Ok, just to keep us up to date:
A.I.G. is going to fail if they do not get a ton of money.
Lehman is going down for the count.
WaMu is in a heap of trouble.
Meanwhile, in a show of epic timing, McCain economic advisor Donald Luskin takesto the WaPo to call us all pussies. Does all of McCain’s economic advice come from people who like to taunt and sneer at the people they are trying to get to vote for them?
And while ALL of this is going on, including the Market dropping 300 points, guess what John McCain said this morning:
Fail.
Jake
He doesn’t even look like he believes his own bullshit anymore.
Danton
The fundamentals of our economy are gone.
Gus
WTF does that mean? “The fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times.”
mycowardice
If these are good fundamentals, I wonder what bad fundamentals look like!
Conservatively Liberal
People are the basic fundamental of an economy, and we are still breathing. Ergo, everything is fine except that we are heading off of a cliff. But right now, everything is fine so just ignore the cliff.
More cowbell? ;)
cervantes
What he means is that a depression is not necessarily bad for the beer business.
chopper
man, i actually haveta consider whether or not i want to take my money out of wamu and find another bank. i mean, i know FDIC insures it, but i don’t want to have to test that theory personally (that’s the big flaw in FDIC insurance).
Martin
Well, what isn’t being said, and must be said, is that we have our old friend Phil ‘bunch of whiners’ Gramm to thank for the deregulation that has led to this mess. Obama needs to step in front of this one, I think, and tie this back to the GOP and McCain as clearly as possible.
rob!
“I don’t understand what all of you are complaining about, Cindy tells me we have lots of money! Aren’t all of you married to heiresses?”
LiberalTarian
I am really feeling the cowbell. Need more cowbell!
Lupin
You might as well get ready for President Palin. McHindenburg is polling high enough that by hook or more likely by crook they’ll win. A country where these two poll at 47% and where the democratic process has been hijacked by a minority (25% tops) of delusional xenophobic neo-fascistic maniacs (financed by a handful of greedy megarich) is more likely to continue going down the tubes.
TheFountainHead
From all I’ve read it’s sounding like Paulson basically said, “Fuck y’all, you made your sandcastle, now eat it.”
Which is good for the long term, but doesn’t do a damn thing about the dark clouds over Manhattan this morning.
(I speak figuratively of course, it is an ironically gorgeous morning)
LiberalTarian
Bullocks. Don’t get in that car and drive off the cliff. You know that is where they are going! Get involved. Write some letters. Demand better issue coverage from the media. Shame them for their bad behavior. Quit yer whining.
Unfortunately, I don’t know enough Republicans who have a conscience that I can say, “You voted for these clowns, this IS your fault.” Like I said, I know Republicans, but they don’t hold themselves accountable for their vote.
SpotWeld
It’s like we have faith based economic management in this country.
As long as we don’t look closely at it, or tell anyone; we don’t have to worry about it. What seems to have actually happened is that under Bush there was a declaration of a set of very narrowly defined metrics by which the president can declare the economy “good”. Large businesses then gamed the system to make sure they looked good by that specific set of numbers. If you widened the scope a bit, or dig a little deeper the real trend of the national economy was nothing short of disturbing.
That’s why we had a “jobless discovery” and so forth.
(Admittedly Clinton did his own jiggering of the numbers, but I don’t think it was ever to this scale. )
McCain seems to be all set to continue this method of economic responsibility. Obama, as near as I can tell, hasn’t really made an overt declaration on way or another; but the Democratic party, but nature of it’s own internal divisiveness may act as a check on that. (At the very least Obama seems less likely to appoint a “good and loyal Dem” to a key position.)
OriGuy
The hurricane may have blown off the roof, but the foundation of your house is strong.
montysano
The financial crisis is now my main tact in advocating for Obama. Forget Iraq, forget Katrina, forget “Palin is not experienced” (which was always a loser).
The Republicans caused this mess. They own it lock, stock, and barrel. Do some reading on the repeal of Glass-Steagall and on the Commodities Futures Modernization Act.
J.H. Kunstler’s meme this morning: “Republicans: the party who wrecked America”. Works for me.
Incertus
How long will the turnaround on the commercial be for this one? 24 hours? I’m betting they’ve got something on the air with that McCain clip and a “he just doesn’t get it” line within 36 hours at most.
montysano
A commenter at Kunstler’s joint this morning:
Get it? They were Republicans in name only, but were actually stealth Democrats. And since we can’t afford liebrul Dem big-spending ways, we must elect Republicans, who used to be Stealth Dems but won’t be anymore.
There’s a line in a classic Seinfeld:
Jerry (to dry cleaner): “Why can’t you just admit you shrunk the shirt?”
Drycleaner (leaning close and whispering): “Alright….. we shrunk the shirt”
Republicans will never, ever admit that they shrunk the shirt.
WereBear
The polls are rigged. They have admitted it over and over again, but it’s buried in their “how we do the polls” thing so very few people read it.
The number of Republicans in their polling has crept ever upward since July, while the numbers of Democrats and Independents go lower, even as these two groups are experiencing growing levels of declaration.
Not to mention the fact that who the heck are they polling? No one with a cell phone instead of a landline. And who is home to pick up the phone? The people hardest hit are out working two jobs to stay alive.
wasabi gasp
McCain said fundy mentals, moonbats. The fundy mentals are strong.
ThymeZone
I erred years ago in calling the Republican regime the dynasty of the Potatoheads. In reality, they are the Doctor Panglosses of the political world.
If it weren’t for the fact that jobs are disappearing, prices rising, wages falling, money drying up, factories closing, banks collapsing, the dollar receding, and recession looming, in the best of all possible worlds, we’d be thankful for the blessings of our strong and vibrant economy!
Thank you Republicans!
John S.
Except that is NOT the case.
When big government needs to bail out Freddie and Fannie, Bear Stearns, Lehman and potentially AIG, clearly the foundation is built on quicksand.
Now that the roof is blown off, the house is starting to sink.
benjoya
don’t worry, once phil gramm is installed at treasury, he’ll stop all this complaining.
The Moar You Know
This has been going on for at least a year and a half – the base is furiously trying to push the meme that Bush was a stealth liberal. It will work, of course.
Chopper, my friend, you’ve had months of warning. This is pretty much your last chance – WaMu very likely is going to go under this week.
I love the video. Not even McCain believes it, but there’s a neat undercurrent of “why should I care about this shit, I got mine, you rubes shut the fuck up and vote for me already so I can start butt-slamming the VP in the Oval Office like that lucky bastard Clinton – although you’re not gonna catch me balls-deep in any fatties. Not even going there.”
liberatemeiexinfernis
all of this bad economic news doesnt matter. What matters to most people is “Can Sarah Palin have a beer with them?”. Thats all that matters. Thats the litmus test by which all Red blooded patriotic salt of earth meat and potatoes eating gun loving pickup driving small town non arrogant Americans choose their candidates nowadays.
It wont be long before McCain starts calling Lehman Brothers elitist
dbrown
Are we fucked? Well, here is the boss on our current economy and its health
:
“Perhaps a once-in-a-century event” – Alan Greenspan.
Last I checked, the great depression was less than a hundred years ago. Is this like our weather, once every one hundred year events occur every fifty or so? This is what bushwhack and bloody hands cheney have done with the help of the blow job reoublician congress of nearly seven years and is still stopping all real work?
And fundementalist want four more years? What is with these sick Christ hating dumb fucks, anyway?
Jon H
BoA also bought Countrywide, a while back.
Breezeblock
Looks Gramps picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. Me too, for that matter.
Breezeblock
Looks like Gramps picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. Me too, for that matter.
The Truffle
John McCain just handed Team Obama their daisy ad.
Delia
Must admit, I didn’t see this one coming. I was betting on it still all being Clinton’s fault.
I do happen to have my money in B of A. They give shitty interest rates, and I don’t expect that to change, seeing as they now own the world.
Dennis - SGMM
As of 2:46 ET the Dow is off 341 points.
Countdown to the Republicans blaming the recession on Pelosi in three… two…
Splitting Image
To err is liberal, but to really foul things up requires a conservative.
bago
More cowbell.
Delia
Is it below 1100 yet?
LanceThruster
So, the bottom line is that basically that the fundementals are strong, irrespective of the fact that economic indicators show that a gathering storm is on the horizon, in addition to the financial bailouts that have already taken place to forestall this non-existent “meltdown.”
Did I miss anything?
Who knew that “whistling past a graveyard” was such sound economic policy?
I blame the goddamned whiners. Show some spine you weak-kneed sucks!
tBone
McCain was taken out of context, and has clarified his statement:
See? He was just standing up for the American worker against vicious smears from Obama and his moonbat acolytes. Why do you hate Joe Lunchpail, libtards?
The fact that there are voters who are stupid enough to fall for this shit makes me want to cry.
Dennis - SGMM
They may make it. Dow is now off 369 points to 11,053. It’s now dropping over a point every minute.
montysano
If, before the market closes, there’s a plan in place for AIG, the market may rally a bit. If AIG is toast, all bets are off.
Kudlow says it’s all because of over-regulation. The dude is on mushrooms.
R. Porrofatto
Luskin is such a tool. This is his one feeble attempt at “balance” in his op-ed:
See? Lies are okay as long as the target is Obama, and not our poor, victimized economy.
chopper
it’s floating just a hair above 11000. compare it to october of last year, when the DJIA was over 14000. %20 in one year, shit.
Sixpack Chopra
It irks me that the CEOS who put their companies and employees in this mess are walking away with their fortunes intact.
I unfortunately have a personal stake in the situation. My employer – a privately held insurance company – was acquired by AIG in 2006. We are still making money, but I have to admit to being worried about my job.
My predicament makes it hard for me to dead set any assistance to these companies. However, any assistance needs to tied to comprehensive reform of the financial system. There needs to a Glass-Steagall Act for the 21st Century!
Wish me luck!
Mark
Splitting Image
Bullpuckies. The American people won’t even pick lettuce at $50/hr.
Delia
It made it. 10917.51 at the close. But I guess the economy is fundamentally sound.
Gus
It’s the conservative credo: conservatism can’t fail, it can only be failed. The answer to extreme conservative positions is to make them more extreme. I really wonder how many people believe that bullshit. I guess we’ll find out Nov. 4.
LiberalTarian
Heh. Attributed to Obama: “If You Believe That, I’ve Got A Bridge In Alaska To Sell You.”
Rome Again
“Pay no attention to what’s going on here folks, the really big fish are eating the almost really big fish and haven’t considered the tasty deliciousness of swallowing guppies (with the exception of those that were recently swallowed by the almost really big fish) – [yet]”.
jon
What part of our economy is fundamentally strong? If our economy is based on buying reposessed homes, making and enforcing payday loans, repo-ing cars, tracking down creditors, handling bankruptcy filings, and going on eBay to sell stuff we don’t need but are still paying for on our maxed out credit cards, then I have tremendous confidence in our markets.
As for the majority of us, our insurance rates will go up because of recent disasters and the fact that insurance is really an investment portfolio against potential losses, and we can all see how that’s working out. Our money is likely to decrease in value despite the fact that our government has finally stopped bailing everyone out and asked that other investment firms invest in each others’ failing enterprises (as if they have the money either.) Our trade imbalance isn’t looking good. Our pay isn’t about to increase. Maybe gasoline will be cheaper with all the factories not building things and closed stores not needing as much energy, but that’s not exactly a GOP talking point in the making (though they’ll try.)
erghammer
The part where misallocated capital goes through the difficult process of being put to better use. Yes, times are tough. Bad investment choices — chiefly in real estate — were made. Humans always and everywhere are fallible and frequently make bad decisions about how to invest their money. The strength of the system is not in making 100% good choices about how to invest, which is impossible. An economy is fundamentally strong if capital is allowed to migrate away from bad investments in the hopes of finding better. Allowing even big companies to fail, which will stop throwing money at the bad investment, is actually a sign that we’re on the right track. The adjustment period is difficult, no question, but eventually we get to some better place. This is America’s strength. If you wanna look at some places that don’t do this very well, try Japan, Italy, or old East Germany.
There are two sides to this coin. Houses losing value are not an unadulterated bad thing. A few years ago, you heard stories from every major urban area about young families finding it hard to afford a house. Well, there are a lot of people who can now afford houses. Yes, some people lose – but some people are gaining too.
jon
Erghammer,
Just because some things are better doesn’t change the fact that the fundamental economy is getting the shaft. What’s happening is a huge flow of money/capital/potential from the US to either thin air, rich people here, or to other nations’ economies. It’s not something that happened overnight, nor will it be fixed overnight (if ever.) What’s happening is the economic pie and everyone’s piece of it is getting smaller. In fact, the pie is getting smaller. The pie has gone from a State Fair prizewinner to something you get at a convenience store and have to microwave: there’s still some tasty morsels, but it’s not the same thing.
Our economy is going through a contraction because easy credit isn’t going to go to our broke asses anymore. We wasted our postwar greatness and opportunity on an economy based on reinvestment and usury intended to buy bling. We got the bling, but the shine is off. Now it’s going to be a time of modest means and modest needs and we’re all going to have to adjust to it.