Globalization is the primary cause of our economic downturn. War is generally good for the economy--but it's not helping now. With a strong middle class, we could've weathered the mortgage implosion a lot better than we are doing.

Thanks .

Globalization .Certainly a factor .

Naw, what kicked us in our financial shins was gas prices.

The big oil companies announced they had record profits, right? That's because they've been artificially jacking the prices on us.(Hence the profits) When gas prices go up, everything that is shipped via truck has to go up too.

When you're paying a dollar a gallon more for gas than you were two years ago, two dollars more than you were paying five years ago, then your grocery bill doubles it gets harder and harder to pay the mortgage.

Yes, the mortgage lenders loaned money to people that could barely pay it back, but everything going up in price pushed them over their budgets.

And it all trickled down from there. We spend less on luxury items because we need milk and eggs. Stock in those markets drops. We get where we can't meet our mortgage, so stock in the lending institutions drops. Then jumpy idiots on Wall Street get jumpy and start pulling their money and sinking it into gold (hitting $1000 an ounce last week, it was only $150 in 1992).

All because the senate hearings two years ago turned into a big joke and Big Oil only got slapped with having to turn a small percentage (either 2 or 4%, I can't remember which) over to 'charity.'

There is the source to our recession. The national debt is just icing on the cake because of Georgie getting spend-happy in Iraq.

While there is definitely a connection between oil prices and transportation, I believe the Iraq war is draining us. I also believe the Iraq war was a "done deal" even before 9/11 due to a personal Bush family "vendetta". Bush WAS GOING TO FIND A REASON. Cheney was happy to oblige to help line Haliburton's pockets.

Now, I grant you Saddam was a lunatic. But, there IS such a thing as posing the question: Can we afford to fight 2 wars at once? WMD? problem now solved. No WMD Al Quaida is now in Iraq?

Problem further solved. But, would they have been there with egomaniacal Saddam?

We have been thrown into a pit. We are now paying the price. But, don't worry, the economy will be "stimulated" soon. Maybe the checks will help pay for the higher gas prices coming.

I should have mentioned gas prices . Inflation is inevitable as everything is tied to the price of fuel .

I agree Manitou, that the war has been a complete success for the administration. All that money lost can't be good for our economy .

Gas prices are about all the 'stimulus' will cover.

Iraq is the problem with the whopping deficit, gas prices are the problem with the recession. For the most part, I was viewing them as fairly exclusive, though.

Saddam was a problem, but he would have been easier to handle had Bush Sr gone against the UN instead of Jr. We gave him way too much time to become a bigger fish. But I agree with you, Iraq was a done deal, Jr seems to want to 'show up' his dad, so to speak. Shame he hadn't put that effort into being a more effective president instead of in just dealing with Iraq.

Years of the "sell out" will not be cured by sending checks out so we can buy more Chinese goods.

The devaluation of the dollar is a confidence barometer.

The credit crisis is a confidence barometer.

The chess board is not positioned well for us,...we have ceded too many moves to others who do not have OUR interest at heart.

Our singular Ace-In-The-Hole is the consumer might of our citizens...which is under seige and collectively we are pulling back.

The answer is more an Economic Revolution where we re-embrace trade, monetary and strategic decisions based on what's good for Jane and John Q. Public.

That has not been on anyone's agenda for sometime now.

BB