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Sharon den Adel

It's taken this long for Americans to finally figure out that things aren't going so well in their country?

I could have told you that when Bush was elected. Again.

pensacola_niceman

Things couldn't be much better for me. I would buy a new car right now, but I don't need one whilst working in Iraq.

forester814

Sharon, maybe you can understand my frustration... I tried to tell my countrymen that before Bush was elected the FIRST time.

The problem is, Sharon, that most Americans just don't care about much beyond themselves and just getting through today. Bush promised everyone a tax rebate check if he was elected, and that fooled just enough people.

This article, from a satirical newspaper called The Onion, ran just before the 2004 election.

Yee-Haw! My Vote Cancels Out Y'all's! | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

It's so sharply written that it actually depressed me... because it typified the attitude of FAR too many Americans at the time. And still does.

indago

Economist Ben Stein wrote for the New York Times 11 May 2008 explaining rising prices in relation to the depreciation of the "dollar":
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...the price we pay is denominated in dollars, and as the dollar falls, the price in dollars rises. ...But there is another hugely important factor now in world energy markets: the pricing of energy as a speculative item. Traders can and do buy vast amounts of energy futures. Right now, there is a worldwide mania to invest in them. In this situation, when investors and traders are pouring buckets of money into thimbles of energy quanta, to use a phrase from my pal Tobias M. Levkovich, chief United States equity strategist at Citigroup, the price is bid higher and higher. And, as the price goes up, demand does not fall. It rises, because investors and traders think that it will keep rising and they will make money on it in the future. (Oil, gasoline and natural gas can be stored indefinitely.) It's like the bubble in Miami Beach condominiums. As the price of them soared, traders did not stay away. Instead, they kept buying, anticipating more or less endless gains. ...And now the big boys have been joined by you and me. Little folks like us can buy our very own energy baskets of exchange-traded funds and the like, and are doing so in big numbers. Now, the alert reader will notice two truths at this point: One, bubbles always end, and almost always end badly. So will this one. There is always some supposed reason that "this time is different," but it never is. Second, the fact that small players are getting into the game is almost always a sign that the end of the bubble is near. This will be good news for us drivers, homeowners and swimmers. But it will be bad news for those who thought that buying baskets of commodities would make them rich.
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The more "worthless" paper government pumps into the economy, the more the speculative bubble will inflate, the speculators purchasing grain futures, metals, and etc., so the "dollar" "price" of these items continues to rise. They know that the "dollar" is not worth investing in, and they are hedging their bets against it. Those with the know-how will benefit the most, while the little guy takes it in the ass.

BOHICA

garysher

Please - no anal metaphors. It offends the homosexuals and could be considered sexual harassment.

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Katczinsky

Yes, private contractors and war profiteers really are some of the few that actually benefited under this President. You should feel yourself lucky because you're one of the few.

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Political Compass:

Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72