RWN: There’s nothing more amusing than seeing the Obama Media Lapdogs spin things to protect Dear Leader. Obama will be the first president to never see a year of 3% GDP growth. And guess whose fault it is? The Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt tells blames us.
American consumers aren’t what they used to be — and that helps explain the plodding economic recovery. It gets no respect despite creating 14 million jobs and lasting almost seven years. The great gripe is that economic growth has been held to about 2 percent a year, well below historical standards. This sluggishness reflects a profound psychological transformation of American shoppers, who have dampened their consumption spending, affecting about two-thirds of the economy. To be blunt: We have sobered up.
Hiatt throws out lots of reasons, such as people saving more now than pre-recession, as well as people working to clear up old debt. Not mentioned is the reality of the jobs being created, which are low wage and often part time. more
Stoopid citizens? How about Stoopid WaPo?
(I sometimes wonder how close that birdcage liner is to bankruptcy? Sometimes. But not very often. The WaPo rates near the bottom of my gives-a-damn priority list, right alongside the NYTimes)
Can’t spend what you don’t have …
unless you’re the fuckin gov’t.
izlamo delenda est …
“people saving more now than pre-recession,
(Yep. Saving for that proverbial “rainy day”, and it looks like dark thunderheads are close by.)
as well as people working to clear up old debt.”
(Also guilty as charged. Pay it off now while I can, before the economy totally tanks, and we end up in a Weimar depression)
People don’t spend if they are not confident.
The majority of the confident people are those who receive a government check, either directly employed or via benefits.
The rest of us work only to pay the aforementioned group, and what little is left over doesn’t instill much confidence when it’s difficult to make ends meet just to make a grocery trip.
@Woodman – WaPo may have been near bankruptcy, but now Mr. Facebook owns it and uses it as his political mouthpiece, so I doubt they have any financial worries.
True – I paid off my home and trucks so some bank can’t take them away when it all crashes. I certainly did very little pleasure-spending for about 4 years.
But, now I’m spending even more than ever consumer-wise.
Granted, it’s on ammo and firearms I keep losing in the local lake.
Damn lake.
I thought it was Mr. Amazon that owns the WaPo? I could be wrong.
@Left Coast Dan:
Correction: It is Jeff Bezos, Mr. Amazon, who semi-indirectly owns WaPo. HERE is an interesting explanation. (-:
Fred Hiatt is a drunken fool who’s morose over losing the companionship of some who have sobered up. Misery, even stupid misery, loves company.
Debt is generally bad. There are specific reasons for carrying debt, but absent a good reason, debt is stupid. I may be stupid in other areas, but I haven’t had any debt for about three decades now, and My Goodness has that made life a whole lot easier than it would have been otherwise.
I quit trying as soon as he was elected, before he took office. I knew what the true meaning of fail was at the time, after all, I am racis’.
The shadow economy has flourished, and people like me aren’t the ones to ever be polled.
Using any rational accounting method an increase in GDP would only occur if there were still an increase after subtracting the increase in debt.
Over 100% of the increases during Soetoro’s term are wiped out by the increased debt.
Not only that, when GDP growth is less than population growth, everyone is, on average, getting poorer.
Put the two together, and we have been living through the longest sustained period of negative growth in our history.
Kiss my fat ass, Mr. President. WaPo journalists too.
Following, a list of things I need rather urgently (to replace stuff that wore out/got used up):
–bras*
–panties
–pantyhose
–sweaters
–summer dress shoes
–raincoat
–bedroom/bathroom curtains
–a haircut
–office supplies (I buy my own rather than endure the cheap bullshit that New York State provides)
Following, a list of my expenses:
–housing, $1,339 (includes monthly maintenance fee, apartment loan, insurance, gas/electric)
–groceries $650 (includes food/litter for 2 cats)
–medical $230 (includes insurance, insurance co-pays, deductibles)
–plus dry cleaning, laundry, shoe repair, lunch, occasional meal out, transportation (public transit and taxis, no car), grooming, toiletries, newspapers/magazines, cell phone/internet….I only take home $1,693 bi-weekly: do the math, dumbasses!
Don’t these ninnies think that my failure to spend comes from being broke, not from the desire to stick it to BHO (although I have to admit, the latter is a very appealling result of the former)? The list of my immediate needs is truly urgent, as I’m running around in ratty clothes and have been avoiding having company because the curtains look so hideous. Believe me, if the Good Fairy dropped a Benjamin on me I would run to the mall as fast as my little feet could carry me. But I haven’t had a raise in over three years, and Obamq, Cuomo, and Spano, the little fuckers, are taxing me to death
These people have shit for brains.
*Truth in advertising, my insurer covers half the cost of my mastectomy bras.
OK, you got me. I refused to prosper just to make Buck O’fama look bad.
TWP, It all depends on your meaning of prosper.
Put 12-14 hours a day in M-F to buy the federalskis a new escalade every year? Or, suck hind teet and shut your wallet without the 12-14 hour day hassle?
I chose the latter, probably added years onto my life.
GFY, After I make another donation to BFH, Can help you out with some of that?
Meant to say; “can I.”
BFH’s mail is sent, let me know.
He’s wrong; I’m buying. Guns boolits and survival food.
I’m sure a lot of people are spending mass quantities of their money , plus other people’s money, to pay for their Obamacare policy. What little is left buys food. Nothing left to buy other stuff. And I’ve read the price of policies is going up, a lot, in Nov. Whadda bunch of maroons. Force drain their fuel tank then bitch about them not going anywhere.