Am I the only one? Options

[Mommy]

Am I the only one here who feels that the media is largely to blame for our country being on the brink of a recession?
I mean, the way I see it is our country is driven by consumer spending. Yes, the current credit crisis is largely to blaim as well, but I think it was made worse by the fact that the media has been overdramatizing the current state of the economy which in turn worries consumers. Worried consumers don't make big purchases. I am so sick of headlines that read "Some analysts say our country is already in recession" and shit like that.
I'm starting to think that our country will fall into a depression, and the media will be to blame because consumers will pull their money out of banks, out of investments, etc.
Another thing, I think the federal gov't needs to back the fuck off and quit lending banks billions upon billions of dollars to stay above water. Our national debt has to have skyrocketed in the past 8 months. The only move I agree with was the move to keep Bear Stearns from collapsing.
And now this morning they unveleiled a financial overhaul for our economy... "The largest proposal since The Great Depression" according to media sources *rolleyes*.... burried deep within the story, they briefly mention that it will be held up in Congress for months, maybe even years.
Why does our economy rest in the hands of a bunch of bureaucrats in Congress whose knowledge of economics most likely comes from one college course they took as a freshman, some 20-30 years ago? I don't like it.
These are just a bunch of things I have been thinking about lately. Believe me, I am no economist. Last time I took economics was in high school, but I think a lot of these things are pretty obvious.

Thoughts on the media coverage? Thoughts on the Bear Stearns move? Thoughts on the new financial overhaul released today (links below)?

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080331/fed_overhaul.html
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/31/news/econo...dex.htm?cnn=yes

[impala454]

Maybe there is some terrible problem and our whole economy is going down the toilet, but honestly I just don't see it. The only product I purchase that the price has gone up on a lot lately is gas, and the word in that industry is that prices will be dropping soon.

A friend of mine's dad is pretty high up at Exxon and I was talking to him about jobs at the various oil companies, he mentioned to stay away from Valero, as he said they pay a premium to steal employees away from Exxon, Shell, etc, but that word in the industry is that oil prices are about to start dropping, and they'll have to start cutting those jobs to get that money back.

I think the media is to blame for the general idea that our economy is so turrible and about to just take a huge dump and we'll all be poor and in Great Depression 2.0. I'd guess its just the general democrat pre-election scare tactics (yes the media is largely democrat). Everything always tends to be "bad" just before elections, so the candidates can say "I'll Fix ______ !" even if it's not really broken.

[blaarg]

Maybe there is some terrible problem and our whole economy is going down the toilet, but honestly I just don't see it. The only product I purchase that the price has gone up on a lot lately is gas, and the word in that industry is that prices will be dropping soon.

sure maybe the only effects YOU see is gas going up but...

How many people are losing their homes because they can't afford to pay?
How many people's homes are get devalued because of a slowing market?
How many people (personal and businesses) abroad are getting fucked over by the dollar devaluating SUBSTANTIAL percentages in the past couple of years?

I mean, I don't think the whole depression thing is valid, but it is troubling times and I think the term recession is appropriate...

<shrug>

[impala454]

sure maybe the only effects YOU see is gas going up but...

How many people are losing their homes because they can't afford to pay?
How many people's homes are get devalued because of a slowing market?
How many people (personal and businesses) abroad are getting fucked over by the dollar devaluating SUBSTANTIAL percentages in the past couple of years?

I mean, I don't think the whole depression thing is valid, but it is troubling times and I think the term recession is appropriate...

<shrug>

I can't answer your questions. I'd be interested to see the real answers though. I know I haven't lost my home, or had my mortgage go way up where I can't afford it. I know my home's value has not gone down, rather it's gone up. And as far as my dad's small business as well as his buddy's big business, and the business I work for have not been "fucked over" recently because of anything. It's just been business as usual. I'm not even sure what "fucked over" is supposed to mean in this case.

I'm not just brushing it off like there is no problem, but if it's so incredibly terrible and we're all so screwed by all these apocolyptic financial times, why would I not notice any of it in my regular old budget which involves a pretty wide array of the typical financial institutions we use as Americans? The only real hit I noticed was that my fidelity IRA only gained like 8% last year, when the year before it gained like 14%. Not a cause for panic IMHO

Which explanation is more likely:
1. This is truly a second financial great depression in our midst, and we better prepare for the worst by implementing drastic policy.
2. We're seven months away from a presidential election, which means candidates/media/anyone involved in politics has to paint the worst picture possible of our society so their candidate can tout their solutions to these "problems".