Recession Worries

Posted by: Gene M. | Jan 09,2008


Let me just begin by saying that I was disappointed by the primary results last night.  My endorsement for Obama is here.  That said, I think this might be the best thing to happen for Obama.  He was riding an incredible wave of stardom, which could have been short-lived.  Now he’s going to have to prove his mettle to people, which will make him a stronger candidate in the fall if he’s the nominee.  There’s still a long way to go on both sides of the aisle.  There, punditry over.  

But I’ve still got more to say about politics.  The words “credit crisis” is quickly being replaced by the word “recession” in the national dialog.  An article today in Forbes mentions how we’re probably not going to be able to avoid a recession this year.  After February 5th, when the nominee for President will likely be decided, there will be a clearer idea about what the next President will bring to the table.  But that’s just that: an idea.  

Recession is looming large right now and due to President Bush’s basically lame duck status, not much is going to be solved until the next President comes into office.  It’ll take some time for that President to get a good foothold, as Wall Street is pretty fickle about big changes, so we might not see an antidote to the recession until well into next year.  

One of the more troubling things to me about the War in Iraq is the amount of money it is costing.  The article states that a package to avert recession could cost 70 billion dollars.  The War in Iraq has cost a trillion and counting, so the money we’ve spent there could have been used to spurn economic progress back home.  Basically, it’s impossible to talk about this issue without taking some partisan stance.  

What this all means is be prepared for a recession.  The word “inevitable” is yet to be used by everybody, but “very, very likely” is.  Unfortunately during a recession, people may spend more on credit when they should really be doing the exact opposite.  Getting out of debt now is good armor against the recession as it will be the best way to lengthen your savings and free up space on credit in the case of emergency.  

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