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Today? If you are saving more and spending less, you are personally responsible for "dragging down" the US economy.
Yes, you. Over there. With the "emergency fund" in savings just in case you get laid off? It is all your fault.
And screw you for trying to help laid off co-workers, too. Get out there and spend yer cash.
Larry Kudlow, who said in 2007 that the "Goldilocks economy is outperforming all expectations" needs you to prop up his valuations. Stat. Need a laugh? Kudlow comedy gold:
Jobs are rising over 100,000 per month and the stock market is set to turn in a respectable year despite enormous headwinds. Low tax rates, modest inflation, and declining interest rates continue to boost Goldilocks, which is still the greatest story never told.
And Grandma Verna, who left her retirement cash in the market because that nice man Larry Kudlow said everything was coming up roses? Just got a part-time job as a greeter at the local WalMart to make ends meet.
More good news? FDIC asked for a higher lending limit from the treasury because its funds are drained.
Banks are blaming tighter capital requirements for their lack of lending, with nary a word about banking malefactors greedily creating this lending mess. Nope, it’s all that nasty regulation’s fault. (To be fair, a lot of smaller and/or prudent banks are lumped into this and they should not be. And their stocks are tanking because idiots like WaMu and Countrywide created a big shitpile.)
Those poor darlings in investment banking mourn their pariah status. Can’t we all feel their pain?
But all is not lost when K Street’s finest can still try to cash out a silver lining on the backs of the stimulus plan. Oh…yay.
Lost in the shuffle? This real world bit of history writ large:
When even these coping mechanisms were exhausted, families went into debt — a strategy that was viable as long as home values continued to rise. But when the housing bubble burst, families were no longer able to easily refinance and take out home-equity loans. The result: Americans no longer have the money to keep consuming. When you consider that consumers make up 70 percent of the economy, the magnitude of the problem becomes apparent.
What happened to the money? According to researchers Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, since the late 1970s, a greater and greater share of national income has gone to people at the top of the earnings ladder. As late as 1976, the richest 1 percent of the country took home about 9 percent of the total national income. By 2006, they were pocketing more than 20 percent. But the rich don’t spend as much of their income as the middle class and the poor do — after all, being rich means that you already have most of what you need. That’s why the concentration of income at the top can lead to a big shortfall in overall demand and send the economy into a tailspin. (It’s not coincidental that 1928 was the last time that the top 1 percent took home more than 20 percent of the nation’s income.)
Lack of consumer spending does impact the economy. No doubt.
But what of the greedy SOBs who have been pushing this rampant consumerism and hinky accounting to fill their own trough, while not plowing that back into anything but blow and yachts? Well, that’s none of your beeswax. Now pass the domestic caviar and begone.
(YouTube — AC/DC live in 1979 — Highway to Hell.)
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Welcome to Wal-Mart.
Get yer shit and get out.
Have a nice day.
It’s a mess, isn’t it?
The worst part is that Obama’s advisors on the economy and the bailout are the source of the problem and the financiers of his campaign.
The really scary scenario is that the banks made so much crappy loanage that they are all insolvent. In which case, screw them and give what’s left of the TARP to the credit unions — they’re at least making loans.
yup. if you get laid off it’s your fault. poor? your fault. i was thinking about that this morning in fact. i wondered how many of the people who turned out for the National Day of Service were republicans. Or any day at a food bank, shelter or anything of that nature. Stop laughing yet? Then I thought, well, why? and that was the answer I came up with. if you’re less fortunate they figure “Your fault. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.”
I read somewhere the other day that drug money was the only cash propping up banks internationally right now.
I’m trying to remember a little ditty from the military about chaos, involving screaming and shouting, which seems to be what the pols are doing but little else. The stimulus package is going nowhere unless the Rethugs get meaningless tax breaks across the board. I’m waiting for them to demand the tax cuts for the rich be made permanent.
Sad, isn’t it? At least with Iraq, the people who were right had the ears of key people in one of our parties.
What really sucks is that a lot of smaller, local banks are getting squeezed in this crapola, even though they were following prudent practices on loans and capital. But they get penalized for the greedy asshole types, too. There is no easy way out of any of this…and the save a rainy day fund prudence is now getting attacked by pundits who were screaming about a need for savings just last year.
Jeebus, we live in crazy times.
ahh maybe I am not mainstream. I dunno. I would say it is optimistic to suggest because people are not spending as much they are saving. What, do we have some insight into folk’s savings accounts? I don’t think so. To me it is a leap to suggest because people are not spending they must be saving. There would be some to suggest this money may represent the “cash” market, though others may attach a different name to this activity.
Rather I would suggest a different model:
People are making less money, their expenses to survive are increasing practically at a pace that would stagger most mere mortals, hence we be still in a whole lot of trouble. And who got all the money that has fallen away from our financial institutions? Is that evaporated? Or gobbled up by the freaking greedy rich (who’s income doubled during the Bush years)?
I gotta get out of this place….
And that did a lot of good.
Personally, I’m glad that I’ve been spending less and saving more. Today at noon my employer is going to announce that all non-union staff will have their salaries cut 10%. Oddly, there doesn’t seem to be any commitment in the plan to restore that 10% when things pick up. I suppose it’s better than being laid off and having no income at all but a little voice in the back of my head keeps saying that’s exactly what they want me to believe.
Two bits of good news:
1) I don’t have a savings account, so I’m helping the economy.
2) The US government is hiring for the 2010 Census. If you’re looking for a part time job, go to 2010 Census.gov.
Called the paradox of thrift. The more people try to save (or at least cut back on spending to try to adhere to a budget), the less they are able to save because they lose their jobs.
And honestly? I don’t mind people making money. In fact, I encourage it — having run my own business, I know how tough it can be to meet the monthly nut for salaries and overhead and have anything left over for yourself.
But it’s the unmitigated gall of people who deliberately fudged their books to show a profit on paper when there wasn’t one so they could suck money out of their companies and cash out their stock on a high and then leave the rest of us holding the empty pursestrings pointing a finger and saying “it’s your fault” that really pisses me off.
What industry? And what is happening the pay of the union workers?
Could it be this one?
Or is it this one?
Ouch — yeah, it is better than losing a job outright, but it hurts to have to pull back knowing that the scenario where the money flows back in is likely nonexistent.
The mortgage company I just lost my contract with did nothing with sub prime loans because they saw the danger. The mess has been impacting their business even though they did the right thing.
I will say this, their origination business is picking back up and it seems like it’s for the houses that were repossessed. If this holds, they will be ok.
btw, saw FOX for a few minutes today and Lamar Alexander was on. Start of interview— FOX guy feeds him a talking point question: “Gee, we’re not hearing anything about the housing crisis these days. Why not?” answer:
“Well, Republicans believe that housing started this mess, so that’s where we should start to fix it.” Click. I don’t know what went on after that. But I never heard that as a R reason for opposing the stimulus package. People are out of jobs? Tough shit. Fix housing. That’s the priority. Don’t know how he proposed doing this ’cause I turned him off (not ’cause I was upset or anything, I had to take care of something. But I imagine there are 3 components. 1) Don;t help lower income people get loans. They’re to blame for the mortgage crisis after all; 2) Give banks as much $$ as they want. They will make loans. And 3) tax cuts. Because that’s part of every Republican “plan.” I was just wondering if this “fix housing first” line was a new talking point.
I’m still baffled by the Gregg nomination. Why would he even be considered? What am I missing?
(It’s not coincidental that 1928 was the last time that the top 1 percent took home more than 20 percent of the nation’s income.)
No. No, it’s not.
Dat be da one. Thanks.
That’s one of the things that sucks most with this: businesses that were prudent and practiced financially sound principles are still tainted by the bad acts of a few really crappy actors. And because everyone is so skittish right now, we are all paying the price for it, even folks who did things right.
How much are they scraping if Lamar Alexander is trotted out as the pitch man? He makes paint drying seem scintillating…
I want to know how Larry Kudlow, Ben Stein etc how their stock portfolios are doing. Goldilocks economy greatest story never told just how can hacks like them keep their jobs?
Had to get some car repairs done yesterday and was forced to listen to Fox blaring in the background. Ugh. Chickens with heads cut off make more sense.
Credit unions seem to be doing ok, at least all the ones in our area are fine, still making loans and so on, In our area, they have been the only source of loans for small business (that is, loans under $100,000)for at least the last 10 years; the commercial banks locally wouldn’t touch that business so now the local credit unions have it all.
And where are the news articles about banks firing the people who approved those loans? I have not read 1 article on 1 bank that has fired anyone who made these bad loans? How do we know it won’t continue if these people are not fired? It should be easy to find them. We have been told certain states have more delinquencies but where are the firings and is prosecutions an option?
You should have told them to change the channel otherwise you’d take your car elsewhere. Even if it was an empty threat, you would have made a point.
Gregg supported every Bush initiative. Appointing him to Commerce means Obama will have 3 Republicans in his cabinet. Never has there been 3 cabinet positions held by the opposition party. Never. It’s beginning to look like Obama is already a prisoner of his mantra of “bipartisanship.”
You have to complain when you see the tv on Fox. My fave pizza joint had their’s tuned to Fox. I told them it was ruining my appetite and to please turn it. They did.
Fired them? Why they probably received a big bonus, thanks to the people.
Kudlow is a most extraordinary shill. That CNBS promotes his brand of lies is extremely relevant and telling. On whose behalf does he lie? On whose behalf does CNBS EXIST?
Ask Timothy Geithner who is REAL BOSS is, and you’ll have your answer.
ding! ding! ding!
It’s mind boggling to see how everything got flipped from right to wrong as the norm. Hopefully the wake up call will be answered and it gets flipped back.
Given his druthers, I’m surprised Obama has so many Ds in his cabinet. Of course, many of those are closet Rs.
Thought of doing that, but the service manager had just told me they wouldn’t charge the $500 to replace my struts since my car was only a month out of warranty. So I behaved. ;)
I’ve often wondered if credit union returns on loans are because they are often smaller and locally owned and so folks are less likely to default out of the local shaming factor? It’s weird that credit unions are doing so much better, especially because their car loan terms are often a lot less stringent with a lot of them. There has to be some reason it works that way — and I wonder how much of it has to do with them not spending shitloads advertising outlandishly crazy terms across the internet and through mailed-out offers but sticking to basic business practices instead.
His economic team is certainly closet R’s.
What’s Kudlow have to say about the demise of fiat currency, like the Rule, if free fall:
http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/3411
How dismissive is he of Ron Paul’s efforts to End The Fed?
Presented by Ron Paul at “Our Enemy, Inflation,” the Mises Circle in Houston, sponsored by Jeremy S. Davis. Recorded Saturday, 24 January 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwHdSl1ASbA
Heh. $500 is a good reason to put up with Fox!
Yep.
ooops – that was supposed to say “Ruble” as in Russian currency
A caller on C-Span said only here could you get a Gov removed from office for making a deal for a senate seat and then a few weeks later a Gov is applauded for making a deal to fill a senate seat. And he also said why wasn’t an Independant appointed to Gregg’s seat?
Excellent point. For example, one of may faves…. a 75 yr.old independent bookstore of note is closing. It’s surrounded by universities and has made steady profits all of these years selling textbooks. It is especially cherished as the source of law books and materials. (There are five excellent law schools within a hundred miles. Also, they own their own building.)
The main reason for their demise is the severe cutbacks of their credit lines from the book publishers. They have never had to access large credit lines from local banks…not that they would help them now anyway.
Their local newspaper printed a story recently about several locally owned retail establishments of 40+ yrs. vintage who have all closed since Christmas.
Very sad days.
I feel sorry for all the folks losing their pensions and, like the proverbial old womon at Walmart having to get a job. My 78 yr old next door neighbor is having to work part time and he is in a wheelchair!
These poor families who have no health insurance, I just don’t know how they’re going to make it.
Yup, Bush did exactly what the Shock Doctrine prescribed.
Frankly, I’m scared if Obama doesn’t throw the Rethugs under the bus.
“When the president does it, it’s not a crime.”
So, anyone else planning a larger “kitchen garden” this year? I’ve been trying to suss out how I can tuck a few more veggies in and among my perennials. I think I’ve come up with an ingenious way to work in some bright lights swiss chard among my flowers and have it look nice. *g*
Yes, it’s been a little cold and snowy here while I’ve been reading my garden catalogs. Why do you ask?
that’s because its the result of a systemic risk that was built in by the likes of summers and schumer – and not just that some financial institutions with bad practices. the incentive structures were built to reward the bad practices. anyone who looked for good returns on their money market fund (for example – i don’t have one, but i would have done the same).
it was a kind of selection process – except the selection was, not the result of natural processes, but designed (by our regulatory structures to select for the bad institutional practices.
It’s one thing to cut a political deal. It’s another thing entirely to try to use a political deal to line your pockets. One is politics, the other is bribery and/or extortion.
Did I read you were going to have some sort of Plant Lady as a guest soon? Did I miss that or have you scheduled anything?
you already have enough on your plate, but i don’t see this happening – looks more like shock doctrine’s disaster capitalism to me.
these are not the people i want in charge of remaking our financial system.
LOL. It was on “FOX & Friends”. Maybe he was the only one up that early.
lol
Great way to start my day at FDL. I’m probably older than most of you. (a shocking revelation, I imagine). And I gotta tell you that watching my modest assets swirly down the loo is pretty close to terrifying. As terrifying as not having a job? No. Although I don’t. Gave up my bidness when David was sick, but that was my choice.
Time for radical recovery now, eh?
When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.
Sadly, there are relatively easy ways out (as David Cay Johnston and others have discussed) — they’re just not allowed to be talked about, because the people who control the majority of the media that most Americans see are in cahoots with those who don’t want us to talk about these ways out.
Look at Ian’s post yesterday on credit unions: How many stories have we seen on the relative strength of credit unions, as compared to banks, on the CBS/NBC/ABC Evening Newses? Or on CNN or FOX? Or heard on drive-time radio? I can’t think of any. Yet they can make time in their busy news schedules to berate GM execs for — GASP! — owning private planes and using them!
when you find out, could you please let me know?
No plant lady that I know of in the works.
I would have asked them to change the station.
i call them both bribery (although not necessarily in the legal sense). what does it matter if the payment is in political favors or in dollars? we’re not talking here about something like “vote for my bill and i’ll vote for your’s”
Consider the demand made. There will be nothing else that will stabilize the markets than to have business tax cuts made permanent. It is the uncertainty of this now that is causing financial turmoil.
A good article on how we got in this mess and some of the big players:
What Cooked the World’s Economy
http://www.villagevoice.com/20…..s-economy/
And indelibly inked purple thumbs to show the world they cared enough to vote.
Yup.
Maybe it was a Book Salon or maybe I dreamt it. Sometimes reality and my dream life merge.
When the world is going to hell in a hand basket, you might as well have a little fun right?
That depends on the terms of the negotiations as to whether there is a quid pro quo of some particular value or not. Getting into the finer details does matter — but as a general rule, trying to extort money out of someone in order to consider their candidacy is a crime.
see. and the R’s are always pushing tax cuits and people will invest, create job and poof! economy is a-hummin’. even with tax cuts people need loans to get new machinery, expand and hire, etc. and the credit isn’t there for many of them. they are so full of it.
No clue there – but they certainly seem more conservatively run than banks. I did once(and this is years ago when there were more small industrial credit unions around)’do time’ as a member of the loan committee of our credit union and I have never seen such ‘tough love’ in my live. When people would come for credit card consolidation loans, we used to make them give us every single credit card they had and we had a guy on the committee who would literally destroy them right in front of the person’s face..and then hand them back one card: Sears. That was just in case they needed a new furnace or water heater or something. Everything else got taken.
I like having a little fun, but I also think I’m going to stay away from hand baskets.
Yeah, I’ve decided to plant more veggies this year including beans, corn and squash (the three sisters garden), as well as the herbs, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant I normally plant.
Planting veggies with perennials is a great idea, and can benefit both plants if done correctly. Wiki has a nice listing of companion plants here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L…..ion_plants
Hmmmm…might you be thinking about Marion Nestle, who will be here for book salon on March 15th?
Yeah, I’m going over seed catalogues now. Will be freezing a lot of produce, if their is any electricity.
exactly – although i think we’re past place where it can be easy. and the longer we make stupid choices, the worse it’s going to be even if we do start making better choices.
btw, on the list of things not talked about: john conyers’ bill for single payer health care h.r.676. last congress, the third time he’s submitted it, it had over 90 cosponsors and has been endorsed by over 417 union organizations in 48 states, the largest Nurse’s Union (CNA/NNOC), the largest Nurses professional association (ANA), the National Association of Social Workers, largest physician specialty group, the American College of Physicians and Physicians for a National Program (PNHP) with organized activists in most States (this is all from pnhp).
as i wrote – not necessarily in the legal sense, but in the moral sense for sure.
kids are getting bigger and we had to get rid of a swing set. have more room now so we can. the wife has planted in the past so she’ll probably take advantage of the x-tra space. i miss the Jersey tomatoes, though.
Going to approach the city council and planning commission to allow the raising of chickens and rabbits in the city.
There was an interesting discussion on CBS this morning brought on by the Phelps bong story. Califano was talking about the dangers of both alcohol and mj, including more kids in treatment for maraj. than alcohol, + the mj now is much stronger than that of the ’70s. Then former Olympic guy talking about mj no worse than alcohol, kids will be kids sort of view point, as in “blow it off.” Califano did not look amused.
Actually, I am. And I know very little about raising vegetables but things are getting scary enough that I may plow up some of my lawn to grow some things. My biggest challenge will be keeping critters out.
Speaking of which, my poor little dog was attacked by a fox last night. We’re all traumatized. She only suffered a small bite on her leg but now we’re worried about rabies and the fear of another attack. No, we didn’t get the fox.
FYI, John Menard of Menard’s is stimulating the economy. He donated a substantial sum to Normie Coleman’s recount war chest, per MPR.
Christy, I’m REAL glad hat someone else feels as strongly as I do about Kudlow…WHAT A SCUMBAG !!
Kudlow was campaigning REAL hard for the Fed Reserve job before Bernanke was appointed…That would have been a lot of fun.. We would now be a REAL third-world country by now if that had happened..Someone in the progressive REAL-WORLD community needs to come right out and tell Kudlow to his face that he’s an ass and is trying to preserve his own cash at the cost of everyone else – consequences be damned.
Up until recently, I would have recommended Krugman, but it’s become clear that Krugman is so far ahead of Kudlow that it’s not even worth the effort of suggesting that Krugman be the one to deliver the message. Many folks still listen to what Kudlow has to say and it’s now dangerous to their future health/welfare but they have had to much of the KoolAide to recognize truth versus sirens song..
CNBC is a republican channel and has been for years. There was an analyst from CNBC on C-SPan yesterday spouting class warfare because the gov is telling co’s they can’t give out bonuses while collecting the the public’s tax dollars. He said you “need” Wallstreet to get out of this financial mess and without it you can’t get out of this mess. Well, I think he is wrong, I think it will be decades before the people let them fool us and steal our money again.
BTW Why would C-Span have an analyst from Wall Street on when they are not gov? Is C-Span turing into a repub channel?
Honestly, Kudlow is such a target-rich environment that it’s almost too easy to mock him. But sometimes? I just can’t resist.
A good site for anyone in urban environments interested in raising some of their own food.
http://urbanchickens.org/
Thanks. I think you’re right. Got food and gardens mixed up.
I’m still planning to make a square foot garden, although I’m going to do circles. The family is on notice, because I’ve recruited them.
They have people on from all sides alla time. They just had Bernie Sanders on last week, too.
Told this story here before…..favorite restaurant for a particular sandwich constantly ran fox in both rooms. When I asked that it be changed, was told it was the owner’s decision. My decision: stop eating there. Sometime thereafter, restaurant gone. No cause and effect but, damn, karma’s a lovely lady. :-)
I think what phelps did was really stupid. On the other hand, i know alot of people who have gone into rehap who used marijuana as frequently as one can, however, it was not the marijauna that mostly turned their lives to the point of needing to go to rehab. Marijuana is alot stronger than it used to be in the 70s, or so i have heard i was born in the 80s, but it still has never killed anyone like alchohol related deaths and DUI deaths and is also still relatively cheap and does not lead to too much crime like cocaine.
Thanks for the diggs, gang — much appreciated!
Well, last weekend on book-tv it was filled with wingnuts.
Just bought a few grow bulbs for some old shop lights….starting some lettuce and spinach seeds today. Yehhhhhhha, spring!
OT Breaking Nancy Kilefer maybe withdrawing from OMB nomination due to tax problems/
Homeownership rates back to 2001 levels. Another roundtrip on W’s watch.
I can *so* see you sitting on a credit union board. *G*
Bought myself an LED growlight this year, and can’t wait to use it!
I can’t stand him either. This is form wiki:
oh no, do any of these guys pay taxes or is it just us?
I find this stuff so amazing. A tax audit/review is known to make people crazy, “grown men cry” etc. Hell, why do we worry so much about taxes? I am amazed.
Looks like it’s just us: just like Leona Helmsley said, “Only the little people pay taxes.” Who knew?
More from wiki on Kudlow.
Weird but I’ve been getting that same feeling as well. Haven’t watched much recently…the reaction is from reading the C-Span line-up in the mornings.
“I’m still baffled by the Gregg nomination. Why would he even be considered? What am I missing?”
Maybe someone else already answered, but at the risk of being redundent…
Gregg’s governor is a Democrat, who will appoint a Democrat to replace the Republican Judd. With Franken now confirmed, that gives us 60 votes–a filibuster proof majority.
The GOP can fish or cut bait. It’s up to them.
Kitchen garden, yes. Just yesterday I was looking at my irrigated perennial bed and thinking about planting herbs, tomatoes and possibly beans in amid the salvia and rockrose. Desert gardening is different from elsewhere, but I’m already putting water on that patch of ground.
Is that one of those new whiz-bang lights (that cost rather a lot) that you’re also supposed to be able to use to grow hydroponically (sp?)?
It’s Gregg wouldn’t switch unless a R was appointed to replace him, and that has been agreed to.
Unfortunately, Obama has apparently made a deal that Gregg’s replacement will be a republican. Or else Gregg won’t take the job.
I fail to understand why it’s so freaking important to have him in Commerce.
Are we supposed to believe that Kudlow’s not still doing blow? He practically comes out of his skin!
What a complete and total scumbag. Well, both are, so they are perfect for each other.
He doesn’t seem to be very bright. Why does the repub stock channel keep some one who is so wrong ? From wiki
I wish we could have a unanimous “Let’s face it” that W was not tops at anything positive….just the way it is.
It’s a fairly cheap bulb I got on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Par38-Gr…..038;sr=1-1
Just bought a $5 shoplight to go with it, so I’m set!
A C-Span caller once said Obama’s mother was a US citizen and no matter where he was born he would still be a US citizen and why didn’t C-Span correct them when callers said he wasn’t. I thought that’s right, if I was in Canada and gave birth, my child would still be a US citizen.
No annual flowers for me this years, veggies only and as many as I can fit in.
Matter of fact, I am planning a container garden. I have a back yard that is large (relatively speaking in this town). My neighbor and I are doing everything in pots and raised beds. My son (in another state) is sprouting a bunch of seedlings for me and sending them down this way via some mardi gras guests. I’m also starting some sprouts here. Anything I can’t find room for will be listed on craig’s list. Biggest problem is finding soil. I can’t use this dirt, which sat in corps of engineers icky flood water for weeks, so we have to buy potting soil. I’ve got some compost going, but not enough for everything we’re planning…though that should change over time. I did find a place to buy stable manure for .25 for a 20 lb bag, but composting it will take time too. Our goal…to feed ourselves and our neighbors, if needs be.
Listening to Dianne Rhem show. She has someone from the Heritage Foundation saying the stimulus package should be 70% tax cuts and 30% infrastructure. How long must the U.S. suffer these fools?
I thought elections had consequences but Obama’s picks suggest otherwise.
Christy, and all who do the gardening thing: Read up on genetically modified seeds. I’ll get a link later which has a link to sources for buying HEIRLOOM SEEDS which are not genetically modified.
I had a rutger heirloom tomatoe plant and used horse manure and had over 100 tomatoes on that plant at the same time. It was awesome.
To all gardeners: I’m sure most of you have heard of Monsanto and their patent on genetically modified seeds. Below is a link to info abuut that scary monopoly on the world’s food supply. (good video) Near the bottom of the article is the link to sources for heirloom seeds which have not been genetically modified.
Christy, if there has not been a diary here at FDL on this subject, now would be a good time for one. Thanks.
Monsanto, genetically modified seeds, heirloom seeds
Seeds of Change is a good source for heirlooms and non-genetically modified seeds. Johnnys Select Seeds is another good option.
And when the greeter keels over and dies the manager grabs the nearest elderly retiree and has them load the corpse into a cart to be wheeled out back and dumped with the rest of the garbage.
What a disgrace.
This policy by Monsanto of patenting seeds is one of the reasons farmers in India are committing suicide at a high rate. They cannot get out of debt having to buy new seed every year.
good point. I have been shopping the heirloom seeds and found some old fashioned mushmelons! My orders have started coming in and I’m hoping they all work!
That’s great, sunshine! I bet your tomatoes didn’t taste like cardboard either, huh? I conclude from the article I linked to that most food that we buy is from genetically modified seeds. Native seeds will become increasingly harder to find, so save your seeds from year to year and pass them on to the future gardeners you may know.
I don’t like the New World Order that invades our lives even to the food we eat, (including meat) and the milk we drink.
I keep wondering if there is a link between the genetically modified seeds and the recent outbreaks of e-coli in spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and now salmonella in peanut products. Does anyone know of any reliable research that’s been done on that?
GEE!! Great to hear from all of you: Bluetoe2 @ 121, James @ 123, and Lindy @ 124. Thanks to all of you for your seed sources and letting me know you are aware of this monstrous problem.
Did you’ll know that when our man went to Iraq to write their new constitution (Garner??), he wrote into their LAW that the farmers were not allowed to save their seeds from year to year, but must buy their seeds each year from imports (ie. Monsanto). The Iraqui farmers had saved seeds from ancient times. The new gov of Iraq should strike down that seed law.
I would seriously doubt that was a Garner thing. He didn’t do dumb things like that. Sounds like a Jerry Bremer thing to me!
I knew a person who drove a truck for a co with stuff from a sewer plant and he took it to farmers. I have wondered how safe that can be?
And about milk, we are the only specices that drinks milk all our lives and we are the only species that drinks milk from another species.
Not that I like him but when asked how Huckabee lost all that weight he said (paraphrasing) that if it came into the window of your car, he didn’t eat it, if it wasn’t a food 100 years ago it probably isn’t now and he doesn’t eat it, and he now exercises which he didn’t used to do.
President Obama, this issue seriously needs to be changed and fast.
Please, please, please send a hero to address this issue asap!
You’re right, Ann! I was pulling from memory; I shouldn’t do that. My bad. It was Bremmer. hmmmm…think I’ll see what his background is; any connection to Monsanto?
Thank you for this link. It has a video that I’ll watch tonight.
http://www.greenlivingtips.com…..video.html
You have it exactly right. That is also the way Saving and Loans banks operated before the inflation in the late 1970s caused nominal interest rates to rise above the ceiling imposed on their deposit rates (regulation Q), causing their depositors to move their funds elsewhere. From there we got the deregulation to ’save’ the S&L’s, and we know how that turned out. But to begin with the idea was like mutual credit: locals lending to each other, in effect pooling their saving.
The nationalization of American banking has its good and bad side. The bad side stems from the amount of money that could be earned in the short run by making fictitious profits. You could do this with a small bank, but the return would never warrant the risk. You do it with Citi or Lehman Bros or Goldman Sachs, and you walk away with $100 million plus. That’s hard money to refuse.
That is exactly right. The issue with respect to the Presidency is where he was born. If he was born outside the United States, he would not be eligible for President. The prohibition was written into the Constitution in 1787 because of the fear that some foreign prince might be invited to lead the country, the way the Hanoverians had been invited to be Kings of England at the start of the eighteenth century. The clause is like an appendix. No one remembers what it was originally good for.
sunchine, you point out some very important issues:
para 1) Material from sewage treatment plants used as fertilizer: a few years ago there was an article about income from same here in our small community. I wondered about it then – germs, bacteria, virus(s) in human waste and what chemicals are used to ‘treat’ that waste…..
Also, all those kajillions of soiled disposable diapers pushed into our landfills…horrible thoughts of what that is distributing into our soil, the drain-off into streams and rivers….outcome can’t be good.
para 2) Milk we drink: the video tells of the toxic effects of injecting cows with Bovine Hormone Growth shots to increase milk production. Results in pus in the milk….and other harmful effects.
As for humans drinking milk from another species: I’m 74, grew up on a farm, drank untreated cow’s milk all my childhood. Our cows ate natural grass from unfertilized land with no pesticides used. All 5 of us ‘kids’ grew strong with good natural immunities, hardly ever sick. In my case that seems to have been passed on to my 5 kids.
When I was born (Feb/1934) it was during a period when our cow was dry. We had a mare who had a new colt, so for a period of time I was fed mare’s milk. I’ve often wondered how much that contributed to my strong immune system (and my natural love for horses and their acceptance of me).
gloomy thoughts….think I’ll go out into the sunshine and plan my growing area and peruse the heirloom seed sources given by Bluetoe2 @ 121.
Does not work like that. Savings a bank deposit are used to fund loans. The savings might not fund comsumption, probably going back to fund the stimulus currently.
1. Microbes treat sewage. They are good at it too. Had a lot of practice.
2. Cows milk is good for baby cows. The homogolized milk sold in the US is especially bad (too much fat).
3. Dirt ingested as a child strengthens one’s immue system. New though is that keeping kids too clean stunts immune system development.
Synoia, thanks for your reply. I am too ignorant about microbes to respond — hope they’re natural and do a good job.
My daughter buys unprocessed milk from the Whole Foods in her town. We don’t have a WF here. I recently changed to 2% milk, but had a gallon a short while and noticed strange long strings of solidified matter clinging to the walls of the container. Now what do I do?
I fully agree with the dirt theory re building up immunities. Sure true in my case. hee,hee,hee
As if the Iraqi farmers will even listen. They’ll do what they always did.
Why is it that I am once again getting mailers from my banks to transfer credit card balances? At very low interest rates?
Becuase of the amout of lying on tax returns. If ine tells the truth, nothing to fret about.
They show gun trials at opportune times during campaigns.
Yesterday a wall streeter saying this is class war fare and you can’t have a recovery without us and gov can’t tell co’s what to do about pay checks and bonuses.
This morn I had to watch a program on neclear energy just a couple weeks after a president who is for clean renewable energy takes office. Who decides what goes on air on C-Span? Brian Lamb.
http://gallery.pictopia.com/wa…..o/2734092/
I was refering to the seeds.