What is wrong with the economy today? What's caused it?

Question

There is no doubt the economy isn't doing as well as usual right now, it's in a dip. There is much arguing going on about what caused it, but it all seems political. Democrats say Bush policy, what policy and why? What is a step by step analysis on what policy caused this? Republicans, if not Bush, then who or what is responsible?

I don't buy the arguments that since Bush is president, he caused it. Or that since Congress is responsible for law and spending and democrats control congress, that they caused it.

What brought this on, how, and why?

Answer 1

Too many idiot libs whining affects consumer confidence.  But it is solid and continues to grow anyway.

Answer 2

To be truthful it's not just any one persons faults there are a lot of factors that go into the economic problem. As most people know who follow the stock market the biggest problem right now is all the morgages that people just arn't paying anymore, or are declaring bankruptcy on. However this is partially the gov't fault as well, I don't remember exactly what happened but they wanted to expand the people who were eligible to get a morgage from banks and other like companies. The requirements were decreased and people bought homes by the flood. Housing prices increased and people took out loans they could barely pay to by home that were overpriced because of the increased supply of buyers. Eventually the buyers could not make their payments and their homes were reposed by the bank. That normally does happen every once in a while but this time it also happened by the flood because those people who were given loans should never have been eligible because they could not afford it. We have banks almost about to go out of business because of all the forclosures, and the economy increases. This is basically what happens when you have gov't interfering with business, supply and demand always fix themselves if the gov't does try to fix it and then it really gets messed up.

Then gax prices went up at the same time. The reason this is so important is because when gas prices go up, food, clothing, everything also goes up in price as well. So all the sudden people had less money to use for consumption because they were spending more money on the bare essentials. Further decreasing our economy because noone wants to spend anymore. Now businesses are suffereing because people do not want to buy their products, like GM trying desperately to sell their gas guslers.

Another aspect of the crumbling economy we must consider is the increase of taxes over the last few decades and the increase of welfare and health care benefits given to those who won't work. The increase of taxes on businesses cut into their profit margin till they wern't making much. So they cut their profit margin again by taking away jobs from the united states and giving them to other countries. Ironically this the same excuse that some people who go on gov't support or welfare use. That jobs are going overseas or to illegals, so the gov't gives them money to not work, further increasing the need to increase taxes. It's a stupid cycle. Plus that not working and receiving gov't benefits is very easy and you actually get better benefits than you would if you had a job, so why should people work? And none working people who soak up resources only drain our economy. And yes I have experience in this because one whole side of my family takes complete advantage of the system.  

Answer 3

The cause and effect is really quite simple.  The economy works in cycles and the cycle goes up and down routinely ever 5 to 10 years.  We have a HUGE up cycle with the development of technology (Internet) back in the 90's.  Politically the "left" likes to give Clinton credit for this, but in reality it was a technology boom and it fueled a housing boom that lasted until about 3 years ago.  Ultimately the housing boom had to correct and that has caused a dramatic reduction in the available capital for many people (capital is investment).  No investment, no new jobs, no new housing, etc; and we have an economic down turn.

Answer 4

After s******g us for 8 years 3 month before the election the republicans are pulling out of Iraq, they believe in global warming, they want to invest in alternative fuels, and the price of gas is going down faster than ever before. By november it will be very hard to see or remember any problems with the economy.

Answer 5

The devaluation of money has caused it. And isn't it a coincidence that it is happening now right before the election,,when you know G Soros is behind Obama and G Soros made a fortune devaluing money. A bad economy is good for dems.

Answer 6

This world crisis is unstoppable, it is another sign of the agony of Capitalism and USA is epicenter of the world crisis.

We, Bolsheviks, are happy, everything is going on as previously planned.

Answer 7

GWB set the tone for the present economy.  His, and other conservatives policies, caused it.  Congress is a mess because they don't have enough votes to over-ride a Bush veto, and get something done.  They need a 2/3 majority to over-ride, and that won't happen as things are now.  Since most middle- and working class Americans are being left behind, more of the same policies will leave more Americans behind.  Instead of a tax increase to pay for his useless wars, he has borrowed a record amount of money from other countries, and gotten the US deeply in debt again.  Now that this borrowing has caused a huge trade deficit, the Dollar is worth about 1/3 of what is was worth in 2000.  This is a hidden tax on everyone who works for wages and salaries.

This isn't ROCKET SCIENCE!  Bush has used middle-America's credit card to put a new engine and a new transmission is his car and it still won't run because the gas tank is empty...

Answer 8

Citizens, bank system and dollar politic.

Politics and Party can't really have influence on something that burst so fast. except thinking Consumption is the best economic solution

Trying not to live on credit and thinking preventing future generation to pay national bill should be the firsts steps but that ll not happen cause its also smell just like another gamble and solutions aren't easy

Caring about my family life level and taxes to pay is still the priority

Answer 9

OK, aside from the natural cycles that occur all the time in the economy, there are other unique forces in play right now.

Firstly, OIL, oil is a huge factor and has major effect on the economy. Everything in the economy is affected by fuel, and much is affected by other oil products. Transportation is the key to the US economy, even the world economy really.

What has caused trouble with oil? Basically our not drilling and getting what we can in the US is first and most easy to rectify. The unstable countries in the world control much of the oil and that drives speculation on prices (oil is priced 2 years in projection of delivery by the markets, which not only inflates the price, but does stablize it which is needed). Drilling and using the avialable oil will drop prices dramatically and immediately. Bush's lifting of the moretorium on drilling in new areas on the executive level brought an immediate drop in oil prices of around 22% recently, which those who understand those prices and what drives them understood would occur, no surprize there. If congress also lifted the moretorium you would see another immediate drop to probably $80 - $90 a barrel, and if the dollar keeps on going like it is we could be looking at $55 to $65 a barrel oil soon, and when production actually occures and the dollar is on stregth $40 a barrel is more than possible, maybe even less. Match that with some agressive alternative fuel measures and it will drop even more, and bonus, we won't be using nearly as much of the dirty stuff.

Who caused this? Democrats mostly, Clinton and the psudo environmentalist  movement. Clinton vetoed drilling in Anwar 10 years ago, and we would be seeing that crude now easily. The democrats have been very agressive in blocking drilling, and their psuedo scientists and press has hammered away on anything to do with energy at all, and I think it's deliberately instigated, though mostly unknowingly carried out by the democrats dupes in press, public and among scientists who's purse strings they control through liberal control of colleges, activist courts, and government agencies. Republicans went along with this stuff for immage considerations because the press would mug anyone who went against them, calling them anti environmentalist, even accusing them of hating the environment, which is idiotic, but so are many of our people in this country, at least ill informed and to lazy to really get a grip on the facts before they go into group think mode.

The other thinig worthy of mention is the housing bubble. We didn't really have a down, we had a bump which had a top, and a lowering from that top. We are still over what we were 3 years ago in home prices when this bump started, we have just slid from the highs to about 1/4 the way back down, which still leaves us with prices that are far above what they were, but listening to the press we had record drops? lol ... on a graphic showing levels since 2005 it's quite obvious that we had crazy growth, then a pull back, not to pre 2005 levels, much higher than that, so over all we have expirianced a huge amount of growth since 2005, and a drop from the peak. Why does no one on the news bring this up? That seems stupid. Of course now it's hard to get a loan, a hangover from the drunken credit binge which probably helped us more than it hurt economically, but it's hurting now, so that all anyone focuses on. When put in perspective it would be easy to understand that the economy isn't bad now, but the press won't do it, and when others attempt to they are villified because the democrats need to say it's really bad right now. That really doesn't help anything, and weakens the will of the country, and with what is going on with Russia and Iran right now, that is very dangerous stuff they are playing.