The ones I truly feel sorry for are the young. They will never remember when America was prosperous and free.
"Economy could add to Medicare woes
WASHINGTON - Federal health officials estimate that the struggling economy will speed up by one to three years the exhaustion of the Medicare trust fund covering hospital and nursing home care. --more--"
Trillions for WARS and BANKS, and.... oh, I get tired of typing it!
"Schwarzenegger declares fiscal emergency
SACRAMENTO - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency yesterday and called lawmakers into a special session to address California's $11.2 billion deficit.
The state's revenue gap is expected to hit $28 billion over the next 19 months without bold action. The emergency declaration authorizes the governor and lawmakers to change the budget within 45 days. The state is likely to run out of cash in February.
"Without immediate action, our state is headed for a fiscal disaster, and that is why . . . I am wasting no time in calling a fiscal emergency special session," Schwarzenegger said in prepared remarks. The Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers have proposed a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, but Republican lawmakers steadfastly refuse to raise taxes.
Good for them! HOLD YOUR GROUND!!!
Update: Calif. lawmakers ask feds for college aid
WTF? WHERE are they going to get all this $$$$?
Yeah, he's not the only one looking for a bailout:
"Governors ask for $40b to help pay for healthcare
WASHINGTON - Facing severe cutbacks in state services as the recession deepens, the nation's governors pressed their case on Capitol Hill yesterday, asking for at least $40 billion to help pay for healthcare for the poor and disabled. The governors are also pressing for as much as $136 billion worth of infrastructure projects like road and bridge repairs as the Democratic-controlled Congress and President-elect Barack Obama prepare economic recovery legislation that Obama hopes to sign immediately upon taking office. Obama is to meet with the governors today at a National Governors Association meeting in Philadelphia. --more--"
Yeah, yeah, and Congress is dawdling on the $500 billion they are supposed to cut for that. Bankers and war-looters come first, doncha' know?
The only ones not being bailed out is YOU, American taxpayers and homeowners:
"Recession's official. Now what?; Markets dive as economists see a long downturn" by Robert Gavin, Globe Staff | December 2, 2008
Now that a group of top economists has officially declared the US economy in recession, a key question remains: When will it end?
With the answer still far from certain, the Dow Jones industrial average suffered one of its worst losses ever, plunging nearly 700 points on reports of a worsening downturn, including a survey that showed US manufacturing activity falling to its lowest since the recession of 1981-82. The Dow shed nearly 8 percent to close at 8,149.09....
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The dismal economic data were underscored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which made official yesterday what many economists and millions of unemployed people already knew: The economy is in recession. The Cambridge nonprofit, which dates US business cycles and counts the nation's top academic economists among its researchers, said the economy slipped into recession a year ago....
Yeah, funny how they held all this back until AFTER the ELECTION, huh? Talk about NEWS MANAGEMENT and CENSORSHIP of INFORMATION!! Nothing I love more than an MSM NEWS OUTLET getting to a story LATE!
Wanna know why it took so long?
Although "recession" is commonly defined as two consecutive quarterly declines in gross domestic product, or the economy's output of goods and services, the organization defines a recession differently, as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in production, employment, real income, and other indicators."
Oh, I see: figures lie and liars figure!
For much of the past year, it wasn't clear when the recession began. Although employment peaked in December and has fallen in each of the past 10 months, gross domestic product expanded in the first six months of the year....
Because of WAR SPENDING on the SURGE, no doubt!
"Determining when the turning point in economic activity is is much more delicate than saying things are worse than they were," said James Poterba, bureau president and an MIT economics professor. "It's rare that all the economic indicators point in the same direction, and the committee waits until it is reasonably confident that it can zero in on a particular month." --more--"
Yeah, bulls***ing is a science we just don't understand out here, duh!
"US manufacturing index slumps; November activity hits 26-year low" by Associated Press | December 2, 2008
WASHINGTON - A gauge of US manufacturing activity that fell to a 26-year low yesterday followed similarly weak readings in Europe and China, fueling fears of a deepening global downturn....
Yeah, that I understand. I guess outsourcing and offshoring those jobs wasn' to hot an idea, huh?
Exports, a key source of strength for manufacturers over the past couple of years, are no longer a bright spot as major economies in Europe and Asia also slow....
Translation: America had NO GROWTH over the same time frame, people. All your dough went for WARS and BANKS and ISRAEL! That's why you have SKY-HIGH DEFICITS and a country that is LITERALLY FALLING APART!!!!
Separate manufacturing surveys yesterday from the United Kingdom, the European Union, China, and other countries also were weak, economists said.... Exports account for up to one-third of US manufacturers' sales, Bryson noted. The strengthening of the US dollar since September has also made US goods more expensive overseas. But analysts said that isn't as big a factor as faltering economies overseas.... --more--"
The TRULY SAD thing is this was ALL PLANNED, it did not just happen, and the American people are being blind-sided by it!!!!
"A not-too-dismal start for retailers; Holiday sales better than predicted, but momentum is likely to slow" by Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff | December 2, 2008
Retail sales for the first two days of the holiday shopping season were better than expected, even though Black Friday itself showed the smallest gain in three years and Saturday's sales were about flat from a year ago....
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Many retailers depend on holiday shopping for the bulk of their annual profits, and Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is historically when stores turn a profit. Analysts say deep discounts drew shoppers in over the weekend, but retailers will probably need to continue to offer such deals to keep them shopping.
Yeah, poor, poor, businesses. I'm so sick of the corporate media flogging me to get out there and buy! F*** You!
The implications for retailers that don't attract customers can be dire: They could go out of business. And that's bad for the overall US economy, which yesterday was officially declared to have been in a recession for a year.
Well, you guys could have paid of $2 TRILLION in mortgages with the $8 TRILLION WE GAVE YOU, so I really don't want to hear it! Besides, credit card companies ain't letting you charge this Christmas -- after we GAVE THEM $800 BILLION of OUR MONEY!
"A bad holiday means that a number of retailers are not likely to be in business next year," said Todd Slater, a specialty retail, apparel, and footwear analyst at Lazard Capital Markets.
More boarded up storefronts up town because my contributions have waned over the years. This year they get nothing. Sorry, but I am UNEMPLOYED with NO CHECKS COMING!!! Merry fucking Xmas to you, too!
"It means some factories overseas will shut down. We're already starting to see that occur."
Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!! Are you frikkin' kiding me? I'm to GO BUY so SOME MULTINATIONAL'S SLAVE-SHOP FACTORY can lock in women and children, pay them pennies a day, all so I can get my Kathy Lee outfits? Well, screw that!!!
To attract shoppers, analysts say retailers will likely need to promote new sale items earlier and more often than in years past....
I'm still not going out there.
A greater number of consumers planned to avoid store crowds altogether by purchasing presents online yesterday, on what's known as Cyber Monday.... --more--"
NOT ME!! Webbing is for BLOGGING, and that's it!!!!
Sorry, shopping season has been spoiled for me. I'm not spending a penny out there (humbug, brokebug).Want ONE MORE SLAP to the FACE, America?
"Mall operator gets 2-week loan reprieve" by Associated Press | December 2, 2008
WASHINGTON - Shopping mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. is getting a two-week extension on $900 million in debt that had been scheduled to come due last week as the company works to stave off bankruptcy and negotiate longer-term extensions with lenders.
The mortgages cover two malls, Fashion Show, and Palazzo, in Las Vegas....
Ummm, did YOU GET an EXTENSION on that FORECLOSURE, Americans.
Uh-h0!
Chicago-based General Growth Properties, the nation's second-largest shopping mall owner, has been hit hard by the deteriorating US economy and problems at struggling US retailers. Analysts are unsure whether new managers, installed in late October, will be able to keep the company afloat given its staggering debt load.
How come BANKS are at the BOTTOM of EVERYTHING? And why didn't they ALLEVIATE SOME of those LOANS with the BILLIONS THEY GOT from the U.S. TAXPAYERS!?
General Growth's struggles come amid growing concern about debt tied to commercial properties. Industrywide, about $20 billion will be due next year, covering everything from office, and condo complexes to hotels, and malls. The retail outlook is particularly bad. Circuit City Stores Inc. and Linens 'n Things have sought bankruptcy protection. Home Depot Inc., Sears Holdings Corp., and Ann Taylor Stores Corp. are closing stores.
The NEXT WAVE of FORECLOSED PROPERTIES -- AFTER the HOUSING MARKET has collapsed. Plan ON SCHEDULE, sires!!!!
General Growth said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month that it faces nearly $3.1 billion in maturing debt next year, and warned that inability to refinance that debt "raises substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern."
I'm sorry, but given MY SITUATION, there really isn't any empathy here. Tell the bank to fuck off if you don't like it.
Deutsche Bank analysts Lou Taylor and Vin Chao predicted yesterday the company will likely receive a longer-term loan extension, rather than default, allowing General Growth to sell off assets or obtain new corporate-level financing. General Growth has a stake in more than 200 US shopping malls in 44 states --more--"
Just wondering where YOUR EXTENSION IS, set-upon American homeowners!!!!
Yeah, MERRY EFFIN' XMAS!!!!
