so i watched CNBC today

i've been sort of following the ups and downs of the market recently (for a few months). i heard all the dire predictions for today so wanted to see what was going to happen. when i turned on CNBC at 9:33 and the dow was down more than 400, i thought, wow! something certainly is happening! as the day wore on, the market rallied (or whatever they call it) and while it was down at the close, it wasn't by 400.

anyway - i was watching the talking heads on CNBC, and it seemed to me, to quote cramer "they know NOTHING!" not that they don't know all about markets and financials and quarterly reports and earnings and so on and so forth. i'm not any kind of expert, nor even a novice, when it comes to understanding the stock market. i understand that they are the experts. but while they may have a plethora of knowledge about the market, they seem to be lacking some understanding of what life is like for the average middle class person at the moment.

they all talk about a "stimulus package" that is somehow supposed to avert tragedy on wall street - what, they are going to send $800 to middle and lower income people, and they think that is going to somehow save or prop up the economy? what the hell??? the consensus seems to be that these people will get that money and spend it. well, they're right about that - most people are probably already earmarking the funds - past due heating and cable bills, pay property taxes, a much needed and long overdue trip to the dentist, finally catch up on that goddamn credit card... and after the $800 is spent, it's back to the same thing next month - juggle the bills, eat rice and beans several times a month to make end meet...

how in the hell is $800 supposed to make any difference to people who already can't afford to shop? they all really seem to think that everyone is going to rush to the mall with money, and that (even if that were the case) it is going to make some kind of difference to the economy.

people don't need $800 - they need decent paying jobs. why is that so hard to understand? if we can have jobs, we'll all do the "american thing" and consume like mad (someone on CNBC actually suggested that good americans would spend that money the minute they got it). no job = no disposable income. to quote mr. cramer again "they have NO IDEA what it's like out here!"

i don't know - the whole thing puzzles me. if the general populace continues to NOT spend money they obviously don't have, where do these experts think money is going to come from? how can the market continue to thrive if people don't have any money to spend on much of anything?

a nice little boost. Because that nice GWB gave the poor folks something.

it is interesting that there is a push to pass a stimulus package quickly, but it is already stated that if a "rebate" is included, it may not go out for "a few months." the timing will be interesting.

edit: mysteriously missing word

That means that it will be held out in our next tax cycle.  Remember the $400 he gave out last time?  It was counted as a part of what we would have gotten the next year.  By that time the election will be over and either a Repug will have been shoved down our throats via backhanded tactics or the Dem will be vilified for screwing up everyone's tax refund.They are only trying to buy time and send money to the banks and CC companies without making a direct bailout.

into a serf-type of existence in modern amurika

excellent op k&r

It looks like we are throwing the dollar down the toilet to save the housing market. I am wondering if people here think that this is a democratic party ideal.

Inflation will hurt people on fixed incomes. Will inflation hurt the poor more than the wealthy?

:kick: MKJ

people don't need $800 - they need decent paying jobs. why is that so hard to understand? if we can have jobs, we'll all do the "american thing" and consume like mad (someone on CNBC actually suggested that good americans would spend that money the minute they got it). no job = no disposable income. to quote mr. cramer again "they have NO IDEA what it's like out here!"

Plentiful good-paying jobs is what people need!

My daughter called today from college in shock. ---450.00 for 4 books!...guess where out stimulus package is going?

I'm a broke college student and the only way I can afford my textbooks is half.com and amazon marketplace. Just type in the ISBN and it comes right up. They're usually a fraction of the price of the used books in the college bookstore.

This semester it would have cost me $450 for textbooks too, I ended up spending $125. Also, sometimes the university library has copies of the books she'll need, as long as they're not recently updated editions.

my husband"s job is shaky he thinks the company he works for is about to tank. We're afraid to spend money on anything!

welcome to DU :hi:

that is another factor the CNBC experts fail to comprehend- everyone is afraid (and for good reason) that a job today doesn't necessarily mean a job tomorrow. these days people don't keep money aside for a rainy day, they hold on to it for the rainy day because we know it's cloudy and we can already see the lightening.

Especially the pet products and children's toys and cups and bowls and dishes and ...

but they probably already have plenty of that stuff. probably doesn't sell in china. :shrug:

if the general populace continues to NOT spend money they obviously don't have then the banks are screwed. Our entire economy based on the requirement for perpetual growth is screwed.

At this point, I think we are going to have a giant deflationary credit contraction no matter what the fed does.

I'm worried. :scared:

Their market is small, but they know to whom they are talking. And it is not you and me.

Anyone not on the Fortune 400 list or aspirants to the Fortune 400 list are not the target audience of CNBC. Lower income level populations do not figure into their discussions. It is almost as if the lower stratospheres do not even exist in their world.

$140 billion is supposed to do something.

The fed has been pumping money left and right in to the market and nothing happens. The cut the rates and all is grand for a week or two then it plummets again.

I just don't understand why moron* doesn't INVEST it into alt power or job creation or something logical, but then again, there I go, making sense. sorry.

The DOW has recovered all it lost on Mon. morning.

What did it? Is it for real or lasting?

And it is only a temporary quick-fix. Unbelievable.

Let the band play on....