General Political Thread

[LouieB]

The stock market has a history of doing better under Democrats than Republicans. Go figure.

 

Lou

[Tweedling]

Is it his policies that are causing this?

[Hixter]

All I am saying Obama is the worst socialist I have ever seen.  

 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/05/investing/stocks-markets/

Anyone with half a brain realizes that the market is surging because of the huge amounts of money that the Fed is pumping into the system by buying bonds. Interest rates are so low that cautious investors are diving into the market in order to make a decent return on their investments, but when the Fed stops juicing the market it's all going to come crashing down HARD.

 

My company's 401k advisor spoke to us last week and warned that a "massive" correction would be coming in the near future. He mentioned the fact that gold is trading at almost $1600 per ounce as an indicator that the market was very much overvalued.

[KevinG]

Is it his policies that are causing this?

 

Who knows, the stock market is no better then your average casino, IMHO.  But believe if the stock market was doing miserably he would get the blame.  

 

But this is my point, I think it is funny that the Right Wing is constantly decrying PBO as a socialist and will distribute wealth or whatever.  Right now we are at the exact opposite of that, we have corporations and the wealthy doing very well and an extremely high unemployment and numbers of people who are poor.  So if he is indeed this socialist the right wing says he his, then he is doing a really shitty job.  

[LouieB]

Oh good, another extended thread on the Fed.  Oh joy. 

 

Time to get out of the market now, since HIxter says there is a massive correction coming.  Like anyone can actually know this.  There was a prediction a couple years ago that the market was going to crash again and it didn't happen.  The fact is that it CAN happen any time.  You dont have to be a genius to know that the market is flakey.  Gold is one thing and the market is another.  They aren't even connected.  Some are predicting the Dow will reach 20,000.  It's all Wizard of Oz territory really.  Saying that the market will take a dive at some point is a no brainer.  Everyone knows it will at some point. 

 

LouieB

[Hixter]

Time to get out of the market now, since HIxter says there is a massive correction coming.  Like anyone can actually know this. 

It's a fact that the Fed has purchased trillions of dollars in bonds to keep the economy afloat. It's a fact that the market will crash once they stop doing so. Last week's single-day, 200-point drop shows just how closely the market is tied to the Fed's pumping: even a whisper of future change is enough to cause the market to plunge.

 

It's all a matter of how much longer the Fed can continue to pump money to keep the economy afloat; common sense says that they can't do it much longer and the longer they do it, the worse the crash will be.

[Tweedling]

Who knows, the stock market is no better then your average casino, IMHO.  But believe if the stock market was doing miserably he would get the blame.  

 

But this is my point, I think it is funny that the Right Wing is constantly decrying PBO as a socialist and will distribute wealth or whatever.  Right now we are at the exact opposite of that, we have corporations and the wealthy doing very well and an extremely high unemployment and numbers of people who are poor.  So if he is indeed this socialist the right wing says he his, then he is doing a really shitty job.  

Ah ha. Well is doing a really good job. We'll all be keeping an eye on that stock market. He's got a couple years to go...

 

Of course the wealthy are doing well. The fact is that most of the wealthy people in this country own some type of business, so go ahead and tax them. They will turn around and pass the cost of taxes and regulation on to the consumer. Obviously this is just my opinion.

[uncool2pillow]

Just because Sparky had an unnatural obsession with the fed doesn't mean that it's incorrect to point out that the fed's pumping $$ into the economy is responsible, to a large degree, for the increase in the stock market and that our economy is still a house of cards ready to collapse.

[Tweedling]

^^^^^

 

[lost highway]

So in other words, the economy is prospering due to government intervention.  Yeah, that ..... sucks?

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

So in other words, the economy is prospering due to government intervention.  Yeah, that ..... sucks?

 

The 'economy' isn't propering. The institutional gambling that is the Stock Market is.

 

A filibuster over due process...really compelling stuff

[uncool2pillow]

So in other words, the economy is prospering due to government intervention.  Yeah, that ..... sucks?

Think simple supply/demand. The fed pumps billions into the Econ to keep it afloat, but what's the true value do that money? Let's hope inflation stays under control, but I'm not holding my breath.

[lost highway]

Good news is inflation has been very slow in the last year.

[Hixter]

Good news is inflation has been very slow in the last year.

Watch what happens when the Fed starts raising the interest rate (it's practically zero now) and bonds start tanking. 

[KevinG]

Watch what happens when the Fed starts raising the interest rate (it's practically zero now) and bonds start tanking. 

 

I love all of this arm chair quarterbacking we all do around here.  As far as I know no one here is economist, let alone educated to the degree that Ben Bernanke and the other members of the Fed are.   So either y'all think the Fed is either stupid or purposely hurting economy of the US.  And at least to me there is no one here who can honestly say they understand the complexity that is the US and Global economic system.         

[Hixter]

I love all of this arm chair quarterbacking we all do around here.  As far as I know no one here is economist, let alone educated to the degree that Ben Bernanke and the other members of the Fed are.

All you have to do is read the news -- it's written by people who are economists. But then again a little common sense will tell you that the government can't just print more money without devaluing the dollar. It's a fine balancing act that's been going on for a long time and it will inevitably hurt when we fall off the tightrope.

 

And at least to me there is no one here who can honestly say they understand the complexity that is the US and Global economic system.

You don't have to be a brain surgeon to understand that hitting yourself in the head with a hammer is a bad idea.

 

I'm not a Realtor, but I knew enough to stay out of the insane housing bubble in southern California 7 or 8 years ago and moved to Texas where prices were not unreasonably inflated. I'm not a stock broker, but I was smart enough to know that the dot com boom of the late 90s was unsustainable and destined to crash. 

[LouieB]

I love all of this arm chair quarterbacking we all do around here.  As far as I know no one here is economist, let alone educated to the degree that Ben Bernanke and the other members of the Fed are.   So either y'all think the Fed is either stupid or purposely hurting economy of the US.  And at least to me there is no one here who can honestly say they understand the complexity that is the US and Global economic system.         

Even economists can't figure it out, so for all the rest of us.....its just bullshit in thin air for us too. 

 

Its not as if the econmy under all conditions isn't just some confection.  One can believe they are right and suddenly it goes all to hell and no one even knows why.  So if foks want to dump on the Fed, the government, believe in the free market, etc.  Meanwhile the economy is doing kinda crappy for regular folks and just fine for the banks and the corporations.  So I can't even figure out who is supporting what here. 

 

i'm with Kevin on this one.  The econmy tanked when the banks and Wall St was wildily speculating and now it is doing better and someday it is going to do worse and really no one is going to know exactly why, even the experts.So the government does nothing and it sucks and the government does something and it is better, and maybe it will do worse because the government is doing something, but we know it did really shitty when the banks ran amoke, so go figure.

 

LouieB

[KevinG]

All you have to do is read the news -- it's written by people who are economists. But then again a little common sense will tell you that the government can't just print more money without devaluing the dollar. It's a fine balancing act that's been going on for a long time and it will inevitably hurt when we fall off the tightrope.

 

There is plenty of news and economists that say contrary.  It is all where you get your news.  I can only assume that your common sense will lead to your nomination to the next Fed Chair.  

 

 

I'm not a Realtor, but I knew enough to stay out of the insane housing bubble in southern California 7 or 8 years ago and moved to Texas where prices were not unreasonably inflated. I'm not a stock broker, but I was smart enough to know that the dot com boom of the late 90s was unsustainable and destined to crash. 

 

Slow Clap:  I guess congratulations are in order for being so smart with your money and foreseeing trends before they happen.  

 

Listen I am being generally dickish here, and I admit that.  But the US economy is extremely complex, more so then guns and other stuff we have talked about.  But people tend to talk with so much authority on the subject, and frankly all of the news articles cannot match the level of understanding of one single person on the Fed Reserve board.  I just think it amounts to armchair Quarterbacking.  You (and this is not directed at anyone in particular it is the plural you) think you know what is going but really you don't.  

 

I guess it is the nature of the internet in general a few articles and a couple of lines makes us think we are experts on any given topic.  Really we are nothing more then some dudes with access to a computer.  It doesn't give us the gravitas to talk about whatever, but we think it does.  It also makes us not listen to each other, because we are so sure we are right and the other side is wrong.   This is what is wrong with our society in general, we think we know more then we do and refuse to listen when a opposition is presented.  You see with the sequester fight, there is no comprise when there should be.  Ideologic purity is no way to govern.    

 

Now to be fair I am pointing the finger at everyone here and I know three are pointing back at me.  I do this as much as anyone else.  It is stupid really, I am never going to change a single person's mind here and honestly this thread has become tedious again.  

[Hixter]

Listen I am being generally dickish here

Yes, and it's uncalled for. 

[lamradio]

This is the worst thread ever.  

[LouieB]

Is it any wonder Congress can't work shit out?

 

LouieB

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Hmm, looks like unemployment is going down more. Will Obama continue to get "all of the blame and none of the credit" for the economic recovery? Will the feds be accused of cooking the books again? Time will tell...

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/business/economy/us-added-236000-jobs-in-february.html?_r=0

[lost highway]

The irony there is that the private sector added jobs and the public sector lost them.  I thought we were spending billions on a "nanny state".

[Hixter]

Hmm, looks like unemployment is going down more. 

Factor in the amount of people who have dropped out of the labor force and, as the Labor Department says, "the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent in February but has shown little movement, on net, since September 2012."

[Mr. Heartbreak]

But aren't those people who dropped out of the labor force supposed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps? Shouldn't they be considered whiny crybabies for giving up, instead of just taking whatever they can get?

I'm just trying to get my head around the whole Ayn Rand/Darwin approach to social justice.