Okay can you stand some good news.. "the worst is over"

[Peacetrain]

" Just like cleansing a wound, the worst is over. President Obama has started to address the economic issues that were left to fester under the Bush administration..

He is even throwing the light on how the numbers were jerryrigged to give false positives on where we were economically.

Can we still lose a leg to the infection, most likely, but we are not going to die from it. Now that we are actually moving, we can begin to recover

We are going to hit some really bumpy spots ahead, but we are not banging around in the dark anymore

Whether this will work or not, or we have to readjust, at least we are going forward.. finally"

Those are the observations of some of the senior citizens I was talking with today about how they viewed what we were going through and what they experienced in the Great Depression.

[damonm]

1. I dunno...

There's an AWFUL lot of people here who get major mileage from grievance...myself not excepted.
But I'll take that good news of yours, and I'll even K&R it for you - we DO need it.

[Peacetrain]

3. I just really enjoyed listening a bunch of seniors who are

relieved and happy to see us move on. I think sometimes we have this perception that anyone over 60 is a right wing ideologue. Apparently there is some real appreciation of what the President is trying to do ..

[Frustratedlady]

6. I'm here to tell you that perception is wrong. Very wrong.

There are many more Democrats than Republicans in my age group and I'm over 60. We have been active Dems for years.

[Peacetrain]

7. No kidding.. they were awesome, and 15 minutes with them

you know that we are on the right track. They have lived through it, and the thing that scared them the most, was not addressing the issues.

I did not ask if they were Democrats or Republicans, but they had just a real appreciation of the President, that does not get reported, and real hopefulness about the future.

And when you think about it they (and you :) are right..the most painful part of the process is getting the truth out and moving forward.

[damonm]

15. And I am delighted to hear that.

[uponit7771]

2. Quick action to get dollars into GDP was good, 6 months from now it would have been administrated

...through and 3 months spent. By the end of the year we should be seein light, I can't wait till the banks get through screaming about the having to help the little guy on refi's either....a couple of hundred dollars in pockets a month from a lower interest rate isn't going to hurt.

Banks wont make big cheddar but who gives a damn about them right now...

[Peacetrain]

4. These folks were much more up on it than me.. I did not realize that the President

had changed the rules and was going to deal with "real" numbers and where we are in truth, and no more slight of hand with the debt and deficit numbers. That really relieved that group of seniors.. They were basically saying we can overcome anything as long as we are dealing with the truth.

[williesgirl]

5. Really needed some good news. Here's a heart for you. rec'd

[Peacetrain]

8. Oh Thank you for the heart!!!! It was just a wonderful slice of life

for me this morning to be able to hear from those who have been in this before. Makes it a little easier to handle

[tritsofme]

9. The adminstration had said the BLS or BEA fudged economic data during the Bush years?

That would be a scandal of epic proportions.

Got a link?

[butterfly77]

14. We have been talking about this for a while on DU...

we all knew that when Bush kept saying the economy was strong and that the unemployment rate was 4.5 percent they were lying their asses off and fudging the numbers they thought that the damn would burst after a new adminstration was brought in and they could blame it on them.

The media commentators were so happy the day after the stimulus package passed they all began singing in unison,"Now Obama owns this economy" as though WE THE PEOPLE will forget who did what for the past eight years. Another problem I have is that no one said anything to bush about what he was going to do about the economy all through Sept,Oct,Nov,and December.

Now a lot of the people who are spouting off about what is going on have just begun to wake up to what has really been going on and a lot of them don't know all of the facts, they are listening to right wing talking points..

[tritsofme]

17. That's what I thought.

In every administration some in the opposition will claim that economic data is politicized and fudged.

I've too have heard that chatter for years.

You made it sound like the administration also believed in that theory. They apparently do not.

[windbreeze]

10. I really don't know what to think about this...

how old were these seniors??

I AM a senior...I am 68...I did NOT live through the last depression...MY PARENTS did...and as for the truth being told now...I call bs...what IS it going to take for people to really pay attention...the DOW is currently at 7295...down from 14,295 in October of 2007....iow...50%...It's officially lost.....FIFTY PERCENT OF IT'S VALUE....I have friends who have lost tens of thousands of dollars, their jobs, their homes... some have lost everything...I received an email this morning from a friend...he received two emails this am...one from a brother in LA..now unemployed...one from a good friend in Duluth, also unemployed...one in the technical sector..one a truck driver....I suggest the seniors who were being talked too...need to get their head out of their asses, and look around..see reality for a change...instead of all the rosy glow someone wants us to see...I have lots of senior friends who are not so sure we are going to make it through this...nor are they sitting around hoping someone else is going to save them...

so UBS is going to release the names to the IRS of 52,000 "mostly Americans" who have been evading taxes...wonderful...now how about releasing the names of ALL corporations to the IRS, that BUSH allowed to go offshore and do business so that THEY COULD AVOID PAYING TAXES???(How about holding him responsible for the demise of this country??)....because W/O that corporate tax money, this country IS dead...especially considering you are putting 500,000 or more of your tax base, out of work EVERY MONTH.....Glad my state at least declared sovereignty....some things to worry about...Food, Shelter, Transportation(that does NOT require gas)Security...wb

rant off...come on people...wake up and smell the coffee!!!...

[Dawgs]

11. That's why they said that this is the worst.

No one is trying to claim that things are rosy.

[Mojorabbit]

12. I am reading that

commercial paper and credit card paper are about to implode. I don't think we are anywhere out of the woods yet but I am glad to see something being done to start to help. I think this will be the first of several stimulus packages and it all depends on other nations funding our debt when globally the rest of the world is in economic distress along with us.

[Dawgs]

13. Okay. That's your opinion.

Again, no one is saying that things are all rosy; just that this could be the bottom.

[Mojorabbit]

18. Truly

it is not my opinion that the commercial paper and credit paper are about to implode. It is the financial people saying it. I don't know enough to predict anything.

[Peacetrain]

16. I do not have a clue what their ages were..I was serving coffee at a senior citzens center

I do not go up to people, gee, I found what you said and your outlook really inspiring..oh by the way, what is your age?? I guessed 60 plus, they could be 80 plus.. but just because they are older they are not stupid, or need to get their heads out of their asses as you said..

And if you bothered to read what I wrote, they did not say, there was not pain involved, or no pain going forward, but that once you start to deal with truth.. The worst pain is the shock of understanding what you have to deal with.

They were not being TALKED to, I was overhearing some conversations and asked a couple then, but it was their outlooks to each other not to me..



So that is my coffee and it smells just fine thank you very much

[windbreeze]

19. well, good for you

Sorry...you took offense...when there was none meant...Remember...I stated that I was ONE of those SENIOR CITIZENS too, and I sure as hell am NOT stupid....but...it seems I don't see things the same way they do, no matter how senior they are..wb

[Peacetrain]

25. Did not mean to be offensive to you either.. I was just "defensive"

for my friends at the Senior Center.. They truly are not living in a rose colored glass world, they are just "resolved" in a good way. They are a tough crew, and as my Dad used to say.. someone you would want in the foxhole with you :)

It is tough, and will be tougher no doubt.. My brother has lost his job, and he is washing dishes part time.. Its rough..I have lost fully 40% of my retirement account, and I am no spring chicken myself.

I was just trying to spread that feeling I got from our the seniors at the center, that this is where we start up.. Not that the up is easy, but once you get all your cards on the table, the numbers clicking real ticks.. then you can make the decisions you need to make to get where you need to go.

I think unemployment is going to go higher, it is a world wide economic crisis.. But at least we know where we are at now and not just free falling.

I have a 21 year old son in college, and my dreams are for a stable economy for him, a stable world for his family when he has one, and so forth and so on.

As I told him not too long ago, it is his generation that is finally going to carry us green and it is an exciting time for them.

Give me a place to start.. a line in the sand, and I can do anything,..but the craziness of the last 7 years of everything careening, we all knew it was coming to this.

Now back up the hill we go

[Bluerthanblue]

20. whoa-

good for you Peacetrain.! For your coffee serving, and for sharing your hope with us.

I agree, (though i'm not quite a Sr. yet) that the hardest part of any recovery is recognizing and admitting the real extent of the problem. Not that it's a picnic from then on, but unless-until we acknowledge where we are, we can't begin 'getting better'. And I think we finally have leadership that is willing to stand firm not let us slip into denial or try and take a short cut to 'healing'.

The next most important thing, is to not wallow in despair, or give up in defeat. Hope is also a verb. An action word. Without it, we are doomed to remaining stuck where we are till we die.


your post is a good reminder, and a call to muster ourselves for the journey.

Thanks!

:grouphug:

blu

[Peacetrain]

26. That was what I was shooting for

But from a few of the posts I may have shot myself in the foot.. oh well .. I meant well.. I was just sharing a real moment I had today..:fistbump:

[ddeclue]

21. It will be over when I get a job friend...nt

[DemocracyInaction]

22. I'm a senior citizen

jesus I hate that word.......let's try "experienced" citizen. Anyway, here's what I see.

I don't believe we ever had such a financial mess (even in the depression)as is out there today. Remember, so many of these "vehicles" for lending, borrowing, etc. were invented recently (with Georgie Boy looking the other way). It's kind of like the "depression" was breaking up a street gang but now we are trying to break up the Mafia! Also, this whole economy (because we produce squat shit anymore)depended on all of us going out and shopping until we dropped. That will NEVER happen again because the consumer debt is overwhelming and not sustainable. That means without plastic we can't spend at the rate we were spending and that means we cannot employ a good chunk of this society. There basically is little left for blue collar workers in this country and it's getting that way for white collar. The fat bastards made their money off of investing in other countries and employed the citizens of other countries. My advice for young people would be: go into plumbing because there definitely will be a lot of shit in this country to clean up.

[Skwmom]

23. It's going to get worse and Obama is not to blame.

Reagan, Bush, and Clinton have turned this country into the U.S. Titanic.

Amazing how some seem people seem so determined to paint a rosy picture. Hmmm.... If Obama paints an unrealistic rosy picture and things worsen, who will that benefit? Hint.. I don't think it's just the Republicans.

[RepublicanElephant]

24. republicans always screw the economy while robbing the treasury.

...and that old senile crook reagan gets voted one of our best presidents?!
:wtf:

[Skwmom]

28. Well, Clinton was right there exporting U.S. jobs and deregulating the

financial industry that led to this financial collapse. No wonder Bill gets along so well with the Bush family.

[depakid]

27. The worst won't be close to over until the administration has the fortitude to deal with the banks

And one should include congress in the equation as well- especially since many Democrat are just as seeped in quid pro quo's with the industry as Republicans and are still loathe to act responsibly.

My take is that Summers, Gaithner and Rubin aren't inspiring a lot of confidence in either the markets or among economists here and abroad. And with their track records- and history of bad calls, I'm not sure why they would be.