Monday, August 31, 2009

The Reality Behind Economic "Recovery"

By Rick Wolff
Mid-August, 2009, was a peculiar time in the US economy. Wall Street, big banks, and the media were mostly celebrating "economic recovery." Meanwhile, average Americans were suffering record levels of unemployment, job insecurities, home foreclosures, personal debt anxieties, and the upsets, tensions, and angers that inevitably result. One economist referred to the US as "one nation, two national economies." Two particular sets of August economic data reveal the deepening economic divide behind the "recovery" talk.
ZNet
at

20 comments:

  1. vAugust 31, 2009 at 8:13 PM

    Thanks for this post TGIA.  In fact,  it was so good I posted it to my site! Grat stuff :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. anandAugust 31, 2009 at 8:48 PM

    We nearly had a complete global collapse. Things are far better than many thought they would be now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. yasminSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:03 AM

    wealth re-distribution.  a massive one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. flemingSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:23 AM

    <span style="">
    <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Here is the brief bio of the author:
    <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> "Rick Wolff is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and also a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University in New York. He is the author of “New Departures in Marxian Theory".
    </span>
    <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The guy is a freakin' Marxist.... NEXT!  LOL
    <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Hey Yasmin, how did your "the USA/dollar is collapsing" investment plan work out for you?

    <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> 

    ReplyDelete
  5. thankgodimatheistSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:37 AM

    <span>The guy is a freakin' Marxist.... NEXT!  LOL  </span>
    ---------------
    A commie fleming!!! Shoot!!...LOL.
    BTW, genius..You did say where you disagree with him>>>HEEHAN!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thankgodimatheistSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:38 AM

    <span><span>The guy is a freakin' Marxist.... NEXT!  LOL  </span> 
    --------------- 
    A commie fleming!!! Shoot!!...LOL. 
    BTW, genius..You did'nt say where you disagree with him>>></span>
    <span>HEEHAN!</span>

    ReplyDelete
  7. flemingSeptember 1, 2009 at 4:52 AM

    Surely, uber-genius tgia! LOL 

    I disagree with commie Marxists on every possible level. As do 99% of americans.  I know, I know, we are all stupid, ignorant, fat, immoral, racist, materialistic, blah blah blah.  Yet still, you want the US to "like" you more than Israel....Go figure why we dont.

    FYI, like Yasmin, I believe there is a massive wealth re-distribution in progress.  Just in the opposite direction.  From the haves to the have nots - via higher taxes, universal health care, greater union power (makes v happy), and govt "programs" such as cash for clunkers and housing bailouts for those who normally wouldnt be able to afford such things. 

    PS: The big bank bailouts saved the SYSTEM from meltdown. They were not designed to enrich the few, although that was an unfortunate side affect, to some degree.  The auto bailout was very helpful to the unions, and was not a systematic issue. I do not believe either bailout was appropriate, as I support FREE MARKETS. 

    "From those according to their ability, to those according to their needs." That is the (secret) mantra of the Obama administration.

    ReplyDelete
  8. anandSeptember 1, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    TGIA, the vast majority of people in the world disagree with Marxists such as this author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. DancingOpossumSeptember 1, 2009 at 8:37 AM

    Wow, I want to live on fleming's planet, but I suspect the amount of drug dosage necessary to arrive there is beyond my capacity to absorb.

    For those of us on this planet, I just finished a must-read: "High Wire: The Precarious Financial Lives of American Families" by Peter Gosselin. Gosseline is an economics reporter for the LA Times and I have never read a more lucid, gripping, depiction of the economic/social changes of the past three decades. His thesis is that these changes have led to a destruction of all the social safety nets American workers once counted on (and that those in other countries still enjoy) and the increasing personal risks that government and business have placed on those least able to bear them, the lower and middle classes. Gosselin has a true storyteller's gift and the good reporter's ability to explain complex terms in clear language.

    Can't praise this book enough. Incidentally I borrowed mine from the library -- here's one review:

    http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080502_jeff_madrick_on_high_wire/

    ReplyDelete
  10. vSeptember 1, 2009 at 9:04 AM

    "...<span>we are all stupid, ignorant, fat, immoral, racist, materialistic, blah blah blah."</span>

    Just stupid will suffice, the rest flows from that fact (ignorant, fat, immoral, racist, materialist..."). How stupid?


    http://www.youtube.com/v/M8ZH1ejtIFo

    ReplyDelete
  11. yasminSeptember 1, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    keep buying those dollars, fleming.  good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  12. flemingSeptember 1, 2009 at 10:41 AM

    How much does a dollar cost Yasmin? Here in the US no one will pay me more than $1 for $1?  I have gotten several offers below that, however LOL

    I do advocate a small allocation to PFUAX, a Pimco foreign bond fund that is unhedged. Its done OK.

    Keep hoping the US fails in order that arab hordes can overwhelm Israel.  Yea, we do get it. 

    ReplyDelete
  13. anandSeptember 1, 2009 at 12:38 PM

    I think the dollar weakens sharply in 2010. The monetary base has expanded 90% since September 10, 2008.

    Sell dollars and buy natural gas and some other select natural resources.

    ReplyDelete
  14. thankgodimatheistSeptember 1, 2009 at 4:01 PM

    <span>As do 99% of americans.</span>
    ---------------
    This is where I stopped reading..

    ReplyDelete
  15. thankgodimatheistSeptember 1, 2009 at 4:02 PM

    Listen anand..
    Oh never mind!

    ReplyDelete
  16. thankgodimatheistSeptember 1, 2009 at 4:04 PM

    Marxism is an excellent tool of analysis.

    ReplyDelete
  17. thankgodimatheistSeptember 2, 2009 at 1:00 AM

    <span>TGIA, the vast majority of people in the world disagree with Marxists such as this author.</span>
    ------------
    The vast majority of people in the world disagree with me for being an atheist....It doesn't matter to me the least.

    ReplyDelete
  18. thankgodimatheistSeptember 2, 2009 at 1:16 AM

    <span><span>TGIA, the vast majority of people in the world disagree with Marxists such as this author.</span> 
    ------------ 
    The vast majority of people in the world disagree with me on religious questions.
    </span>

    ReplyDelete
  19. thankgodimatheistSeptember 2, 2009 at 1:21 AM

    The vast majority of the world believed (and some still believe) Darwin was a crock..
    The vast majority of the world believed the earth was flat...
    Etc..

    ReplyDelete
  20. flemingSeptember 3, 2009 at 4:27 AM

    Indeed.

    The vast majority of people believe alien abductions are bunk.
    The vast majority of people think its healtheir to be slim rather than fat
    The vast majority of people hate the US...
    The vast majority of people support Palestine over Israel... :)  

    ReplyDelete