Consumer confidence in the US slumps to its lowest since 1992! (not since

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

ghwb has it been this low)

Like father, like son.

September 17, 2005

Consumer confidence in the US slumps to its lowest since 1992

US consumer confidence slumped to its lowest for 13 years this month as sentiment was battered by record petrol prices and the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, a closely watched poll showed yesterday.

The much worse than anticipated figures from the University of Michigan’s regular survey showed its preliminary headline

>snip
But there were warnings of more bad news ahead.

“We expect a couple of very rough months for consumer spending,” Ian Sheperdson, of High Frequency Economics, said.

Happy Holidays everyone! MKJ
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,16849-1784216,00.html

[merwin]

1. So, when clinton took office, consumer confidence went up.

Since Bush took office, it has gone down below Bush Sr's numbers?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

4. Not since he took office. The numbers tanked this month. n/t

MKJ

[mattclearing]

2. yeah, the only difference is it took longer this time.

There's something you really can blame Clinton for.

Reagan ensured that Poppy couldn't even finish his term without his economic policy failing.

Junior was more fortunate.

[bluestateguy]

3. It's gunna be a real hard Christmas for the retailers

n/t

[rzemanfl]

7. Especially with credit card minimum payments doubling. It's

gonna be a home-made fruitcake kind of a holiday. Housing will start to tank soon too.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

11. I remember December 1992. My husband and I talked about the

recession's effect at that time.

We put together a Christmas for our 5 yr. old daughter, without exchanging gifts ourselves or with any one else.

She's almost 18 now and very aware of the bleak economy.

She also knows we've been strapped financially, due to my husband's struggle to keep a decent paying job, in telecommunications, since 2001.

Fortunately, he's been employed since June of this year, in a secure, decent paying job, so we can at least do the "one big gift" thing for her this year.

1992 all over again.

MKJ

[despairing optimist]

5. Call it the Bush Effect

Poppy Bush lost the election because he denied the recession of '91-2, and what did we get after eight years of recovery, eliminated deficits, and growing surpluses and employment? Another Bush, Son of Bush: a four-in-one horseman of social, economic, and political apocalypse.

Forget the proposed constitutional amendments banning flag burning and gay marriage. There should be a constitutional amendment banning any further Bushes and related family lines from holding any federal office whatsoever. It's an open question whether it's too late for this amendment to do any good, such is the parlous state of the Union under the Bushes' jaundiced eyes.

[ktowntennesseedem]

8. "A four-in-one horseman of social, economic, and political apocalypse."

Absolutely perfect. Too long for a bumper sticker (way over the freepers' heads anyway), but still a phrase worth remembering and repeating.

Thanks!

:applause:

[despairing optimist]

9. Oh, I'm too wordy! I don't think in terms of signs for demos and bumpers

But I'll try harder. Thanks.

[ktowntennesseedem]

10. Don't worry about it.

There are some thoughts that just can't be expressed on a 3" X 12" strip.

[iconoclastic cat]

6. If we don't ride the Repubs out on a rail, this will last a decade.

[aquart]

12. You're way too optimistic.

[BootinUp]

13. The similarities between Poppy's and dubya's

times in office are striking. It seems to demonstrate how powerful the Presidency is, and how easy one can fuck up a great country.

[ignatius 2]

14. Like father,like son is right in more ways than this one. Poppy also

lied to get us into a war, he also looted the treasury creating the largest budget deficit ever until of course Junior became prez. He also bailed out the S&L industry using taxpayer money while many of his rich buddies and his son,Neil, never payed back any of the money they were loaned.

Of course Poppy also pardoned all the crooks involved in Iran Contra, we don't know the rest of Chimpy's story yet.

[goforit]

15. Hard times haven't even begun.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

16. I think my family was ahead of the hard times curve...

We lost everything, practically, because of my husband's long bout with unemployment.

He was making good money and in demand with his area of telecommunications expertise.

First lay off was early 2001, for 8 months, then again in late 2003, for 6 months, then again this last April.

He's finally back in medicine. In the early 90's he left medicine because there was so much more money to be made in other arenas.

Fortunately, the need for trained medical staff is so great that he was able to come back after a long absence. He is making less money, but it's steady and he loves working with patients again.

Now, we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel just as the prospect of a nationwide economical collapse is imminent.

Well, at least we've honed our surviving on almost nothing skills. MKJ