Recession? DO you know what that really is? It is a decline in a country's real gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. We have not had that happen.

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

Oh, of course not. Throwing tons of money to the wind when American's are experiencing difficulties couldn't possible cause any trouble...

Please. This IS PURE PARTISAN CRAP !

More Republicans voted for NAFTA than Democrats, something many Republicans don't even know, since all they know is that Clinton signed it.

On GATT, Gingrich both supported it and voted for it, all the while admitting that we were ceding some of our sovereignty.

While debating GATT Gingrich stated...........

I am just saying that we need to be
honest about the fact that we are transferring
from the United States at a
practical level significant authority to
a new organization. This is a transformational
moment. I would feel better
if the people who favor this would just
be honest about the scale of change.

I agree ... this is very close to
Maastricht [the European Union treaty
by which the EU member nations surrendered
considerable sovereignty],
and twenty years from now we will
look back on this as a very important
defining moment. This is not just another
trade agreement.... It is a very
big transfer of power.

Now, yes, we could in theory take
the power back.... But the fact is we
are not likely to disrupt the entire
world trading system [by pulling out].
And, therefore, we ought to be very
careful, because we are not likely to
take it back.

The unfolding FTAA battle: understanding the dynamics involved in previous congressional votes on NAFTA and other so-called trade pacts is key to stopping the dangerous erosion of our sovereignty | New American, The | Find Articles at BNET.com

The Republicans have been pushing free trade down our throats with many Democrats tagging along.

Both parties are responsible and if one party is more to blame than the other, in this case, it is not the democrats.

Pull off the blinders.

Less than 1% growth (even if it is positive) is not a good sign. We registered 0.6% in 4Q 2007. Estimates range from 0.6-0.9% for 1Q 2008.

But with the word "recession" coming up just about everyday, these things tend to become self fulfilling prophecies. Look at consumer confidence, look at jobs (this was the 5th consecutive quarter of job declines). Companies are not hiring. Companies are not expanding, investing. Add to that the fact that the sub-prime crisis has effectively shut down access to leverage to those consumers who need it the most. Worse still, its anyone's guess how much bad debt is still lurking in the system waiting to rear its ugly head.

Assets? The housing market is in deep trouble. The stock market tends to be roughly 6 months ahead of the "real" economy and this Friday's session points to a troubling road ahead. Add to that the surging oil prices which have the "pass through" inflationary effect for everyday purchases...

If we aren't "officially" in recession that's little solace when you take a good hard look at the grim picture out there.

I don't see it as grim, in fact I see incredible economic resilience. We've already withstood $100+ Oil, mortgage problems on a massive scale, and a general economic slowdown. Yet here we are- still in positive territory!

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

You insist on that definition of it. Truth is there is no actual definition that everyone, or even most, agree on.

I prefer to stick with what the word actually means...to recess.

Trying to paint this economy anything but terrible is an exercise in ignorance.

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The government cannot give without first taking.

I've been paying attention.

The Dems are trying to raise the price of energy in this country and they want to do it overnight causing the economy to go into a shock.

They think it is the only way to change our habits.

This is a fact. The giveaway is when they brag about how high prices is changing everyone's driving habits and reducing their consumption......thus causing job loss and a sinking of the economy.

Pull off the blinders.

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It's hard to stay mad at someone who makes you laugh - Jay Leno

Recess is a break from classes to go running around in the playground.


Recession. Thats right. If you don't like the definition, change it.

Truth is subjective and contingent on which way the wind is blowing, right?

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It's hard to stay mad at someone who makes you laugh - Jay Leno

I am one of the least partisan people at this forum.

I hate both parties equally, well almost, I do tend to hate the democratic party a little more, but both parties have sold out the American people.

Both parties have allowed trade agreements to destroy our manufacturing base.

Both parties have allowed illegal immigration to erode our pay scale, burden social services and to increase government spending.

Both parties have allowed the scam called the war on drugs to continue wasting 50 billion dollars a year, all while US troops look the other way in Afghanistan as the poppies grow to supply over 90% of the world's heroin.

Both parties have allowed the prohibition of hemp, which is the most versatile plant on earth and could really help US farmers if it was allowed to be used as a crop.

Both parties have allowed our schools to continue their downhill slide enabling entire generations to have to go without needed sills to find good jobs.

There are many other problems in the US which policies that both parties support are making worse, but I am only mentioning those policies which effect the economy.

As long as these two parties continue to hold power, the US will continue it's economic slide.

I AGREE.

Thinking people do not need manipulated numbers to tell them what they can see with their own two eyes.

We are already in a recession. Thinking people know it and just because the manipulated numbers don't show it, doesn't mean that it is not real.

Good jobs are very hard to come by. People are spending less. Inflation and unemployment are rising faster than they have in years. There has been a huge tightening of available credit.

NEWSFLASH: Fuck the numbers, we are in a recession.

So really it was China as the ultimate benefactor of those cheques. So let me get this straight. The US economy is struggling and the US is in massive debt to Chinese bankers, so Bush cuts a bunch of cheques in order to stimulate the economy, and all the money end up right back in the hands of the Chinese bankers, and the economy still struggles and the US is is still in debt?

Andrew

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“...corporations and those who run them cannot stop exploiting resources and amassing wealth until they have... .I cannot finish this sentence, because the truth is that can never stop; like cancer, they can only continue to expand until they kill the host.”

-- Derrick Jensen

I agree with everything you said.

But both parties aren't trying to destroy our economy as we speak.

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It's hard to stay mad at someone who makes you laugh - Jay Leno

Inflation is going down as is the economy.

Inflation is an indicator of a strong economy but one that is growing too fast.

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It's hard to stay mad at someone who makes you laugh - Jay Leno

yes and the day before the market was up over 400 points. It’s not so much the points, in this type of economy, its what segments are selling off and the futures market.

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Sorry, but it doesn't work that way- we have measurements for these things. Just because YOU think and feel we are in a recession doesn't mean we are - the economic indicators numbers are the measurement - not your emotions.

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.