Hey Gary,

When I was in London for an Engagement Shoot in April, the same feeling you mentioned about the "Good ol US of A" that it's pretty much over for the country, it's economy and it "reigning" as a superpower.

I love the quote from Eddie Izzard how he refers to the USA as the "Rome" of today.  Rome collapsed and as scary as it sounds, it's entirely possible that the figureheads in our current administration are driving us to that same outcome.

Hope you're having a fantastic time in Europe.  It's amazing there & it's one of those places that when you think about living there, you say; "Things that make you go hmmmm..."

David Esquire
Esquire Photography
www.esquirephotography.com

Gary,

While I agree completely, and am hopeful that the new administration will get things back on track, let's not forget just how many times people have counted out the U.S. (There are many groups around the world that pray for our demise everyday.) Things do look bleak, but I'm confident we'll get through this. Staying positive is really all we have at this point.

  

Hmm...

If brides maids are starting to do this, just think how brides will cut back when it comes to picking a wedding photographer.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/06/09/lw.too.broke.maid.honor/index.html

At least Bush did something, put some of our tax dollars back in our pockets and there is talk of another stimulus package..sure, he made a lot of bad mistakes but at least he is doing something..you won't ever see a democrat give some of our money back to us.

I for one do not have a gas guzzler, never did like them and now I'm ahead of the game..some of us can see ahead of time and some can't see past our own pride of owning a big SUV.

Lightinspiration -

Now you've said some pretty ignorant things in the past, but this has got to take the cake: "At least Bush did something, put some of our tax dollars back in our pockets and there is talk of another stimulus package..sure, he made a lot of bad mistakes but at least he is doing something..you won't ever see a democrat give some of our money back to us."

When will people like you realize that the stimulus package is doing more harm than good by giving people money that the U.S. does not have. Sure, the Fed can continue printing money, but all that does is add to the debt, further devalue the dollar, cause inflation to continue to rise, and make what we're experiencing last even longer. I can't beleive a lot of people are in favor of another package. While you're criticizing democrats, don't forget that it's Bush's policies that put us in this mess. Gas was less than a dollar a gallon before the commander in thief took/stole office the first time.

Shh.... they need to believe he's still the bestest president ever. Don't confuse them with economic REALITY.

fjblau -

well said, but that's truly the problem. too many people believe that the solution is to just print more money. we're in for an even bumpier ride if we don't take the medicine now - raise rates, stop with the stimulus packages (which only stimulate inflation) - and accept that we can't keep spending like there is no tomorrow.  

The great depression happened because securities had phantom value. Right now, it's MONEY. Money in the U.S. has a phantom value because it is based on the BELIEF that it is worth anything. Like the real estate crash was based on the belief that real estate would always go up.

Honestly, from this side of the world it looks like it's over for the U.S. Emerging would be China and India.

True...which is why I'm glad to hear that the Fed will be raising rates.

People bought stocks on margin, the stocks plummeted, they had no money to pay off
the loans. Some people think the Smoot-Hawley tariff act panicked international business.
Other countries would retaliate with their tariffs, so why invest in a losing game?

If you owned a small farm outside the dust bowl and were frugal, things might not be that bad.
We no longer have the moral strength of the farming generations. Non-productive activities
dominate our culture. Other nations see this as decay.

As my father used to tell me, the Russians thought Great Depression Americans were a joke:
we drove automobiles down to get signed up for public assistance.

-Ed

I thought CDO means Collateralized Debt Obligations.

"We no longer have the moral strength of the farming generations."

My Irish grandmother used to say that every generation likes to think they invented sex.

The idea that somehow our morality is a victim of entropic loss is just silly. We are no more or less moral than previous generations. My grandfather, a midwest guy, was a selfish asshole... whereas my son and daughter are two of the kindest, altruistic, intelligent kids a parent could ask for. Their friends are also wise, connected, engaged citizens... with an awareness of the world at their age that puts me to shame.

I have a lot of hope for the future with these kids. I have hope because I see it in what they do and how they make their (often inexplicable) choices for politics, spirituality, public service, education and the arts.

Jacksonwholephoto:  Did you get a check?  If you did I bet you will not be sending it back, right?  You criticize the hand that feeds you..No, he isn't the best president but he is doing something isn't he? Stole the election? Is it his fault the decision was made to make him president? Talk about being ignorant..geesh...Does he have anything to do with rising gas prices?  You sure don't listen to your own liberal news do you?  Typical of liberals..always want to blame someone the conservatives rather than themselves...I bet if a democrat gets in you will not see a check coming in the mail to you, they will let you drown into further poverty..as I said Typical..sorry Dan, I could not sit back and let the liberal ignorance dominate and show themselves..you are right Dan, the conservatives on this board need to back off and let the liberals end up hating themselves because if we don't speak up, they will have no one left to hate but themselves and maybe that will open their eyes as to THEM being the problem...I'm done.  The liberals on this board have showed their "butts" enough and they keep on, I'm actually laughing at them behind this..they are so blind they have no idea.....keep it up people, you are making idiots of yourselves....

If I had a dollar for every time wingnut harpy told me they were "done" and then proceeded to continue their childish rants about liberals.... I'd probably live in Kelowna too.

They really hate it that their ideology has failed the country and is now being shown the door.

How can you say we're at record unemployment levels????  It's at 5.5% - still near full employment.

And do you know why it jumped?  Only 49,000 people lost jobs (0.04% in an economy with 138 million employees) yet the rate jumped much higher. It's because the unemployment rate for the 16-24 age group was up dramatically compared to other groups. Unemployment in that group rose 2.4%, compared to increasing by only .4% in the group of workers 25 and older.
So what changed?  The minimum wage went up! Some of these people just aren't worth the additional monies.  See this link for more:

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/06/unemployment-and-minimum-wage-another.html

Then, Gary, you talk about gas prices. It's a supply issue.  91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.  Speculation is part of it, but when one is awash in a product, it's hard for the speculators to drive the market so high.  You brought up Clinton.  He and the other Modern Liberals are the ones who have thwarted our ability to supply ourselves.

The Democrats have attacked us when we try to look for oil where we think it is.

The Democrats have attacked us when we try to drill where we know it is.

And the Democrats have attacked us when we try to refine what we have! (We even import refined gas now!)

This problem is CLEARLY the result of the Democrats being Socialists and always trying to hurt the economy.

"This problem is CLEARLY the result of the Democrats being Socialists and always trying to hurt the economy."

GOD (no offense) I am SO glad to see the proponents of these tired canards being voted out of office finally.

benz is right–2008 unemployment is lower than every year of the 1980s

and here's an interesting article from yesterday. quote:

"53.5 percent of the 48 private economists surveyed for its June issue do not believe the U.S. economy is in or will enter a recession in 2008"

I'm just sad we're probably gonna have a president who's gonna tax the tar out of anyone who makes a decent wage or capital gains.

of course watching the French media you get the impression that it's over for the US as a superpower...they hate Americans!

The main contributor to the great depression was the Dust Bowl (the greatest drought this country has ever went through) from 1931 - 1939 THE DUST BOWL TIMELINE It's true that the economy was already in serious condition, but this event is probably the most responsible for the great depression being as awful as it was.

''Are you better off than you were four years ago?'' Reagan

Basically if you think our country is better off than it was 8 years ago, then vote McCain(I like John)...if not Obama.

Remember that Energy Summit that Chaney had at the beginning of this run...the one where they didn't let anyone know what was talked about and had all the gas execs there? Now who is laughing all the way to the bank!

Dave Ramsey has a great post from his website on financial freedom at http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs/index.cfm/2008/6/12/Dave--goes--OFF. The bottom line is that we are not entitled, we are free to choose.....and our choices to seek alternatives in fuel, and lifestyle, will EMPOWER innovation in the marketplace. There is a liberating freedom in choosing to be personally responsible for how I live. Stop blaming this administration, or expect the next one to magically fix everything. This country's strength is built on creativity and perseverance.

@fjblau - They ARE Socialists.  That's the problem.  Actually, the correct way to say it is "The Democratic Party has been infested with Modern Liberals, who are an offshoot of Socialists."

Watch the video "HOW MODERN LIBERALS THINK" at YouTube: You will need some quiet time and watch the Q&A at the end.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE98w1KZ-c 

@TimRayPhoto - Yes, the Dust Bowl was a part of it.  A jump in temperatures long before Gore's human caused Global Warming.  The Gore and the media ignore talk about the Dust Bowl and how it's a problem for their Global Warming "theory."   For some reason, Gore didn't mention it in his Nobel Prize winning PowerPoint.  Man, did this PowerPoint threshold cheapen the Nobel or what?!?

Another big issue with the Depression is the Smoot-Hawley trade act which increased tariffs for foreign goods.  This act really lengthened the Depression.  If you look at the stock market, it actually recovered quite a bit very quickly.   Back then, obviously there was no intenret or computers to help people and to help communicate.  FDR took the opportunity to experiment by introduing Socialist ideas.  As we saw, the govenment is unable to create wealth very easily.  It took billions for WWII to get us away from his Socialism.

Here's info on Smoot-Hawley:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot-Hawley_Tariff_Act

"The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (sometimes known as the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act)[1] was an act signed into law on June 17, 1930, that raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels. In the United States 1,028 economists signed petition against this legislation, and after it was passed many countries retaliated with their own increased tariffs on U.S. goods, and American exports and imports plunged by more than half. In the opinion of some economists Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was responsible for the severity of the Great Depression,[2] for example according to The Economist, the Smoot-Hawley tariff act turned a stock market collapse into a long Depression."

So, most the ingredients for the long Depression were: the inital stock market crash, Smoot-Hawley, FDR's Liberalism/Socialism, and the Dust Bowl.