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Shall We Call it a Depression Now?

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posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 01:52 PM
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Shall We Call it a Depression Now?


robertreich.blogspot.com

Today's employment report, showing that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, 320,000 in October, and 403,000 in September -- for a total of over 1.2 million over the last three months -- begs the question of whether the meltdown we're experiencing should be called a Depression.

We are falling off a cliff. To put these numbers into some perspective, the November losses alone are the worst in 34 years. A significant percentage of Americans are now jobless or underemployed -- far higher than the official rate of 6.7 percent. Simply in order to keep up with population growth, employment needs to increase by 125,000 jobs per month.

Note also that the length of the typical workweek dropped to 33.5 hours. That's the shortest number of hours since the Department of Labor began keeping records on hours worked, back in 1964. A significant number of people are working part-time who'd rather be working full time. Coupled with those who are too discouraged even to look for work, I'd estimate that the percentage of Americans who need work right now is approaching 11 percent of the workforce. And that percent is likely to raise.

When FDR took office in 1933, one out of four American workers was jobless. We're not there yet, but we're trending in that direction.
(visit the link for the full news article)

In conjuncture with this article I offer:

www.mcclatchydc.com...

Double whammy: Job losses at 34-year high; foreclosures hit highest level ever

[edit on 6-12-2008 by grover]



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 01:52 PM
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I know its from a blog... but its not from some nobodies blog but from the former Sec. of Labor under Clinton and he asks some interesting questions.... most notably what does it take to call what we are entering, a depression.

According to the numbers November's job losses are the worst in 34 years... that is 1974.

That's not counting the ones who have dropped off the radar when their unemployment benefits run out.... or have just stopped looking...

.... Food banks and shelters are experiencing a rise in usage and not from the chronic poor and traditional homeless but from families simply struggling to keep a nostril above water...

... utilities are turning off services in record numbers...

... foreclosures are at record highs....

... the fed is buying into banks....

even the big boys are struggling and many have failed....

.... credit is next to nonexistent..... and layaway has made a comeback...as people use cash....

And they are just getting to saying that we've been in recession for a year and the end is nowhere in sight....

SO... when do we start calling it a depression?

robertreich.blogspot.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 6-12-2008 by grover]



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 02:03 PM
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I thought the depression started in September and the recession last December. If this isn't a depression, why did the government take such extreme measures? I'm not sure of the technicality of what a depression really is, so maybe we are just entering one or will do so shortly. Which ever way, it's much worse than MSM is reporting, and the average American is willing to accept.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 02:12 PM
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reply to post by unityemissions
 


According to this Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org...(economics)


In economics, a depression is a sustained, long downturn in one or more economies. It is more severe than a recession, which is seen as a normal downturn in the business cycle.

Considered a rare but extreme form of recession, a depression is characterized by abnormal increases in unemployment, restriction of credit, shrinking output and investment, numerous bankruptcies, reduced amounts of trade and commerce, as well as highly volatile relative currency value fluctuations, mostly devaluations. Price deflation or hyperinflation are also common elements of a depression....

.... A proposed definition for depression is a sustained recessionary period in which the population is forced to dispose of tangible assets to fund every day living, as was seen in the US and in Germany in the 1930s.


As it stands right now we have not experienced 1,000 or more bank failures and a 25% unemployment characteristic with the great depression... still the situation does not look good and more important it doesn't look to change for at the very least another year, if not more.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 02:47 PM
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I don't think you can base anything on the number of hours anyone works. A lot of people, especially those of us in the medical field, work special shifts, yet we get paid as though we were working full time. For exapmple, I am scheduled for 48 hours, every 2 weeks. My base pay is $22/hr, with a weekend shift differential of $12/hr. Now, I might work at another hospital, part time during my five days off. THis skews the labor departments stats.
This is common in health care and is becoming more common in other professions.. (It has always been common with firemen, because of their scedules.)
Remember, there are lies, there are damned lies, and there are statistics.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 02:49 PM
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reply to post by grover
 


As long as people still have credit cards to keep spending we will not be officially in a depression.

But rest assure the same way that many of us talk about, predicted and warn about been in a recession over a year ago while many including the president were feeding America the propaganda that the economy was fine, the same way that they will do until the end before starting to scream depression.

But we know better, we are just entering Depression right now and its bound to get worst if the new Obama administration doesn't do something to stop the job loses at the beginning of the next year.



[edit on 6-12-2008 by marg6043]

[edit on 6-12-2008 by marg6043]



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 02:53 PM
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reply to post by marg6043
 


Well he has proposed creating 2.5 million new jobs via a massive infrastructure rebuilding project in today's address which is a very positive development... of course we will hear from the usual suspects blindly proclaiming that he has to cut taxes to stimulate the economy, when what people need is work.

Our (as our nation) problem is that a lot of people have an attention span of less than a sit-com and they think that problems like this one which have been years in the making can be fixed... in less than a sit-com.

[edit on 6-12-2008 by grover]



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:09 PM
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Originally posted by grover

Well he has proposed creating 2.5 million new jobs via a massive infrastructure rebuilding project in today's address which is a very positive development...



Yes but how many of those jobs in labor will be for American citizens and how many will fall into the ranks of the illegal immigrants.

See most of the labor force in America is done by illegal immigrants.

At least in my neck of the woods, the construction, the field label, the diggers the tomato pickers are mostly immigrants.

The ones in the clean clothes and nice company vehicles doing the supervision are mostly Americans, but the bulk of the force are not.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:32 PM
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reply to post by marg6043
 


This is true and it will be up to the federal and state governments to make sure that the jobs go to Americans first.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 04:03 PM
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As history has a habit of repeating itself the logical outcome og this new depression is that the us will go to war on a massive scale again as it was ww2 that got it out of the 30's depession.

With all the saber ratling over Iran, Pakistan and Syria I'm sure this is what the perps have in store for the US.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 04:16 PM
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We are in a RECESSION not a DEPRESSION. I know there are lots of folks out there who would like to see a dpression for whatever reason but we are not in one and are not forecast to go into one despite all the fearmongering on here.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 04:26 PM
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I am not fear mongering and no one I know is rooting for a depression... what a damned foolish notion.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 05:00 PM
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Originally posted by princeofpeace
We are in a RECESSION not a DEPRESSION. I know there are lots of folks out there who would like to see a dpression for whatever reason but we are not in one and are not forecast to go into one despite all the fearmongering on here.


Ridiculous comments!

You might not be forecast to go into a depression, but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that you finally conceded you were in a recession, something that was also not forecast!

06/07 - they thought this guy was crazy. Look him up.


Watch this video, and look at them laughing at him. These so called 'experts'.
Have a look at the 'great financials' and their current value now. They have been smashed, and there guys made to look like morons.

Do not listen to the media! America is going to a place I am not sure they will be able to get out of for some time. Unfortunately that is going to have dire consequences for the rest of the world.




[edit on 6/12/08 by realist00] -- Video does not seem to work?

[edit on 6/12/08 by realist00]

[edit on 6/12/08 by realist00]

[edit on 6/12/08 by realist00]







 
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