Saturday July 19, 2008, 2:44 pm
Noted. An interesting read....pretty glum. Taking a deep breath...my financial waistline is pretty tightened as it is...wonder where I may be able to tighten it even more.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 2:44 pm
The official word: We're not in a recession - yet.

The housing outlook: Grim. "Most economists think house prices must fall an additional 10 to 15 percent to get back to reality."

Banking: "The financial system looks substantially worse now than it did a month ago."

The job market: Unemployment will likely reach 6.5% by next year - hundreds of thousands more of us out of a job. (Bring on those H1-B visas, Gates, you jerk!)

The consumer: "Credit is going to remain tight for a time potentially measured in years."

Who's to blame: Principally, the Federal Reserve. It dominoed from there.

Great collection of easy-to-understand, straightforward information from a variety of authoritative economic sources.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:00 pm

A good question: If your waistline is already too thin, what difference does it make whether they call it a "recession?" It's still a "depression" to you!

LOL

Thanks, Cate!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:03 pm
Agreed, Carole...I rob Peter to pay Paul every month as it is...I can only say thank goddess the damn car has been off already...now, if I could only stop using my credit card to buy food half the time...of course, I live in one of the most expensive states around too.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:03 pm
paid off...the car is PAID off...LOL...and it better last another 7 years too!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:13 pm
"Just Carole" said it right when she said DEPRESSION".I am on a fixed income and no chance for an increase,not from SS disability.My car died and my hubby went blind.I thank God for care2 and its members for helping me keep busy doing something good. Thanks Cate! I look forward to your articles.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:14 pm
On a lighter note----- I just realized that I could write a country song. LOL!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:24 pm
Joan....Car's dead, Bubba's Blind and We're Broke...LOL! Everybody sing!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:26 pm
hang in there easy to say but i take 1 day at a time

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:27 pm

Cate, Cate, Cate . . .

ROFLMAO (so I don't cry)!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:28 pm
It's becoming a sad situation here. Things just keep getting worse. I don't know what the future holds for us. Thanks Cate.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:31 pm
Well, Carole, if we don't laugh SOMETIMES we may as well eat a gun barrel!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:32 pm

Who can afford a gun (not to mention ammo)????

(my sides are hurting)

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:37 pm
Oh, the car it shot a rod,
And hubby's eyes don't work,
We're barely scrapin' by,
The president's a jerk,
Our savings is all gone
To pay the goddamned bills,
It's 45 degrees
No heat, I got the chills!

But there's pie in the sky
That's whut the TV says,
Some day bye and bye,
We'll have a brand-new prez,
Will he care, will he know
The troubles of the poor,
Or will he be another
One a them big business whores?

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:38 pm
If we couldn't laugh, we'd all go insane,
to quote The Number One Parrothead his
ownself.
We've got some dark days coming up, no doubt,
and now's the time to prepare.....as best you
can.
Cate, eating a gun barrel?
Naah, not so much.
I'd rather take a few with me when "they"
come to get me.
Tis better to die on one's feet a free person
that to live on one's knees as a slave.
Keep the munitions, my friends.
The times they are a'changin'.......
have already changed.
noted.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:38 pm
Carole, are you singing yet? ROFLMAO...

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:41 pm

Well, I was lookin' for my banjo,
but my strings done let go,
and since I don't have cash to buy mo'
I just gotta solo,

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:42 pm
I guess I better shut up now, afore I bust a gut mahseff.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:42 pm
Yer off key! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAA.....ain't life GRAND?

Saturday July 19, 2008, 3:50 pm

When the end of your belt meets the buckle

You made the choice of food or med,
and as a result, you are now mal-fed,
You're thin as a rail,
pasty and pale.
But even though yellow,
you're broke, dumb and mellow.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 4:06 pm
I may be broke...but hopefully not dumb...and not nearly mellow enough these days - especially after that meat grinder of a story thread about NObama.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 4:11 pm

My dearest Cate,
You're first-rate.
And I'm here as a friend,
till the laughingest end.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 4:15 pm

How coincidental, all this almost in time for the Amero to save us.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 4:39 pm

O.K. Now, in all seriousness . . .

"Are consumers done?

That is a major worry.

The fate of the economy now rests on the shoulders of the American consumer, whose spending amounts to 70 percent of all economic activity."

I, honestly, do not put the bulk of the blame on consumers, and resent articles that point the blame at them.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 5:31 pm
Oh, my, Cate and Carole
have been moved to wax poetic!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 5:33 pm

I realized my limitations (and tone deafness) and stopped, Tim! (I'm useless without my banjo to drown out my singing.)

LOL!

Saturday July 19, 2008, 5:40 pm
I'm firmly convinced that this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's probably going to be much worse than the first depression.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 5:41 pm
LOL I love the lyrics.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 7:24 pm
Sad, but well written ditty, Cate. Uplifting article, too....since we just put our house on the market last week. 4 houses within a 10-12 house spread, yet a HUGE new subdivision being built across a brand new 6-lane parkway behind us. *sigh* We'll all be living in boxes along the side of the road soon!

BTW, anyone want a beautiful home in Peoria, AZ, write me! :)

Saturday July 19, 2008, 7:37 pm
Too hot for me, Kat!

I heard a guy say recently,
that it's a good thing people
have these Hummers and SUV's:
soon they'll need to live in them.

Saturday July 19, 2008, 8:22 pm
Very true, Tim! Considering the car companies are all going bust, we'd better treat those vehicles with a lot of respect. And hold on to those so-called classics cuz GM, Chrysler & Ford are on their last legs. Tell me, what exactly is actually "Made In America" anymore??

Saturday July 19, 2008, 8:48 pm
and they laugh at my 87 Seville....lol...the only problem I have is giving her up cuz she is a guzzlin too much gas.....can we add that to the song lyrics?????....LOL

Saturday July 19, 2008, 8:49 pm
thanks again, Cate....

Saturday July 19, 2008, 11:31 pm
Noted with thanks Cate :)

Saturday July 19, 2008, 11:54 pm
Thanks Cate. Good article, bad news.

Sunday July 20, 2008, 12:09 am
Noted, and I don't know I got two treats in one, with this...heh. Cate and Carole..my goodness..that was too cool. Thank you.

Sunday July 20, 2008, 3:52 am
Glad I was able to lighten up a grim story with off the cuff silliness.

Hey Michael, the experts say we are nowhere near the Great Depression, but my feeling is that the shadow government wants us all to be impoverished wage slaves, immobilized by the price of travel or movement by ANY means and too worried about putting food on the table to protest or rebel.

What, me paranoid? LOL...

Sunday July 20, 2008, 5:26 am
We are truly in for mmore grim times. Those of us who have been "biting the bullet" have nothing left to bite anymore. I purposely moved b/c heating costs of my previous home were astronomical. I purposely moved so I can walk to work. We all take measures to make ends meet.

And yes, Cate, we do have to keep our sense of humor! That too is a survival skill.

Sunday July 20, 2008, 7:11 am
OFF TOPIC REMINDER - Please sign the petition for Julie,. If you have, thank you - share with your friends and groups. Justice for Julie

Sunday July 20, 2008, 7:17 am
oted, thanks Cate. The outlook for our economy doesn't look very promising. Many still believe we are in a recession regardless of what a group of economists say. They have been wrong before, and they're probably wrong now. They left out Bush's 1% of billionaires who can afford todays high prices. But this isn't Monopoly and they're not going to "share the wealth," even if they're dealt that card to play...

Fannie and Freddie got greedy, and now they have to pay the price for their greed....

Sunday July 20, 2008, 7:51 am
Thank GOD I'm poor! I don't have to worry about anything "economic". Since I have "nothing", I have "nothing" to worry about!!!

Sunday July 20, 2008, 9:06 am
Cate, you, paranoid?
No, not so much, my dear.
Cautious and realistic, yes.
I agree with you, the shadow government and the
Powers That Be want to see us ALL impoverished,
trapped and (I believe) sick. Do some research
on "chemtrails". Think about how the FDA and Dept.
of Agriculture drags their feet when poison produce
shows up. Look generally at how the US Govt. doesn't
give a damn about the health and welfare of the people
they have been hired/appointed to protect.
A sick, impoverished and disarmed populace is ever-so-much
easier to enslave.

Sunday July 20, 2008, 9:08 am
Mr. Bill McGlone:
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose".
-Janis Joplin

Sunday July 20, 2008, 12:34 pm
Mr.Tim Redfern:
"Chemtrails will be the death of us all."
-Art Bell

Sunday July 20, 2008, 12:41 pm
Ah yes, indeed, Bill.
True words from the sage
of Pahrump, Nevada.

Monday July 21, 2008, 1:09 pm
Every city and every small town has been overbuilt. New houses and new business buildings sit empty. Soon those who thought they had a great deal of equity in their homes may find out what negative equity means. How can you sell your expensive home when so many other expensive homes are on the market? The repossessed homes will be resold by banks at a much lower price so, how can you sell yours if you owe more than it is currently worth? Chem trails do poison us. Barium! I am especially sensitive to them because I already have severe asthma from Environmental Poisoning by my former apartment manager,who sprayed the poisons herbicides/pesticides everywhere liberally. We are allowed to poison ourselves too...anyone who has a home with a lawn and uses a weed and feed on it is poisoning themselves, their children, pets, and bringing the stuff into their homes as they walk across that beautiful lawn then into their homes. It hangs around in carpets you know. And don't forget the animals that live outside...birds, insects, dogs, cats, horses, skunks, and other wildlife that may wander across that beautiful lawn and maybe ever eat some of it. Poisons also enter the ground water when it rains on those beautiful lawns. Best to replace lawns with gardens that feed your family and yourself. And maybe some fruit trees to enjoy.

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 9:07 am
Well Marjorie, it's a good thing then that my beautiful lawn is organic. I don't use herbicides or pesticides on my lawn or my garden. I have 4 dogs and a lot of wild birds and little furry wildfriends that wouldn't like it if I did. My yard stays green because I don't scalp it like everyone else around here does, therefore, I don't water the lawn. And I am thinkng seriously about getting a couple of pygmy goats to do 'lawn maintenance' as well. I Wonder how long I could get away with 'livestock' on my property in city limits...

As Orwellian as everything else about our government is, do you really believe what the 'economists' say????? The economy is only sunny for the obscenely rich right now and that is the only sector that these 'economists' care about. The rest of us our here in the 'real world' KNOW a recession is on in our world. And a depression is not far behind. But then we are a bunch or whiners right?! And it's all in our heads. We can thank PHIL (Dr. Phil II) GRAHAM FOR THIS DEBACLE.

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 9:11 am
Terrie, please stop "whining".....

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:02 am
William.....

I like a good brie with my whine....

heh heh heh

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 2:17 pm
Terrie.....

touche...

ROFLMAO

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 4:01 pm
BILL...NO TOUCHING...ROFLMAO!

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 4:29 pm
*&#%*$#'s

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 4:41 pm
LOL! Lovin' the comments here!:) Dontcha know the Administration says it's all Psychological - those foreclosures, unemployment lines, food pantries.. weirdest "group psychosis manifestation" since the X-Files..;)
Can we get Scully & Mulder to investigate???

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 5:02 pm
OMG..Kactus Kat!!! My daughter lives in Peoria, AZ and works for a company matching your name!! Check out my friends and see if you know her! This is getting more mysterious and intriguing then the F***ing Bush Administration! Unless of course YOU (Kactus Kat)are here enforcing the FISA Act.....

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 9:03 pm
You and I are the "Geese that lay the Golden Eggs"....The FED and our own government just love to STEAL all of our eggs...and leave us with nothing but our good work ethic to try to minimize the damage of being robbed all the time . Reality. Psychologically damaging, certainly, that too! just one aspect...of the rape of USA citizens.

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 2:23 am
No, Bill....no foreign intelligence that I can see here in Peoria, but I can wire my house for it if you promise to buy my house! haha...might be nice a bit closer to your daughter! Hey, you're looking well-preserved for 101!

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 9:46 am
K.K...as far as I've been able to determine there is no intelligence in Peoria foreign or otherwise!lol
"well-preserved for 101":Been embalmed with ETOH most of my life..
Now that I've turned 101 looking to retire in a few years and I've been told there's a considerable aged population in AZ. I mean look at your "junior" Senator McCaint. So house purchase is for me to ponder..