Negative media reports on the economy

Parent Cafe
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<p>Much of middle class America has been in a recession type situation for some time with wages failing to keep up with increases in necessities like health care out of pocket costs, gas/home heating costs, and most recently food prices. Couple that with the preciptous decline in high paying manufacturing jobs and the outlook for middle class folks is becoming bleaker every year.</p>

<p>Easy credit and increasing home equity was what was keeping many families afloat. Now that those options are waning, the most viable option is to cut back spending. That is in fact a mini recession. And to the extent that it makes families more fiscally responsible, it is not necessarily a bad thing for the individual family.</p>

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<p>dstark–you really think that the tech dotcom bubble was due to the money supply? That’s academic nonsense. Were you close to your TV watching all the WS people touting the latest stock and great new idea? Blaming Greenspan for that is passing the blame from the truly responsible–people who bid up nutty stocks and the people that sold them on the idea.</p>

<p>Clinton had so much money coming in he could spend some and still save. Maybe for a Democrat he was more responsible than most but he had limited control too.</p>

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<p>I work in the ******* business. I have no reason to bs.</p>

<p>You need money to create bubbles. Greenspan created a lot of money. When you create money, it is going to go somewhere. If it goes into goods and services, we get inflation. If it goes into assets, you can get bubbles.</p>

<p>It flows where the demand is. In this case, it was technology stocks. You get a story based on reality (technology was a booming sector), exaggerate the possibilities, add too much money, and then you get a bubble.</p>

<p>You would not have had a bubble without the free flowing money.</p>

<p>You would not have had a real estate bubble if Greenspan didn’t lower rates to 1%, keep them there for a year and then slowly raise them in 1/4 point increments while the economy was getting stronger and stronger.</p>

<p>Greenspan had interest rates at depression time rates without the depression.</p>

<p>I can’t stand the guy. :)</p>

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<p>Barrons, the Fed is a little slower than I am, but they are starting to rethink…:)</p>

<p>[Bloomberg.com:</a> Exclusive](<a href=“Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg”>Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg)</p>

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<p>Well, you are in camp with the nutty Austrian School folks then. I think there was much more to it than one guy.</p>

<p>[The</a> Mess Greenspan Leaves - Stefan Karlsson - Mises Institute](<a href=“http://www.mises.org/story/1985]The”>http://www.mises.org/story/1985)</p>

<p>A far more highly respected expert than either of us agrees with me overall</p>

<p>[Irrational</a> Exuberance, Reconsidered - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116537283751041900.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries]Irrational”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116537283751041900.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries)</p>

<p>I thinking blaming Greenspan is like blaming a good chef for people eating too much and getting fat.</p>

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<p>I never said Greenspan was the sole reason for the bubbles. But he could have prevented the bubbles. ;)</p>

<p>I like Siegel and sometimes he is right and sometimes he is wrong.</p>

<p>He may be more highly respected than me, but I’m not in the respect business and he is. :)</p>

<p>Is he more of an expert than I am?</p>

<p>Not a chance. ;)</p>

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<p>Greenspan Says Credit Crisis Is Worst in 50 Years</p>

<p>[Bloomberg.com:</a> Worldwide](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>