Comments on: Are We in an Economic Depression?

By: Rosario

Rosario — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:16:47 +0000

Great article with good concepts, information and advice!

By: christmas gifts

christmas gifts — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:51:46 +0000

The biggest impact of crisis is on southern california. The banks are not so working and this will make a big change in a US economic condition.

By: rudyamid

rudyamid — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:42:37 +0000

Hey John,

Thanks for the quote. That is an eerie similarity. Whenever there are people gaming the system, some will lose. It happened before, and it will happen again.

If there wasn’t a saying, there should be one: ill gotten gains are the start of all sorts of pain.

By: John Petty

John Petty — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:15:00 +0000

Does history repeat itself?

Marriner S. Eccles, was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1934 1948

In his 1951 memoir Beckoning Frontiers, Eccles detailed what he believed caused the Great Depression.
Our current situation is eerily similar.

Eccles wrote:

“As mass production has to be accompanied by mass consumption, mass consumption, in turn, implies a distribution of wealth — not of existing wealth, but of wealth as it is currently produced — to provide men with buying power equal to the amount of goods and services offered by the nations economic machinery.

Instead of achieving that kind of distribution, a giant suction pump had by 1929-30 drawn into a few hands an increasing portion of currently produced wealth. This served them as capital accumulations. But by taking purchasing power out of the hands of mass consumers, the savers denied to themselves the kind of effective demand for their products that would justify a reinvestment of their capital accumulations in new plants. In consequence, as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game stopped.

By: trade show displays

trade show displays — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:21:37 +0000

hi Rudy,
Thanks for your answer on the picture being from the FDR Memorial. I’ve been to Washington DC twice, but it was a long, long time ago, before the FDR memorial went in. I loved seen all the memorials (the Lincoln memorial is amazing), and would love to go back. Now I have a reason!
I agree that there will be more bubbles… and booms… and busts… unless government finds a way to outlaw greed, fear, bad judgement, mistakes, and human nature in general, which I doubt.
~ Steve (aka trade show displays)

By: rudyamid

rudyamid — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:54:43 +0000

Hey Steve, According to the Flickr site, the picture was taken at FDR Memorial Site, Washington DC. We'll see more bubbles in the near future. People always find ways to make a quick buck, at everyone else's expense.

By: rudyamid

rudyamid — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:48:20 +0000

Hey Brett,

Exactly. What are we going to do about it? There’s plenty for us to do. It may be counter-intuitive, but the best way to get out of this recession is to actually spend more! Continue to invest, continue to buy what we need, and continue to contribute to the local economy.

By: Farzan

Farzan — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:11:56 +0000

Good post Rudy, interesting read Farzan´s last blog post..REVIEW: W.

By: trade show displays

trade show displays — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:20:23 +0000

hey Rudy,
Where is that picture from? It looks like a set of bronze statues on display at a museum? I like it.
In my humble opinion, we are already in a recession, but that’s not a bad thing (it had to happen eventually). I just hope it doesn’t get a lot worse, and that government in its attempt to “help” doesn’t make things worse. Economic cycles are a natural part of the economy, and it seems that every generation or two has to relearn the lesson that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
~ Steve (aka trade show displays)
PS. When I read your “about” page in the past, the part about you being Canadian stuck in my head. I missed the part about you being here in so cal (me too), and didn’t realize that until I read your comment above.

By: Brett Legree

Brett Legree — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:30:29 +0000

I think how we react to this, our attitudes, are important. I know that I’ve been talking to people where I work the same way I’ve been writing about this on my blog and elsewhere. Many people say to me “stop denying that we’re in a lot of trouble” and my response is “so what are you doing about it?”

A few folks have said, “well, I’ve got a lot of money saved” – well, that’s great – if things ever did get as bad as some of the alarmists say, money will be useless – make sure you know how to do something useful.

But I don’t believe it’s the end of the world. We’ll get out of this – together – with hard work. Normal, hard working people got us to where we are – and it is those same people who will fix this. Not “banking superstars”.

Brett Legree´s last blog post..john who?