The economy is in rough shape, but public opinion polls and extra negative media coverage rarely convey the truth.
And no, I'm not carrying the water for GWB. The economy simply isn't that bad.

"Americans 'very concerned' about inflation, jobs lost"

Yes Americans are hurting, which is exactly why the "brilliant" John W McCain has come up with a way to fix America's woes..

Less Jobs and More Wars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oj_YtY-EZQ&eurl=http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/28359-what-is-this-iraq-war-charge-on-my-bill

Anyone who thinks the economy isn't tanking better start reading.

http://cunningrealist.blogspot.com/

And no, I'm not carrying the water for GWB. The economy simply isn't that bad.

Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 18, 2008 1:30 PM

Special ed Stevie,

Yes you are a water carrier and yes you do carry water for the GOPers,...everyday!

You not only carry water for the pathetic Republic Party you also get them towels and give them back rubs.

How many of these Republican fools (other than brain dead Special ed Stevie) still believe in trickle-down Reaganomics? While the economy collapses around them, I'm sure you can still find morons who insist that tax cuts for the rich are brilliant economic policy. Please, could we let the grownups not living in unicorn pixie gumdrop land be in charge of the economy now?

More mindless drivel from the Cesspool of Society: Demented John E.

Now for grown-up talk. Inflstion is a concern and it's largely being fed by increasing energy costs. Food costs are rising largely because of energy too. It costs more transport food, but also more farmers are growing more corn for ethanol, and less wheat and soy, which is the main reason food costs are rising. Higher grain costs mean higher feed costs for animals, which drives up meat prices.
This country needs more energy exploration. It needs more refineries. Refineries need expansion. Alternative fuels other than oil need to be found and created, but we also need to drill for more oil.
These are not quick fixes. Years of neglect -- from both parties, but more from Democrats obstruction of energy exploration than anything, have come home to roost.

Well, the FED just cut rates by 3/4 points today and this will further weaken the dollar and cause more inflation. We are so screwed.

Wow!!! John Weiner E stayed on topic, all while still being a worthless d!ck! Good work.
Supply side economics is a brilliant economic theory that works when executed purely...how to make you understand... very difficult... ah yes... its like weed. I stay away from drugs, but I think this will work. If you get something extra and inorganic in your weed and try to smoke it, it can take away from your getting stoned. But if its pure weed, then you enjoy it more and it serves its purpose.

In that way, when the government functions as it should (and Bush has wrongly overspent the gov't's limits), the supply-side both keeps money in the people's pockets while supporting the gov't's bloated capacity.

Its all really simple, except for the petty minded, hazey, wandering, stringy haired goof balls like yourself.
Braindead? I think not, little weiner man.

The Federal Reserve has damaged this country economically much more than al-Qaeda.

Seems like JohnE. is under a little pressure, being in Al-Anbar Province under McCain and Cheney's watchful eye.

After 52 months of positive growth, dopey JohnE. can only see the past 2 stagnant ones.

Gods speed JohnE. and come home...not too soon.

Paulo

Its all really simple, except for the petty minded, hazey, wandering, stringy haired goof balls like yourself.
Braindead? I think not, little weiner man.

Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 18, 2008 02:46 PM

Special ed Stevie,

Is that the best you've got?

It's nice to see that sexually confused little Republics like you are getting rich off of this pathetic economy, meanwhile everyone else can go pound sand, right?
Sign Up or Shut Up you little chickenhawk twit!

"is that the best you've got?"
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 18, 2008 3:32 PM
lame response... and no its not the best I've got. I wouldn't waste the "best I've got" on a slimeball like yourself. I save it for face to face debates that actually make sense....
you keep saying that that and it sounds like somebody drank too much last night and can't think of anything else to say. Cut and paste posts are a waste of time. maybe you should get a life beyond blogging, you loser.

Cut and paste posts are a waste of time. maybe you should get a life beyond blogging, you loser.

Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 18, 2008 04:05 PM

Bed wetter Stevie,

You sound like you're going to cry. :-(

I'm in your head and you know it, little Stevie:
http://www.amishrakefight.org/gfy/

Demented and Deranged Johnnny E., we all know you are unemployed, so what pounding of the sand are you doing? You're living off the taxpayer. You admitted as much, you fool.

Steve, actually LOVED your post at 2:46. Great work, there.

try to get a job in northern MI and sell your house you are lucky if someone will purchase for 1/2 what it is worth and when you get laid off due to factory moving out of the area, you are lucky if you get a job a year after your unemployment runs out.

Hey Johnny D,
You wanna run for Senate? First you should know that businesses pay into a fund and this pays for Unemployment benefits, not taxpayers.

Steve, actually LOVED your post at 2:46. Great work, there.

Posted by: John D | March 18, 2008 4:38 PM

Lil Johnny,

You don't even know how to find your backside with both hands.

Go back to shilling for your little trade rag, clown boy:

http://www.cygnusb2b.com/PropertyPub.cfm?PropertyID=418

Can we send Steve S, John D and John E all to "time out" so that the adults can have a conversation?

Luke... I'm game for time out... but when we get out, you might want to put John E on a leash. he talks way to much and doesn't really say anything of value. At least I make points (albeit typically different than yours).
John Weiner E sits at home all night and posts to people that aren't even there anymore because they have lives, work and family to attend to. Nobody really like John Weiner E... not even his own party... and thats just sad....

Now for grown-up talk. Inflstion is a concern and it's largely being fed by increasing energy costs. Food costs are rising largely because of energy too. It costs more transport food, but also more farmers are growing more corn for ethanol, and less wheat and soy, which is the main reason food costs are rising. Higher grain costs mean higher feed costs for animals, which drives up meat prices.
___________________________
Now for rational talk.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal last week (See David Malpass) the dollar has been driven lower by the policies of this mis-administration, and that is th cause for higher energy prices, and thus, for inflation. So if you don't like that analysis, perhaps it is time to assault the WSJ as a bastion of liberal media bias.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120519657936325885.html

"BUSH IRAQI FREEDOM VISA CARDS SHIPPED"

AS THE BUSH BEAT GOES ON, JP MORGAN AND THE BUSH ECONOMIC FAMILY HAS GIVEN THOUGHT TO ISSUE IRAQI FREEDOM VISA CARDS IN THE WAKE OF FINDING 9 BILLION DOLLARS IN "BREMERS LOST BRIEFCASE"

AS THE BUSH BEAT GOES ON WITH NO "IMMUNITY" AND MORE "CONGRESSIONAL CHURN" IT'S BAIL OUT, OR GET OUT.
IT'S GET OUT NOW OR NOT BE BAILED OUT LATER.

IT'S NO BID DAY FOR AMERICA, IT'S NO BID DAY FOR JOBS IN AMERICA. IT'S NO BID DAY FOR THE "DOLLAR" IN AMERICA.

IT'S NO BID TWO BIDS SIX BIDS MADE A DOLLAR DAY IN AMERICA.

SO GET IN LINE WITH "PROPER AMERICAN IDENTIFICATION" IF BORN AFTER 1964 AND GET YOUR "SKYWATCH" PATCH FOR $250.00 AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A 100.00 CREDIT LINE WITH YOUR NEW (IRAQI VISA CREDIT CARD)

NEXT WEEK IT'S BERNS AND STERNS VISA CREDIT CARD PRESENTED BY "saudi arabia"

What about if you born before 1965? NEXT, NEXT, WE SAID NEXT.

"WE'RE OFF TO THE SEE THE WIZARD THE WIZARD OF OZ"

BECAUSE IT'S A DOLLAR AT THE BLOCKBUSTER NEAR YOU.
AS WE NOW CANNOT AFFORD TO GO TO "DISNEY LAND"

BECAUSE WHAT WAS BEING SAVED AT 3.25% IS NOW 2.25% MINUS FICA, HOLA, COLA, AND STATE,LOCAL AND FEDERAL FEES BANKS CHARGE FOR ASKING HOW MUCH MONEY DID GEORGE BUSH TAKE FROM ME AND MY CHILDREN.

I'M OFF TO THE SEE THE WIZARD, THE WIZARD WIZARD OF OZ! CAN ANYONE LOAN A BROTHER A DIME!

Jackson, first of all businesses are taxpayers too. Second, not all of the money comes from the FUTA fund. Some money also comes from general state and/or federal funds, meaning all taxpayers -- individuals and businesses.

Hey Unemployable Johnny E: the point to your link?

Chelsea in 2016
Jenna Bush in 2024

Only Clintons and Bushs know how to run and save USA

Bill Clinton - Telecom Act of 96. Led to the tech melt down and recession of '01. As for the Telecom Act of '96, it was the brain-child of Reed Hunt (Chairman of the FCC and a Dem) and another Dem venture capitalist who were friends of Clinton. Working for the venture capitalist, I can say I had more than a few nice Christmas thanks to the nice bonuses we made on all the telecom deals we did (and sold out before the crash).

Then you have Clinton telling the Fed to relax mortage lending so "everyone could own a house". Well, we all just saw that blow up.

NAFTA anyone? How many jobs did Clinton send overseas?

Another point. When Bush's tax cuts expire, the average US household with $100,000 in income (not per person, I'm talking combined) will pay $3,000 to $5,000 more in taxes. The 25% tax bracket will go to 28% - 3%. The 10% bracket will disappear. Plus, they will loose the $1,000 child tax credit. You know, that tax break for the rich. Sure, the rich will be tens of thousands more. But the average Joe will be on the hook for $3,000 to $6,000 more. Can't wait for whining on that.

Geographically Ignorant Dumb Dumb Little Johnnie Dyslin, "the Joseph Stalin of Streamwood", what is "Inflstion"? I got out my dictionary to look up its definition, but it wasn't there. So I entered it into Google and it came back with 0 matches.

Is "Inflstion" one of the meds that they give you every day in the Elgin mental hospital that you call home?

Maybe we can find a real "journalist" who can tell us the definition of this new word, because you sure aren't a journalist.

[quote]
Go back to shilling for your little trade rag, clown boy:

http://www.cygnusb2b.com/PropertyPub.cfm?PropertyID=418

Posted by: John Hussein E | March 18, 2008 5:19 PM
[/quote]

That trade rag lists Geographically Ignorant Dumb Dumb Little Johnnie Dyslin, "the Joseph Stalin of Streamwood", as an EDITOR, yet he can't even spell "inflation" correctly! He's a true laughingstock of the "journalistic" world!

*****

Posted by: John D | March 18, 2008 2:30 PM

John,

I keep hearing you say this, and I can’t believe my ears each time. Well, I’m not going to hold my peace this time.

You are wrong.

First, inflation is not simply higher prices. Higher prices are a symptom of inflation but not the substance or cause of it. Inflation is the condition of having a greater money supply than necessary to represent the total value of goods and services in an economy. It is because we end up with more dollars than necessary or wanted – either by printing too many dollars, or because of a slowdown in the economy – that that the value of each dollar is watered down. The lower value of the money, of course, means more dollars are required to make up the same value of the goods and services sought in the market. That translates into higher prices.

Second, from my perspective – as a grower of corn and soybeans – it appears that energy and food costs are rising largely (but not entirely) because of the lower value of the dollar. Increased fuel, fertilizer and herbicide costs (many of which rely on petroleum products) are due to the rise in the price of oil. The rise in the price of oil is caused directly by the drop in value of the dollar – for which we can thank the inflationary practices of the federal government and the Federal Reserve Bank. Weren’t you watching a while back when oil prices spiked each time the Fed lowered its discount rates? That’s because the market players knew the money now being spent to purchase oil would lose value. They wanted the same value in dollars, so they upped the prices. In any event, I have been watching the price of corn and soybeans for a long time now. They have been staying consistently high in a manner that cannot be so easily explained by use of corn for ethanol. Demand has come and gone through the seasonal cycles, but the price is still high. The sliding value of the dollar, rather than a particular demand or use, makes a whole lot more sense as to why food costs have stayed consistently higher.

Third, it is simply not true that farmers grow corn for the purpose of selling it to ethanol plants, rather than for food, thus keeping the cost of food up. Farmers do not set the prices; the market does. I, like most other farmers, sell my corn at the grain elevator for the market price, and not to the ethanol plant. The value of corn for ethanol production may influence the price, but that’s not why I grow it. I’ll be getting the same price whether or not I would prefer to see a bunch of cows fattened on my corn. And, no, I’m not paid a government subsidy for growing corn for ethanol. That’s a myth.

Furthermore, use of corn in ethanol production does not remove it from use in food or as a feed. Many, if not most, ethanol plants, have facilities for the removal and processing of corn oil for use as food. In addition, even after grain is used to make ethanol, it is still used for animal feed. Beef cattle can be fed entirely on the corn byproduct of ethanol production. Sheep and other cattle require other grains, but can be fed, in part, on corn used for ethanol. So, your theory of a single use inconsistent with food and feed use is plainly incorrect.

Fourth, it is not entirely true that extra corn has been planted, causing the loss in both soybean and wheat crops. The USDA statistics show that the total number of acres planted with soybeans has actually increased, and not decreased. You might also take note that more than 10% of all corn planted this last year has been on previously fallow ground. Farmers decided to grow corn this year because corn prices have made planting more profitable than taking the government’s bribe to keep the land fallow. Admittedly, wheat planting is lower, but statistics show that lower wheat planting has, in large measure, been attributable to greater soybean planting. Corn is hardly the culprit.

Why? You do the math. Yesterday’s closing prices (at my elevator/cooperative) show the cost of corn at $5.12 a bushel, while soybeans were going for $11.90 a bushel. A month ago, the prices were each almost a dollar a bushel more. This is why I and a lot of other growers haven’t changed planting practices notwithstanding the rise in price of corn. The price of soybeans makes growing them just as profitable.

Fifth, and finally, there is yet another factor at work in the market for which you and many others simply fail to take account. It is a little reported fact – but nevertheless true - that there has been a global shortfall in wheat production within the past year. This shortfall has brought foreign demand to our market (which is, after all, part of the larger global market). The greater foreign demand has contributed to the competition for scarce wheat resources, which has contributed to the higher price of wheat and other grains.

In short, there are a number of market factors at work that have raised the cost of food. Ethanol production is a minor contributor, rather than the major factor you make it out to be. We are more troubled by sliding dollar values and foreign competition for the same foodstuffs than anything else.