Where is the US economy headed?

You have never gone for a walk around your neighborhood without your wallet? (I am assuming you don't jog or you would know how silly your "common sense" argument just was.)

I won't say I have never left the house without my ID, but I would never have a problem with needing to do it, and abiding by the simple practice of doing it.

Quote:

I won't say I have never left the house without my ID, but I would never have a problem with needing to do it, and abiding by the simple practice of doing it.

So.. you are saying Latinos shouldn't have the same rights as you do?

I work at a liquor store.

Economists say recovery looks stronger than expected


By Paul Davidson and Barbara Hansen, USA TODAY

The recovery is shaping up to be stronger than
expected and there is little risk the economy will
slip back into a recession, according to USA
TODAY's quarterly survey of 46 leading economists.

Yet most still say the rebound will fall short of the
sharp, V-shaped upturns that often follow severe
slumps, and the 9.7% jobless rate will fall slowly.

As the Fed meets to assess the economy this week,
seven in 10 economists say they're more optimistic
than they were three months ago.

"I think we've gotten to a point where it's a self-
sustaining recovery," says Standard & Poor's chief
economist David Wyss.

The experts predict growth of 3% this year, up from
forecasts of 2.8% in January. In V-shaped upswings,
growth is often 7% or more.

None see a return to recession by next year, and
those who see some risk say it's lessened markedly.

"I feel more confident ... there'll be no relapse," says

Stuart Hoffman, chief economist of PNC Financial
Services Group.

Yet while the economists say unemployment will fall
steadily this year, their median estimates are for a
9.4% jobless rate at year's end and 8.5% at the end
of 2011. More than 80% say the U.S. won't regain all
jobs lost in the recession until 2013 or later.

Why the brighter outlook? Consumers are opening
their wallets more widely than expected. Retail sales
climbed at a 10.1% annualized rate the past three
months, highest in four years. Economists cite
rising incomes, a stock market rally that makes
shoppers feel wealthier and abating fears of layoffs.

Also, manufacturers are feverishly replenishing
stocks to meet growing demand. And exports are
swelling company earnings.

Wyss, though, cites "big headwinds." Consumers, he
says, are too burdened by high debt to continue
their spending sprees. The expiration of a home
buyers' tax credit Friday will dampen housing sales.
And the government's $787 billion economic
stimulus package will be gone by late 2010.

Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist of Barclays Capital,
is more bullish. He says the stock rally and growing
incomes will let consumers pay off debts while
increasing spending. And homes are cheap enough
to goose sales even after the tax credit expires, he
says. He predicts 3.8% growth this year.

Some economists worry mortgage rates will drift
higher now that the Fed has ended its purchases of
mortgage-backed securities. But 67% say rates will
rise less than half a percentage point this year.

P.S. Do people need more ID to buy booze than they do to prove they are citizens?

The recovery is shaping up to be stronger than expected and there is little risk the economy will slip back into a recession, according to USA TODAY's quarterly survey of 46 leading economists.

"I think we've gotten to a point where it's a self-sustaining recovery," says Standard & Poor's chief economist David Wyss.

Cycloptichorn, citing an uncredited source, wrote:

The recovery is shaping up to be stronger than expected and there is little risk the economy will slip back into a recession, according to USA TODAY's quarterly survey of 46 leading economists.

I think these 46 leading economists are cheerleading, and the article is amplifying it by hiding a major caveat in the third-to-last paragraph. (The recovery is fast because consumers are spending. They are spending because of the stimulus money (which by the way will run out pretty soon) and the home buyer's credit (ditto). For a dose of skepticism, consider whom the most optimistic quote is coming from:

Quote:

"I think we've gotten to a point where it's a self-sustaining recovery," says Standard & Poor's chief economist David Wyss.

That would be the chief of that team of economists -- the one that gave AAA ratings to asset-backed junk securities and proclaimed they were safe for the average consumer to invest in.

By Paul Davidson and Barbara Hansen, USA TODAY

My mistake. I apologize.

"Thousands Rally At Illinois Capitol --
For A Tax Increase"

Fifteen-thousand people -- mostly teachers and state union workers -- rallied at the Illinois Capitol and chanted...

"Raise My Taxes!"

A similar scenario is taking place in New Jersey, where Governor Christie is calling for a one-year pay freeze on teachers to help meet the budget shortfall. The New Jersey Education Association is on the attack, claiming that Christie's proposal will hurt "the children." They are even blasting Christie for having his children in private schools, saying he "doesn't have a personal stake" in the debate.

The message? It's immoral to even hold the line on government spending. Government programs and government pay are sacred cows. And as a result, people head to the streets and chant, "Raise My Taxes!"

Why is this a sign of the tipping point?

Because these events are supported by disturbing data...

+More than half of all Americans now make their
living off the government or in an industry
controlled by the government.

+Only 47% of Americans actually pay income tax

+Including benefits, federal government workers
make $38,000 (or 55%) more than their private
sector counterparts in comparable jobs. Add in
retirement benefits and those numbers skyrocket.
For example, one 49-year-old New Jersey state
government retiree will receive $3.8 million
in pension and retirement health benefits on
a $124,000 investment -- a 3,000-percent
return on investment!

The tipping point happens as more voters earn their living off the government rather than free of the government. When this happens, government-dependent people who have an incentive to INCREASE government and INCREASE taxes will never vote to cut or control government.

That's why people actually are chanting "Raise My Taxes."

And that's why Rush says we're "hanging by a thread.' With the recent takeover of healthcare and coming efforts to expand government control of Wall Street and energy (cap and tax), a disturbing reality is upon us...

Obama is rapidly creating a highly paid serf
class of government-dependent citizens who
will not tolerate any cuts to government
because those cuts would threaten their
over-compensated jobs and entitlement benefits!

But fortunately, there is hope.

And that hope is YOU!

+ + Taxpaying Citizens Are Taking Back Our Nation!

Take what just happened in New Jersey. As I noted earlier, Gov. Christie is calling for a one-year pay freeze for teachers in the state, which has raised the ire of the Education lobby. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gov. Christie "urged voters to reject local school budgets in the vast majority of districts where teachers have not agreed to a one-year pay freeze."

Voters went to the polls last week in record numbers and rejected the school budgets in a stunning 59% of the districts!

The Journal is calling it the "New Jersey Rebellion."

+ + Three things you can do today

Here are three things you can do today to send a message to leaders in Congress that you oppose the move to a government-centered society:

#1 -- Call your Senators and reject the "Perma-
Bailout" Finance Reform that the Journal
says makes Obama "The New Master Of Wall
Street"

Despite Obama's doublespeak, the Dodd bill creates a new regulatory arm of the federal government that will be empowered with permanent bailout and takeover authority of financial institutions -- with an unlimited bailout fund!
What's worse, all the authority switches to the feds -- no Congressional votes needed to bail out the next "too big to fail" institution. The Journal says "the biggest banks will become the equivalent of utilities."

Here are your two Senators' phone numbers:

Sen. Hutchison 202-224-5922

Sen. Cornyn 202-224-2934

#2 -- If you haven't done so already, join 52,000
citizens who have already signed the
"Stop The Spending Madness" Petition by
going here:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=27372&CID=106&RID=23256627

#3 -- If you haven't done so already, join over
340,000 citizens who have signed the
petition opposing the "Cap and Trade"
global warming/energy tax:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=27373&CID=106&RID=23256627

We are getting perilously close to the tipping point in our nation -- when the majority of our citizens have become highly compensated, government-dependent serfs who take to the streets, chanting "Raise My Taxes!"

But what happened last week in New Jersey, and the January "Massachusetts Miracle," remind us that we can still turn it around.

But WE are the key.