Dingo Breakfast
A yawn, a leak, and a good look around.
Monday, April 14, 2008
• Recession: It's Official? [No, it's not.]
I've been waiting for months to hear that we are officially in a recession. The message keeps popping up, are we? are we not? Who decides?
The Economist reported last week that "a jump in the unemployment rate to 5.1% and the loss of 98,000 private-sector jobs in March, the fourth consecutive month of decline—point to a shrinking economy." I believe it. Looking over the job postings for this week so far, I haven't seen much of anything prominently pointing to recovery from last month's job loss numbers.
What kind of recession will this be?, the article questions. Long or short, deep or shallow? Mortgage crisis aside, what other factors will drag us down or pull us up? So many areas of the country were undergoing development and were over-valued for the growth expectations. Businesses falter because some didn't charge enough during the boom to cover for this shit-end experience.
Those things aside, I... am extremely frustrated with Barack Obama's comment last week about the Midwest clinging to their religion and their guns when thinking about the future and not the economy. Born and raised a Midwesterner myself, I realize that there are those few out there, who find comfort in religion and entertainment, but to stand up and say that this group of people don't focus on economic issues, or cling to these other things because of their economic situation is naive. Ohioans struggled to pool for economic recovery, working together to be one of the biggest swing states during the last election. That doesn't count for something? Does he believe they were talking to each other or just praying on the election the whole time? Do New Englanders cling to their sports teams during the recession? Do Californians cling to marijuana and surfboards? Do Floridians cling to the Mouse?... You never know, I suppose any of the above is plausible.
I was a strong supporter of Barack Obama, but this comment shows where his knowledge of this economy and country falls short.
The Economist reported last week that "a jump in the unemployment rate to 5.1% and the loss of 98,000 private-sector jobs in March, the fourth consecutive month of decline—point to a shrinking economy." I believe it. Looking over the job postings for this week so far, I haven't seen much of anything prominently pointing to recovery from last month's job loss numbers.
What kind of recession will this be?, the article questions. Long or short, deep or shallow? Mortgage crisis aside, what other factors will drag us down or pull us up? So many areas of the country were undergoing development and were over-valued for the growth expectations. Businesses falter because some didn't charge enough during the boom to cover for this shit-end experience.
Those things aside, I... am extremely frustrated with Barack Obama's comment last week about the Midwest clinging to their religion and their guns when thinking about the future and not the economy. Born and raised a Midwesterner myself, I realize that there are those few out there, who find comfort in religion and entertainment, but to stand up and say that this group of people don't focus on economic issues, or cling to these other things because of their economic situation is naive. Ohioans struggled to pool for economic recovery, working together to be one of the biggest swing states during the last election. That doesn't count for something? Does he believe they were talking to each other or just praying on the election the whole time? Do New Englanders cling to their sports teams during the recession? Do Californians cling to marijuana and surfboards? Do Floridians cling to the Mouse?... You never know, I suppose any of the above is plausible.
I was a strong supporter of Barack Obama, but this comment shows where his knowledge of this economy and country falls short.
Labels: Barack Obama, economy, jobs, recession, state of unemployment
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