So far, there's no universally accepted term to refer to the current economic crisis, meltdown, Bush-recession, depression, or whatever it is we're experiencing as first we lose the banks and next the automobile manufacturers. We call the Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, simply "911."
I know how I think of it. At first I thought we were merely driving off a cliff, but now I just think we're going down the toilet.
We've lost over 500,000 jobs this year. In the recent past the U.S. economy was good for creating 50,000 new jobs a year, the envy of the sandal-footed world. That's ten years of loss in one year. How long will it take to make this up?
It's not likely to happen very soon, I suspect. What new technology do we have on the horizon such as the computer or the Internet?
Maybe biotech. Smart humans might find the cure for our being stupid humans in one of those little gene codes, then we can sell it all over the world.
Meanwhile, the American automobile manufacturers, Ford, General Motors & Chrysler, are driving off their cliff, or down the toilet, a gas station toilet, at that. And who won't bail them out? The Republicans! The same ones who coughed up $700 Billion to give to the banks, which bought other banks, making some of us scratch our heads at our apparent stupidity. Of course! You didn't think the banks were going to lend out all this money that just fell from the sky, did you?
The House, Democratic led (Nancy Pelosi and enough votes) passed a bailout bill for the auto industry the other day. The Senate, yesterday, defeated the bill.
Do you think George W wants to have as his legacy that the American auto industry died on his watch? I don't think so. Word is that he's okay with using some of the bank bailout money (called TARP, for what a friend calls Toxic Asset Recovery Program; substitute "Troubled" for toxic and you'll have the official version).
When your economy is going down the toilet, who do you call? No, not Ghostbusters. You call Joe the Plumber, you know, the guy Sen. McCain made famous during the election campaign as a symbol of blue collar guys in trouble because they no longer can make a living in the U.S.
We need George the Plumber. He's good for about $15 Billion. That buys a few months at taxpayer expense and the auto manufacturers can die on Obama's watch.
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