I scan newspapers and the internet daily trying to learn as much as I can about the economy and where it is headed. I see reports covering the whole gambit of where our economy is in its recovery (or lack thereof). In Saturday’s Wall Street (10/09/10) on page B16 was a very interesting comment in a small side bar labeled OVERHEARD.
In the section, David Rosenberg, Gluskin Scheff’s chief economist, says we are in a depression. I found the last paragraph very thought provoking.
And for those who question the absence of 1930 style bread lines, Mr. Rosen counters that today, thanks to food stamps and other government assistance program, “the soup and bread lines are in the mail”.
Before you say this guy is nuts, considers these stories and headlines:
Food Stamp Recipients at Record 41.8 Million Americans in July, U.S. Says
Here is a quote from the article: An average of 43.3 million people, more than an eighth of the population, will get food stamps each month in the year that began Oct. 1, according to White House estimates.
One in Six Americans Receives Government Assistance
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/07/one-in-six-americans-receives-government-assistance/
Or how about unemployment benefits being extended to almost 2 years to 99 weeks?
These numbers don’t show any indication of going down and my taxes look like they are going to keep going up. I don’t take any government assistance, I pay for my own food and medical expenses, I pay my mortgage on time, and I don’t have credit card debt. No bail outs going on here because I am one of the schmucks paying the tab. At what point do we go John Galt and just say “#^@& it”?
To quote Harry Truman: “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.”
