Warning about US economic slump

Source: BBC News

The US economy is set for a long recession, a panel of economists at the World Economic Forum has warned.

The US mortgage crisis will spread to consumer and company loans, and push up defaults sharply, warned New York University economist Nouriel Roubini.

A year ago, Mr Roubini had been one of the few economists to predict correctly a slump in the US housing market and subsequent crunch in credit markets.

China and Europe will be hit, though India less so, the panel forecast.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7204368.stm

but doesn't long recession = depression?

When Rockefellers hurt, it's a Depression. And they're gonna hurt, this time.

from a recession is that people stopped buying anything they didn't have to, like food, and that collapsed the consumer economy. Since that's 2/3 of the total national economy, collapsing it is a big deal.

When customers disappear, so do the stores they patronized, along with the people who worked in those stores. Then the suppliers of those stores, along with the delivery people, the office staff, and up the line to the manufacturers. The last won't hurt us much since other countries looted our manufacturing infrastructure and helped to start the problem.

The same thing will collapse it this time that collapsed it the last time: debt without net worth to back it up. People got conned into assuming that much debt because living within their means on depressed wages meant living poor while everybody around them living on plastic looked like they were living well. Poor people are not treated well in this country, if you haven't noticed.

It's a cycle that happens over and over again. When the rich grab all the wealth and push the rest of us into debt to compensate for low wages, very bad things will happen.

The only compensation is that they'll hurt, too.

Directly opposite viewpoints.

full of shit on pretty much every subject as is the U.S. media that spreads propaganda for our government. I think I'll put my trust on the guys out in the far east and at the WEC.

Just cross-posting this column I just placed in General Discussions:

How To Protect Yourself From The Coming Financial Crisis:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2750063

I have a few issues with it.

It recommends being employed in dynamic, fast growing sectors. Aren't these also the jobs that are the most potentially unstable?

Also, one of the jobs suggested is in debt collection - and then later on we are told to do stuff that is good for ones conscience. Debt collection? Yup, that's a whole lotta help to your fellow man right there.

and I highly recommend for everyone to read it.

:smoke:

Economic growth falls as inflation goes up.

Behind the Televised Iron Curtain of Bush-Occupied Amerika, we get only lies.

And bills magically get paid .....

Suppress wages ? : Suffer the long term consequences ....

1) Own your car. Don't borrow money to drive a car. It's better to own a beater than to make payments on something you can't really afford.

2) Own your home. Instead of moving to a larger home when you qualify for loans, work to pay off your existing home mortgage and own your home outright. At the very least, pay down your loan so you have 50% equity in your home, which should insulate you from all but the very worst housing bubble price drops.

3) Stop spending money on stupid overpriced things like Starbucks coffee, soda, brand-name laundry detergent, diamond jewelry and processed foods. Stretch your money by buying low-cost, bulk food ingredients like lentils, brown rice and quinoa.

4) Protect your health! Mark my words: There will be no such thing as a national health care system that's any good; not under ANY future president. Why? Because our entire health care paradigm is focused on treating disease rather than promoting health. If you're waiting around for a health care system to make you healthy, you're on a fool's errand. Take charge of your health right now and use nutrition, superfoods, sunlight, exercise and avoidance of all toxic chemicals to boost your health (and thereby insulate yourself from future health care minefields).

5) Own some productive land. Can you actually grow at least 10% of your own food? How about 25%? Owning productive land that actually generates fruits, nuts or edible herbs and plants is a form of permanent wealth. Regardless of what happens to the world economy, land that can produce food and medicine will always hold value (to yourself and others). Climate matters. An acre of land in wind-swept South Dakota isn't worth much. That same acre in Southern California or Hawaii is a whole lot more useful in terms of producing things that people value.

6) Own a good bicycle (and know how to repair it). There's no form of transportation that's more affordable. Too out of shape to pedal? No worries: Get yourself an Electric Bike from Electric Bikes Northwest (they ship all over the country). Electric bikes cost almost nothing to operate (far less than a penny per mile) and still give you a bit of exercise.

7) Don't save all your money in one bank! And certainly don't save it all in U.S. currency. Diversify. Banks may fail. The currency may even fail. Be prepared to wake up one day and see your green U.S. dollars declared worthless.