President Bush's Mess

[Andy A]

What's wrong with that statement?

Not a durned thing but the elite among us don't understand Texan.

 

[TooFarTampa]

My portfolio of tech stock sure as heck wasn't doing any better than it is today. My job outlook as a software developer wasn't very promising (there were no jobs.) I still remember the market crash after 9/11, sitting on my couch for three weeks straight staring at CNN wondering what the hell happened to the world. All in all, we bounced back fairly quickly from something similar to what we are experiencing now.

It amazes me how short our memories are, how quickly we forget where we've been. In 8 years we will no doubt have forgotten about this little blip in our country's history as well.

I disagree. The difference is the massive accumulated debt by many Americans. Now that we collectively realize that there is no new "bubble" to save us (like housing "saved" us from the tech crash), the pullback in consumer spending is having an enormous impact. It is all so bizarre that we don't know whether to worry about deflation or inflation.

The unemployment rate is a much bigger problem than the tech crash, IMO. As small businesses fail, owners take that debt with them while trying to find a real job. Their employees also have to look for work. I have personally seen this and talked to any number of people who are in way more pain and panic than they were in 2000-2001. I remember that the job market in '92 was pretty bad, but it only lasted for about a year if I recall correctly, maybe less.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Not a durned thing but the elite among us don't understand Texan.

Ah, sheet, y'all.

 

[traderx]

I disagree. The difference is the massive accumulated debt by many Americans. Now that we collectively realize that there is no new "bubble" to save us (like housing "saved" us from the tech crash), the pullback in consumer spending is having an enormous impact. It is all so bizarre that we don't know whether to worry about deflation or inflation.

The unemployment rate is a much bigger problem than the tech crash, IMO. As small businesses fail, owners take that debt with them while trying to find a real job. Their employees also have to look for work. I have personally seen this and talked to any number of people who are in way more pain and panic than they were in 2000-2001. I remember that the job market in '92 was pretty bad, but it only lasted for about a year if I recall correctly, maybe less.

Who knows what the long-term effects will be but there seems to be a sea change in the way folks think and live their lives. Maybe when happy days are here again, things will go back to normal but as of right now, I think we may be witnessing a fundamental shift.

Maybe Jack Lessinger is right. I read a couple of his books in the early ninties and he predicted the fall of suburbia and the rise of exurbia including areas like SoWal that offer safety coupled with natural resorce/recreation blessings. He also predicted the housing market implosion. Honestly, he is a bit of a kook but a bright kook.

http://www.jacklessinger.com/

 

[30A Skunkape]

Dollar Bill being off the scene for the time being is obviously a positive. Some of MMM's clan being imprisoned is likewise an improvement (although hizzonor somehow apparently avoided Letten's net). Consolidation of the levee boards was an absolute necessity. Nevertheless, as you know, the City is chalked full of colorful and zany characters who appear en mass when there are big projects (yes, every place has them but NO and La. have way more than their fair share). Surely, you remember the gang of 10 - a bunch of trial lawyers who won the one and only casino located smack in the middle of downtown. Good Lord. Some of the most colorful reside out in the suburbs of Jefferson Parish but carry considerable clout within City politics and leadership circles (so despite efforts of JohnR and Poppy to impose a racial slant to my comments - my experience was that cronyism in New Orleans was an equal opportunity employer and cuts across both parties). Who knows, maybe the sway of these folks has diminished with Jindal in office but I would be casting a wary eye, and I can understand why the feds and the State would want to be excessively cautious with the rebuilding effort. BTW, a some of those people are really fun, but I damn sure wouldn't loan or give them money.

I am really optimistic that things will continue to get better. When you reflect back on how different things there are today versus 2005, it is staggering. Who could have ever imagined a near dissolution of the school board, a squeeky clean guy like Arnie Fielkow (sp?) as city council president, a Republican Vietnamese-American occupying Dollar Bill's seat and a full time inspector general on the prowl? I think Chicago/Illinois has comfortably taken the lead in corruption now.

 

[hnooe]

okay, i admit this may be a bit off topic but i have to post this:

some last bushisms at today's press conference:

he told the press "you may have mis-underestimated me". does he not know what "underestimate" means?????

he also stated that "President Obama is fixin' to do this".

just think if sara palin and bush had been on the same ticket........

now back to the topic...Bush basically destroyed everything he could and left a complete mess for President Obama. he would never admit he was wrong about anything and obviously, received some pretty poor advice or just wouldn't take any good advice. He was not a well-respected leader internationally so he probably couldn't accomplish much regarding the mideast issue, etc. i will give him credit for dealing with 911 pretty well. but, all in all, he is leaving this country much worse off than when he came into office. say what you want about bill clinton, but we were all better off.

What about the "true facts" regarding Hurricane Katrina! (as opposed to the false facts--I guess just because something is fact, it is not necessarily true--as in the "fact" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction) Bush speak. Say goodbye now.

 

[Matt J]

It occurs to me that the smartest candidate in the 2008 election was McCain. He didn't run a bad campaign, he ran a strategically planned campaign of failure. Who in their right mind would want this mess? Seriously, to be inheriting the mess of all time for the US. I'd much rather have the title of runner up. There's still less than 50 runner's up to POTUS.

/sarcasm off/

 

[LuciferSam]

We know things are bad when even the sex industry is suffering. What next, churches and bars?

 

[poppy]

Not a durned thing but the elite among us don't understand Texan.

You betcha!

What about the "true facts" regarding Hurricane Katrina! (as opposed to the false facts--I guess just because something is fact, it is not necessarily true--as in the "fact" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction) Bush speak. Say goodbye now.

To quote Ronald Reagan: " facts are stupid things"

 

[Matt J]

Less than a week!