Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

No one could have predicted…

“But what about the lurkers?”

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Bark louder, little dog.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

In my day, never was longer.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / The Obama recession continues

The Obama recession continues

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From Bloomberg:

Sales at U.S. retailers fell more than twice as much as forecast in December as job losses and the choking-off of credit led Americans to cut back on everything from eating out to car purchases.

The 2.7 percent decrease, the sixth consecutive drop, extended the longest string of declines in records going back to 1992, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Purchases excluding automobiles slumped 3.1 percent.

Today’s figures indicate that the hit to spending in the recession is even deeper than estimated, and spurred a slide in stock-index futures…

I’m not sure there’s a tax cut big enough to stave this one off. Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

Reader Interactions

52Comments

  1. 1.

    Zifnab

    If Democrats hadn’t passed the Income Tax Amendment of 1914, we would never have suffered this massive downturn. I blame Jimmy Carter.

  3. 3.

    Punchy

    OT:

    Wha da fuck? Just how many times did Bush, Rice, Perino, MacClellan, Rumsfeld, and Cheney explicitly say we didn’t?

    And why the fuck isn’t this front page news everywhere? Pretty damming shit.

  4. 4.

    Colonel Danite

    Isn’t a suspension of the "Death Tax" the real solution. After all, as Wall Street big-wigs start jumping from windows, we want to make sure their families get to keep what’s left of their estates.

  5. 5.

    Xenos

    @Punchy: The misinformation industry is scrambling around to find a compelling pretense for blanket pardons. It looks like the story is going to be that crazed liberal fascist prosecutors are going after Our Rough Men In The Night Heroes even though, per Pat Buchanan torture is moral, and per Joe Scarborough, texting Mika on air from vacation, ‘cold and music are not torture!’

    MSNBC is unwatchable, even if they make some attempts to insert reality. I can just imagine what was going on this morning on Fox.

  6. 6.

    Comrade Darkness

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    Except the eight-year moratorium on regulation is what got is where we are now. Actually, technically, a 30 year moratorium, with a small breather of pretending otherwise under Clinton. If the regulations actually get enforced again, people will trust things enough to participate in the financial system, but until then, foobar is what it is going to be. Giving the thieves even more license to steal is not going to help.

  7. 7.

    jibeaux

    I’m no econ genius, but there are people desperately looking for a good place to invest a little money, so desperate they’ll put it in bonds with almost no return; and at the same time my credit card just raised its rate, again — to 27.99%, which should probably be illegal if it isn’t already. I have a low balance on it, but I can’t quite pay it all off right now — bloody Christmas with kids — and it makes me insane to pay that kind of interest even for a month or two.

    There seems to be a disconnect here. I know that people are looking for "safe" places to put their money, but why is credit still so damn tight?

  8. 8.

    r€nato

    This terrible economic news clearly calls for a flag-burning amendment, an anti-gay marriage amendment, and the posting of the 10 Commandments in all schools and courthouses.

  10. 10.

    thomas

    We are so f’ed. Eight years of indolence and incompetence from the administration, congress and media elite (the unholy threesome screwing everyone else) has left us with in this quagmire of debt, recession and war.
    Closing snark was great.

  13. 13.

    r€nato

    We are so f’ed. Eight years of indolence and incompetence from the administration, congress and media elite (the unholy threesome screwing everyone else) has left us with in this quagmire of debt, recession and war.

    What are you talking about?

    Clearly, retail sales tanked in December as a result of consumer panic due to the election victory of Barack Hussein Osama and the Dhimmicrats.

  14. 14.

    JGabriel

    [email protected]:

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    Obviously, the only way to stimulate the economy is to get the middle class and lower middle class to start spending more.

    And, just as obviously, the only way to do that is to get rid of the inheritance tax and capital gains taxes. Just getting rid of all gov’t regulation won’t possibly be enough.

    .

  15. 15.

    JL

    Doug what regulations would you like to do away with? I thought that Bush did a pretty good job of that personally. I really liked the fact that 5 investment banks were allowed to leverage 30 to one. That helped Wall Street. Oh yeah, those were the same investment banks that failed. Folks that preach tax cuts as the way out of the recession forget that most folks are stashing their money away in preparation for the next round of layoffs.

  17. 17.

    UncommonSense

    I’m not sure there’s a tax cut big enough to stave this one off. Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    Sorry, Doug. Not even close.

    A problem this severe can be solved by nothing less than constitutional amendments banning abortion, same-sex marriage, and non-white immigration.

  18. 18.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    As Perfesser Krugman noted in his blog, we’re in uncharted waters now. Too much stimulus is bad, too little stimulus is bad, so BO has to hit the bulls eye with his first shot. But why should he even bother? A prominent local wingnut had a letter in the paper this AM: one week before he’s sworn in, BO is already a fraud, a charlatan, and a complete failure.

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    Just the opposite, plz. We’re in the sixth month of this meltdown, and AFAIK credit default swaps are still unregulated. I’m sure that sales of swaps has plummeted, but still…… why are we not instituting some transparency and oversight?

  20. 20.

    Rick Taylor

    I’m not sure there’s a tax cut big enough to stave this one off. Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    It grieves me to discover that even the most talented spoofer cannot compete with the real thing. Via Digby, a senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal:

    Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read "Atlas Shrugged" a "virgin." Being conversant in Ayn Rand’s classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only "Atlas" were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I’m confident that we’d get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.

    Many of us who know Rand’s work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.

    …

    One memorable moment in "Atlas" occurs near the very end, when the economy has been rendered comatose by all the great economic minds in Washington. Finally, and out of desperation, the politicians come to the heroic businessman John Galt (who has resisted their assault on capitalism) and beg him to help them get the economy back on track. The discussion sounds much like what would happen today:

    Galt: "You want me to be Economic Dictator?"

    Mr. Thompson: "Yes!"

    "And you’ll obey any order I give?"

    "Implicitly!"

    "Then start by abolishing all income taxes."

    "Oh no!" screamed Mr. Thompson, leaping to his feet. "We couldn’t do that . . . How would we pay government employees?"

    "Fire your government employees."

    "Oh, no!"

    Abolishing the income tax. Now that really would be a genuine economic stimulus. But Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Washington want to do the opposite: to raise the income tax "for purposes of fairness" as Barack Obama puts it.

    David Kelley, the president of the Atlas Society, which is dedicated to promoting Rand’s ideas, explains that "the older the book gets, the more timely its message." He tells me that there are plans to make "Atlas Shrugged" into a major motion picture — it is the only classic novel of recent decades that was never made into a movie. "We don’t need to make a movie out of the book," Mr. Kelley jokes. "We are living it right now."

  23. 23.

    SnarkIntern

    If the contest is between big government run amok (the "Atlas" view) or deregulation run amok …. why would anyone want to pick the big government solution?

    At least in the deregulation model, the people still have some power. In the big gov model, the people are powerless.

    Maybe more people should be reading Ayn Rand?

  24. 24.

    Andrew

    I really hope Obama doesn’t fall for the tax cut crap. The only reason to include it is to get a few dozen Republicans to sign on to the bailout, so he can have some ammo for 2012. We can’t afford to give money to people who won’t spend it.

  27. 27.

    Napoleon

    OT, but the Oakland police finally arrested that BART officer who shot that unarmed guy in the back.

  28. 28.

    Zifnab

    @jibeaux:

    There seems to be a disconnect here. I know that people are looking for "safe" places to put their money, but why is credit still so damn tight?

    Specifically because no one trusts the American consumer anymore. You can’t invest in capital because no one thinks people are buying and you extend credit because no one thinks anyone will pay it back.

    There is zero trust in the marketplace right now. Oh, oh, that’s not entirely true. There is one iota of trust – T-Bill – that rest on the assumption Uncle Sam will always pony up. Nice to see "Tax Cut" McConnell wants to piss that away too.

    I would be horrified to know what our economic plans would be under a McCain administration.

  30. 30.

    Evinfuilt

    Isn’t a suspension of the "Death Tax" the real solution. After all, as Wall Street big-wigs start jumping from windows, we want to make sure their families get to keep what’s left of their estates.

    At this point, I think the families should get whatever was left on the sidewalk, and everything else goes toward the bailouts they forced on the country.

    Oh yeah, you were being snarky and I’m just being mean :)

  31. 31.

    4tehlulz

    I would be horrified to know what our economic plans would be under a McCain administration.

    1. Bomb Iran.
    2. Cause hyperinflation.
    3. ????
    4. ProfitTax cut!

  32. 32.

    jibeaux

    A problem this severe can be solved by nothing less than constitutional amendments banning abortion, same-sex marriage, and non-white immigration.

    Okay, but…

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    throw in child labor and a little extra melamine, lead, and phen-fen, and you have a recipe for unprecedented economic growth.

  33. 33.

    p.a.

    Hey DJ, have your comments yet been posted on wingnut sites as if they were serious commentary? That is the gold standard of snark. Remember the christnut sites that quoted The Onion about "Gay groups surpass recruiting target for the year" ?(paraphrase from memory).

  34. 34.

    SnarkIntern

    Gay groups surpass recruiting target for the year

    That’s making light of a serious problem.

  35. 35.

    ThymeZoneThePlumber

    Uh, fellas, can we update the moderation queue on this thread please? It’s been an hour.

  37. 37.

    TenguPhule

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation millenium moratorium on all Republicans in government is the way forward here.

    Fixed.

    Because, why not?

  38. 38.

    TenguPhule

    "Fire your government employees."

    In what may be the crowning moment of Irony here, government is one of the few employers that was still hiring in any strength.

  39. 39.

    SnarkIntern

    I’m a little miffed that more people are not taking the failures of Obama seriously.

    Is the man going to get an indefinite honeymoon period?

    Do we suddenly believe that the values and culture issues are no longer relevant? What else is there to make of the post at 17?

  40. 40.

    cyntax

    @Zifnab:

    Actually, the Nevada police arrested him. Apparently, he should have stayed in Oakland where he was safe.

    Ouch… that’s gonna leave a mark.

  41. 41.

    Tim H.

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here.

    If that includes guillotine and tar-and-feathering regulation, I’m all for it.

  42. 42.

    ChrisB

    @jibeaux: I blame you for the recession depression. Clearly, you did not spend enough to keep our economy humming if your credit card balance is low. You probably didn’t go shopping after 9/11 either.

    By the way, the maximum legal rate of interest in New Jersey (it varies state to state) for an individual to pay is 30%. It really is legal loan sharking to charge that much.

  43. 43.

    DougJ

    Hey DJ, have your comments yet been posted on wingnut sites as if they were serious commentary?

    Not any recent ones, no.

  44. 44.

    mr. whipple

    Maybe a six-month moratorium on all government regulation is the way forward here

    snark? I sure hope so.

    I want Obama to push for massive re-regulation in the finance sector, so that people will feel confident enough to invest.

  45. 45.

    Zifnab

    @SnarkIntern:

    Do we suddenly believe that the values and culture issues are no longer relevant?

    Given that gays cause hurricanes and economic slumps while only Jesus prevents forest fires, you’d think this would be a top issue.

  46. 46.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    @UncommonSense: A problem this severe can be solved by nothing less than constitutional amendments banning abortion, same-sex marriage, and non-white immigration.

    Plus Reagan’s face on Mount Rushmore and every U.S. coin and bill, and not less than one monument to him in every U.S. county.

  48. 48.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    This terrible economic news clearly calls for a flag-burning amendment, an anti-gay marriage amendment, and the posting of the 10 Commandments in all schools and courthouses.

    Haha )

  49. 49.

    SnarkIntern

    Isn’t this the ideal time to move Social Security to a privatized model, as the president suggested?

    Prices are never going to be lower, and that means a rare opportunity for gains in the years ahead.

    Why isn’t Obama suggesting this? Does he want to keep the middle class down to puff up his liberal appeal?

  50. 50.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Many of us who know Rand’s work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington

    How many bailout plans have there been? 2?

  52. 52.

    Glocksman

    @Notorious P.A.T.:

    Both the Ayn Rand/Milton Friedman true believers such as Moore and doctrinaire Marxists share an ‘ideology above all’ outlook and will ignore reality when it disproves the ideology.

    What’s scary to me is that 10 years ago I’ve have read that piece and thought he was absolutely right instead of full of shit.

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