The Economy Is Getting Worse and Worse -- And No One's Doing a Thing About It

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Danny Schechter

The Economy Is Getting Worse and Worse -- And No One's Doing a Thing About It
The economy is already down, and it can go lower. And no one seems willing to fix it.

August 22, 2010 |


We know we live in hard times that are on the verge of getting harder, with 500,000 new claims for unemployment last week, a recent record.

The stock market may be over for now as fear and panic drives small investors out. Big corporations hoard stashes of cash rather then hire workers. The D word (depression) is back in play.

Foreclosures are up, and the administration’s programs to stop them are down, well below their stated goals, only helping a sixth of those promised assistance.

And here’s a statistic for you: 300,000. That’s the number of foreclosure filings every month for the past 17 months. This year, 1.9 million homes will be lost, down from 2 million last year. Is that progress? In July alone, 92,858 homes were repossessed.

At the same time, the number of canceled mortgage modifications exceeded the number of successful ones. According to Ml-implode.com, last month, “the number of trial modification cancellations surged to 616,839, greatly outnumbering the 421,804 active permanent modifications."

And don’t think this problem only affects those homeowners about to go homeless. According to the New York Times, Michael Feder, the chief executive of the real estate data firm Radar Logic, says we are all at risk. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/economy/147929/the_economy_is_getting_worse_and_worse_--_and_no_one%27s_doing_a_thing_about_it/

[Orrex]

1. This can only be fixed by making the billionaires' tax cuts permanent

K/R

[fasttense]

2. The Tea baggers are busy crucifying Muslims while

the corporate con artist steal every last bit of wealth from this nation.

President Obama doesn't know what or how to fix it. The Democratic party is too afraid to do anything.

All the while the RepubliCONS and their tea bagging minions busily enable their corporate lovers.

What a wonderful country to be stuck in.

[indepat]

4. I suspect BHOknows what and how to fix it, but conservatives rule the day and they are interested in

assuring junior's tax cuts for the most affluent do not expire rather than addressing unemployment and societal ills which must be left to fix themselves. :P

[lib2DaBone]

3. We need a moratorium on foreclosures.. at least 5 years.....

Let the people stay in their houses and make what payments they can.. maintain the property and maintain the neighborhood.

Wouldn't this make more sense than dumping millions into the street and flooding the market with short sales?

[prairierose]

5. That would make too much sense...ain't gonna happen....n/t

[Myrina]

19. ... and rather than giving each of the mortgage co's $5k ...

... as a thank you for every mortgage they 'modify' (mine went down $30/mo. Big Whoop, thanks for nothing Citi), apply that money directly to the mortgage balance to give people some breathing room.

[Speck Tater]

6. A while back I posted a link to an article about how most Americans are in denial re: the economy

Ironically, all the replies here on DU were to deny that the economy was still in trouble. Back in 1930 they had no idea they were in The Great Depression. The economy was looking up a recovery was just around the corner. Or so they kept telling themselves. It was only in retrospect that we could see what was really happening. Same thing now. Everyone's telling us how the economy is on the mend and recovery is just around the corner. T'aint so. The economy is still falling off a cliff and the bottom is still a long way down.

[seattleblue]

12. The facts you present are the problem with the two party system.

When the Republicans were in power everyone (on the left) recognized the problem with economy. When the Democrats are in power many, if not most, go into denial because "our party is in charge and they can do no wrong." The fact is that no matter who is in charge our economy is in deep trouble and neither party knows what to do about it or is willing to do the things necessary to change it.

[bvar22]

7. Here's the problem:

For the privileged Few, The Economy is NOT getting Worse and Worse,
It is getting Better and Better.

The Gilded Age was very comfortable for the top 1%.
They WON.....Again.

The Working Class & The Poor have NO representation in either Political Party.


The DLC New Team
FDR Democrats need not apply.

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254886&kaid=86&subid=85

[area51]

16. +1 n/t

[SlipperySlope]

8. Don't worry; the rich and powerful are taking care of things.

Don't worry about the economy. The rich and powerful are taking special care to ensure that no matter what happens, they remain rich and powerful. So as long as you are rich and powerful yourself, you have nothing to worry about.

[Dr.Phool]

9. Welcome to DLC-Republican America.

Take care of Wall Street. Fuck Main Street!

[chill_wind]

10. And that we're cooking the books on the jobless rates

just makes the whole crisis all that more deadly.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9001597

[grahamhgreen]

11. Only in a selfish america could we have a problem with empty houses and homelessness.

[4dsc]

13. Consumerism is dying and most people don't know it

nor do they really care because they cannot come to grips with the reality of the situation.

[marmar]

14. Sad but true. Most people cannot imagine a life other than that of bleak consumerism.

nt

[Dr.Phool]

15. My wife can find about anything we need (or don't) in thrift stores.

She absolutely loathes paying retail for anything.

[northernlights]

17. I got a "new" dress for free

A few weeks ago, somebody left a cute little sundress at the local pond. In perfect condition. In my size. In colors and design I love. The kind of dress I might have dropped a few bucks on 10+ years ago, back when I made a really good income, but wouldn't even *consider* spending money on now.

There it was, abandoned all wadded up on top of a rock. I thought it would be a kid's top; was totally surprised when I picked it up and shook it out.

It has given me much happiness sitting in the shade on the too hot and humid to weed, time for a break days.

I did buy some notebook paper for school -- on sale for 15cents/booklet.

That's about as much "shopping" as I do these days :shrug:

[Art_from_Ark]

23. A little off the topic of the OP, but

Why would someone leave a perfectly good sundress wadded up at a pond? It seems to me that that indicates that someone might have gone skinny-dipping, but if that were the case, why would she not reclaim the dress after the swimming was over?

[dotymed]

22. There are so many things I need and would love to buy.

I can't afford to pay the necessities....
Even if there were alot of decent paying jobs in America (there is not), the law allows and even encourages businesses to evaluate prospective employees by looking at their credit score. The total lack of any protections against the intrusions of corporations is dehumanizing and designed to keep people down.

[Moostache]

18. 50% or more of the problem could be solved with 2 steps:

1) Complete removal of ALL US troops from anywhere NOT represented by a Senator in the congress - ie. COMPLETE dismantling of Empire USA and its 100's of overseas bases.

2) Re-implementing the complete progressive tax codes from 1979 (remove all capital gains tax breaks and all top income bracket reductions and re-institute the estate tax for ALL estates over $2M.

The combination of increased tax revenue from those who are NOT hurting in this economy and the reduction in hemorrhaging cash flows out of the Treasury would create a pool of money that could be used to actually, you know, help the AMERICAN people. We would have money to invest in rebuilding THIS country. Obama is going down in history as the next Hoover and as bad as that is, the prospects of a new FDR emerging to save this country from itself seems to get more remote with every passing day.

Mr. President, when you were elected you spoke of wanting to be a transformational president. Sir, just what do you think you are transforming us into now? I voted for you because I believed in the message of change and hope for a better America. I believed that you would seize the moment of historical opportunity to actually take bold risks and make bold policy decisions. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. Extraordinary times require extraordinary leadership and demand an abandoning of the tepid or the half-measure. Please sir, please....help the people who are hurting, help the American people regain control of their nation from the corporations who think they own you...you are not their man, you are OUR man...act like it already and tell them all to get bent while you get busy fixing things.

Legislative victories without economic turn around spells only one thing - 2012 Republican victory...an outcome that really does make me doubt the survival of the nation beyond 2016...

[MisterP]

20. mandates to buy vampiric policies, eternal warfare, bank aid, and gutting Social Security

count as "doing a thing"

though not GOOD things (but since when have conservatives of any party made value judgments when you could have a Pyrrhic majority-yes vote to get all ecstatic over?)

[nightrain]

21. kick.... ya have to wonder what they're waiting for... the banks are loaded with money they're not

lending, the unemployment numbers keep getting worse, mortgage programs only enriching themselves, not assisting underwater homeowners... and Congress folks take their LLLLLOOOOOONNNNGGGGG vacations...

They'll be hearing from us in November to be sure....

[4dsc]

24. Realistically what can anyone do? Consumerism is dead

I don't know why people here believe our economy is going to somehow recover enough for everyone to return to a failed model of consumerism?? It cannot and it will not. This economy will never look as it did in its hay days of the 1990's.