[arete]

The markets and the public are going to need something to distract them and perhaps a war will do just that.

Listen to the drumbeats of war. That tells be the economy is weak and there is no real recovery in sight.

Richard W.

[grania]

It appears from the above reports that the economy is likely heading back toward a recession. This is worrisome for most analysts and economists who have been consistently wrong in forecasting a second half recovery

This would be the "double dip recession" some analysts had feared earlier, wouldn't it? I would think the timing would be awful, with people delaying retirement or taking part time jobs to supplement retirements. And it's a lot of people in that category: the "baby boomers" are in their mid-50s now. One would think this has to cause an unemployment situation, unless there is something like increased defense spending.

[LS]

Richard, come on. Who is "doing the drumbeats of war?" THE DAMN NEW YORK TIMES. Yah, those liberals want to strengthen the economy to re-elect Bush? Not logical. Moreover, sorry to tell you, but economic history shows that war is NOT good for business. There has been no war where major industries outside of munitions have really prospered. Robert Higgs has a WELL-RESPECTED study showing that the U.S. really didn't come "out" of the Great Depression until 1946, when the pent up savings of Americans finally came back to consumer goods. Military spending did little to "get us out" of the Depression.

[sinkspur]

Anyone who's read Puplava for any length of time knows that he is, at bottom, a gold bug. Talking down the economy, painting the worst possible picture, and getting in a plug for gold is his stock in trade.

The language may slightly vary, the numbers vary, but the message never does.