Rolling US Economy Into The Shitbin Thread

dow opened 200 points down. happy times!

the picture michael lewis gives in the big short is that only dunderheads wind up working at the ratings agencies. all the poindexters work for goldman sachs and j.p. morgan &c.

krugz:

Maybe there is an S&P story — but not the one you think. Arguably, that downgrade will bully policy makers into even more deflationary, contractionary policies than they would have undertaken otherwise, which has the perverse effect of making US debt more attractive, since the alternatives are worse.

what scares me the most about all this is that war mobilization was the only way out of the 1937 retrenchment

Yeah, I fear for our inability to drum up any pretext to go to war.

These days, who needs pretext? Or use of the word 'war'?

No kidding. How many people are even aware of our third war right now?

what, that little thing?

as if listening to the great financial minds at S&P opine on the creditworthiness of the US wasn't bad enough, look who's wasting valuable space in the NYT pontificating about the current financial mess.

i mean, really ... reading Henry Paulson talk about the current financial mess is like listening to David Berkowitz talk about Ted Bundy.

Seeing as almost non-existent interest rates can't be cut any more, would the Fed ever consider paying people to borrow money? It seems to me that would be highly stimulative.

war mobilization was the only way out of the 1937 retrenchment

Not the only way, but a very effective way, in that army enlistment and the draft gave 'employment' to large numbers of men who would otherwise have been filling jobs or else looking for them, plus it greatly expanded demand and put vast sums of money into circulation (much of which was sopped back up as war bonds).

But effective as it was, there's no requirement for starting a war to get the economy moving again, just as there are numerous ways to skin a cat.

the thing about that saying is i can never think of any other half-effective way besides "with a knife," basically.

i guess the only way out of this mess is knives!

How many people are even aware of our third war right now?

4th by my count

don't forget the war on christmas, too

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcRuxq0YCQ

ever *have a hunch* you shouldn't press play?

It's on YouTube, how bad can it be?

offensive - but not in a NSFW kind of way...

i'm just saying i can always do without gothy fishnets

It's on YouTube, how bad can it be?

Lord Jesus, help me resist this temptation

It's on the buffet table, go ahead and take some!

The salad bar has a sneeze guard, what are you worried about?

Long, interesting article on the hollowing out of the US middle class:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/can-the-middle-class-be-saved/8600/?single_page=true

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/13/business/financial-aftershocks-with-precedent-in-history.html

this is a good article, why the hell is it internet-only?

warren buffet says TAX US

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

yay warren

It appears that Buffet actually gives a damn about the future well-being of the USA, not just about the size of the fortune he can amass.

at one point, Buffett actually had Obama's ear (which is more than can be said about Krugman, alas). if Obama is still taking Buffett's calls, maybe some real good can come out of this.

haha

eh buffet's always seemed like a good guy - he's teaming up with bill gates to give away all his money iirc

Might I suggest he donate it to the UN?

he could toss all of us ILXors a few shekels and still have plenty for whatever do-gooder outfits he fancies.

I read that as literal do-gooder outfit.

Like, a uniform.

http://www.costumesofnashua.com/CNWebSite105/Active905/Pages/CostumeRental/MilitaryUniform/Pics%20Military/MilitaR90985SA.jpg

Buffett 2012

Never will happen. The profile for billionaire prez candidates runs more along the lines of Perot or Trump type egocentrics. Buffett is just too even-tempered to be tempted.

no, Morbius, no.

http://sharkysoceanisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/50255_2211687417_315_n.jpg

getting all riled up reading this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jSX6nyxKL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

am i crazy for thinking marxist/anarchist thought and praxis is way less crazy than anything else out there right now?

whatever that means. it's a good book imo, at least so far.

i can't believe they [ain't] takin warren's wealth

Fox News (the gift that keeps on giving) on Mr. Buffett:

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201108150031

Can't believe how hard this story about an unemployed dad abandoning his 11-year-old is hitting me.

"There are no jobs for architects..."

http://www.startribune.com/local/south/128464413.html

that is depressing but that guy, assuming he is an architect, probably could have found work somewhere in the country; he sounds like he has some other very serious mental health issues going on.

Oh yeah, totally. It's not strictly economy-related, it's being a single caregiver, unemployed, home repossessed. Sending the son to the neighbor is the craziest part; he's either so depressed he's not thinking clearly -- or he's a complete asshole.

Morro Bay and Carmel? I note this guy is ending up in some reasonably high-flying areas.