Category: Economy

More Signs of the Hard Times Ahead

This is just not a good thing, at all. 🙁

Via the New York Times:

With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, states are running out of money to pay benefits, and some are turning to the federal government for loans or increasing taxes on businesses to make the payments.

Thirty states are at risk of having the funds that pay out unemployment benefits become insolvent over the next few months, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. Funds in two states, Indiana and Michigan, have already dried up, and both states are borrowing from the federal government to make payments to the unemployed.

Unemployment taxes are collected by states from employers, but the rate varies from state to state per employee. In good times states build up trust funds so that when unemployment is high there is enough money to cover the requests for benefits, which are guaranteed by the federal government.

“You don’t expect the loans to happen this early in a jobs slump,” said Andrew Stettner, the deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy organization for low-wage workers. “You would expect that the states should, even when they are not well prepared, to have savings.”

The Labor Department said last week that initial applications for jobless benefits rose to 573,000, the highest reading since November 1982. It is recommended that states keep at least one year of peak-level benefits in their trusts, but many have not, and already some states are far worse off than others.

Yet more of the ripple effect in the Nation’s Economy. Of course, I could sit here and blame the Democrats or the Republicans. But honestly, who is really to blame here? I personally think it is the fault of both parties really. First off, it is the fault of the globalist Neo-Cons who would rather ship jobs overseas for cheaper labor, than to keep the jobs here on Terra Firma. Second, it is the Democrats, with Bill Clinton putting pressure on the lending companies to offer high risk loans to those, who normally could not afford them. Put simply, it was a system that was set up upon risk and it ultimately failed.

So, now we’re stuck with states with extremely high unemployment rates and states who are having to ask the Federal Government for help to support these people.  Now some of my more purist fellow Libertarians  would essentially say, “Screw ’em! Let ’em suffer!” But seeing I am from the area, and I do admit to being more a moderate, I do not hold to such asinine views.

I personally think that the worst thing that our Government can do is throw up their hands and panic. Throwing more legislation and huge amounts of money at the problem will not work. The Wall Street Bailout proved that. I think, as a moderate, the best thing that the Federal Government can do is give the States that need the help the funds to keep the unemployment programs running and try the best they can to weather out the storm.  The Economy is not going to stay horrible forever, we had a recession in the 1980’s, which was a result of some of the stupidity of the Carter administration.  We weathered that storm out and recovered, I believe that we will do the same here. Yes, there will be hardships for a while, but in the end, we will prevail. We always have and will always will.

Local News: It is not just the big three feeling the pinch

It seems that the big three are not the only automakers feeling the pinch.

Via Detroit News:

Honda Motor Co. is reducing production in North America by a further 119,000 vehicles in its fiscal year ending March 31, the company said Friday. Honda previously had announced output cuts of 56,000 vehicles for the year.

The Japanese automaker now expects its full-year output in the region to dip to 1.29 million cars and light trucks, from its original target of 1.47 million.

Production is being cut across the board, with output reductions planned for small as well as larger vehicles, company spokesman Ed Miller said. “Showroom traffic is down for everyone,” he said. “The dealers just aren’t in a position to order the number of cars they had been ordering.”

Production cuts are scheduled for Honda’s plants in Alabama, Ohio, Indiana and Canada, but the company does not plan to lay off any workers.

So much for the idea that the big three are causing their own problems. Looks like the Japanese are feeling the pinch too.  I would be willing to bet that you will not be seeing this blogged on any other Conservative Blogs. Because that would mess up the message that it is the Unions fault that G.M. and Chrysler are in the shape that they are in.

Of course they are not going to lay anyone off, the Japanese have all that extra money laying around, they can pay those people to work. They have made it by stealing market share away from the America Workers.

It truly is a pity, those bastards bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. We defeated them, but they really won the long war, by stealing our jobs and market share, aided and abetted by Globalist Neo-Conservatives, who’s only concern was to make a quick buck.

The Automotive Bailouts: The Other Side of the Story

I have been sitting here, trying to keep out of this. But I have sat and looked at the Republican and Neo–Conservative Spin on this Story and I’m sick of it. 😡

So, I am giving you, the other side of the story, from the horses mouth; without commentary from me.

I did not ask that you agree, I simply ask that you listen and hear this man out. Now I am almost sure, that the Blogs, that I have linked to, will remove my trackback, like the Neo-Con Fascists that they are. I mean, it is all about controlling the message with those guys.  🙄

Here we go:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Media Q & A:

Media Q & A Part 2:

Media Q & A Part 3:

There you have it. The other side of the story. You decide.

(Source UAW.ORG)

Welcome to my World!: New Unemployment Claims Reaches 26-Year High

Video: (Via Breit Bart)

Back Story via AP:

New claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, exceeding even gloomy expectations for an economy stuck in a recession that seems to be deepening.The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists expected.

Elsewhere, the U.S. trade deficit rose unexpectedly in October as a spreading global recession dampened the once-strong sales of American exports and the volume of oil imports surged by a record amount, the Commerce Department said.

More layoffs were announced Thursday. New Britain, Conn.-based tool maker Stanley Works said it plans to cut 2,000 jobs and close three manufacturing facilities, while Sara Lee Corp., known for food brands such as Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm, said it will cut 700 jobs as the Downers Grove, Ill.-based company outsources parts of its business.

New jobless claims last week reached their highest level since November 1982, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.

I have one thing to say about this; “Welcome to my World!” I’m glad to see that the rest of America has caught up with Michigan. 😀

However, I will say this, that there are people out there who are in worse shape then me. I have people to rely on, and some of them do not. Most, if not all, have mortgages to pay, mouths to feed and so on. So, while it might be easy to be flippant and write with snark about it, the reality is that this economic downturn is going to affect many people. 🙁

While some that read this Blog, especially those over at certain forum, which I will never link to, might think that I do not appreciate the situation I am in. The truth is, that nothing could be further from the truth. It is not lost on me how fortunate that  I am. Never has been. I am very blessed, I really do know this.  As I have written many, many times on this Blog, if were not for my parents, I would be living under a viaduct somewhere.

I am just hoping that things do turn around, with a new President and Congress, maybe, just maybe, jobs can come back to this area. I am hoping. I really am.

Until then. I will be writing here.

Let's Boycott Alabama

It seems that there is a grassroots effort to get a boycott Alabama, in response to the Alabama Senator Richard Shelby’s attempted stonewalling of the bridge loans to the Big Three. Well, it’s big two now, Ford will not be needing the help.

Anyhow, here is a e-mail written by my Mother, who is a spouse of a retired General Motors worker.

Senator Shelby,

I doubt that you read the emails sent to your office but perhaps it will be read by someone who will show you the many emails you are sure to receive, and will point out to you just how wrong you are. There are a lot of derogatory comments that could be made but I prefer to try to point out a few facts that you evidently have not wanted to know. My husband and my father are both General Motors retirees and I know firsthand from where I speak.

Perhaps you think the auto workers are wealthy, making that mysterious $75 an hour that has been bandied about in the media. Unfortunately that is very far from the truth. They have never made that much, even including benefits, and most of them live from paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet like most middle class people. If the auto companies go bankrupt as you desire, not only will the auto workers lose their jobs, but also jobs directly and indirectly connected, such as suppliers, stores and restaurants located near the plants and of course it will trickle down to the cities who will lose the tax revenues these plants produce. We are not only talking about Detroit and Michigan but every state that has a plant or plants belonging to the Big 3.

It’s odd to me that you think that two companies that have been in business for over 100 years and one that is over 83 years old do not know what they are doing. If this is true how do you explain the fact that they sell over 50% of the cars purchased in the world and have won many, many multiple awards over the years for their cars? Do you perhaps think that people are just too stupid or uneducated to realize they are buying an inferior product? And the award givers are too dumb to realize they are giving an award to a poorly built, not very innovative dinosaur? Maybe you need to voice that opinion in your next media interview. I’m sure people would be interested to hear it.

You need to come out of your office and meet with the GM, Ford and Chrysler workers themselves. Could you really look them in the face, knowing they have families to support and bills to pay and tell them you think they should join the ranks of the unemployed? Do you think it is their fault that the economy has taken such a downturn because of mismanagement on Wall Street, the banks and yes, the government?

The auto companies and the union are trying their best to jump through all the hoops the Congress is throwing at them, as ridiculous as some of them are. To let them go under will cause a depression like this nation has not seen in many years. I hope you think long and hard about that.

By the way, I fully support the boycott of your state.

Y’all see where I get the writing skills from? I was told that I could post that, as long as I did not sign her name.

Anyhow, if you’d like to join the grassroots effort boycott Alabama. Please go to the Official Boycott Alabama Page.

Well, they did call them "High Risk" Loans…

Seems that the people that defaulted on their mortgages, have defaulted again, even after all this aid that has been tossed around. So reports Reuters:

Recent data suggests that many borrowers who received help with mortgage modifications earlier this year tended to re-default on their payments, a top U.S. banking regulator said on Monday.

“The results, I confess, were somewhat surprising, and not in a good way,” said John Dugan, head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in prepared remarks for a U.S. housing forum.

“Put simply, it shows that over half of mortgage modifications seemed not to be working after six months,” he said.

Dugan said based on data collected from some of the biggest U.S. institutions, like Bank of America, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, home foreclosure starts fell 2.6 percent in the three months ended in September.

However, data which is to be issued by the OCC and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) next week could throw cold water on a push by some U.S. policymakers for loan modifications as the key remedy for the ailing U.S. financial and economic crisis.

Dugan said recent data showed that after three months, nearly 36 percent of borrowers who received restructured mortgages in the first quarter re-defaulted.

The rate of re-default jumped to about 53 percent after six months and 58 percent after eight months, Dugan said, without providing an explanation for the trend.

Regulators speaking at an OTS-housing forum did not provide any explanations for the causes behind the data.

“We don’t know the answers yet, but these are the types of questions that we have begun asking our servicers in detail,” Dugan said.

Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, who has been pushing for fast and systematic loan modifications, said regulators need to examine re-default data more closely.

“I think it’s very important to look at this data carefully and know what it says and what it doesn’t say,” Bair said.

Dugan said the third-quarter report will show many of the same disturbing trends as other recent mortgage reports, as credit quality continued to decline across the board and delinquencies rose for subprime, alt-A and prime mortgages.

He said the report will also show that the greatest delinquencies were in prime mortgages.

I can tell you exactly what the answer is. You do not hand out mortgages to people that you know damned well that they cannot pay for them. That is the answer!  This is why the Country, The Big Three and Wall Street are in the mess that they are in now, in the first place. Because fucking Bill Clinton and his team of morons decided to FORCE lending companies to gives loans to HIGH RISK persons, and they’re called that for a reason, they’re known not to pay their bills!

High Risk is called High Risk for a reason! Duh! Man, I could have told them that and I am a High School Drop out with A.D.H.D. 🙄

“Clue needed on Asle 5, Clue needed on Asle 5 Please.”

(Thanks Q & O)

Depression Parties?

That what Newsweek is reporting is the new trend.

Ronald Bailey over at Reason received an invite to one.

Depression-style refreshments will be served – stone soup, radiator cocktails, and spam (vegetarian and non-vegetarian).

Oy. What will they think of next? 🙄

Exit Question: Vegetarian Spam? Eeeww.

Oh, and… Will this be a featured song? :

Is Obama Censoring Free Speech on his Website? Update: Not Obama's Site

Seems so….

This comes from a site called Abolish the Federal Reserve:

Today, I received an email saying this idea “lies outside the scope of the Ideas for Change in America project, which is focused on identifying solutions that we believe can, through a grassroots lobbying effort, receive serious consideration from the Obama administration and/or Congress.”

Let’s hope like hell that this is not the norm.

(Via Twitter)

Update: After a few requests, me forgetting and being reminded, again. I want to be sure and point out that change.org was an still is a PRIVATE website. change.gov was the OFFICIAL Obama transition team site, which now redirects to the White House website. Change.org was a private venture, and still is.  Thanks to reader Tony Spears for pointing this out. I totally forgot to update this before. Ooops!