Okay, so I am going to put up a few quotes about the economy. Read them, think about them, then I will share with you where I got them from!
"'The economy is showing signs of caving in, almost falling off a cliff, as so often is the case once a full-fledged recessions begins.' If the conditions seem particularly bleak, [Allen Sinai, chief economist for the Boston Co. Economic Advisers] noted 'that it because we are in the heart of the slide.'"
"Chief among them is the threat of a drawn-out war in the Persian Gulf. That could push the price of oil...well past the...peak it hit in October. Another serious threat is the possibility of a crisis in the US banking system, which is awash in bad loans and increasingly reluctant to lend more money."
"She warned that companies could trigger 'a very serious recession' if they cut payrolls too much in their zeal to keep overhead and inventories lean."
"A cash squeeze could help tip much of the world into a recession. Britain, Canada, and Australia are already in a slump, while the economies outside Germany appear to be faltering, according to the TIME group. 'I see the international economy slowing down,' Fosler said, 'which is going to be an added burden over the next two years.' Such a slide could erode US exports, one of the economy's few remaining sources of strength."
"'We simply cannot go on doing business as usual in so intensely competitive a world,' said Sinai. 'This downturn may be a catalyst that will wake up the nation.' If the recession does help inspire the US to face its long term economic problems, hard times could help achieve what eight years of debt-fueled prosperity could not."
Do these things sound like today? Yea, I thought so too. These are from a December 1990 TIME International magazine. Our current situation was over 10 years in the making. The 90's recession was just the warning shot across the bow, but it got ignored. It should have been the catalyst, but it was not, and has put the US economy in the condition it is in now. Its also interesting to note that there are a lot of comments in the article about how this recession (1990) has the potential to be the worst yet. It makes me wonder if, when talking about recessions, the current one is always the worst. Is that just because its happening now? Or is it because the last one was forgotten? I realize that the current recession is very bad, but what I am getting at here, is that it could have been worked on starting 10+ years ago! Maybe this time, we will learn from our mistakes!
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You need to meet my roommate, Ryan the Communist! He's been talking about a lot of this stuff for as long as I've known him. I've sent him the link to your blog.
ReplyDeleteActually- this one is the worst since the Great Depression. So far. But, hey, those who don't learn from the pasta are destined to reheat it. So- we forgot what happens when you mess with credit. Don't worry- we'll come back from it. Then do it again. We always do.
ReplyDeleteThe US economy has been in this situation for as long as I've been around, well before the early 90s. Every time a crisis comes along our government, always at the behest of larger interests, throws gobs of money at it assuming this will fix the problem. On the immediate surface it seems the problem is fixed, however, the underlying problem (of debt) remains, and grows significantly. In the past we've had the benefit of being at or near the top in manufacturing, services, technology, and innovation, while now finance is all we have left. Before the US was able to coax or coerce the rest of the world to loan us capital for whatever adventure we so choose. Those days I'm afraid have come to an end. And now with only finance left, and Obama asking for trillions to make sure it reigns supreme, will the rest go along with it? With China and Russian calling for a new global currency....I think not. May we be cursed to live in interesting times.
ReplyDelete-Maryah's roomate Ryan.
p.s. Enjoy the old Empire.