If our leaders are deliberately deceiving us about the approaching economic tsunami, their misinformation is criminal--If they don't see it coming, their incompetence is treasonous.
On cable news today we learned that there is a 42 per cent chance we are in a recession, now being referred to as a "downturn". We all miss the point if we argue economic indicators and such and waste time deciding if we are in a recession. We don't even have time to argue whether Bush's economic policy is at fault. Why don't we? Because we can't rely on anything our government says.
It is reasonable to say that the administration is, at the time of this writing, saying we are not in real danger of a recession. What makes us think they will now become advocates for the people and warn them of dangers to come? Katrina becomes a very discomforting analogy when you think of a great economic perfect storm that might change our country and our lives forever? Foreign ownership, a worthless dollar, bankruptcy, lack of leadership, self-destructive trade practice and massive budget deficits.
A PERFECT STORM.
I hate to be the harbinger of doom, and I wish Edgar Allen Poe were here to ghost write this. We are looking at an economic Armageddon, an abyss that will either gobble us up and destroy us, or will occupy the rest of our lives with an experience that will make the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor and September Eleventh all seem like early chapters in "Road Warrior meets the Jihad." If I am right, and I pray I am not,Everybody's worst nightmare is about to begin.It may last for decades.How it turns out is up to us, but it will start with money. Power, wealth and religion have become one.Fanatics with suicide vests bring us our revelations and predict our future.God is not going to end the world,but warped souls want to end it in His name.
But, what the Heck, as the old timers in Texas used to say. "Hi 'Dios!"
I was a Visiting Lecturer in American Literature with a (Baghdad University/Texas University) Fulbright Exchange Program in 1966-67 and a Guest Lecturer for the American Authors Lecture Series for the United States Information Service in Iraq.
Carole Chaney Farrington and I co-authored and published "Baghdad Letters" in 2003, a collection of letters and journals we wrote in 1966-67 while in Iraq.
My post from yesterday on this site (abbreviated):
The Ghost of CPI Future
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for the twelve months ended November 2007, the CPI is 4.3%. The CPI, unlike the 'official' inflation number, includes food and fuel, and is one of the most widely used indicators of inflation.
How does 4.3% square with what’s flying out of your wallet each time you visit the gas pump and grocery store? While we wait with baited breath for the ‘official’ 2007 numbers to be spat out next week, here are some harbingers of things to come (source: Pink Sheet published by the World Bank, January 8, 2008.)
Percentage changes were calculated using annual average prices for 2005-2007:
Coal, up 38% Crude oil, up 34% Coffee, up 71% Soybean meal, soybean oil, soybeans, up 43%, 62%, and 40% Corn, up 66% Sorghum, up 69% Wheat, hard and soft, up 68% and 76% Rubber, up 49% Aluminum, up 39% Copper, up 93% Lead, up 164% Nickel, up 153% Tin, up 97% Zinc, up 135%
These commodities prices reflect the price of raw materials used to produce everything we consume. Caveat Emptor.
by
Susan Guest (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 80 comments)
on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 9:41:54 AM
1/16/2008 9:13 AMThanks for the comment and even more for the facts/numbers. It is good to know someone is thinking about this stuff. Question: My article, which is largely rhetorical hyperbole may be a timely prediction, but it is devoid of examples, scenarios, incidents and plans for recovery. It seems someone like you might predict some consequences that are inevitable considering the plight of our economy. We are flying blind here, our Spaceship Enterprise, into new territory, whatever cliché you want to use for moving through a unique crisis without maps or leadership. In short, Susan, what is going to happen now?Thanks, jf
by
Jay Farrington (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 137 comments)
on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 9:28:15 AM
