Having been raised in Orange County, amidst the strong/stangle/hold of Republican hoopla, I completely understand your choice not to use your given name, and as I read your post I envisioned you sleuthing to work each morning as your position would invite an illogical rant from your fellow OCites. My family arrived in 1888, were all of a Repulican bent, they were of the first to offer heath and retirement packages to their employees in CA, insist that management respect what their employees brought to the workplace and they would have thundered in approval at your post. (little people my ass)
Posted by mainsailset at June 8, 2006 12:32 PMWell, friend p, there you go, using facts to support your arguments!
I find that bit from the Observer so telling:
Between 1980 and 2004 America's GDP went up by almost two-thirds. But instead of making everyone better off, it has made only a part of the country wealthier, as another part slips ever more into the black hole of the working poor. There are now 37 million Americans living in poverty, and at 12.7 percent of the population, it is the highest percentage in the developed world.
Thats why consumer confidence hasn't gone anywhere, because only a select few have benefitted from all of bush's shenanigans, and most people have seen little improvement. $300 here, a thousand there, all well and good, but it doesn't get you a new car or a new house or a college education, does it.
Posted by Duckman GR at June 8, 2006 01:15 PMLet me see. Reverse the magic of Hedonic Regression, and you get a real inflation rate of close to 10%. See! I told you the untold wads of cash -$800 billion in one swell foop as I understand it, and much more followed- dumped into the economy after the M3 report was ended could have a negative impact.
Posted by phidipides at June 8, 2006 03:20 PMIt seems everyone is predicting a massive growth in the middle classes of China and India and it seems there is no way this will not have an inflationary impact, not just on oil, but on just about everything. I
Posted by China Law Blog at June 10, 2006 12:30 PM