Hooverville 2009: Where's the Anger, America?

Just a quick note tonight.

The signs that we are slowly sinking into an economic depression are becoming rapidly evident.

Lets get real for a second: Most of the middle class in this country live paycheck to paycheck. Perhaps some have a few thousand squirreled away in the bank. This might buy them a month or so...nothing more.

The video below is a sobering reminder of what happens to many of these people when they lose their jobs. How many millions will have to go on a permanent camping trip before Washington puts an end to the fraud on Wall St?

Millions of middle class Americans are running out of options as Rome continues to burn.

Don't worry though, not everyone is suffering, Wall St is preparing to pocket record bonuses in the billions of $$$ courtesy of speculation using the US taxpayer as a backstop.

Again America: Where is the anger?

Comments

[Michael Clark:]

Denial comes first.
Anger comes next.

Where is the anger? I think a sense of guilt is muting anger, the sense that 'we brought this on ourselves by the way we were living'. Everyone knows, down deep, that increasing indebtedness is not a way to live.

Oct 16 07:19 AM

[chap08:]

Where's the anger? What makes me angry is those who advocate the hard money, Austrian approach and simply talk about the market "clearing". Elsewhere today, Edward Harrison quotes Roger Bootle:

"These people are dangerous. The idea of letting the financial system implode and then waiting for the market to bring spontaneous, healthy revival out of the wreckage might read well on the pages of a book, but in the real world it would bring human misery on a gigantic scale. In today's society, people simply will not tolerate it. If that is what the market system is about then they will have none of it; and rightly so."

Oct 16 07:30 AM

[prairiedog555:]

It amazes me when I look at the US vs China. US is dissillusioned because of inept corrupt leaders (both parties) so leans to the left, China, having been to the far left, and experienced the distribution of wealth and the collective is rapidly moving to the right.
George Bush created Pres. Obama. Now look at the mess we are in.

Oct 16 08:05 AM

[swsprime:]

Shoot! - Keep telling it like it is, Mr. Housing.

Oct 16 09:27 AM

[CoolChapRaghu:]

Just want to add one important statistic : US is adding $1 Million every thirty seconds to its National Debt.

usdebtclock.org/

Oct 16 10:49 AM

[Graham and ...:]

"Hard money" is a good starting/ending point. Because it would have prevented this crisis in the first place.

But it is not something you want to do "cold turkey" once the crisis is in progress. For the reasons you cite.

On Oct 16 07:30 AM chap08 wrote:

> Where's the anger? What makes me angry is those who advocate the
> hard money, Austrian approach and simply talk about the market "clearing".
> Elsewhere today, Edward Harrison quotes Roger Bootle:
>
> "These people are dangerous. The idea of letting the financial system
> implode and then waiting for the market to bring spontaneous, healthy
> revival out of the wreckage might read well on the pages of a book,
> but in the real world it would bring human misery on a gigantic scale.
> In today's society, people simply will not tolerate it. If that is
> what the market system is about then they will have none of it; and
> rightly so."

Oct 16 10:54 AM

[Merdock:]

Bravo Jeff!! Nice post!

Oct 16 06:47 PM

[John Bowman:]

Probably when the extension of the extension of the unemployment compensation runs out for millions of ex-workers in the first and second quarter of 2010.

Oct 16 09:22 PM

[Mudduckk:]

@Convertbond my sggsted sub of ur next book is ripening. thx again for coming to BG.

Oct 16 11:18 PM

[THofler:]

Barney Frank & Franklin Raines told me I only needed 2% down to get a house. Now that congress inflated the housing market 'till it blew up & I stuck Fannie & the taxpayers with my bad debt, all I get is this lousy tent! But please interview me & together we can blame this all on Ken Lewis & Pres. Bush.

PS: Please bring some beer, pizza, and a color TV too because those nasty bankers made me live beyond my means, so I'm out of pocket money too.

Oct 16 11:36 PM

[JCCIII:]

Good one, THofler. Seriously, the construction worker guy in the video worked for 30 years and is still living paycheck-to-paycheck! I'm sorry, no sympathy here for someone who, in 30 years, has not saved up a rainy day fund (6-12 months of living expenses), paid off his house, generated a decent retirement portfolio, etc. The entitlement mentality has to be squelched; live beneath your means, assume no one (including the government) is going to take care of you, and stop whining.

Oct 18 05:30 PM

[greaterdepr...:]

The system has already imploded. Those who predicted this are ignored, those who caused it are telling us how to fix it.
The Trillions in losses WILL be taken, the Bankers are trying to place those losses on the taxpayers.
Yes, provide food and shelter to the needy, but do not try to resurrect an unsustainable crony capitalism.
Take back billions in ill-gotten bonuses from the past TEN years.
Jail criminal bankers and Raters.
We are in the middle of a New great Depression, delusional hope will not help matters.


On Oct 16 07:30 AM chap08 wrote:

> Where's the anger? What makes me angry is those who advocate the
> hard money, Austrian approach and simply talk about the market "clearing".
> Elsewhere today, Edward Harrison quotes Roger Bootle:
>
> "These people are dangerous. The idea of letting the financial system
> implode and then waiting for the market to bring spontaneous, healthy
> revival out of the wreckage might read well on the pages of a book,
> but in the real world it would bring human misery on a gigantic scale.
> In today's society, people simply will not tolerate it. If that is
> what the market system is about then they will have none of it; and
> rightly so."

Oct 22 07:46 AM