a memory and family thoughts will turn to spring break and anticipation of summer vacations. The truth is less Americans than ever before will not be able to take a vacation this year. The number of people finding themselves stranded at home during vacation times and holidays have been trending upward for years now.
The economy has slowed according to the White House and has replaced the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the genocide in Darfur as the average American's priority. Republican nominee John Mc Cain promises to address the issue as house prices fall, fuel and food prices increase, home foreclosures soar, the dollar is in free fall, America loses 63,000 jobs in February alone - the most in the last five years and the government now admits January 2008 numbers were also negative, and we find ourselves at an all time high in auto repossessions. The Tennessee Mountain Man wonders why politicians are always promising to fix something while running for office that they already had twenty-five years to correct.
Having been a student of business sciences in college, a life time of two ago, the Computer Man recognizes that there must be official definitions of such phenomenon as a recession and a depression, however political correctness be damned. When your rent and utilities are past due and you, your children, or your aging parents are hungry and you can do little about it, you are in a depression. The dirty little secret no one wants to address is, when some are in a recession, many are of necessity in a depression.
For way too long our elderly have had to choose between medicine and food, and of having to pay a portion of their utilities one month and paying their rent the next while children must eat two meals a day at school or go hungry.
Although it is disheartening to watch the wealthy republican establishment decry the less financially secure people of the world who make their life style possible, it was a positive sign when the newly minted world's wealthiest man, Billionaire Warren Buffett, recently said "the U.S. economy is essentially in a recession even if it hasn't met the technical definition of one yet". Perhaps he knows because Kirby vacuum cleaners are harder to move these days and those who want one can't qualify for the financing, and those, like the Tennessee Mountain Man, who use his gecko insurance can barely keep it from lapsing.
Most folk of Buffett's stature, those simply suffering from the little man syndrome, and the wanna be lose touch with the average American. Even George W. Bush, the President of the United States, who has a cabinet and an army of advisors who are supposed to be in touch with the people and keep him informed recently declared, "I’m ‘focused’ on gas prices but unaware of four dollar a gallon gas".
During a recent press conference, a reporter asked President Bush what his “advice" would be to the “average American" who is “facing the prospect of four dollar a gallon gasoline." Bush replied, “That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard that." After all he travels in a 20 car motorcade fueled by the Secret Service on our dime, and when his truck needs fuel on the ranch they surely don't let him run down to the local convenience store, refuel, grab a bucket of chicken, and a cold drink.
Thursday, March the 6th, 2008, fuel hit well over a hundred dollars a barrel and hit a new all time high of $109.00 a barrel Tuesday, March 11th on it's way to two hundred dollars while the value of American Currency continues to fall around the world.
When we began to get bombarded with SPAM like this, "Lowest priced homes: foreclosure deals are everywhere!! Beautiful 3-4-5 bedroom homes in all areas - starting at $25,000 - sometimes with nothing down!", hard working Americans - the middle class - are in serious trouble irrespective of what some condescending snob wishes to call it.
When your lender shows up for his collateral and leaves you with the parting shot, "we'll see what it brings at auction and then we'll go from there" you know what he means. The collateral will be sold quickly and cheaply and then he will be back not with groceries to help you feed your children nor with money to help you pay your doctor bills and buy medicine but to seize any and everything else you possess.
A real kick in the teeth while you are down. Just what you need at the moment. A recession by any definition remains untoward struggle and pain. Ask the suffering - the lower and middle classes in America. Where does it end? when you lose your job? when you are in bankruptcy? when you are homeless?
Yes, Margaret, technicalities notwithstanding, the United States is in a recession. The fed can cut interest rates until the bank pays us to borrow money and the world bank can pump all the cash it wants to into the system, but in reality it is not going to get better for the majority of us any time soon. Technicalities don't get hungry... technicalities don't become delinquent...technicalities don't worry about sky rocketing medical bills... technicalities don't have to worry about obscene burial costs... technicalities don't get sick... technicalities don't lose jobs or take cuts in pay... technicalities don't hurt... technicalities don't get depressed... technicalities don't commit suicide... technicalities don't cry... technicalities don't lash out in frustration - but, people made in God's image do.
When you lie down tonight - wherever you lie down tonight - please try to remember that there really is someone who is hurting more than you, and say a little prayer for that Child of God.
» left by robert melaccio sr (175 days 15 hours ago.)
Strange Burk, you work in Computers I see. One of the few Americans still qualified. Just kidding, many like myself have lost their jobs thanks to Mr. Gates his like and their quest for Green Card candidates to fill high end tchnical jobs. You know, we Americans aren;t qualified. We just teach them and then aren't worth much after that. Yes, Burk and we still look to these very same "leaders" why and for change no less. Just what has any of them done for We The People, or for the common good? This is all about the Easter Bunny. The good Senator from Tennessee Mr. Alexandar said recently we need to get more green card holders here from India to help us create jobs. In my opinion His like are the reason we are hurting and I thought if anywhere Tennessee would certainly be a state for America first. Shows you where we are today. Yes, I too have been writing to these issues. It is about time we all got together state by state and give them the boot. Change Congress Change America! Best wishes RTM Respond to this comment
» left by Susan Thom(8,193) Susan Thom (174 days 8 hours ago.)
hi burk,
very well written and interesting, though disturbing article.
is the whole world going to Hell in a handbasket? i hope things turn around. i have 3 kids, 17,20, and 22 and i worry about the world they and their kids are going to have to live in and deal with. thanks for a thought provoking article,
best regards,
sue thom
» left by JL from US (170 days 5 hours ago.)
And another rate cut today. I can't help but wonder if it will accomplish anything near to what the feds are hoping. Respond to this comment
» left by Danny Davids(13,347) Danny Davids (170 days 1 hour ago.)
Hmm...when you talk about the "wealthy republican [sic] establishment", you make it sound as though only Republicans are rich. The implication is that Democrats are poor. All the more reason to want to be a Republican...but somebody better tell Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. ;) Respond to this comment
» left by Computer Man(1,121) Computer Man (169 days 18 hours ago.)
Hey Danny,
I was once addicted to Fox News until I could no longer tolerate O'Reilly. He made me realize how angry, greedy and possessive most on the right wing of the right are.
Why can't more be like Gov Huckabee who is proud, he says, to be a Republican but like Reagan he was not mad at anyone about it.
» left by Stephany Springer(13,658) Stephany Springer (170 days 1 hour ago.)
Interesting article. I get the sense, though, that you feel the Republicans are the only party at fault. At the very least, they're the only ones you're picking on. As I recall, gas prices rose when Clinton was in office, too. And most, if not all, politicians nowadays have gotten into the bad habit of spending money to fix every problem they come across. If we are going to get out of this recession (and it is a recession, on that we agree) it's going to take restraint on both sides of the aisle. Respond to this comment
» left by Computer Man(1,121) Computer Man (169 days 18 hours ago.)
Hi Stephany,
I don't disagree with anything you say. I eventually get around to about all the politicians.
My usual view is that the Democratic Party I used to know is now socialist and the Republican party my granddad loved is more like the old Democrats.
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