The General Economy Sucks Thread

[rabbitproof]

In the spirit of keeping discussions around the economy, the #1 issue for this election, somewhat consolidated (energy is all over the forum) and somewhat flowing (Palin pick thread is all over the map and has progressed past discussion of the pick for most parts), I've started this.

Some starters:
Fannie/Freddie
Stocks down
Home foreclosures
Dollar down
High unemployment rates
High energy prices
Falling median wages
And now the Lehman Brothers..

It's like a buffet of bad news! I know my personal life has been hit by this. I'm working and fine, though not saving or investing at a rate I'd like to be, but my father and others have been bit in a significant way (digging into 401k early, trouble finding quality renters/buyers, not finding jobs out of school). By any metric, we are sucking:



Some articles:

Wall Street mauled by Lehman bankruptcy, AIG fears

http://www.reuters.com/article/busin...e=businessNews

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street had its worst day since markets reopened after the September 11 attacks as fears about the U.S. financial system's stability surged on Monday after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and insurer AIG struggled for survival.

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Greenspan Says Crisis May Be `Once in Century' Event (Update1)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...BQs&refer=home

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the financial crisis that began with the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market last year ``is probably a once in a century event'' that will lead to the failure of more firms.

``There's no question that this is in the process of outstripping anything I've seen, and it is still not resolved,'' Greenspan said in an interview today on ABC's ``This Week with George Stephanopoulos.''

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Unemployment rate doesn't count key groups

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,6948459.story

Actually, the jobless situation is even worse than it looks. By some measures, think more than 10 percent.

When the Labor Department measures unemployment, it doesn't include people who have grown discouraged and quit looking for work, nor those who say they're still looking but haven't sought a job in the past four weeks. That group of people, which the department refers to as "marginally attached" to the workforce, totaled 1.6 million people in August, up roughly 20 percent from a year earlier.

The government's unemployment survey also doesn't include people who desire a full-time job but have only been able to land part-time work. That group, known as the "part-time for economic reasons" segment, totaled 5.64 million in August.

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Greenspan Says McCain Tax Cuts Need Budget Reductions (Update1)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...8CM&refer=home

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. can't afford $3.3 trillion of tax cuts proposed by Republican presidential nominee John McCain without similar reductions in the federal budget.

Greenspan, a lifelong Republican and longtime friend of McCain, said on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital With Al Hunt'' that ``I'm not in favor of financing tax cuts with borrowed money.''

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Falling wages: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/eci.pdf and http://inflationdata.com/inflation/I...Inflation.aspx

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And of course, a closing comic.