And oh yea this coming from a man that has crashed how many oil companies? A man whose brother was involved in the savings and loan scandal... sure we can trust him and what he says, right.

has anyone brough up the point that neither

Bush or Bernanke or Paulson Can be honest with people should they see a recession.

why?

because forward expectations drive consumer sentiment, sure more and more people are getting their heads pulled out of the sand while the cost of living rises at the same time their assets deflate in value but still a huge number of people believe we will be ok "cause bush says so, and we should trust our president lol " .

the stock market is still trading sideway's sort a stable and they are using the "no recession" line because they have to otherwise, market speculators will price in lower earnings for company's and then sell their stock based on the fact that with lower earning they will be over-valued and consumers will shut down *faster than they are forced to.

the re-distributioin of wealth is going to Dubai and Asia. cheers

the thing i wonder is why the bond market is rallying so much when inflation going forward is supposed to be looking worse and worse, is it a "flight" to safety? otherwise people must think that this credit crisis could lead to a financial system crisis or failure , which would be deflationary and hurt even tangible assets like wheat, metals , real estate

seems like we either continue to have intrest rates below the rate of inflation which creates a boom in tangible assets (minus real estate) until either the credit crisis in contained by re-flation amid gov't bailout or we have a system wide financial crisis and the prices for most all assets deflate and then Bonds and cash would gain value. especially in stable currency's.

[edit on 29-2-2008 by cpdaman]

Has anybody seen the markets today?

Again at the bottom at 300 points down, I tell you Bush needs a class on how a nation's economy works because so far he thinks that America is bottomless pit of money for him to use at will.

My last post include a link to explain simply how this derranged monetary system works. I suggest reading this before trying to explain your views on a very complicated system~!

I watched Bush's speech and I thought it was kind of sad (and rewarding at the same time in a way). He seems to think that spouting the same kind of rhetoric that worked on the masses 7 years ago will still work today.

I think too many people have become of aware of his methods at this point and the average joe just isn't buying it anymore. I am 49 years old and I have lived through the Nixon administration and several others both Democrat and Republican and it seems painfully obvious to me that unless I am rich and/or I own a corporation the Republicans have nothing to offer me as an individual. The Bush administration brought this so much in the nation's "face" that I can't imagine anyone but a zealot supporting them anymore.

The recent Republican "defections" seem to bear this out. Some of them seem to be actively practicing "damage control". Sadly I don't see the Democrats as a whole better, it seems to be a matter of choosing between 2 evils.

Whether the "academic definition" of a recession has been met or not, we are definitely heading for trouble, or rather more trouble than we are already in.
As for aaaaaarrrrrooooorrrraa, he's 19, and probably just learned the definition of a recession in his ECON101 class. For what it's worth, we were all 19 at one time. (Remember the old saying about how when "I was 19, my father was so stupid. Now that I'm (fill in your age), it's amazing how my father has "smartened up".)

Anyway, Bush can't even begin to imagine how the average American is affected by the current situation.

What is $4 a gallon gas mean to someone who bought the Texas Rangers for $86,000,000.00 and sold them for a quarter of a billion dollars?

How can someone like him have compassion for people who hold 2 and 3 jobs down, just to make sure that their children have food, clothes and shoes, when he was born with a silver spoon in his you-know-where?

Posters such as Trance Optic, a WingandaSigh, and others have made great points here. Many are scared and many are hurting.
We're North Americans, South Americans, Asians. Africans, Europeans, Australians, .....Human Beings, if ONE of us is hurting, we are ALL hurting.

We're only on Earth for a short time, too short a time to be killing, degrading, trying to beat the "other guy".

We shouldn't be BOMBING civilians, destroying their cities, their infrastructures, then rebuilding them with Halliburton. We should be helping those that need help, all over the world.

We shouldn't be using technology to kill, we should be using it to save lives. If we spent as much money on medical research and feeding humanity as we spend on new weapons, there would be no need for wars.

The banking system should not be used to repossess homes, but to help people acquire and KEEP their homes.

I really fear for my children and my grandchildren and the world they are inheriting. I see them struggle so hard just to pay their rents, feed their families, and get to work. We help them as best we can. What about those that don't have family?

Several posters mentioned "redistribution of wealth". Of course, that is the main cause of so much pain. Greed.
Why does someone like Warren Buffet or Bill Gates feel that the billions that they already have, are not enough, they need more.

Most of the posters here are probably not in the category of millionaire or billionaire.
We need to stick together, work together, help each other.

It doesn't mean we have to agree with each other on anything, OTHER than a basic respect for each individuals' right to be respected, and live a life free from fear and poverty.

There is enough capital in most countries so that people need not suffer from hunger. Unfortunately, most of the people we seem to pick as our leaders don't seem to share the same beliefs.