Is The Economy About To Bounce Back?

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

Is The Economy About To Bounce Back? Reposted here with permission of the author:
http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/05/is-economy-about-to-bounce-back.html

We're told the tender "Green Sprouts" of economic recovery are starting to appear and the worst is over. As for doubters, since March stock markets have risen. Is the economy about to bounce back from the brink of collapse?

The answer is: The economy may bounce back briefly, but it will collapse. What I'm about to tell you is very strong and crucial for you to know.

Why believe me instead of the "experts?" Because since 2007, when I published "How To Protect Yourself From The Coming Financial Crisis," I've been right. Most experts saw no problems and when they finally did see them, they greatly underestimated their impact. They will again.

What you're seeing is not a recovery but massive spending on wars, weapons, bailouts and "stimulus" programs. It's taxpayer money and is not productive nor sustainable and the borrowings are the biggest in U.S. history. So large that to cover them, the Fed is now printing money out of thin air, which in itself will set the stage for hyper-inflation in the next few years.

Why is this happening? We live in what's become a bubble economy. Because most of our manufacturing base is gone, we make money from stock market run-ups, real estate run-ups and services such as selling other nations' goods to ourselves.

We depend on China, India and other nations to produce for us. And because we have no energy policy, we depend on fossil fuels and for much of our gasoline, we depend on OPEC nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela.

Because our government can no longer pay its bills and we can't afford foreign made products, we borrow heavily. This too is unsustainable and we are deeply in debt with no idea how we will ever repay our creditors. They know this and are "worried" to quote our biggest creditor, China.

Yet President Bush and now President Obama want to "stimulate" the economy meaning to elevate our confidence and get us to start spending again. But on what? Stocks? Real estate? Goods made elsewhere? This just leads us back into the bubble.

What can you do?

To protect your job, you must either become a specialist whose services are essential such as a medical professional or an accountant or become a jack of all trades. To firms laying off employees, those employees most likely to be retained are those who perform a vital function or those who can do many different jobs.

Slash your overhead. Sell off non essential items such as extra cars, boats and off road vehicles to get out from under their costs and use the money to pay down your credit cards.

If your credit card debt is out of control, tear up the cards and renegotiate your balances and your interest rate with the credit card companies. You'll save a lot of money and feel much better getting rid of the stress of heavy debt.

Donate. However bad you may have it, there are others that have it worse. Donate your old clothing and donate food or some money to food banks. A dirty little secret in America is that 1 in 9 people depend on food banks for some or all of their food and that number is growing. Whatever you can spare can make a difference to those in dire circumstances. Together we'll get through this financial mess.

Be happy with what matters. Spend time with your loved ones and friends and take time to smell the roses, to enjoy a good book and to do something else that gives your life greater meaning.

Life isn't about possessions and material wealth but about personal growth and about helping others as together we build a better world for all of its inhabitants.

[leftofthedial]

1. capitalism has exhausted all the cheap resources of the planet, save one.

If people are willing to be, in effect, slaves, capitalism can "recover." Labor is the only potentially cheap resource left to exploit. If people want to be free, capitalism is doomed.

Don't be deceived. Trillions of dollars of wealth transfer to the capitalist lords will buy the temporary illusion of recovery, but it is unsustainable.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Nope. That dead cat bouncing on Wall Street really is dead.

[datasuspect]

3. it's because they started using water instead of brawndo

it turned out that brawndo is NOT what plants crave.

[lunatica]

15. Water? You mean like in toilets?

Oh Yea? Well, when was the last time you saw plants growing out of toilets?

[Warpy]

4. I can't add anything to this article but LEARN TO COOK.

The assessment is correct as are all the survival strategies.

Most people will be astonished to find out how much less an unprocessed, cooked at home diet costs. No, it's not a party in your mouth, especially not until you get used to it. Yes, it will keep you alive and remarkably healthy, a real advantage in an economy gone to shit.

If you get good at it, you can even barter food, bread, potato salad, soup, all kinds of stuff for things like haircuts and oil changes for your car. I know, I've done it.

[dgibby]

8. Learn to grow the food you cook, too.

And plant a row for the hungry.

[CoffeeCat]

5. The economy is still hemorrhaging jobs...

...and there are so many people who have had their hours or their pay cut. The biggest housing bubble
has yet to burst.

I applaud Obama for trying. I think he was handed a patient in a coma, and was put in charge of rehabilitating
a body that may have irreparable harm. Yes, we can create bubbles to stimulate improvement---and we get a false
hope that we're ramping up into a recovery. Just as we've had recoveries with the last few recessions.

However, this is different. Our entire economic paradigm has been blown to hell.

We're continuing to prop it up, create new bubbles and use the MSM to try to spark more consumerism.

However, it's just not going to work this time.

The big question for me is the time line---how long can this house of cards be propped up? I don't think we've got
much longer--especially if jobs keep disappearing.

[rvablue]

10. While I was feeling a little more optimistic a month ago, the scary thing that I'm seeing now

in my neck of the woods are long-time, (once) solid independent businesses closing down or moving.

On some blocks, there are three or four stores in a row that are vacant -- and I can't imagine what would pop up right now to replace them.

I'm not involved in the retail sector at all, but I'm wondering if the landlords aren't being stubborn about reducing rents???

[blue_onyx]

6. No

Chrysler is cutting tons of dealers and jobs which will effect every state. GM will soon declare bankruptcy and is also cutting many dealers and jobs. The ripple effect from these cuts will be big. In addition, there are many other companies still cutting jobs. Until the job loses stop, I don't see how we can say the economy is bouncing back.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

7. "The ripple effect from these cuts will be big"....

Yes, I agree. Thank you for the comment.

[Joe Fields]

9. NO

[LeftHander]

11. little buds of green on the still rotting carcass...are noxious weeds...nt

[SoCalDem]

19. "green" is not always great.. mucous can be green too..as can mold & fungus..n/t

[HughBeaumont]

12. No "firing freeze", no recovery. Just. that. simple.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/HughBeaumont/73

[Mudoria]

13. Wow.. another no name blogger with visions of economic doomsday..

He can join the line with the other "expert" bloggers..:eyes:

The economy didn't drop off overnight and is not going to get back in gear overnight. Jobs always lag a recovery and when he haven't even got to the recovery stage yet. I'm not to much worried about having to sit around the candlelight, reading my Marx and muttering "When the workers control the means of production..." just yet.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

14. Well, don't say you were not warned....

Mr Kazan predicted the mess we are in, back in November 2007. Maybe reading is journal entry from back then, might improve his knowledge, in your eyes:

<snip from Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:17 pm>

Dear Reader,

Are you prepared for the coming financial crisis?

We Americans haven't seen one like this since The Great Depression, as the dollar's value will get cut in half, real estate will lose 1/3 of its value and millions of people will lose their jobs.

As a veteran businessman and long term investor, I offer you suggestions to help protect you and your family and as many other people as you and I can reach.
<snip>
http://saneramblings.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=75

[lunatica]

16. Your derision is obvious, but you have nothing to back it up with

The OP pointed out that any 'recovery' will be right back into the very thing that created the present problem. Spending massive amounts of money to stimulate the economy to return to what it was based on is just asking for trouble. It's like trying to fill a bucket of water that keeps losing water because it has a hole. You gotta either change the bucket or fix the problem, not throw more water into it.

[SmileyRose]

17. What completely idiotic advice.

Get rid of paid for belongings and use the money to pay down the credit cards?

Look, if we are all going to hell in a handbasket I can promise you a paid for boat is much more valuable than a zero credit card balance. Throw the banks under the bus and trash the hell out of your credit score before you dump a piece of hardware that might actually be of some use to put food on your family.

Sorry, but as someone near the bottom of the US economic ladder I know darn well the banks won't blink twice about throwing my ass under the bus so they can keep their boats.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

22. If you have a boat (luxury item) and credit card debt, you never should have...

bought a boat. Actually, the bank bought the boat for you.

[SmileyRose]

24. Hair splitting - however

if the bank has any laws written in it's favor that makes profits, then technically all those profits belong to the citizens who paid for the government that wrote those laws.

See - it goes both ways........

[SoCalDem]

18. A "dead-cat" bounce, maybe..n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

20. It was reported today that building permits fell to new lows

[rucky]

21. K&R

[roamer65]

23. No.

It is a "1930-style" uptick before the big downturn. Most business, I think, are holding out on the EXTREMELY large layoffs until they see if this is a true upturn. Its not and by years end the layoffs will be mind blowing.