Thursday February 28, 2008, 6:47 am
Consumer confidence my ass...it's WORKER confidence...like, WILL I HAVE A JOB TOMORROW TO PAY ALL THE DEBT I ALREADY OWE????

Thursday February 28, 2008, 6:50 am
CATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's so good to see you back!!!!! Hugs, hugs, hugs!!!!

Thursday February 28, 2008, 9:35 am
Thankyou Mark noted

Thursday February 28, 2008, 10:11 am
I wonder why they didn't show the percent confidence of households making LESS than 100K? As one of those, I can say I haven't felt confident in a long time! Welcome back Cate!!!

Thursday February 28, 2008, 12:45 pm

Yes, nice to see your smile Cate.

Lori R. when households of income over 100 start to feel the squeeze, that is serious shock waves.

I just wonder why it took so long.

Friday February 29, 2008, 8:38 pm
Food, fuel and health care IS consumer consumption . . .

It's the toys and trips and luxo cars and second houses and stuff that will be cut back to make room for those three.

A single payer system could make medical costs nationwide 30% cheaper, but then we would put out of work those in the insurance industry feeding off the medical system by refusing to make payments to docs for services and tests. That would put us into a recession we can all understand IS a real recession with real unemployment figures, but retraining those folks and putting them to work in jobs which actually produce benefits instead of limiting benefits that are already paid for would probably be a net positive. Small businesses wouldn't have to pay medical costs either under that system, and no one would be penalized for not having insurance. Tax credits for alternative energy systems would help us build infrastructure to reduce fuel costs or remove them from the equation to some extent, over time.

We are all in this together and it's about time we started to act that way.

Friday February 29, 2008, 8:44 pm
"Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz told London's Chatham House today that the Iraq war has so far cost the United States $3.3 trillion, and that those costs are the "hidden cause of the current credit crunch" and housing crisis. Stiglitz added that "[t]he money being spent on the war each week would be enough to wipe out illiteracy around the world" and "[j]ust a few days' funding would be enough to provide health insurance for US children who were not covered."