THE ECONOMY, UNEXPECTEDLY, IS NOT IMPROVING and more…
THE HEADLINE FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES website this AM: ” Stocks slide on unexpected rise in jobless claims”. There’s that word again. And, a report yesterday indicated that final adjusted figures for jobs lost last year will show 800,000 more than expected. Oh, and planned layoff announcements at major corporations increased 60% from December to January. FHA announced earlier this week that the default rates on their mortgages are going up. And, oh, one more thing: President Obama said in New Hampshire Tuesday, and I quote “Now, if you hear some of the critics, they’ll say, well, the Recovery Act, I don’t know if that’s really worked because we still have high unemployment. But what they fail to understand is that EVERY ECONOMIST, FROM THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT ( emphasis mine ), has said because of the Recovery Act, what we’ve started to see is at least a couple of million jobs that have either been created or would have been lost.” The question really is, is he stupid or a liar? I know some Obamamaniacs read this blog ( Steven?), would they care to defend the President’s statement about EVERY economist?
DID YOU SEE THE STORY about the prime minister of Newfoundland coming to the States for his needed heart surgery? Couldn’t get it in Canada, apparently. And, he needed to come down quick before Obamacare passed and destroyed our system. When will they learn?
BIG STORY IN THE Washington Post and the New York Times about a team of doctors who have found traces of brain activity in 54 patients living in states of unconsciousness, including 23 in vegatative states. They were placed inside advanced brain scanners and given careful instructions, things like imagine yourself playing sports or walking around your home.For some, the scans showed the same brain activity that would be found in a healthy person’s brain. These patients had active minds, living their lives silently there.
AND, SOME NEWS ON THE environmental front. A study released in California for some utility companies indicate that individual quick charging stations, for electric cars, to be installed in your home, so you can charge your car, could cost $30,000. That’s right, $30,000 to make it feasible to recharge your $30,000+ electric car. Insanity. And, Minnesota recently found that wind turbines that they had installed at the cost of millions don’t work in cold weather. Well, you may freeze in the winter because they produce no heat, but bundle up and hope they work in the warm summers so you can get your AC powered. Insanity.
Don’t forget, precinct caucuses on February 13, and a big PUSH Back No Tax Rally on the state capitol steps, 10 AM February 15. Be there.
16 Responses to “THE ECONOMY, UNEXPECTEDLY, IS NOT IMPROVING and more…”
-
-
Great point John. Even the Great Depression started out as a severe downturn, that was worsened by tax hikes, reestriction of the money supply by the Fed and Congress passing the highest tariff in our history.
-
-
Fred Wilson says:
Hey, big fella, we misss hereing you on the air. When are you going to get hired on agan at a radio or TV statione? First KVI fires Brian Suites, then they fiur you, then they hiur Brian back. Do you think KVI will hiur you again? Or maybe Fox? What about KTTH? They only have one locul voice right now, David Bozo. We need to here from you agan and soon.
We got to kick comies like Barak Obama and Kristine Gregoier out of the govenment and soon. We can onley do so with voces like youars.
Send them all to gitmo, I say.
-
Lisa in Stanwood says:
Thanks for continuing to keep us informed on the issues of the day.
-
Gregg says:
If Republicans win big in November, because of Obama’s destructive economic policies, its looking like Republicans will be in the difficult position of administering the bitter medicine to bring us back from this binge of borrowing and spending. This time Republicans must dedicate themselves to cutting spending in significant amounts. Including sacred cows like farm subsideies, education, transportation and entitlements.
-
Cammy says:
You know what… instead of constantly increasing our taxes, why don’t all the senators, governors, and congress take a big pay cut? How come every time they need money they keep using the taxpayer as their scapegoat, Kirby? They need to start with themselves first and cut their salaries.
-
Steve says:
Great stuff, great links. Thanks Kirby, keep it up. We miss hearing you every morning on the radio. Hope to hear you again soon.
-
DakotaKid says:
How is that Hope and Change working out for you?
-
Steve says:
It was Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke who studied the aftermath of great depression and concluded that it was the lack of fiscal stimulus that permitted the depressed economic conditions to linger for 14 years. Obama is presently in a no win situation; without fiscal stimulus the job losses will continue for years. With fiscal stimulus there will be fewer job losses but greater debt. It was the Bush deficits that created the last credit bubble, the bursting of which led directly to our current economic situation. Plus, this current economic downturn is not simply a cyclical recessionary event that would respond to fiscal stimulus, as during previous cycles. The difference today is that there are 1 billion Chinese who want your job, and who are willing to perform your job for a fraction of the pay you feel you require or deserve. Millions of American jobs have been sent off-shore and there is no end to this phenomenon until Americans are willing to work for wages closer to what the Chinese will accept, or the dollar collapses in value so that the wage differential is narrowed (I am betting on the latter). The real tragedy here is that there are those who do not hesitate to use this crisis for their own political purposes; only criticizing while offering no solutions.
-
Steve, I recommend reading some Hayek, friedman and Amity Shlaes book about the Depression, The Forgotten Man. I can’t believe you are still making excuses for Obama. You are smarter than that.
-
-
Renee says:
I would like your opinion on a Nova special that I saw last week. A well traveled journalist made a tour of countries that have the “most successful” form of government health care. Japan, England, Germany,Taiwan, and Switzerland were the focus of his research. All people interviewed agreed that no citizen should go bankrupt because of medical costs. All countries had healthier and longer living citizens than even the US. All of the countries were now in deficit spending. I would love to hear your opinion of this special if you can possibly find the program. I DON’T want Obama care but I would like to know if there is anything we can adopt in our system to make serious illness less destructive to our lives. Thanks so much, Renee
-
Darlene Perez says:
Kerby,
We really miss you on the radio. -
Kirby:
I have to reply to your comment to John about Tariff’s contributing to the severity of the Great Depression. This is the most nonsensical economic drivel imaginable that is perpetuated by global corporate interests at the expense of our domestic economy. Just consider this: President Thomas Jefferson inherited a substantial national debt (for his day) left over from the revolutionary war. During his term in office, Jefferson fully retired the national debt, paid for the Louisiana Purchase (doubling the size of the US),and greatly expanded our Naval power while fighting our first foreign war with the Barbary Pirates (“From of Shores of Tripoli”). All of this without imposing any income tax on the people. Imagine that, no income tax! This was paid for by Tariffs, which happen to be the fairest and most efficient method of taxation. With a Tariff system, our economy would be booming with a much lower income tax burden imposed on the people. Of course, our Multinationals would be howling,and they have the Lobbyists and the money to ensure that this perfectly sensible approach is practically off the table. -
Ken Mortland says:
Kirby: Once again, I encourage your readers to watch the speech given by Attorney General Rob McKenna to the 2009 Mainstream Republicans of Washington Cascade Conference. He gives a revealing insight into the causes of the recent economic collapse in the mortgage loan industry and its impact on the economy in general. Seems there’s plenty of responsibility to be shared on both sides of the political aisle. You can see the speech on the TVW website listed below.
http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2009050013F&TYPE=V&CFID=198526&CFTOKEN=45624166&bhcp=1
As a Field Service Tech (With a Degree in Economics) I’d like to point out a little known fact on the left “Economies Recover on their own.”
However, since “The Great Depression” economies usually recover within 6 to 9 months of the downturn. The Great Depression was not a depression solely from severity, but also as a result of its longevity. Longevity caused by Government doing EVERY WRONG THING to allow an economy to recover on its own.
Obozo is doing every wrong thing this time and we are now in Month 18 of this Great Recession. (Oh yes, they are also HIDING the Severity of this Great Recession.) So, point 1, we have a Recession that is holding out longer than normal and longer than expected. (Hey Kirby, didn’t I hear a guest on your show declare that July 2009 would go on record as the month the Recession Ended?)
Anyway, I guess it is that Audacity of Hope that keeps all of the predictable bad news unexpected.
In the Great Depression FDR said, “What this country needs is some one handed economists.”
As a two handed Economist (by education) I can only say, “What this country needs is some New Experts.”
John in Puyallup
Kirby Fan since 9 to Midnight.