THE RECESSION OF 2008: Live team coverage

How many of those jobs were in the dot-com realm that went kerplooey in 1999-2000?

o_t is absolutely correct.

 

I lost track when Fredo and the boys decided to keep Iraq -- and Afghanistan -- off the books.

 

The problem with your historical point, o_t, is that the ongoing recovery you cite was a direct result of Bush I's tax increase, which is the reason that Buchanan ran against him and blew the tires out of his 80 percent approval rating.
There is no way to hang the dismal economy on Clinton, boys. They all said his 1994 budget plan would throw the country into a recession. (Read what futurist genius Newt Gingrich back in 1994.) Instead, the economy took off. The Republicans had absoute control over the federal government from 2002-2006. They fucked this up -- including launching two wars without a tax increase, for the first time in American history -- again.

 

Bush signed the tax increase into law in November 1990.

The recession began four months earlier, in July.

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1994/06/art1exc.htm#1

Wow. I didn't know tax increases could sink an economy before they are enacted.

 

I'm not so sure. You may be able to gain some really quality bargains (if you have the money to spend) once this downward trend really gets going. There's money to be made somewhere.

 

In other words, if we are heading for a recession, it will take a couple of years to get out of. So if the Democrats win the election, they'll get blamed for the recession and get voted out in 2012.

 

Actually, I'm starting to believe that what will happen is a Dem will be elected in 08, with voters wanting to give a full Democratic government a chance. Then, when it doesn't really do much, the Republicans will be voted back in in 2010, at least in the House. (Senate majority is a bit tougher to overturn, especially as I think the Dems stand to gain 4 or 5 seats in 08.)

Back to gridlock!

 

Not very many, obviously.

Unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in 1999, 4.0 percent in 2000.

Not too many jobs going "kerplooey" during that time, eh?

 

I think "Live Team Coverage" should become an SportsJournalists.com staple.

 

The latter part of the economic expansion was smoke and mirrors. New economy, my ass. When most of those jobs are being created on vague ideas like how to deliver coffee door-to-door (I'm not making that up, it was an actual company) or how to ship one bag of dog food across the country (again, true), sooner or later people are going to wake up and smell the... well, you know.

When that part of the economy went ker-blooie, it took the overall economy with it. It may not have shown up in the unemployment rolls, but people's paper profits suddenly vanished. The recession soon followed.

This economy is not in recession. It may yet get there, but a combination of Bernanke interest-rate cuts and tax incentives may keep us out of the hole.

 

A lot of good points in this post.

 

The one thing on which Fen and I share common ground. A toast to you, sir.