A bad stock market doesn't necessarily predict a recession…

posted by Bill Arnett @ 10:56 AM Permalink

…so says CNNs financial reporter this morning (paraphrasing). She went on to recount some examples of when an awful market didn't result in a recession, and then examples of when a downturn in the market did precede a recession.

How duplicitous of her to not point out that during other severe stock market downturns America wasn't $9 TRILLION dollars in debt, taxes for the rich so low that the middle class is bearing way more than their share of the heavy load of financing the country, gas prices that have more than doubled on bush's watch, the subprime market crash, a plummeting dollar, banks having to borrow billions from overseas investors to keep afloat, entire industries and companies that have moved from the U.S. to overseas to avoid paying taxes altogether (taking millions of good jobs with them), unemployment at record highs, 1 out of 4 homeowners delinquent on their home loans, record numbers of foreclosures and bankruptcies, a war acting as a black hole sucking up $15 billion a month, foreign debt that is slowly selling off America (cheap!), and a president so lacking influence, honesty, integrity, and commonsense that America is the laughingstock of the world.

I'm sure she just "forgot" to mention those things while not just one, not two, but THREE so-called financial experts denied we were in a recession, citing various inane statistics to justify their financial oracle credentials. Really disgusting dishonesty.

Well, they can all talk and talk and talk until they're blue in the face and done talking, but it won't change the fact that we are in a recession that is probably a precursor to a full blown second Great Depression. The Republicans have wanted to bankrupt the country for at least the last forty years, and it looks as if they have finally succeeded with their surrogate economic witch doctor, bush, circling the world begging for lower oil prices to at least try to make the next election cycle better for the GOP candidates.

CNN also reports that bipartisan efforts are being made to help out, which is as it should be, 'cause the democrats are as guilty and responsible as the GOP for the dire straits in which we find ourselves.

But rest easy. The ass who got us into all this serious trouble, bush, is going to give another another lame and lying speech about how strong all the fundamentals of our solid economy remain. SSDD

Oh well, bush just called for an economic stimulus package that, "…must include tax breaks, definitely no new taxes…" and the usual call for extending the tax breaks for the uber wealthy that is mostly responsibly for how broke we are from the lack of sufficient tax income to the Treasury. And, of course, lowering the tax rate of the mega-rich corporations, which will use the extra money to hasten their exodus from America.

So all the rich can relax and keep ever more of their under-taxed income.

If you are middle to lower class, financially speaking, bend over, grab your ankles, and, just like at a fraternity hazing beg, "Please, sir, screw me again, and this time make sure it's longer and deeper and bigger than ever. We love getting f*cked over and over again by the Republicans, sir!"

And who is the idiot that made the definition of a recession, "… as having two quarters in a row with no growth in the GDP?"

How convenient, a definition that ignores several hundred thousand homeless, millions without health insurance, more children going to bed hungry and without needed medicines than ever, more people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits, more people who have given up trying to find jobs that no longer exist because of the exodus overseas, families with two or more members working two or more jobs and still not being able to make ends meet, but one that, by grace of their christian god preserves millions of dollars for millionaires that don't need relief from this piss poor economy to keep enjoying the luxurious lifestyles to which they are accustomed.

My taxes, being just barely in the middle class, have gone UP every year bush has been in office, increasing about two hundred dollars a year, so as far as I am concerned "tax relief" is a myth perpetuated by those million and billionaires who need my money for illegal wars and to pay their share of taxes for them.

CNN just announced that the stock market sell off has increased in just the few minutes since bush gave his speech!

The world watches and waits. Waits for the great American fire sale so they can buy all our monuments, parks, land, remaining industries, and Wall Street (which is on sale now). They already own the White House, but it's not too late to buy the Senate and House of Representatives, CHEAP. Maybe we can sell Washington, D.C. to the highest bidder…oh sh*t… we've already done that.

This is a watershed moment for the GOP, a party that can point to this disaster and proudly proclaim, "We did that!" while finally realizing the irony of the Democratic Party asking old Ronnie Raygun's question, "Are you better of today than you were four years ago?"

But even with a chorus of millions of agonizing taxpayers simultaneously screaming, "NO!", we will still not be heard in Washington.

Labels: Budget, bush as chimp, CNN, conspiracy, corruption, cronyism, disinformation, Economy, GOP, hypocrisy, inflation, iran war prep, more Bush lies, propaganda