Without Comment

from another liberal shill - Jesse Ventura's official facebook page.

They're different from you and me

They lack a sense of proportion.

"By the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over," - Rep. John Fleming (R-LA), in an interview on MSNBC, on why as a small business owner he can't afford a tax increase.

When I retire I hope I am down to my last $400,000.

Without Comment

Emotional Effects of the Great Recession

Apparently it has made Republicans feel worse than Democrats. Really.

According to Robert Samuelson in today's Washington Post anyway.

One paradox identified by Pew is that some groups that "have been hardest hit by this recession (including blacks, young adults and Democrats) are significantly more upbeat than their more sheltered counterparts (including whites, older adults and Republicans) about a recovery." For instance: Blacks suffer higher unemployment than whites (15.4 vs. 8.6 percent in June) but believe more strongly that the recovery has begun (47 to 38 percent). Pew's explanation is politics. With a Democratic administration, Democrats are more upbeat and Republicans more glum.

Another theory -- more powerful, I think -- is that the Great Recession, though jarring to almost everyone, has been most disruptive and disillusioning to those who were previously the most protected. It punctured their cocoons so unexpectedly that they became more cautious and fearful, whereas those who even in good times faced job loss and income shifts (many blacks, the young and the poor) were less surprised.

Not sure this is true but it certainly punches most of my buttons.

so it might as well be true. Or nearly so.

The Economy: basic research

A few weeks ago I was intending to write a post on how the economy was improving, at least from my myopic viewpoint here in the land of Wilkes. Mora struck hard for the first time this summer and I did something else. Wish I'd written it because I would have looked prescient. Which I sometimes am on the principle that even a stopped clock is right twice every 24 hours.

Things are indeed looking up this quarter. The economy doesn't seem to be in free fall anymore, and lord knows the $billions$ for clunkers program seems to have won the hearts and minds of every car dealer in the country (will they now vote Democratic?).

So why did I see this coming? Well, it could have been the $18 million that the Stimulus Program just added to the county schools budget virtually of of which will be spent locally, much of it in salaries. Or it could have been that my TIAA/CREF and 403(b) accounts both show a big increase in the latest quarterly report instead of the BIG decrease I've been seeing the last few quarters.

No - it was research, pure research of the most difficult and exacting kind. And thoughtful analysis of said rexearch.

I went on a field trip to Dudley's Pub and Grill and had a few beers with the owner. He told me that Dudley's had faced the bad economic news BEFORE the rest of the country was aware of it. By the time the bottom fell out of both the economy and the Republican presidential campaign his monthly receipts were cut in half. It stayed that way until a few months ago. Now his business is about back to normal.

One thing you can say for the good folks of Wilkes is that they are economically modest. Their finely tuned economic sensors are out there sniffing the wind for the slightest change. Apparently one of the first things to go is the weekly trip to the bar.

I'll go do some more research and alert you the next time this starts to happen. It's my civic duty you know.

and this was before the president convinced cable news that men setting around a small table sharing a beer was the single most important news event of the week. I was there first.

Exxon and GM

In this post and this one I asked why Exxon didn't just bail out GM by giving each and every employee and every member of their family a brand new top of the line fully loaded SUV. After thinking about it I now know the answer:

1) Americans are still going to drive the same number of cars the same number of miles, so from the perspective of Exxon, what difference would it make?

2) They know GM is going to tank no matter what so why waste the money?

3) They are confident that Uncle Sam will do it anyway.

Take your pick, though I like each and every one.

The Auto Industry

Do you, as a taxpayer, have any stomach for more bailouts? If you do, read this article in the Washington Post today about GM (of which you may be about to become a co-owner).

A spokesman for G.M., Tony Cervone, said Monday that the G.M. board remains supportive of Mr. Wagoner, who became G.M. chief in 2000 and added the chairman’s title three years later. Mr. Wagoner was paid about $24 million a year in 2006 and 2007 from a combination of salary, stock option grants and other forms of compensation. His 2008 base salary is $2.2 million.

“A solid management team is the most important thing you need in the time of a crisis,” Mr. Cervone said.

Don't know about you but I'm feeling better already. "A solid management team."

and worth every penny. As was the 24 billion dollars in dividends the failing GM has paid out over the last decade.

A Modest Economic Proposal

In an effort to help the economy get back on track ... anything short of actually, you know, spending my own money ... I propose the following.

Since Exxon Mobil's vast earnings are closely tied to the health of the automotive industry it should use some of its huge and expanding profits to buy each and every one of its employees, and every member of their family whether they can drive or not, a top of the line, fully loaded SUV made in America. Driving it would be optional.

For myself, I might try a diesel version of the Ford Fiesta if Ford survives long enough to bring it to America.

ta-dahh! No. No need to thank me. I can toss out these brilliant ideas all day long.

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Update on that last post about Ford MoCo.

This little notice appeared on Aol.com this morning in a long list of companies that are about to lay off 10,000 or more employees.

August car sales at Ford fell by 26% to just over 155,000 units. The company said the second half might be worse than the first. Ford promised to cut production for the balance of 2008. Ford is running low on cash and its credit ratings have been dropped due to rising default risks. Once it has switched its product mix to fuel-efficient models*, it still have to deal with Toyota and Honda who own that end of the market.

I'm so glad the economic news is now all good, as those good folks over at National Review keep telling me. The fact that my school is going to have to return 3% or its budget to the state but only after the election does undermine my faith in their optimism hardly at all.

*though NOT the car they already have in Europe that gets 65 mpg. Americans won't buy it.

Why you should LOVE the recession

Not that there is one, you understand. I was just reading several right-wing blogs and they all assured me that there is NO recession. It's just negative reporting from the MSM. Same for global warming. And the permanent high cost of gas. And William Kristol really didn't write that book about the Iraq war in which he got everything, well, wrong.

As a public service announcement I am therefore ripping off Aol.com to bring you 10 reasons why you should love the recession (should we ever fall in to one, say, when the Demos win the White House). [Comments in brackets are my own]

1. Less junk mail! [junk mail is reportedly down 19%. Think how many trees are saved.]

2. Shorter gas lines [if you can afford it anyway].

3. Family dinners [helps ward off teen suicides. Guess they never ate at the Clemens' household when he was a teen. ]

4. More coupons [I am sorry my Dad did not live to see this day].

5. Free Fitness [actually due to high gas prices, not the recession we are not in: makes more people walk or bike to work. I'm trying to help out by not going to work.]

6. Bargain SUVs! [if schadenfreude is a sin I am going straight to Hell].

7. Business opportunities [wages go down, rents go down, competition goes down, opportunity goes up. Such is the theory. Me, I'm investing in a Mexican tienda]

8. Increase in gardening [NOT in the Clemens' household. I'm allergic to work outdoors: my face gets red, I break out in a sweat, I start panting for air, and pretty soon I don't have the strength to lift a mug].

9. Musical inspiration [especially County & Western songs, apparently]

10. New perspectives [Like: gee, so this is what it means to be poor! I never imagined!]

So you see - even if the Right Wing blogs are wrong, and we are in a recession, you should look on the bright side. It will be good for you.

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