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Specter says nation on 'brink of a depression'
Yahoo News ^ | 3.9.09 | Yahoo News

Posted on 03/09/2009 2:17:30 PM PDT by Lady GOP

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The nation is on the "brink of a depression," but there's a "reasonable chance" that the $787 billion economic stimulus package will help ease the situation, Sen. Arlen Specter said Monday.

Specter, R-Pa., said the nation's economic situation is more dire than the public has been told, but did not elaborate.

"Our economic problems are enormously serious — more serious than is publicly disclosed. And I think we're on the brink of a depression," he told reporters at the state Capitol.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Front Page News; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: 111th; bho44; bhoeconomy; depression; economy; pennarino; senatorsphincter; snarlinarlen; specter; spectertruthfile
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To: Lady GOP

And one of the causes is looking at him in the mirror.


121 posted on 03/09/2009 5:31:24 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (TAZ:Untamed, Unpredictable, Uninhibited.)
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To: bgill

“There was also a very “reasonable chance” the economy would have corrected itself if it hadn’t been manipulated by corrupt politicians.”
*****

That is something the Dhimmicrats and MSM wil never admit.


122 posted on 03/09/2009 5:32:56 PM PDT by Canedawg (Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.)
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To: Lady GOP
“Our economic problems are enormously serious — more serious than is publicly disclosed. And I think we’re on the brink of a depression,”

What does Scottish law have to say about it, Arlen?

123 posted on 03/09/2009 5:42:34 PM PDT by Ole Okie
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To: Lady GOP

I will never vote for Specter again under any circumstance.

This kind of statement is the worst kind of crap.

Specter here makes an alarmist remark about being on “the brink of a depression” but doesn’t provide any details as to why he “knows” that so certainly. Its like someone just told him that in a bar or something and it sounded convincing to the senator.

I’d like to hear the details (if any) before jumping off the deep end with further porkuli or bailouts or whatever else they have planned.

The American people are the most educated in the world, there is no reason to make the economy sound so mystical.


124 posted on 03/09/2009 6:11:32 PM PDT by I_Like_Spam
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To: Lady GOP
In related news .. Senator Specter has an emergency appointment with his proctologist tomorrow morning:


125 posted on 03/09/2009 6:13:10 PM PDT by RocketMan1
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To: txnativegop

To think he reached his intellectual peak fortyfive years ago, when he still had enough cleverness to come up with the single bullet theory and thereby make a name for himself that has lasted unto this day.


126 posted on 03/09/2009 6:26:03 PM PDT by supremedoctrine ("One was drawing funny faces, but his own was grave"--Richard Hughes, A High Wind in Jamaica)
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To: Lady GOP

Snarlin’ Arlen put ME on the brink of depression just about everytime he opens his stupid mouth.

Hank


127 posted on 03/09/2009 6:29:04 PM PDT by County Agent Hank Kimball (Eat Hooterville Rutabagas!)
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To: supremedoctrine

He is the poster child for age-limits in Congress. I personally think that congress critters should also be tested for common sense and IQ.


128 posted on 03/09/2009 6:35:09 PM PDT by txnativegop (God Bless America! (NRA-Endowment))
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To: County Agent Hank Kimball

I think Congress is putting us all in a “depression”.


129 posted on 03/09/2009 6:35:10 PM PDT by Lady GOP
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To: dools007

Do you think real unemployment is only 8.1%? You must live in a nice part of the country.


130 posted on 03/09/2009 6:36:34 PM PDT by kamikaze2000
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To: Petronski

131 posted on 03/09/2009 6:38:30 PM PDT by Lady GOP
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To: stylin_geek

Great illustration, but missed the point. YOU can’t print your own money. The Treasury can. They can create money out of thin air. So they can pay themselves and then print money to make it up. Big difference.


132 posted on 03/09/2009 8:14:04 PM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (Depression Countdown: 58... 57... 56...)
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To: Lady GOP
Get me some of the money, Arlen, so I won't be so depressed.
133 posted on 03/09/2009 9:47:42 PM PDT by Ciexyz
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To: kamikaze2000

Yo Kamikaze—Here’s what I think:

1. Economists consider 5% unemployment to be full employment. Therefore, whatever the unemployment rate may be 5% must be subtracted from it.

2. I see “help wanted” signs virtually everywhere I look in the NJ sea shore communities surrounding me. To be sure, they aren’t gonna make you rich. But they will put food on your table, a roof over your head and clothing on your back. Of course, these jobs might not support bar hopping every night, eating out once or twice a week, going to the movies (tickets are around $8) more than once or twice a year, Blackberries, iPods, expensive jewery/cars, etc. But there are jobs out there.

3. Presently, 7-13 million illegals are employed in this country. There are more than enough jobs in that sector alone to account for the 600,000 to 700,000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics for Feb 09) so-called unemployed Americans. Note: Bureau of Labor Statistic’s unemployed count does not differentiate between legal and illegal employee. Surely you can deduce from this that the number of actual unemployed Americans is probably smaller than the published number.

Those are facts, my friend. Why are you so easily buying into this wholly demrate/RINO manufactured economic crisis? Shame on you.


134 posted on 03/10/2009 6:27:01 AM PDT by dools007
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To: Petronski

Okay, I misspoke. Depression Era unemployment averaged about 22% of the American work force. This revision does not impact my point. That is, we’re a long, long way from a depression.

Shame on you for buying in this wholly demrat/RINO manufactured economic “crisis”.

That is not to say the Washington pols will not ultimately drive us into depression. But that is a political cause not an economic cause.

It remains to be seen whether a political solution, ending The Marxist Onada’s socialization of the country, will present itself. It may be necessary to revolt in order to reset a broken political process.


135 posted on 03/10/2009 6:36:58 AM PDT by dools007
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To: dools007

I don’t see it quite the same way...

5% unemployment doesn’t mean everyone who wants to work has a job. Some economists call it full employment because that seems to be the best that a capitalistic country can achieve. Also they are probably referring to real unemployment, not official unemployment. The official US figure only counts people drawing unemployment insurance. Of course, the government determines who is eligible for unemployment insurance. So the government is saying “unemployment is what we decide is”.

Left out of the equation are people who are re-entering the workforce after a long absence, students looking for work, discouraged workers who have given up looking, people who have quit their jobs or were fired for whatever reason, among others. So the real number is always higher and in bad times, it could be alot higher.

Every economic indicator there is shows us in a deep recession and possibly going into a depression. The most obvious is of course the stock market. It would be interesting to go back and search for old newspapers from 1929/1930 and look for the word depression. I wonder how long it took people back then to realize they were in one.

We could debate about the why, and who is responsible, but if you think this recession is just a MSM concoction, your living in a bubble.


136 posted on 03/10/2009 7:13:26 AM PDT by kamikaze2000
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To: kamikaze2000

Ok, let’s take this from the top. What event(s) led to the current financial and lending industry problems? That is a logical starting point—is it not?

The seminal event occured about 1998—during the Clintoon administration. It is a matter of public record that a policy decision was made by his administration to the effect that every American had a right to “own” a home. Under the Clintoon’s direction the demrat CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac required mortgage lenders to raise the number of subprime loans from 20% to 50%—under penalty of prosecution for not doing so. Now, most of us know a subprime borrower is one who has no or insufficient income to pay back the loan within the time parameters of the loan—15, 30 or whatever number of years. Oh, and subprime “buyers” most likely will have a poor (I use the term loosly) credit history.

Upshot: The house of cards collapses on itself about 3 months into the presidential campaign. Now that’s convenient, isn’t it? But don’t misunderstand me, I think Bush II and RINOs were up to their ears in this as well.

Result: Banks stop lending. Banks can’t get anybody to assume risk for subprime loans. Oh and AIG, who had a responsibility to oversee the quality of the loans decided it would just go with the flow. Did I mention that 95% of financial and lending house CEOs—including AIG—were and are demrats. The other 5%, despite their political affiliation, contribute heavily to Demrat—including Onada—campaign coffers.

I’m sorry Kamikaze, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck it’s a duck. This whole economic crisis was managed—and continues to be managed—by The Marxist Onada and his crowd.

Do you really believe there is no reason the government has not allowed the Stock Market to correct itself? It always has in the past when the government does not interfer. And please, spare me FDR’s New Deal nonesense. What saved him was WWII. Up to that event, his interference was slowing down the recovery not helping the economy recover. The problem with government jobs is that they produce no new wealth. In fact, they syphon off wealth. By definition they are “make work”.

Do you really think an avowed Marxist wants a healthy stock market—let alone any stock market at all?

Concurrent with these shannanigans, bad labor contracts come to roost for the three Detroit auto makers. Chrysler, of course, is bellying up to the bar for the second time.

The demrats, demrat CEOs, leftists like Soros and Buffet and RINOs are all complicit in creating the perfect ecomonic storm.


137 posted on 03/10/2009 9:43:57 AM PDT by dools007
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To: dools007

Most of the points you make there are valid and I wouldn’t argue against them. I’m not a liberal, I’m not about to defend Clinton ;)

I haven’t decided whether the current administration is making things worse on purpose to help ram through a socialist agenda, or is just economically blind.

It seems many of the financial CEOs are pure opportunists who supported the big O in hopes of receiving a never-ending stream of bailouts. They laugh their way to the bank and the little guy gets squeezed even more.


138 posted on 03/10/2009 6:06:00 PM PDT by kamikaze2000
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To: kamikaze2000

If you believe Onada means it when he says America and the Constitution are fundamentally flawed then there is no doubt the man has an agenda.

If you understand that Onada’s political thinking has been formed by Marxist ideologues then you must also accept that the man has an agenda.

In the Marxist world everything is political. This includes speech (poliical correctness), science (embryonic stem cell research and global warming) and even natural disasters (Katrina).

My point: Onada is a Marxist idiologue. With all idologues, the idiology trumps facts and common sense.

None of this is new. This is simply a replay of the Russian 1918 revolution with some fine tuning.

You would do well to read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984. 1984 is the shortest and easiest to read of the two books. Everything, from how people willingly cede liberties to “leaders” who promise to take care of them, to imposition of individual and community control, to control of the education system is covered in these books.

And it is all happening right before our very eyes here in America.

At this point, if you think The Messiah is benign or bungling you’re deluding yourself. Pulling the covers over your head does not make the monster go away.


139 posted on 03/11/2009 8:15:38 AM PDT by dools007
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To: Lady GOP

Really, Arlen? Well, you’ve been in office for 93 years, so I guess you’re partly to blame, eh?


140 posted on 03/11/2009 8:24:30 AM PDT by Antoninus (Every time Obama speaks, I buy more silver.)
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