I just saw a guy on CNN that was trying to demonstrate truth on the state of the economy and

boy was it scarey. Eeeeeek. Upside down and sideways and what is worse than a depression? We've never had one of those.

the decline of the housing market, rise in gas prices and people having trouble paying for gas just to get to work. The implossion has started to jump from the outer rings of the economy toward the inner circles. Pretty soon poof. gone.

$45T in CDSs (credit default swaps) and $405T in "notational value" of derivatives (that's about 6X the global GNP and only Warren Buffet has made mention of it. What IS he talking about anyway?)

The Ponzi scheme is doing what ALL Ponzi schemes do. Fasten your seatbelts and store beans and rice.

That they could normally weather this economic climate by borrowing money, but that this isn't an option due to the fact they are already highly leveraged.

Hoy boy. I think I'm going to take a walk.

although there are thousands of people worse off.

But I sincerely believe that the Bushies are keeping us from knowing the true state of this Union.

I speak to relatives all over the country - and its worse in certain states, but the big picture is alarming, too.

us to know how bad off we are or something to that affect.

the economy is. He said it is very, very bad. And my friends who are brokers tell me the bond problem is a major issue, and that they have sleepless nights every night now.

"Things were GREAT when Repuglies wre running things, Dems screwed it up!"

They'll blame it on the new person in the White House.

completely) on tickerforum.org. I'll see if I can find the list - which is quite scary when you see it.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/BZ_RETAIL_SPACE05_02-05-08_2O8SN95_v35.2956a49.html

Here is a discussion of it at TickerForum.org: http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www?singlepost=278077

That's most likely out of date since it was published February 5th. Chances are, and this is just my studied opinion, that list is only a sampling and is probably the tip of the iceberg.

So far, though, and you fellow Texans chime in here, in my area of North Texas things don't seem to have slowed down much. There are more foreclosures showing up for my area on RealtyTrac.com though. But we had an 18-cent jump at the pump.

Hard to guage from here - for now.

** Assuming you would want a beer.

I heard them say Kohl's Department Stores on CNN.

You patriot, you!


:beer:

Drinking an ice cold Pabst long neck here in chilly Michigan.

to the country recorders office to see the repoed homes.

and gas has gone up 13 cents down the street-doesn't stop them from driving their F250s.



http://cbs11tv.com/local/Lancaster.Medical.Center.2.652451.html
-snip
A hospital spokesperson told CBS 11 News that the facility was losing money on non-paying patients, an inability to negotiate higher payment rates from insurers, and from the economic downturn.

like with Dental Practices and those who need "lines of credit" for equipment and such. It's so far "pockets" of the country that seem to be affected...but it will probably "creep" everywhere unless there's a free up of credit from the banks who are afraid to lend..worrying that they haven't seen the "last shoe to drop" on their own balance sheets from the "creative mortgage, Muni Bonds" and the rest that are just now being discovered.

Macy's purchased a hometown favorite called Hudson's.

Everyone I know still calls Macy's "Hudson's" here.

And now that's going by the way side, too.

Christine Romans (blonde lady) and Ali Velshi (bald guy in a cowboy hat from Austin, TX).

It runs on Saturday in the early afternoon. They re-run it on Sundays.

I saw the program yesterday. Pretty scary stuff.

My aunt was never the same after that. She was afraid to spend a penny. I hope we don't have a D. but we have been getting ready. Downsized our home, got rid of Credit Card debt. Will can some food this summer. I've never done that, but my mother used to can, so I sort of know how. And as someone else said, store beans and rice. It's coming, just as they intended. Buffett, Gates, and their sort want two classes. The very rich, and the very poor. The very poor of course will work for peanuts for the very rich so they may have more and more of everything.

...it's "batten down the hatches time." :-(

during the early days of the Depression.

I'd like to see a REAL history of the Depression detailing events such as that, and other unrest that went on at the time, which has been pretty well hushed up.

And Bill Gates is giving his fortune away, just like Mr. Buffett.

Neither believes wealth should be inherited.

they don't even know how much debt they have...so the deal was ditched.

If you are thinking that either Buffet or Gates have enough money to cover the HUGE losses that are out there...well...they don't. Just hang on to what you have and pay off your debt as fast as you can manage. :-(

Twenty five years ago is when this first started to happen, with Reagan's massive debt load, and the cutting of various programs under first Bush and then Clinton in order to keep things afloat. I also remember that this was when they started getting goofy with the books, doing Enron accounting tricks to keep up appearances. This only accelerated throughout the ninties, as manufacturing went off shore and we lost our social safety nets. Now it looks as though all the big players are getting ready to cash out and let the house of cards collapse. I would suggest that people get ready.

I'm fortunate, I have no outstanding debt other than the farm. I can grow my own food, supply my own heat, and have that security net one still finds out in the rural areas of our country where small farms are still prevalent. I think that I can whether this OK, but it is going to be tough times for all.

We'll start small so as not to overwhelm ourselves, but I think knowing how to grow food is going to be essential. I've been visiting the garden forum to get ideas & advice & of course the library, too.

How are you? :hi:

:hi: Those gardens are work to grow the beautius stuff. Good luck with it. I am going to do small also. Am lucky to have very fertile soil. I live in a 100 year old orchard area. Still have a few of those 100 year old grapefruit trees. One is not doing so well. It's time to feed them, but the damn food is so expensive and the dogs like to dig it up and eat it. :silly: dogs. I feel older than the trees from all of this 700 year ordeal we have been through and it's not over yet. :hug:

and eat it... :scared:

without much space of our own for gardening, I'm thinking about being Zuchini-woman, sowing the seeds in common areas. Management only brings out the Mexican landscapers to put down mulch and mow grass. Worst case is a)nothing will grow; b)the kids will stomp them out; c)somebody else will get the harvest (garden-diving). Perhaps I'll try to see if anyone else wants to grow veggies on their patio, so we can grow more of each veggie and split the harvest, instead of trying to grow just a little of everything.

Hopefully you get some direct sunlight on the patio. Just turn them to get even exposure

http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/tomato2.html

http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/backyard/tomato.htm


If you are starting from seed, now is the time to plant.

and the fencing is only about 4ft high, so I'd need to use shepherd hooks. Thanks, I might try this for cherry/grape size tomatoes.

speaks the truth, and it isn't good. He's been speaking out for months now, but apparently no one listens!

be in foreclosure. Scared the hell out of me.

that bad for many of us.. Just so folks don't get too scared. The markets that went up the most...West Coast/Florida/Virginia...some more Northeast will be first. But even there...it's going to be pockets.

Most of us will go down...but probably not that badly...unless the whole thing goes on for a few years. We have to hope....

But planes can fly while pilots sleep, just watch yourself when it comes in for a landing. LOL

I mean, will the U. S., and even the world ever see the kind of prosperity we enjoyed in the last 60 years again? We're running out of oil on which everything depends. We're using up our water and top-soil. There are more mouths to feed in the world everyday.

What do you all think? What are our options? Can we build a sustainable, just, green economy, or will we eventually end up back in the stone age?