The United States is Now in a Recession

[Luke_Wilbur]

OMG!!! 4 Trillion Dollars. That is equal the entire federal budget.

[JT Allen]

I heard the government lies about unemployment rates.

[Guest aacer]

U.S. Bankruptcy Filings Surged 37% in February Over Prior Year

 

Bankruptcy filings in the U.S. surged 37 percent in February from a year earlier, with more Americans seeking protection from their creditors as the economy sank into its deepest recession in at least a quarter century.

 

Total filings for individuals and companies rose to more than 103,000, according to data compiled by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, a service of Jupiter ESources LLC in Oklahoma City. Commercial filings rose to 6,303, up 47 percent from the same month a year earlier, the group said.

 

“It’s not surprising that more people are declaring bankruptcy as the U.S. is going through one of the deepest recessions since the 1930s,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “A lot of people are losing their homes, their jobs and their wealth.”

 

The spike in filings comes as 3.6 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began in December 2007 and foreclosures last year rose to an annual record. President Barack Obama last month signed a stimulus package and proposed a record budget for 2010 to jumpstart the economy and put it on a path of sustained growth.

 

Faltering consumer demand has precipitated recent Chapter 11 filings by retailers such as Everything But Water LLC, the largest U.S. retailer of women’s swimwear, and Ritz Camera Centers Inc., the largest chain of camera stores.

 

A pullback in newspaper advertising brought on filings in late February by the parent of the Philadelphia Inquirer and by Journal Register Co. and its 20 daily newspapers and 159 non- daily publications.

 

General Motors

 

Car sales running at the weakest pace in more than a quarter century are threatening the future viability of auto maker General Motors Corp., which is seeking $16.6 billion in new federal loans, on top of $13.4 billion already granted, to keep operating while it restructures its operations.

 

“The threat is still there,” GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said of the possibility of bankruptcy in a Bloomberg Television interview Feb. 18. “Our assumption is that we can get this done out of court and it’s better for everybody.”

 

The increase in bankruptcy filings cut across all regions, said Mike Bickford, president of AACER, a bankruptcy data and management service. All but 12 states had double-digit increases in filings in February from the prior month, said Bickford.

 

The states with the highest per capita bankruptcy filings were Tennessee, Nevada, Georgia, Alabama, and Michigan. The states with the fastest growing bankruptcy filings were Hawaii, Delaware, and Washington, according to AACER statistics.

 

Almost 1.1 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2008, 32 percent more than the 827,000 filed in 2007 and up 86 percent from the 590,500 filings in 2006.

 

Bankruptcy filings still lag behind the all-time record set in 2005 of 2.1 million, when 630,000 Americans sought bankruptcy refuge in the two weeks before revisions to federal bankruptcy laws in October made it more difficult for individuals to erase debts.

[Guest Kucinich for Congress]

If the White House thought they could slip the bailout of Fannie and Freddie through by announcing it in a Christmas Eve news dump, think again. Dennis Kucinich just released this statement:

 

"As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I'm announcing that the Subcommittee will launch an investigation into the Treasury Department's recent decision to lift the current $400-billion cap on combined federal assistance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, opening the way for additional, unlimited funds through the end of 2012. This investigation will include the role played by Fannie Mae chief executive Michael J. Williams and Freddie Mac chief executive Charles E. Haldeman in the decision, if any, and will seek to ensure that the additional assistance is used for homeowners and not Wall Street."

 

"As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I'm announcing that the Subcommittee will launch an investigation into the Treasury Department's recent decision to lift the current $400-billion cap on combined federal assistance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, opening the way for additional, unlimited funds through the end of 2012. This investigation will include the role played by Fannie Mae chief executive Michael J. Williams and Freddie Mac chief executive Charles E. Haldeman in the decision, if any, and will seek to ensure that the additional assistance is used for homeowners and not Wall Street."

 

"Many questions remain unanswered regarding this move by the Treasury. Why suddenly remove the cap? Indications are that Freddie and Fannie, even as millions of Americans lose their homes, have used just $111 billion of the $400 billion previously available to them. Is lifting the cap on assistance a back-door TARP?"

 

"Additionally, I want to determine whether Fannie and Freddie have a cohesive plan to buy up the under-performing mortgages that remain on the books of the big banks, at appropriate prices, and undertake a massive reworking of the terms of the mortgages so as to stem the foreclosure crisis that continues to plague our country. This new authority must be used responsibly and for the benefit of American families. This cannot be used simply to purchase toxic assets at inflated prices, thus transferring the losses to the U. S. taxpayers and acting as a back-door TARP."

 

On Christmas Eve, they also announced $4-$6 million compensation packages for their top executives. But they'll start foreclosing on homeowners again in January.

 

Fannie and Freddie have been corrupt cesspools for years, a place where presidents of both parties parked friends like Dennis DeConcini and Rahm Emanuel, giving them lucrative spots on the board of directors as political payoff. As government sponsored entities (GSEs) selling shares to the public, they operate like hedge funds that socialize losses and privatize profits. From the LA Times last year:

"This week ... news broke that until August, the lobbying firm owned by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis was paid $15,000 a month by Freddie Mac, one of the mortgage giants implicated in the current crisis (now taken over by the government and under investigation by the FBI). Apparently, Freddie Mac's plan was to gain influence with McCain's campaign in hopes that he would help shield it from pesky government regulations."

 

It appears they kept looking. The Democrats have been too intimidated by leadership to start looking into the utter corruption at these entities, but Kucinich just doesn't care.

[Guest CBO]

The deep recession that began in December 2007 caused substantial drops in corporate profits and taxable personal income. Consequently, receipts from corporate income taxes fell by 55 percent ($166 billion) in 2009, and receipts from individual income taxes declined by 20 percent ($230 billion). Even revenues from social insurance taxes (primarily the payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare) decreased by 1 percent ($9 billion), the first decline since 1946.

[Guest Apropo of CA]

I can think of three effective terms that DENY job growth...

 

NAFTA, robotics, and illegal immigration = long term depression

[Guest Nick]

Everything people believed about the American economy — you could always get a job, home prices never went down — has been turned upside down.

[Guest LAW]

August 19, 2010

Press Gaggle by Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton aboard Air Force One en route Cape Cod, MA

Aboard Air Force One, En Route Cape Cod, Massachusetts

 

Q The economy, the numbers this morning were very bad. I know the President has come out and made a statement, but how bad does the White House think this is? I mean, is the economy -- did the economy really hit a wall in August, as it looks like? Do you think there’s a real risk of a double-dip recession?

 

MR. BURTON: The President’s view is that there are going to be a lot of indicators that show some movement in different directions, but there’s no doubt that we have not done everything that we can to keep moving the economy in the right direction. That’s why he was out there pushing for the small business bill as soon as the Senate gets back. We’ve been able to make some progress but the President isn’t satisfied with the pace. And that’s why he’s doing everything that we can to get the economy moving at a strength that is going to keep -- that is going to get Americans back to work.

 

Q But, I mean, how bad do you think the outlook is for the economy? I mean, how high would you rate the risks of a double-dip recession?

 

MR. BURTON: I’m not an expert economist, but I will say that if you’re an unemployed family right now you’d think that the economy is in pretty bad shape, and those are the kind of folks that the President is out there fighting for every single day to try to create jobs and create a stronger economy.

 

Q Did those numbers surprise you -- 500,000 jobs?

 

MR. BURTON: You know, these indicators -- there’s economic indicators that come out every single week and you don’t know what they are before they’re announced, so what do you know what the numbers would be.

 

Q Bill, how effective do you think the President’s statement is going to be, because he’s giving it -- he’s going today, he’s going away for 10 days. The Senate isn’t coming back obviously until after the August recess. I mean, that’s a lot of time in between now and when the Senate is actually going to take this up, or when the pressure is really going to need to be on. Are we going to hear more from him? And how effective is what he did today?

 

MR. BURTON: The President has been trying to -- has been applying pressure on this issue for a while now, and it’s been Republican obstruction that’s stopped it from going forward. So he’s talked about it out on this trip that we took previously, he talked about it today, and he’s going to continue to when he gets back because it’s critically important that we create an environment where these small businesses can create jobs and make America’s economy stronger.

[Guest Friends of Bill Bolling]

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling

 

America's economy is in trouble. After three years of recession and despite a trillion-dollar federal stimulus plan, unemployment continues to rise and the American dream is fading for millions of families.

 

Getting our economy moving again and creating jobs is the most important issue currently facing our country, but the federal government continues to pursue policies that suppress economic growth, as opposed to policies that promote economic growth.

 

In my role as Virginia's chief jobs creation officer, I have met with more CEOs than anyone in our state. On the basis of these discussions I would respectfully offer some advice to President Obama, advice that would help change our nation's economic direction.

 

Mr. President, if you are really serious about getting our economy moving again and creating jobs, here are seven positive suggestions I would offer to you and your economic team:

 

* Acknowledge that the economic policies you have pursued for the past 18 months have not worked the way you hoped they would. This will not be easy, but it will send a positive message to the business community and enable you to change course and move in a more pro-business direction.

 

* Publicly abandon certain high-profile, anti-business policies that have been pursued during the past 18 months. Assure American businesses that you will no longer pursue card check or cap-and-trade legislation, and agree to repeal those portions of the federal health care bill that impose massive mandates, fines and penalties on businesses.

 

* Agree to make the federal tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent for every American. We cannot afford to allow these tax cuts to expire. If they do, it will result in a $135 billion tax increase on families and businesses. This is no time to be raising taxes on anyone, and if we allow these tax cuts to expire, it could drive our economy right back into recession.

 

* Enact legislation that provides additional tax cuts for businesses that create jobs and make major capital investments. This will encourage employers to expand their businesses and hire new workers. The direct and indirect impacts will be significant.

 

* Rein in the Environmental Protection Agency, whose overly aggressive regulatory policies are suffocating the ability of the private sector to create jobs. Suspend all of the new EPA regulations that have been adopted in the past 18 months, and order federal regulators to work with the business community to find a way to approve pending job-creating projects.

 

* Instruct federal financial regulators to relax their restrictive standards and allow local banks to make more loans to small businesses. Banks have money that they are prepared to lend, but overly aggressive federal regulations are making it impossible for them to lend to those who need help the most.

 

* Pledge to reduce federal spending by at least 5 percent per year for the foreseeable future, with a goal of reducing federal spending to 2006 levels. We have done this in Virginia and it can be done at the federal level as well.

 

I realize that there are no silver bullets that will get our economy moving again, but economic growth will never occur until we stop pursuing anti-business policies and start pursuing pro-business policies such as those outlined above.

 

Mr. President, it is never easy to admit you were wrong, but it is sometimes a necessary trait that leadership requires. I implore you to seriously consider embracing these types of pro-business policies for the sake of America's families before it is too late.

[Guest Seth]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/cron/

 

great look at the last 20 years of our financial industry.

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Recession is over. The government, bankers and venture capitalist have money to lend.

 

Is your business booming?

 

Let us know about it.

 

We need positive American economic stories.

 

Perception in ourselves has to change.

 

We can make a difference.

[Guest Nic]

US manufactured goods increase their value over time. Compare the price for Americana collectibles. Anything made in the U.S. averages at least three times the value to auction buyers. Merchants offering made in the USA is a better investment.

[Guest Warren in Georgetown]

According to data provided by Ned Davis Research, over the past 100 years a recession occurred, on average, every 3.8 years. Over the past 20 years, however, recessions have occurred only once every 8 years. BlackRock Investments thinks we will be seeing something closer to the former number in the coming decade.