The Struggling Economy is Not Fictional

Another way a McCain Presidency would be another Bush term is on the economy.  Things are grim and both McCain and Bush refuse to admit that it's bad.  They're just going on the same old trickle-down pay for it later Republican failures that have tanked the dollar and put us in multi-trillion dollar debt with a large chunk of that obligation to China.  Not smart from the self-admitted economic amateurs.

Bank Stocks are tanking and that's prompting a run on banks which includes violence.  The police are coming to bank lines to keep people from harming each other which would trigger riots.  Meanwhile the president thinks everything's a-ok! The chairman of the fed thinks we've got some serious problems.  The dollar's at its lowest point ever with respect to the Euro, the housing market is in a freefall, foreclosures are putting people on the streets along with maladjusted war veterans, unemployment is up and now the Dow Jones Average is showing the effects finally of what the average person has been feeling. Someone needs to tell Grampy McSame and his advisers that these economic woes are real and for those of us who didn't commit adultery with heiresses, it's serious. 

You know how to tell when things are really bad, it's when the administration tells us that everything's okay.  Like in Katrina when the administration was assuring everyone that they had it handled - meanwhile people were drowning or living in squalid conditions without any chance to escape the horror and Brownie was doing a great job - remember that?  Well the other day we were assured that the government wasn't going to have to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and now they are going to do just that.  Guess what they're doing now?  They're assuring us that the banking system is perfectly safe and that your money is insured.  That means I'm taking all I can out of the bank as soon as possible.

Obama might not be able to fix all these problems and they might overwhelm him, but at least he'll step up to a podium and give it to us straight.  All we need as Americans is a dose of the truth.  That's something we haven't had from the government my entire adult life.

 - rick, off to work.

Comments

[Success Warrior]

That's why I listen to Ron Paul. He doesn't sugar coat it and he has the answers. The TV watching public isn't allowed to hear about the problems or the solutions. Just keep doin' what you're doin' and everything will all right.

[a rose is a rose]

when i saw some bank line violence on the news this morning i really was more frightened than i ever have been.

people, WORKING PEOPLE cannot pay their bills. it's july. wait until the oil or electric or natural gas heating bills start rolling in

[bex]

you know the best way to take money "out of the bank" that doesn't contribute to the financial crisis? Pay off your house.

I live in a good area where there will always be jobs, and decent infrastructure. Paying off my home gives me a better return on investment than a savings account... since its interest payments that I no longer have to pay.

But what about a rainy day fund in a savings account? Its good to have some liquid cash there, but you could just as easily get a line of credit based on the equity you've paid off on your home... of course, don't you dare touch it unless you lose your job... which takes a bit of discipline.

Maybe Success Warrior has some thoughts?

[Success Warrior]

Bex, I concur.

Not only are you getting more money for your dollar with interest rates tanked at the moment but the more debt you pay off, the more cash you have on hand to deal with surprises. When you live paycheck to paycheck, it's hard to deal with $7 a gallon gas. If you have extra cash each paycheck, it's not fun to pay so much for gas but you're able to do it.

Having less debt also reduces stress and that can drastically change your life as well. Just from the sense of well-being to reducing your cost of healthcare.

We're going to be working on paying off our house in the next couple of years. The goal is to pay off a 30 year loan in less than 7 years. That'll save us hundreds of thousands of dollars and put more cash in our pocket on payday.