What Caused the Great Recession of 2008-2009?
- Politicians and the banks wanted deregulation of the banking and investment industries. They got their sought after deregulation and completely abused it.
- Lending standards were lowered and lowered (deregulation) until people with no jobs, no income, no assets and no credit rating were able to get huge mortgages for no money down and no proof of income.
- [Banking] models did not take into account high number of mortgage defaults at the same time across the country.
- Banks didn’t have nearly the assets they claimed to have.
- As house prices continued to fall, more and more people owed more than their homes were worth and defaults and foreclosures were rising well beyond what the [banking] models had predicted would ever happen
- Many of these banks had leverage of 30 or more to 1. Meaning for every dollar of their own they invested in these mortgages, they used $30 borrowed dollars to invest.
The Damage from the Great Recession:
The damage from the Great Recession of 2008 has been widespread and long lasting and is the worst recession since the 1930s.
- At least 8 million jobs were lost with 740,000 jobs lost in January 2009 alone
- Americans lost $13 trillion dollars of wealth
- Hundreds of bank failures
- The S&P 500 dropped 57% from its high in 2007 with an almost stock market panic mentality.
- In some parts of the country, home prices fell 32%
- According to RealityTrac Inc, the Great Recession caused 2.5 million homes to be foreclosed on with millions more having foreclosure filings and by 2009, 1 in 45 homes were in default.
- By March 2009, Citigroup was $1 per share and Bank of America was at $3 per share
So, if you understand what lead the country into this economic disaster, why would you vote for a candidate who supports the same policies?
Dude, Where's My Job?Indeed, in 2010, corporate profits were 10.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the highest ever, while wage & salary income was 43.7% of GDP — the lowest ever. In 1960, these numbers were 5% and 52% respectively.
Illustration and commentary courtesy of Connect the Dots USA Lionizing wealthy people and labeling them as "job creators" is a bunch of malarkey. Based on the chart, if Republican philosophies worked, where are all the jobs? |
Why Do Wealthy People Need More Money Before They Create Jobs?Before 1980 and the great trickle-down tax con, when the economy grew, we all benefited. But for the last three decades, the Top 1% have gotten most of the benefit from our growing economy and increased productivity. Indeed, the stock market is soaring again, Wall Street bonuses are at record highs, and private industry is hoarding nearly $2 trillion in cash. Meanwhile, the rest of us are struggling with flat wages, job insecurity, and rising costs for housing, healthcare and education. Most of the super-rich didn’t grow the American pie: They got rich by stealing our little slivers for the last 30 years — by pushing policies that allow them to gamble with our 401ks, pensions and mortgages, speculate on necessities like gas and corn, drive our wages and benefits down, and divert our tax dollars into wars instead of schools and healthcare. Connect the dots, folks. There’s your class warfare for you.
Illustration and commentary courtesy of Connect the Dots USA |
Here’s the problem in a nutshell: People don’t have jobs because business aren’t hiring; businesses aren’t hiring because they don’t have enough sales; they don’t have enough sales because there isn’t enough demand for their products and services; there isn’t enough demand because folks don’t have money to spend; folks don’t have money to spend because they don’t have jobs... And the cycle continues. Illustration and commentary courtesy of Connect the Dots USA |
We need sustained DEMAND for products and services. DEMAND is both the desire and ability to buy. “Businesses aren’t investing because they can already produce more than people want to buy... If you can’t sell what an extra worker would produce then there’s no economic reason to hire that extra worker.” In short, customers create jobs. Think about it. If fewer and fewer regular folks are buying cars or dining out, it makes no sense for a car dealer or restaurateur to hire more staff. And no amount of tax cuts on the owner’s personal income is going to change that. This concept is Business 101 and yet is often ignored in the political discourse. Illustration and commentary courtesy of Connect the Dots USA |
Who Understands Economic Principles?Bill Clinton was the best economically performing president in recent history. President Obama is trying to return to the successful policies that Clinton once employed.
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What's the Score?The statistics prove that when policies are focused on benefiting the middle class, not just the wealthy, the entire country succeeds.
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Republicans: Keeping millions out of work in order to put one man out of a job.
Conservative friends, you're right. The unemployment rate should be much lower, but why are you blaming the President? Congress, the Senate, and the President must work together to accomplish anything.
How can you say, "Where is Obama's economic plan?" It's clearly listed in the graphic above. Republicans have blocked every initiative to create jobs and assist the middle class. So, I ask you, where is the outrage? Will you hold them accountable for their unprecedented obstruction? There is a reason this GOP majority Congress owns a near 80% disapproval rating. Tell me why any of the bills above should have been blocked by Republicans: Jobs Bill: Estimated 1.9 Million Jobs- This WAS Obama's economic plan. Where is the GOP Congressional economic plan? Healthcare for 9/11 First Responders- Really? Veterans Job Bill- Unabashed hypocrisy. GOP voted to send them to war, but won't support them at home. Bring Jobs Home Act- Dude, where's my job? China. |
Well, Eric? |
Calling Obama a Socialist Is Like Calling a Mormon Non-Christian.
Quick, Did The Dow Preform Better Under Reagan or Obama?How has the stock market performed under Democratic policies compared to Republican policies over the past three presidential terms? Common sense regulation, as well as fair trade, not free trade, assists in the strong performance of the markets.
The trends are clear. There is a clear upward trend that began in March of 2009, three months after Obama took office. On Friday, October 5 the Dow Jones hit a 5-year high. Calling Obama a socialist is the same as calling a Mormon non-christian. Both are absurd, incendiary labels. |
Corporate Profits Under ObamaS&P 500 Under ObamaDow Jones Under Obama |