I'm worried about the economy.

[Danger Mouse]

I'm really really really really really really really worried about the economy.
I'm putting my trust in Obama to do the right thing for all of us (or at least, us little guys)...and I hope it's not misplaced.
I see a lot of businesses going under or about to, and it's just an ugly time.
Obama...don't cave into the corporations or the Republicans. Please do what's right. Please. I'm sick of this garbage. I'm sick of the Mr. Potters of the world getting their due, and the George Baileys left out in the cold.
Just let us lasso the moon...let us have enough to get by.

[snowbear]

1. Sorry Elrond, but if you don't put "Rick Warren" in the title.. this will sink..

.
.

[snowbear]

2. And BTW... I'm being sarcastic because I just CANNOT BELIEVE THIS PLACE.

.
.

It's become a true embarrassment.

[lostnotforgotten]

21. Why Has DU Become An Embarrassment To You?

eom

[Danger Mouse]

6. Maybe, maybe not.

Good to see you, larissa. You typically have the best avatars. Is it sad that I identify you with your cute bear avatars? :P :hug:

[Lorien]

3. You and me both

I can't find work. I've barely been scraping by for the past seven months or so, and I know it will just get worse. I have no idea how I'll make it-and I know that millions of others are in the very same boat!

[Danger Mouse]

4. I'm pretty sure my job is secure...

but i'm not so sure about some of the people i care about.
and it depresses me to see businesses going under, because those are people that are out of work now, one by one.
dominoes fall.
i hope you find a job soon. best of luck to you. :hug:

[Clio the Leo]

5. George came out fine in the end....

.... and we will too. ;)

[Danger Mouse]

7. Who's our guardian angel?

[Clio the Leo]

14. Well DUR!!!!

:evilgrin:

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. Yeah. Bankers are like that. n/t

[firedupdem]

8. me too....

it's a really scary time. Obama is a south sider...he'll get to working on it. I just know it's going to take time to fix 8yrs of screw ups. I don't know if I can wait too long though!

[cooolandrew]

9. Yes, this is why the Rick thing is not ideal but not an intended slight. He needs our back to do >

this no 2 ways about it. This is never going to work if we are going to tear him apart even before he has legislated to even define who he is as a leader. He's always said this is going ot be a group effort and with the group making self inflicted wounds I worry too. Let's get it together and get him back on track when he has made a legislative error but he's going to need all hands on deck even whether folks like it or not Ricks, even if we do disagree.

[grantcart]

10. Its going to get worse before it gets better

The silver lining is that America rebounds 5 times faster than other industrialized countries.

In Japan they talk about the lost decade.

[Danger Mouse]

11. 2009 is going to be a tough year. I hope by the end of it we see some light.

Obama is going to hit the ground running, and I take comfort in that.

[Warren Stupidity]

38. I wouldn't count on that fast rebound

the cratering out of our economy, a work in progress over the last 20 years, is pretty much complete. There isn't a lot left to rebound. Most of our economy consists of selling each other houses, haircuts, and hamburgers, the other huge piece was financial services, but who the heck wants to use our failed and corrupt financial services institutions anymore? We don't make much. We buy a lot, but that buying is coming to a crashing halt, and with it all the services associated with our debt financed shopping spree are also in trouble.

[shanti]

12. when the state of california

is about to go under, you need to start worrying. we're in bad shape! :yoiks:

[Pirate Smile]

13. There are a bunch of articles about how Obama is increasing his stimulus plan

because they think 3.5 million jobs are going to be lost this year. It is scary.

I think it is interesting that you used the word "trust" in your OP because I earlier read Andrew Sullivan's take on what is going on re the dumb-ass preacher dude. He thinks the difference is between the people who have some trust in Obama and those that don't.

I will be vigilant on substance and policy and criticize when due. But I believe in giving presidents a chance, because I think if we cannot give trust in the first place, our politics will never contain hope. Trust, mind you, is not the same thing as blind faith. It is simply a presumption that will be tested by events.

Having watched Obama very closely for two years, I have that trust. And I think the fundamental difference between those defending the Warren pick and those opposing it is the difference between those who trust Obama and those who don't. I may be proven wrong. But I'm not a conservative who backed him out of distrust. And so far, he hasn't let me down an iota. In fact, his magnanimity and maturity since Election Day have exceeded my expectations.


http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/12/trust.html#more

I don't mean to hijack your thread but your use of the word "trust" triggered this point that has been bouncing around in my head tonight BUT I didn't want to post an OP on it because, ugghhh, there really doesn't seem to be any point anymore.

[Deja Q]

28. change.gov outlined their plan for stimulus

Including reversing tax incentives for companies THAT offshore.

I don't think any trust has been misplaced.

[Undercurrent]

15. Me too.

I'm a single 60 woman who is disabled. I'm a silversmith with a mirco business, but my business is being kicked in the teeth by the recession. I never did make much money with my business, but was able to cover things that Medicare doesn't for my 88 year old dad. I'm his sole care giver.

Now I'm in knots with worry, and have developed insomnia, headaches, and am generally stressed all the time.

But I'm more worried about hungry children, the mentally ill, the people who are already poor, and all the other people who live on the fringes of the economy than I am about myself. By far. Because if the economy falls off the cliff the suffering will be monumental for the weakest, and most fragile among us.

[FirstLight]

16. Kick & Rec!

I too, am seriously worried, because I know it has to crumble apart before things can be truly rebuilt for the coming century and the changes we HAVE to make as a species - we have to not only find a way to get back on our feet, but we have to solve the climate crisis and peak oil and all the other crap as well.

I voted for Obama because the hope factor was more important than anything. it is the driving force behind recovery. We need to see this time period as a recovery, or a reconstruction period. I know he knows enough about the historical aspect of how we have pulled our asses out of the fire to have an idea of how to do this...i also trust he has some smart mo-fo's to help him figure out how to make it work. and I am idealistic enough to not be worried about the specifics of who is appointed where - I think he's building a team to do HIS work...and that's what matters.

Here on the ground, it is scary. We (my family & me) are barely making it too...single mom, 3 kids, and my income has never been above 15K and that's only 3 years sporadically during my adult life - mostly i make about 7K.
My hours got cut at my main bread & butter job (down to 8 per week!) and the rest of the time I am freelancing like a crazy woman and taking on all kinds of nickel 7 dime projects to keep food on the table. Hours all over the place and evenings and weekends spent trying to work at home ...
My7 stress level and depression and health are trashed too...

Poverty is a Killer... that should be our next Public Health message!

[boppers]

17. I work in the schwag business.

You know how businesses buy, and then give away, crap with their logo on it? We're one of the companies that act as middlemen.

Sales are down. Calls are down. Website visits are down.

Businesses all over the country are so strapped for cash that many aren't even promoting themselves (to get new business) anymore.(!)

Since we have a 2-month lead on one metric of business and economic prosperity (businesses who want to invest in getting more business), I can say with utter certainty that the next two months are going to be worse, for the Baileys and the Potters.

[SeattleGirl]

18. I am too.

On a personal level, I just got a great new job in October; last Saturday, MrSG was laid off from his job of 8 years.

I can make enough to pay the rent and all the bills, and he will get unemployment, but it still fucking sucks.

On a larger level, the number of people who are hurting financially right now is astounding.

Fuck you very much, Mr. Bush.

[HamdenRice]

19. This is the worst I've seen in my lifetime and it's going to get worse

We are not actually in the worst economy of my lifetime. That was probably the early 70s.

But the collapse of the economy has been so swift and severe, and we're not at bottom yet, that it looks like we are headed into the worst recession since the 1930s.

So right now, we have the worst set of indicators and problems of my lifetime.

[Shiver]

20. I have hope

One of the tenets I live by is 'Everything will be all right in the end; if it's not all right, then it's not the end.' I don't know if it's a clichéd saying or whatever - I found it written on the bathroom wall of my dorm when one of my suite mates went slightly nuts from finals and started writing on every surface he could find - but it's stuck with me.

I have hope. And a knife collection that should serve me well if I'm forced to become a hobo :yoiks:

[DemReadingDU]

23. Everything will be all right in the end

if it's not all right, then it's not the end



I like that!
:)

[Shiver]

24. My other motto is the one in my sig line

:woohoo:

[Stuart G]

22. So am I...very,very, worried. nt

[Jennicut]

25. I am worried as well

As much as the Rick Warren thing disappointed me and I know its the most important thing to other posters here, I am more worried about what Obama CAN even do with the economy. He sure got handed a load of crap. It will get worse before it gets better. The fact that we even need to spend almost a trillion in stimulus is scary but how else to get the economy moving again? Limiting spending and trying to cut the deficit would be a terrible idea even though some here are mad about more spending. Just go back and look what happened under Hoover and the depression, he raised taxes to get the deficit under control and it was a downward spiral.

[DemReadingDU]

26. Karl Denninger's latest essay

12/20/08
He talks about the largest bubble ever, how the bubble grew, the bubble has popped, and what needs to be done. And lots more, 7 pages long.

http://market-ticker.org/archives/695-Were-All-Madoff.html

[Jennicut]

31. Thanks!

I am not sure which side is right but I know something has to be done.

[DemReadingDU]

37. and a similar essay by Ilargi at The Automatic Earth

Ilargi's essay, followed by articles from around the world, ending with reader comments

12/21/08 Debt Rattle, December 21 2008: The last of the affluent, the carefree and the innocent
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2008/12/debt-rattle-december-21-2008-last-of.html



You might be interested in the The Chris Martenson Crash Course, an excellent series consisting of 20 chapters about the Economy, how we got to where we are now, how money is created, bubbles, peak oil, etc.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse

It is not necessary to watch all the chapters at once. I watched some every day, for 3 days. Excellent!

[Condem]

27. I'm in the auto business, Elrond

I think that's an oxymoron to call it a "business" right now. I'm surviving a lot better than most. However, the immediate future looks bleak.

[windbreeze]

29. I am so worried about it, that I haven't spent anything on Christmas...

I am afraid my g.kids are going to be very disappointed...but...at least they will have food to eat, and a roof over their heads...much more than a lot of people have...wb

[Honeycombe8]

30. I hear you, Elrond. And I'm really worried, too. I've hunkered down & am sweating getting laid off

I hope I don't, but I guess I'll continue to live somehow, some way, if I do.

Obama is inheriting a pure-D mess in January. I blame every so-and-so who voted for Bush...and that's virtually ALL of my family.

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. It is right that you should.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

[DemReadingDU]

33. That is my favorite financial blog

Ilargi and Stoneleigh are way ahead of the impending collapse and helpful ways to prepare. I love the intros and comments at the end of each day's 'Rattle'.

The Chris Martenson Crash Course is also an excellent source consisting of 20 chapters about the Economy, how we got to where we are now, how money is created, bubbles, peak oil, etc.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse

Edit - It is not necessary to watch all the chapters at once. I watched some every day, for 3 days. Excellent!

[DevonRex]

35. I'm sick of it, too. Honestly, I think it's gotten so bad that nothing is

going to work in the short term. There is obviously something very wrong with capitalism the way it's been done since Reagan. It's been nothing but a few people getting rich and screwing the rest of us over.

The positive side to this is that more Americans might be willing to accept drastic change. Only a fool refuses to see that employers cannot continue to pay escalating health care costs, and that WE can't afford to pay the portion that's left over for US to pay.

Only a fool refuses to see that if all the jobs are shipped overseas that nobody is left here who can afford to buy all that cheap crap. We're now in a situation that we can't even afford to shop at Walmart anymore. And for those of us who refuse to patronize that store, we're kind of out of luck. This is the first time I've done most of my shopping at Target and even Walgreens for Christmas. No, I take that back. I've done ALL my Christmas shopping at Target and Walgreens.

My husband and I are really more fortunate than most people in this economy, since he's a federal employee and I'm a retired Fed. But our sons are in really bad shape. They can't find jobs that pay the rent and their student loans. As families do, we're helping them out. That doesn't leave anything left for Christmas presents other than slippers and pajamas and silly stocking stuffers from Walgreens. Let's hope they love the silly gadgets.

[polichick]

36. The upside is that the country just might be forced to rethink our values...

...which is something we've needed to do for decades. Addicts sometimes have to hit rock bottom before it gets better.

[Joe Chi Minh]

40. Make it "centuries" for the people at the top.

[demodonkey]

39. I agree except that Potter wasn't "due" anything except jail that he never got -- he was a THIEF.

Potter hid and kept the money that was lost from the Bailey Building and Loan, thus HE STOLE IT. And even though George Bailey was saved through his friends the common people coming together, Potter never got caught for his crime in the film, and never got punished in any way.

Let's hope the Potters (THIEVES) that have run amok for the last eight years and longer DO get their due -- disgrace and punishment for all the suffering the have caused the world.

I hope, but I am not holding my breath that this will happen.

[totodeinhere]

41. I'm worried about it and I'm afraid that there will be nothing that Obama will be able to do to...

get it turned around anytime soon. I am confident that Obama will do everything possible, and he will not sell out to the big corporations. His administration will also be the most friendly to organized labor that we have seen in a long time.

But all of that may not be enough to get our economy on the right track for a long time. FDR tried for years to reverse the great depression and failed. As we know, only WWII got us out of it. I don't mean to be a fear monger, but I'm afraid that this upcoming depression may also be hard to remedy in the short run. I see a lot of pain and suffering going on for several years. I hope I'm wrong, but yes, I am very afraid. We very well might see a total collapse of the US economy, and if that does happen, I don't think that anyone can accurately predict what might happen next. We might see widespread rioting or perhaps even civil war, or this country could even break up. Yes, it's that serious.

Obama is going to need all of the help and support that he can get from all of us. He has a very tough, almost impossible task ahead of him. But thank God he was elected and not McCain.

[Number23]

42. kick

:kick:

[uponit7771]

43. K&R,

[butterfly77]

44. Join the club..

I and many of my friends have not been able to find jobs. I am afraid what Obama will find when he opens the books and finds out what bush and cheney have really been covering up..