We haven't hit bottom yet

Unfortunately, it is true.

People keep saying, "Well how will we know when this recession has hit its peak? How will we know when we've hit bottom?"

The answer, I believe, is when the other credit crisis occurs.

Reckless lending practices and living beyond our means got us into this mess in the first place. I too am guilty of living beyond my means. We've all got a little debt. Some have more than others. Most people would consider their debt manageable.

With the country hemorrhaging jobs for the last 12 months, a credit aftershock has yet to be felt. If the housing and manufacturing crises registered an 8.0 on the Richter scale, the upcoming aftershock could register as high as a 5.0. That of course could derail any progress we've made in the meantime.

What happens when people lose their income? They must rely on savings and credit cards. Sometimes, their savings were dependent on stock portfolios and other variable accounts like 401k's-- many of which have gone down the dumper recently.

So this fictitious, yet common individual has some savings left, maybe a little severance (maybe not), and the same bills that he or she was paying when he or she was employed.

Assuming this person cannot land a similar job with similar pay in the next 2 or 3 months, they will have to make some choices. For an increasing amount of people, credit cards are the default answer.

Most of us have them... many have more than two. According to CreditCards.com, there were 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the US in 2006. That number has only increased. With the average consumer owing on 13 different credit obligations (myfico.com) and 60% of the population owing an average of $9,000, people losing jobs en masse can only spell disaster.

They are convenient. They allow great financial freedom. They serve well in emergencies and can help you out of jams.

They were not, however, made to support entire families for extended periods of time. The more desperate the employment situation gets, the more personal debt in this country is going to skyrocket.

And who owes money to who, you may ask?

Heading the top of the list is the relatively stable JPMorgan-Chase with 119.4 million cards in circulation (2008), that is followed by Citibank (92 million) and Bank of America (80.2 million). So B of A and Citi have 172.2 million cards out there, huh? Not very comforting at all.

The thing that's scary about this whole situation is that the American people are racking up necessary debts at alarming rates right now, and less money is going into these banks in the form of remittances. I can't say I'm an expert, but this seems like another serious cash flow problem for these already hard-hit banks.

We're talking about serious numbers here. The US Census Bureau determined that Americans had $832 billion in credit card debt in 2005, and at the time predicted a rise to $1.1 trillion in 2010. And of course, despite their disturbing findings in 2005, they did not factor in the deep recession that we are currently mired in.

The amount of debt floating around out there is only set to increase, with it being the only significant lifeline for a growing segment of the population.

Hopefully frugal spending by those with jobs during these uncertain times will help offset part of the growing debt problem, but that remains to be seen.

The Federal Government, ever the shining example of fiscal responsibility, is basically replicating the aforementioned process on a much larger scale... And just like many credit card issuers are doing by raising interest rates and transaction fees, the government will have to raise taxes. Again, it's a simple overextension of credit and a subsequent cash flow issue.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but I don't think I am.



Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment every once in awhile! I need to know if I'm nuts or on point!

Obama is driving us nuts...

...and by "us", I mean those of us who didn't vote for him; those of us who do not share in his increasingly ideological partisan policies.

We expected a rough couple months... maybe even a couple years. We knew that if Barack got elected, we'd be marginalized, mocked, and teased. We aren't in power anymore. It certainly is an increasingly tough pill to swallow-- so tough to swallow that many of us are choking on the damn capsule, and frantically searching for a glass of water (or booze) to wash it down.

Here's what is driving us nuts:


1) Immediately ordering Guantanamo shut down... I don't need to say more.

2) Appointing/attempting to appoint tax cheats and other various non-law-abiding sleazes to his cabinet (Tom Daschle, Bill Richardson, Hilda Sollis, Nancy Killefer, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.)

Geithner is the most egregious mistake. More on that later.

3) The Stimulus Bill

Or as I like to call it, the "Spendulus". Rush likes "Porkulous". Whatever. To each his own. Obama forced this massive $787 billion dollar behemoth through with very little transparency, using doom and gloom fear tactics (the very type of politics he said he wouldn't utilize). The Wall Street Journal breaks this disaster down here.

My favorites include:
$19.99 billion for food stamps
$1 billion for "extra money for census"
$230 million for "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facilities and research"
$10 million for costs to administer grant money
$15 million for Preservation grants for historically black colleges and universities
$500 million for upgrades to health services infrastructure on Indian Reservations
$75 million to the Smithsonian and to fund non-profit arts programs
$1.1 billion to research the effectiveness of Medicare and Medicaid
$121 million solely for federal oversight of delegated monies
$201 million for volunteering programs

I could go on, and on, and on. There are a lot of worthy causes in this bill, but many of the provisions go to advanced sciences and energy research, jobs that require highly advanced and specialized degrees. How is that going to help the guy who got laid off from a factory in Ohio?

A lot of spending in this is going directly to programs or causes that increase dependency on government. It reeks of the "S" word...

And why on earth does it take $121 million dollars to oversee these things?? Is that not what we have the government for in the first place? Isn't this already their job? Some of this is truly bizarre and unconscionable.

4) Naiively suggesting that we should "reach out" to "moderate" elements of the Taliban.

News flash: Mr. Obama, the success of American forces in Iraq in cooperating with Sunni militias is not the same thing. Please take a history and/or International Politics class, and consult with people who know something about military strategy. The suggestion that the Taliban has moderate elements is a very troubling sign. There aren't any. THEY'RE THE TALIBAN FOR GOD'S SAKE! As O'Reilly would say, "Wise up, sir."

5) Attempting to overhaul the healthcare system while the economy is struggling

Mr. President, it would behoove you to concentrate solely on the economic crisis at hand. The healthcare system is flawed, but sir, you have been in office for 5 weeks. You have already included billions of dollars in your stimulus bill for these types of things. Please see Rodham Clinton, Hillary circa 1993, and ask her advice on overhauling one of the most complex and expensive things in existence. Feel free to revisit this issue in 2 years when our financial issues have been repaired. (Hint: go after the corrupt insurance companies that have forced costs to astronomical levels.)

6) Please reign in your minions

The minions I speak of are specifically his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Stimulus architect, Nancy Pelosi. I am fully aware of Emanuel's purpose. He is the powerbroker; the attack dog. I get that.

However, he orchestrated a plan to go after Rush Limbaugh, an influential entertainer. From where I'm standing, it looks extremely childish. Rush has 20 million listeners. I'd venture to say that 18 million of those listeners are going to vote conservatively anyway, that's why they listen to him. To go after him and attempt to paint him as the leader of the GOP screams of insecurity and weakness. Does he have influence? Yes. Does he influence policy? Does he hold a seat on the House Means & Ways Committee? No.

Leave it alone, and focus on your Treasury Secretary, who is fumbling around in the dark, looking for a light switch and sucking his thumb.


7) Tim Geithner needs to get his act together

The guy in charge of fixing this economic crisis is asleep at the wheel. 17 top jobs underneath Geithner remain unfilled. The gaping hole in the most important division of Obama's cabinet is causing it to run at half steam when it needs to be setting land speed records. This is appalling.

How on earth is it that a nearly $800 billion dollar spending package gets passed within two weeks, and there is no one working with this boob Geithner to help fix this mess? I am sincerely dumbfounded by this. How can anything get done? Who's running this trainwreck? Unbelievable.

8) Obama is on the verge of being a proven hypocrite

Strong words? Yes. The latest bill to arrive on his desk is a $410 billion omnibus bill with 9,000-- count 'em NINE THOUSAND earmarks. Hmm... $8 billion in earmarks signed into law? Geez... I could've sworn you said you wouldn't do that Mr. President.

Of course during your campaign and even after you were sworn in, I heard you say all kinds of stuff about being fiscally responsible and spending sensibly. You've spent almost $1.2 trillion dollars in 5 weeks. Not even George Steinbrenner paired with 50 Cent could accomplish that.

And yet, I hear this refrain: "I inherited this mess."

Sir, you may have inherited a lot of issues, but you are exacerbating the problem by digging a hole in which you may never be able to get out of.



Okay, this has gotten too long, but I needed to vent. I needed to vent on behalf of all conservatives who are deeply troubled right now. The philosophical differences between the Bush White House and the Obama White House are simply staggering. I don't know if this is anything we can get used to. There is simply no common ground between us.

Truly Appalling: Devaluing Our Own Currency

Look, I am no economist, and I do not believe Glenn Beck is the foremost authority on all this... but you must watch this and heed its words.

Thanks to the blog Conservative Today for spreading the content.

If this is accurate, the government's actions are totally reckless. If this continues, our money will be worth nothing. This isn't exactly Zimbabwe territory, but it is not good, to say the least.

Of course irrelevant stimulus bills that cost $1.3 trillion dollars we don't have is going to take a much longer time to pay off with our tax dollars if our paychecks are worth less and less.

And you thought the Bush Administration was disappointing and John McCain was The Maverick... little did you know. I wonder if Barack knows about this.

Funny thing too... didn't Glenn Beck used to be on CNN Headline News? Yup, he sure was. I watch a little less political TV than I used to, mainly because it upsets me. However, Beck's addition to Fox News is a very solid acquisition. The guy is very bright and very legit.

At this point though, I don't even try to defend FNC's conservative political leanings. It is what it is. I prefer it. I won't apologize for that.

What does bother me is when people try to tell me CNN is not a liberal-leaning network. That is a total falsehood.

We've got Hannity/O'Reilly/Beck/Karl Rove, you've got Anderson Cooper (who is definitely "the other way") and Larry King, the "King of Softball Questions".

On a lighter note, here's my Super Bowl pick: Cardinals (+7) over Steelers.