Depression

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I’m Mad Again!

July 5, 2009 in Depression, MEDIA, Politics, banks by Mardé | 2 comments

Yes, I’m mad again! Every so often I get into this go getem mad mood where I feel like taking to the streets, pitchfork in hand, ready to go after the bankers and the rich, in other words after the usual right-wing manipulators of American culture for their own ends. But I’ll probably just remain a passive radical…. although mad.

Anyway, Frank Rich lays it on the line this morning in his NYT Op-Ed piece, Bernie Madoff Is No John Dillinger. This should be required reading for everybody.

Bernie Madoff is no John Dillinger because John Dillinger was a widely sympathetic figure during the 1930′s: he went after the bankers who people blamed for ripping us all off during the great depression. Today Bernie Madoff, as portrayed in the corporate controlled media, appears to be the focus of the blame for our great recession while Wall Street and the bankers who have ripped us off to a far greater extent than Bernie Madoff get off practically scot-free. Bernie Madoff is no John Dillinger. Let us wake up!

Frank Rich quotes from Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz’s Vanity Fair article as follows:

“In the developing world, people look at Washington and see a system of government that allowed Wall Street to write self-serving rules which put at risk the entire global economy — and then, when the day of reckoning came, turned to Wall Street to manage the recovery. They see continued re-distributions of wealth to the top of the pyramid, transparently at the expense of ordinary citizens.”

Joseph Stiglitz is mad.

Frank Rich quotes Barney Frank who told bankers back in February:

“People really hate you, and they’re starting to hate us because we’re hanging out with you.”

Barney Frank is mad.

Here’s Rich’s final paragraph:

In 2009, too many who worked hard and played by the rules are still suffering, while too many who bent or broke the rules with little or no accountability are back reaping a disproportionate share of what scant prosperity there is. The tepid national satisfaction taken in Bernie Madoff’s terminal prison sentence should be a warning to the White House. In the most devastating economic catastrophe since Dillinger’s time, many Americans know all too well that justice has yet to be served.

And I’m one of those. How about you Barack?

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Strange Suicides

March 25, 2009 in Depression, Poetry, Weirdnesses by Mardé | 2 comments

I had a mad crush on Sylvia Plath at one time. This fascination I’m sure arose in part from the fact of her suicide: a beautiful and brilliant young woman of 30 sticks her head in an oven while her infant children sleep in an adjoining room. I tried memorizing several of her poems, e.g. Daddy and Lady Lazarus, and I’ve listened to her reciting — in what I felt was a slightly affected sophisticated tone — her own poetry.

The new tragic irony now is that one-year old, Nicholas Hughes, asleep in the next room while his mother had her head in the oven has now committed suicide himself by hanging at the age of 47. He was a successful fisheries biologist, apparently suffering from depression for many years. Read about it here.

Another curious, and tragic, irony is that Assia Wevill, the woman who motivated Sylvia’s suicide by having an affair with Sylvia’s husband, Ted Hughes, also committed suicide at the age of 30, along with her 4-year old daughter even!, by using a gas oven, similar to Sylvia.

What can one say? It runs in the families?

Here’s Ted and Sylvia on the left and Ted and Assia on the right.
……

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Fiscal Equivalent of War

January 9, 2009 in Crisis, Depression, Economy by Mardé | 2 comments

Many argue that it was really World War II that got us out of the great depression of the 1930′s. Our vast increase in military spending is what reduced the 16.9% unemployment of 1936 to the 4.7% unemployment of 1942, they say.

So, Obama’s plan may not be up to snuff, may not be the fiscal equivalent of war. Paul Krugman is saying it’s only about one-third of what is needed. John Judis suggests an additional $70 billion in high-speed rail plus a new international monetary system.

Are these guys right? Or are our problems to be solved by tax breaks for the rich, Republican style? Me? I’ll take the former.

UPDATE: Obama in his press conference today said that if Paul Krugman is right, they’ll use his ideas, or at least evaluate them seriously. “No pride of authorship.”, said Obama.

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Time for Action!

December 15, 2008 in Crisis, Depression, Economy, Finance by Mardé | No comments

Paul Krugman is back with a great op-ed in Monday morning’s NYT. Here’s the point of his piece, taken from the second paragraph:

But there’s a problem: conservative politicians, clinging to an out-of-date ideology — and, perhaps, betting (wrongly) that their constituents are relatively well positioned to ride out the storm — are standing in the way of action.

There are already a goodly number of comments on Paul’s piece. Here’s one comment that sums up the situation perfectly in my estimation:

As a historian, I am utterly shocked by the response to this economic crisis by Conservative Republicans in Washington and Chancellor Merkel’s response in Germany. What planet are these people on? Have they ever opened up a history book? I hate to say it but it almost seems as if these people have absolutely lost their minds. Here in the U.S., I do feel that these Republicans are simply trying to score political points with their out-of-date ideology by killing another powerful labor union. Meanwhile, the middle class continues to shrink at an alarming rate. Companies like the Big 3 and other major manufacturers provide this country with thousands and thousands of middle-class decent paying jobs. However, all I hear from Republicans at my university and everywhere else is that any intervention is “socialism” or “communism” or part of some internationalist conspiracy for one world government. The Red Scare is over people and McCarthy has long been dead. Why do we keep bringing back these McCarthyist rants during these times of crisis? The truth is these economic conservatives have absolutely no clue what it is like working in a factory and being on the bottom of the ladder, struggling to make ends meet every month. All they want to do is criticize workers for wanting to make a decent wage that actually keeps up with inflation. What is wrong with that? Of course, these Conservative Republicans would have no problem voting for a raise for themselves. But at the second a poor man comes to them for help or wanting health care, they stick their noses in the air. Mr. Krugman, I hate to say this but if something is not done soon with this economic situation, this country is going to fall apart beyond description. What will it take for these people to understand the situation? Do people literally have to be starving to death in the streets, fighting for food, jumping out of windows, killing themselves in their forclosed homes before they notice the problem? I mean come on: it came out the other day that we have been in a recession since December of 2007….it took them this long to notice and fess up? We need to start acting with depression economics now before it is too late. It is time for a Kenyesian revolution now more than ever. The solution is staring in the face of not just the United States but the entire international community as a whole. Why will they not accept that their completely free-market ideology has failed them?

— Matt, Ball State University

Right! Their completely free-market ideology has failed them! And us! Let’s take some action. But we’re still in that state of limbo until Bush finally goes. :roll:

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Michael Moore says….

December 12, 2008 in Current Events, Depression, Economy, Politics by Mardé | 2 comments

let the American auto industry choke on its mistakes and bad management. Hey, isn’t this what the polls say too? Michael’s right in tune with the American people. Right?

And it looks like the Richard Shelby’s and the Mitch McConnell’s of the U.S. Senate are letting Michael and the American people get their wish. Who cares if this leads to the mother of all depressions and stock market crashes, huh?

As long as we punish those greedy CEO’s, that’s the main thing, huh?

Of course, Michael expects that the workers will be simply transferred to building cars that are not primarily dependent on oil and, more importantly [building] trains, buses, subways and light rail (a corresponding public works project across the country will build the rail lines and tracks). This will not only save jobs, but create millions of new ones.

Hey, great pie in the sky dream, Michael! Wonderful fantasy!

By the time the new administration gets around to proposing a plan anywhere near like yours, Michael, assuming it ever would or could, given the realities of politics in America, the country may have already suffered total economic collapse.

Hey, maybe this will bring the return of the caveman?! Perhaps we’ll find out whether in fact we are related to those knuckle dragging Neanderthals after all! :lol: :mrgreen:

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Robert Reich is Right

December 5, 2008 in Blogs, Crisis, Current Events, Depression, Economy by Mardé | 6 comments

I’ve been following Robert Reich’s blog in recent days. He’s the incredibly short but friendly and articulate guy who once was Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor. You can see him every so often as a political commentator on various TV pundit shows.

Bob’s post for today, Friday, December 5, 2008, is captioned Shall We Call it a Depression Now? Here’s the final paragraph from that post:

Two things are needed: First, the massive Treasury bailout of the financial industry must be redirected toward Main Street — loans to small businesses, distressed homeowners, and individuals who are still good credit risks. Second, a stimulus package must be enacted right away. It needs to be more than $600 billion — which is 4 percent of the national product. It should be focused on job creation in the United States — infrastructure projects as well as services. Construction jobs are critical but so are elder care, hospital, child care, welfare, and countless other services that are getting clobbered. Service businesses accounted for two-thirds of the job cuts in November, meaning that the weakness in labor markets has shifted from the goods-producing sector of the economy to the far larger services sector.

I’d say he is right on with that. Reich is right! Not politically to the right, but simply right. The over half a million jobs lost in November should be enough to wake up even the most far right wing nut in the U.S. Congress.

But will it? There are still obstructionists in the Republican party. They’d rather have the whole country go down the tubes in order to embarrass Obama and have a chance for some votes come next elections.

Barney Frank is right too. Do we want an unmitigated disaster on our hands by not bailing out the auto companies? No. We’re forced to bail them out at this point, or the country really really goes over a cliff.

Hey, just my opinion. Of course I could be wrong. Any other opinions or alternatives out there?

UPDATE: Here’s an interesting little blogginheads debate between two guys, Mickey Kaus and Robert Wright. One is for the bailout of the big three autos, Kaus, while Wright is against it.

FURTHER UPDATE: Missy has a great post on The Myth of the Overpaid Union Auto Worker. Great cartoon and great comparison of the auto companies treatment with that of the banks. Check it out!

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From Bad to Worse?

November 13, 2008 in Current Events, Depression, Finance by Mardé | No comments

Did I once say everthing’s going to hell in a handbasket? Yes, I think I did, in this post. Well, that was then! Look what’s happening now!

And yet, and yet, I see this this morning: S&P 500, Dow futures jump on Wal-Mart optimism. I guess everybody’s going to their local Wal-Marts these days to save money. Hey, when the barrel’s almost empty, why not scrape the bottom of it? So, let’s see what the new day brings. How low can things go? Pretty awful low! Way more to go? I think the world’s going to hell in a hand basket. HA HA?

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