[Benjamin]

Well basically when the unemployment rate gets to a certain %, we're in a recession.

If there are less people employed, less people spend money on "goods", and the value of the dollar goes down.

At this point, it's something US citizens should have on their mind, but not necessarily fret about. However, we are now in a potential situation for a depression. Whether it would be like the Great Depression of the '30s is doubtful.

As long as Americans don't go rushing to the banks and withdrawing their money, the US should be "ok". But the thing is, money is backed by government. If your government is run by a complete fucking IDIOT, you can kiss your life goodbye.

Bush got a C in history. Therefore, i doubt he'd know how we even got out of the Great Depression. In order to stop all this, jobs need to be created. It goes hand in hand with welfare. Instead of handing out checks to everybody who's too lazy, the government should be handing out jobs. Every cent counts.

[Lucifer]

And this is why I'm moving to Iceland.

[Grace Elaine [Epic Century]]

Apr 5, 2008 2:16:23 GMT Chris said:

Go us! We suck!

I'm not sure we're heading towards a second Great Depression Pritchard, but a recession is definitely what this is... and it may head further unfortunately. Though a Great Depression I still doubt.

Either way, the United States is going to need to regrow their balls and get their act together soon if they wish to stay afloat.

[Scorpian]

The U.S. is in a heap of financial f'ing-up-ness, but I honestly don't think that we're in any risk of a recession. It's only as extreme as is being discussed here in one or two big cities. Everywhere else is... well, not necessarily "just fine", but in an acceptable state, let's say. My family makes the average income, and we're pretty well off. Most families make around this number or a little less, and spend it all on things like "big-screen tvs" and "fancy cars" and "nice furnishings". They then get their stuff repossessed and are poor. That's their own damn fault. I have absolutely no sympathy for people who are too lazy to work or lost their money to stupidity. I can let those people starve, and not lose a wink of sleep at night.

The sad truth is that Americans are getting dumber. That, in turn, is causing a financial problem. People are too stupid to know how to earn money because their idiot parents didn't teach them. The solution to just about every problem (especially this big money problem) is to make parenting laws stricter. Have a judge decide if a couple is smart enough to have kids. It seems a little cruel, but intelligence is an attainable state of being. They can get smarter and try again.

As for the national debt, you should realize that that number is mainly just money borrowed on top of itself. Let me give you an example. I'm Uncle Sam, and I need 4 billion dollars. Well, Fredy has 4 billion dollars lying around that he's not using, so I ask him if he'd like to lend it to me (with interest, of course). He says "sure!" and gives me the money. I have to pay him 4% interest and give it back in 12 years. No big deal. Well, 12 years later, I'm a little short on cash again, and can't pay him back. So I walk up to Kay (who has more money than Fredy) and say "Hey! Can you lend me some money?" She says "Sure!", and I use that money for my own purposes and to pay back Fredy. Problem solved (for now).

That scenario basically describes what the goverment has been doing to get its non-revenue money. So, knowing this, is the national debt really that big of a problem? No, not really. That is, as long as we keep an eye on it. Bush, of course, doesn't know how to do this. So it's starting to go nuts. My hopes are that we get a new president who does know how. That should keep this under control. For now, inflation and our debt are stable. They're getting near the edge, though. Something needs to be done, but there's no risk of a recession in the immediate future.

*Note: I forgot what I said in this post already, and am too tired to re-read it. If it doesn't make sense, please tell me and I'll fix it tomorrow. =)

[Lucifer]

Scorpion is pretty much dead-on, I think. My only disagreement is the "American's are getting dumber". Not really dumber, but simply more ignorant and lazier. Ignorant in the sense that they're too lazy to learn and then too lazy to compensate for their ignorance. Ie:

They're lazy so they don't learn how to properly spend money. They just don't care. Then, when they buy too much shit, they're too lazy to work harder to pay for what matters. That is a stupid move, but it's not necessarily stupidity in the traditional sense.

[Scorpian]

Sub-Prime Mortgages. This is the prime example of that. People see a mortgage with an interest of rate of 2.5% and go "DAMN! That's good! SIGN ME UP!!!!". Then, 10 years later, that rate gets adjusted to 5% and they can't afford to pay it. That one thing has probably caused the most problems with the economy, and it's nothing but big business taking advantage of American Ignorance (which can be loosely translated into a form of stupidity).

[Chris]

Apr 17, 2008 3:20:40 GMT Scorpian said:

Sub-Prime Mortgages. This is the prime example of that. People see a mortgage with an interest of rate of 2.5% and go "DAMN! That's good! SIGN ME UP!!!!". Then, 10 years later, that rate gets adjusted to 5% and they can't afford to pay it. That one thing has probably caused the most problems with the economy, and it's nothing but big business taking advantage of American Ignorance (which can be loosely translated into a form of stupidity).

I think that's called reading the fine print...