How Did We Get Here?

[redstate_democrat]

How did we get to this point? We have major banks going belly up, a housing meltdown, government takeover of Fannie and Freddie, record unemployment, depressed wages, millions in job losses, gasoline prices out of control, food prices skyrocketing, two wars with no end in sight, massive deficits, and all of this happened within the last 7 1/2 years, taking a total 180 degree turn from what was probably the best economic times in decades under Bill Clinton.

How the hell did we end up here?

[dbonds]

1. We let a cowboy and his outlaw gang rob the country.

[redstate_democrat]

5. How was this person able to totally fuck things up the way he has?

He was like a one man recking crew. He just went batshit crazy and started throwing shit on the walls, it seems.

[dbonds]

10. I really don't know.

I have felt like I was in the twilight zone these last 10 years (including the Clinton Impeachment show). I don't understand why they are allowed to get away with this stuff. It is obvious for anyone to see, yet I know people that refuse to see it. I have developed an ulcer and my hair went grey with worry. You wish people would wake up, then you realize they are awake they just can't see it.

[MsTryska]

35. you know what? i let myself get stressed out about

all this too....but then in 2004?

I adopted a let them sit in their own shit policy.

I'm remarkably numb to all this, and I'm sad to say I have very little compassion for the stuff that's going down.

I'm just gonna hang out and say i told ya so. ya did it to yourself. sucks to be you.

and i'll keep figuring out how me and mine are gonna get by, and keep making decisions that matter to my future, and keep explaining exactly why i'm being contrarian.

lather, rinse, repeat.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. My best guess:

[liberalmuse]

3. Bush.

And American arrogance, followed by willful and even proud ignorance. Hopefully Americans will wake up and see that McCain is nothing more than a much worse version of Bush. Before it's too late to salvage this.

[d_b]

4. and people just can't wait to pull

the lever for in what respect, charlie/hockey mom, and 95% with Bush.

no shit.

[sandnsea]

6. We don't have record unemployment yet

Just sayin'. It was at least 15% during the Great Depression, and over 10% in 1992.

And we got here because of deregulation and globalism.

[redstate_democrat]

9. What about those people who can't collect unemployment because it has run out?

They go unrecorded. We've lost millions of jobs and not as many have replaced them. This tells me that we have a lot of invisible folks out there, and there only presence is known by the fact of this massive home foreclosure meltdown.

[sandnsea]

18. That is not how unemployment is counted

It is counted through a survey. What has changed is some of the ridiculous stuff they count as employment now, like mowing lawns or selling your used clothes on Ebay. But we still don't have record unemployment. I saw bad unemployment before and we aren't there yet. Close, but not yet. Let interest, unemployment and inflation hit around 12% - and then you'll have the 70's. I don't even want to think about Depression numbers, but I seriously think we'll be there by January.

[RaleighNCDUer]

24. If they reckoned it today the way they did then, we'd be over

10% now. There are some areas where it is well over 25%. Most of the nation's 2 million homeless are not counted among the unemployed by the very fact that they do not collect benefits, have no address, and dropped off the radar years ago.

[Amonester]

7. 5 words

the rove cheney bush pretzeldanceeeee

[Bread and Circus]

8. Massive deregulation of key industries, evisceration of manufacturing, and increase

global demand for oil. We've been propped up by borrowing for a while now.

However, to be fair Bill Clinton did his fair share to fast track jobs overseas. I partly blame him but it's really the corporatocracy that has fucked us.

[redstate_democrat]

13. Why do some of these folks who voted for Bush seem to not care at all?

I just don't understand this mentality. I try and I try to understand, but you would think people would at least make decisions in their own self-interest. That is just an act of survival.

[Bread and Circus]

17. Two things, 1.) add the Iraq war to the list 2.) A lot of voters just can't connect the dots.

[MsTryska]

36. because it hasn't affected them in any real way yet.....

although it's starting to.

Gas prices...food prices..rubmlings about "this bad economy".

But before they started feeling a crunch? myopia.

[BlueIdaho]

11. Let me guess...

An insane degree of trust in the "free marketplace's" ability to self regulate for the greater good of all the citizens of this proud country of ours?

Let's see a show of hands - who's for less government now?

[southerncrone]

12. Well for starters, this is what happens when

everything is "deregulated" & any laws that were on the books to prevent monopolies or oligarchies are IGNORED or NOT ENFORCED!

We are seeing the end product of Raygun's massive deregulation and merger mania. We have allowed our financial market to literally consume itself with the bigger fish gobbling up the smaller fish, not to mention the Fed sitting on its hands while it happened.

Corporate greed has consumed so much of our market that we're headed toward only a few megacorporations owning everything in the world. These guys have so much $ they can buy up governments, they've bought up ours! That's how we got here. :(

The best thing Americans can do now is to patronize only local small businesses (those that are left) if possible. Doing without non-essentials if need be.

[redstate_democrat]

16. Pretty soon, people won't be able to afford anything but the essentials.

Then what will these corporations do? It seems stupid to me. The middle class is what drives the economy. It happens from the bottom up. They are literally driving the middle class into extinction. How can business survive without the consumer?

[southerncrone]

20. MANY people can only afford the essentials now, some can't even

do that (elderly women living on basic SS).

My husband & I have watched this develop over the last 20 yrs. It has been a gradual erosion of our society & economy. Back in the '80's when Graham/Rudman was set in effect, it cut top tax bracket folks taxes in half (70% down to 35%) while dumping that burden on the middle class (you & me). At the same time NAFTA & GATT were in the pipeline, which ended up shipping most of our higher-paying jobs overseas.
Both of these actions by Congress pulled the rug out from under the middle-class. We have been struggling & falling ever since.

Those greedy bastards pay half the tax as b/4, & pay little in wages in the underdeveloped countries, but shipped goods back to us at just slightly lower prices. THEY MADE OUT LIKE THE BANDITS THEY ARE!!!

Hubby & I have asked the same ? you have "where do they think they will get their $?" It won't be from the US. That is why globalization was so important.....they've enriched other countries at our expense & will now pull the $ (and resources) from them. We (the American people) are NOT big players anymore.

Sadly, we are witnessing the demise of one of the greatest dynasties in history. Just like Rome fell, just like the British Empire fell, we are now falling. China will now rise to become the world power, & we made it so with our sleazy business policies & lack of govt. protection for our citizens.

:cry:

[WinkyDink]

38. Over 40 years ago, my mother (one of those widows on S.S now) told me China would rule the world.

I was hoping it at least would be just in my lifetime, not hers as well.

[wanpete]

14. FOOLS elected someone they'd like to have a beer with, and the corporate media fed the ignorance.

[Waiting For Everyman]

15. Not caring while others went under.

It's BEEN this bad. It's just moving up the ladder, as I've been watching it do for 7 years now. Welcome to my world. I've been battling for my home all this time just because of the banks' terrorist campaign against homeowners... paying double what my neighbors do on my mortgage because of "bank policies" that enable ROBBING far too many of us month by month... while others took vacations and turned their heads.

Now it's your turn. Nobody is listening. Still spouting "tax cuts for the rich", "don't cut my investment portfolio's profits". Who do they think has been paying those profits - WRONGFULLY - those like me here, and the world.

Everybody wanted global trade. Great for business. And business is the pension portfolios. They are next.

And people who have had their LIFETIMES wiped out, won't be recovering anytime soon.

[doc03]

19. I think we all know how we got here, the question

is why in the hell isn't Obama ahead double digits in the national polls and why isn't he ahead in like 49 states? It's just mind boggling, how can McCain even be close? Why isn't Obama hammering away day after day about the banking crisis, housing meltdown, deficits, gas prices, food prices etc. Sure he talks about the economy in generalities but doesn't really address these serious problems. I just wonder if there is a memo out to both candidates to keep away from these topics for fear of causing a panic.

[southerncrone]

22. I think the reason Obama isn't out front in double digits is the lying

MSM! Notice how things are "neck-in-neck" the closer we get to Nov. If you're going to steal another election, you've got to convince the public that it is too close to call. Then, when the right-wingnut wins, there won't be an outcry.

We here at DU know that the MSM is bought off. It becomes more & more obvious daily.

The voting machines will take care of it for them, anyway.

My only hope is a miracle or alien intervention! LOL

[doc03]

26. I am 60 years old and one thing I have learned is the MSM

likes a horse race for ratings. I really can't remember an election that wasn't to close to call the day before the election. It happens every time the day before it's just too close to call, but the last couple have really been strange because the actual polls never match the exit polls. I remember back before 2000 when they would give the exit polling figures on the evening news and they were nearly dead on every time.

Here we go again on my TV "The Original Mavericks" She stopped the bridge to nowhere, he fights congressional spending, he took on the drug industry and he takes on Republicans. You would swear he was a Democrat.

[southerncrone]

28. Know what ya mean.

I'm in my mid 50's & the last 15 yrs. seem like every thing is upside-down (or reversed) now. Can't tell you the # of times I've said things don't make any sense anymore.

The Dems talk about "less spending", mainly referring to Iraq, & "the fiscal conservative" Bush, has spent us into the ground. Feels like we're living in the Twilight Zone.

After hearing about how many high levels of drugs are in our water supplies now, maybe that's contributing to the craziness of our country & it's citizens. My home has well-water & a heavy duty filter on our home water supply. May be the "kool-aid" Americans are drinking is coming in through the tap. ?
:shrug:

[southerncrone]

29. Dupe. Deleted

[Bread and Circus]

23. Actually, I think most people, even on DU, don't know how "we got here"

and that goes triple for Joe Average U.S. Amerikin.

And that is exactly why Obama's not up 20% in the polls.

Most people haven't a clue.

[doc03]

21. The average person listens to that

stupid McCain ad that blames the economic mess on Obama and the Democrats because they are preventing oil companies from drilling. It seems like every damn problem we have the Republicans manage to bring it down to a two or three word solution that every goddamn moron can understand..

[Hamlette]

25. the banks is nothing new, we did the same in the 80s and it is NOT record unemployment

higher than in 4 years but by no means a record.

I'm not going to tell you things are good. They are not. It is bad. Maybe the worst I've seen. Just don't say record unemployment as it discredits your argument.

[sandnsea]

27. These banks are bigger than the 80s

Don't you think? I'm feeling this is going to be a lot worse. My stomach never churned at any of the crises in the 80s, not even the stock market crash. It's churning tonight.

[Hamlette]

32. It is serious, but my stomach churned in the 80s too.

my main point is unemployment, while bad, is not highest ever.

And, the savings and loan failures in the 80s were bad.

My husband was banking commissioner right after the failures so I can tell you they were bad. He has never expressed concern over the economy but he's scared now.

He doesn't think fanny or freddy are as bad off as they say but the other stuff has him spooked.

for what its worth

There is no doubt we will pull out of this but it could be long and hard.

[cornermouse]

37. Unemployment figures aren't accurate any more.

They "adjusted" them by changing the formula they use to calculate it.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

30. It all started with Reagan

whose entire philosophy was that it makes perfect sense to place the foxes in charge of henhouse security and not bother asking any questions even after discovering that all of the chickens have disappeared.

There's probably more metaphorical blood on the hands of Phil Gramm (who should be Ceaucescued ASAP) than any other single individual. His infinitiely malign and corrupt influence in massively deregulating financial markets is directly responsible for the subprime loan crisis and the current financial meltdown.

Chimpy and DicKKK have also contributed plenty to the systematic looting of this country.

[NYC_SKP]

31. America voted for the guy they "could have a beer with". Simple as that. nt

[Enthusiast]

34. While I do believe it started with Reagan

Republicans and their crazy radio hate mongers were desperate to get rid of Bill Clinton. Clinton was an impediment to their doing what they did after Bush took office. Apparently they planed this fucking mess.

Remember back to the 24/7 'get Clinton' TV and radio programs. It was not only a vast right wing conspiracy. It was the single greatest effort in history to overthrow the wishes of an electorate. This effort cost millions of dollars. But participants were handsomely rewarded.

[curious one]

33. I am still thinking.

[GoesTo11]

39. Will suburban voters figure out that Repubs are bad for their 401k's

Just voting economic self interest (which I think these folks tend to do), the fact that the stock markets are all way down since election day 2000 - instead of having doubled since then like they would have with 8 years of 9% growth - that totally affects even these people's lives a lot more than whether they'd like to have a beer with the president.