Ford puts all workers on sales payroll

[DaKat]

By Christine Tierney, The Detroit News

Ford Motor (F) is offering employees and retirees up to $1,000 in cash to get friends, relatives and neighbors to buy vehicles with employee discounts.

In a bid to boost slumping demand, the automaker is allowing each of its 300,000 employees and retirees to hand out special discounts to up to eight people this year.

"If every employee and retiree helps sell just one more vehicle, it would account for over 300,000 sales and an additional two points of market share," Steve Lyons, vice president for Ford's North America marketing, sales and service, said in an e-mail to employees Wednesday.

Ford's move follows General Motors' monthlong effort to pump up demand by offering all customers the same discounts it gives employees.

Under Ford's plan, which runs through Sept. 30, employees and retirees will get $50 in cash for the first sale they sponsor, $75 for the second, $100 for the third, and $150 for the following four sales. They get $175 for the eighth sale, for a total of $1,000.

The employee discounts will be added to traditional incentives, such as cash rebates. All U.S. and foreign Ford brands, including Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar, are eligible for the discounts. The automaker is trying to reverse a 5.7% drop in sales this year and a 1 percentage-point dip in market share to 19.1%.

The program comes in response to employees who told Ford officials they could sell more cars if they could give away more discounts.

Jerry Reynolds, a Ford dealer in Garland, Texas, is thrilled with the program because it brings in customers that don't normally buy Fords.

"It's plus business for us.

[Imkruzen]

Ford's results showed that it lost about $53 for every vehicle built in North America in the third quarter. That compares to a profit of $351 for every vehicle built by General Motor's Corp. GM.N , Ford's leading rival.

There are signs of improvement, however. Ford lost $1,044 for every vehicle it built in North America in the third quarter last year.
Ford said the return on its U.S. pension fund assets was down 15 percent year-to-date, pushing the fund's underfunding status to $6.5 billion in the third quarter from $3.2 billion at the close of the second quarter.
With Greenscum pushing rates higher, I don't see car sales accelerating and higher oil prices adding to their problems. Rates have to go higher to continue attracting foreign purchases of Gov. debt. Last month at the treasury action there was a short fall of purchases to issued bonds. Big trouble ahead for the US dollar. US debt already consumes 80% of the worlds savings to fund US debt. The end is near for the US dollar as the world reserve currency. Ford is not the only company with the pension problem. There are 300 other companies that make up the S&P 500 with this problem.

[Jon90LSC]

Jerry Reynolds should be thrilled, as most of his customers only buy once from him.

[jmueller44]

Three cent an hour foreign labor and more pandering to the gay community will solve all of Fords problems. :D

[Vitas]

The short answer is BUY AMERICAN.

-g-, -ng-, wake up.

[Imkruzen]

When GM cuts 25,000 jobs, as many as 175,000 other jobs elsewhere in the economy could be affected." See? One job lost that leads to the loss of seven-- seven! --other jobs is a multiplier, and one hell of a multiplier at that!

For one thing, credit-card debt decreased 0.6% in April, which is the second straight month that it has declined. This could be because of many things, and I have no idea what they could be. All I know is that consumer charged less money and thus bought less stuff, and for an economy that traditionally trumpets "the consumer is 70% of the economy", the economy is not doing well.

On the other hand, non-revolving credit (like car loans) rose 1.5%. So while we may be on the way to the poorhouse, at least we will drive there in style!

Keep extracting your wealth from your over inflated house price to keep buying AMERICAN.

A simple 2% increase in the rates being charged on interest-only loans will bring on a landslide of new foreclosures." Hmm, let's see. Two-percent on a house for $220,000 is, and here I show off my calculator skills is $4,400 per year, or another $367 per month. I think of the people I know, and wonder "Can they tolerate paying another $367 per month?" Well, not Homeless Joe, that's for sure! Nor Snake Eyes Johnson. Not even Weasel or "sycho Bob could swing it. So, having exhausted my entire list of so-called "friends", I conclude that an increase of 2% in mortgage rates is going to drive some people into bankruptcy.

In the "News Just Gets Worse and Worse" department, the national debt is ballooning again, and has jumped to $7.8 trillion! This is to be expected, as there is no alternative; they must keep printing up money and getting someone to borrow it and spend it. If they don't, then this whole stupid financial mess that the central banks have created is going to implode, and if you have ever watched Star Trek and seen how THEY react to the news that something might implode, then you know what YOUR reaction should be to the news, too.

[Vitas]

This a very abnormal time in the history of business cycles.

We had a bubble in 1929, in radio stocks primarily, which led to that crash.

We had a bubble in 2000, in internet stocks primarily, which led to that crash.

Overall, we are surviving far better today, than we did then.

Let's survive, for now, and then do better again.

It really kills me about the late '80's debacle when people complained about having lost their job, but had a Toyota in their driveway. -lol-

[Imkruzen]

Compared to 1932, nothing will be similar this time except perhaps the ultimate outcome. Who the heck knows when resolution might come? Who truly knows how we get there? Can we even be certain that the world will act in a unified manner, with all continents working in unison or even cooperation? My view is that the world economy is fast evolving into four zones, and conflict grows among those zones. Europe is moving toward an entrenched socialist system, with its many voices, immobile populace, and reluctance to abuse debt. Asia is moving toward a frenetic vibrant unbridled capitalist region, with formidable growth and cheap labor, loose regulatory controls, and few rights. South America is a palette of pursued stable systems, whose asset properties are being bid for by world powers. The United States is degrading toward both a vacuum and a lightning rod, neither marked by capitalism nor socialism. Its scatter of power centers govern over a monetary inflation colossus, growing material shortages, rising costs, accelerating debts, shrinking jobs, enormous profiteering, distortion of the truth, and a powerful military matched by a willingness to use it.

Chock full of multiple new mature forces and factors compared to the childlike exercise witnessed from 1929 at the breakdown to 1932 at the climax. It will surely be interesting to see:

How hedge funds will shift their speculative investment on assets

How steadily the hyper-active Fed will provide and accelerate money to the economy

How increasingly fragile derivative pyramids will withstand changes and new stress (see Fanny Mae, General Motors, AIG, JPMorgan, Citibank)

How gold will react to household debt default, corporate debt default, and the upcoming banking problems certain to occur
whether China & India will falter before or after the United States, and the effect one will have on the other, as well as the world economy

How household finances will fare during the storm, as the amateurs compete versus professionals and politically connected

How the fast-acting computers will accelerate or hinder the pathogenesis, and

How broadband transmission will continue to enable outsourced operations

How gargantuan debt will default or be serviced or be repudiated or be forgiven.

The only certainties in my limited mind are eventual conflict escalation, starting with trade war sanctions, aggravated by competitive bidding for key commodity asset properties, coercion of governments by the United States to favor our debt-ridden and income-neglected nation, realization that scarce world resources cannot be shared nor properly allocated via price structures, compromised political systems in the face of strain and disorder, increased hostile reaction by the less defended (aka terrorism), gradual dislocation and systemic failure, and finally world war. All in time. What begins as a bidding war on asset properties will degrade into trade sanctions. Conflict is certain to widen and escalate. Later, wider war is extremely likely, the only strong parallel outcome with the 1930 decade era. Desperate nations take desperate actions, which invite hostile responses.

With each hike in Fed Funds interest rates, you'll suffer the ratcheting force of financial suffocation, reduced oxygen supply, and withheld grease to the system. On the second week of April, with US income tax payments due, you suffered a stumble. An ebb & flow of monstrous hedge fund purchase & sale must be endured regularly, like with crude oil and natural gas now. Laws will continue to be circumvented in financial rooms where the big levers are located. Computers will fight the good fight. Rights will be shredded. Surveillance will be heightened. Social order will be challenged. This is only beginning, and in no way will this resemble anything seen before in modern history, not the Great Depression of 1932, not Black Monday of 1987, not the Asian Meltdown of 1987, not the LTCM debacle of 1998, not the Stock Bust of 2000.

The main differance between today and 1930 is that the Fed money creation was tied to the gold standard. Nixon fixed that problem in 1970 when France wanted to cash in their USD for gold, because the USD was backed 100% by gold. The problem was, that the US had created more money than they had gold, which was pegged at $32.00/oz, the US simply couldn't deliver and borrowed the the gold for payment. When monetary creation was tied to gold, inflation never exceede 4% for 200 years. Then came the Federal Reserve in 1913. That's when the fesis hit the osillating impeller. The value of the USD has lost 97% of it's value since.

The USD will return to it's true intrinsic value which is somewhere around zero.

I can go on for pages, but most folks aren't interested in this and will simply be the victims of their own ignorance.

Sorry to rain on your party. You're all screwed if you don't take action to save your wealth, if you have any left.

[Vitas]

The point is that we are much better off today after the 2000 debacle, relative to the 1929 debacle.

Now back to our regularly scheduled LINCOLN program.

[Imkruzen]

As a side note, you may want to watch the price of gold and silver escalate against all currencies not just the USD. Troubled times ahead folks!
I shifted my portfolio in Nov 1999. Stock valuations were bizarre then and something had to give. Next will be the housing bubble. Gold was $255.00 then, a true bargain and still is at this price. Inflation adjusted gold should surpass the old high of $850/oz which in today’s dollars is $1200.00
Protect yourself!

[Vitas]

Bubbles, and bursts, relate to human greed and emotion.

That is all you have to know about that.

[Imkruzen]

If you keep a close eye on your finances, you realize that you do not have more money. Likewise, I do not have more money. So if YOU do not have more money (I point to you) and I do not have more money (I point to myself) then (audience shouts in unison) "Then who the hell DOES have more money?"
The answer is, of course, that the BANKS have more money! I know what you are thinking. "Wow! What a racket, huh?" This brings us to today's timeless gem from The Trove of Valuable Lessons In Life (TTOVLIL), and this lesson is that when you get a chance to make a wish, maybe by wishing upon a star, or blowing out the candles on your birthday cake, or rubbing a magic lamp and a genie pops out or something, you should wish to own a country's central bank. You can create money out of thin air, anytime you want, and buy anything you want with it! Cool! Maybe a Lincoln Mark VIII or what I fancy, an 06 Cobra, with 500hp WoooHA

[ June 21, 2005: Message edited by: Imkruzen ]

[Imkruzen]

And you are one of those victims as I can see.

[Imkruzen]

Some crack pot politician said it is America's global civic duty to live beyond its means. And it is the Federal Reserve's global civic duty to facilitate American hedonism, because in the face of a positive structural shock to global aggregate supply, notably labor, American hedonism is not inflationary." My mouth is hanging open in stupefaction!
Well, I will agree that a glut of supply does not necessarily lead to higher prices immediately. But I am here to tell you that the weird economic distortions and mal-investments of such a shocked system WILL, sooner or later, have to be paid for, in one way or another, because that is the way that economics works. But nowadays, that is considered to be a matter of opinion, I guess, sort of like how everybody says that I am weird, stupid and hateful little drunken bastard, and I disagree and tell them that I am NOT drunk!
But it is the part about our "civic duty" to go into debt that makes me, ummm, I am looking for the right word, crazy. Those words came immediately to my lips, actually says that it is our damned obligation to go into bankrupting levels of debt? We have a duty to consume more that we can pay for? If I decide to go into the business of making lousy chocolate pies, it is automatically the duty and obligation of my neighbors to buy the pies, and eat the pies, and borrow more money to buy more pies? And the bank has an obligation to loan them the money to buy the pies? Wow! It is a good thing that this dude is good at managing a bond portfolio, because the career options for what appears to be mentally-ill socialist crackpots who declare that an entire country has an obligation to "live beyond its means", and that it is similarly the duty of the central banks of that country to provide the financing for such gluttonous excess, regardless of the consequences, must be very limited, indeed, as I have never seen a "help wanted" classified ad where anybody was looking for one, and as a mentally-ill crackpot myself, I happen to be somewhat of an expert in that particular employment area.
Can you cite another time in all of history when anybody ever said "It is the duty of the nation to live beyond its means, and to borrow and consume to the limits of our greedy imaginations"? And, assuming that there is actually some precedent for this, gleaned from some backward little enclave of economically-ignorant dirtbags in the forgotten backwaters of economic history, how did it work out? I am asking because I have never, ever read about such a thing happening. I have never HEARD of such a thing happening. In fact, I have never heard of anyone ever even SAYING such a thing! Never! Only now, in 2005, for the first time in all of history, we have a guy saying that we owe it to the world to plunge ourselves into ever-more debt, day after day, month after month, year after year! It boggles the damn mind! It must be a weird mutant variety of Keynesian stupidity taken to new extremes or something!

[Steve Moran]

What I get a whoot ovef are all the multipal Suburban/Excursian owning 3 member familys I see that have an 18' boat. Not one mid-size or large car any where to be seen. People say they have it because of the winters up here in SD but we live on perfectly flat land, in a small town that the streets get plowed before they even get out of bed.
I also get a chuckle on people that have new Snowmobile every year and ATV's or a new boat painted to match the new tow vehile they had to have.

[jmueller44]

quote:Originally posted by Imkruzen:
As a side note, you may want to watch the price of gold and silver escalate against all currencies not just the USD. Troubled times ahead folks!

In the late seventies, we had double-digit inflation. Home mortgage loans were going as high as 17% in my area. Gold prices rose to over $800 per ounce and silver went to around $25 per ounce. Everywhere I turned, someone was pestering me to buy precious metals. People were scouring pawnshops and auction houses looking for deals on sterling silver tea sets and flatware. Everybody was predicting a huge shortage of the “strategic” metals. Well, anytime someone tries to sell be something, red flags start popping up. As it turned out, the truth was that Bunky Hunt and his brother down in Texas were artificially manipulating metal prices by trying to corner the silver market. The bubble broke and the Hunt brothers, along with many other people lost their asses. Metals prices went back down to the level that they had been for the last couple of hundred years. There never had been a shortage.

How many times have you heard jewelers describe diamonds as an investment? One jeweler told me that investment grade diamonds have never dropped in value. This might be true, but it is not because diamonds are rare. It is because De Beers artificially controls the market. I bet that at least some De Beers executives are concerned what with the end of apartheid in South Africa. Me, buy diamonds? No way!

Who said something to the effect, after getting fat raping the stock market by engaging in what we now call illegal insider trading, that only suckers invest their own money in interests controlled by other people? Was if Andrew Carnegie? Who ever it was, I think he had it nailed down.

I have seen the housing market falter in Seattle before, but it only lasted about a year. I recently heard that property values are skyrocketing in the so called “glamour cities” because investors are engaging in something caller property flipping. They are not making any more land, but there will always be people who figure out how to manipulate the system for their profit.

JPM
Seattle, WA

[Imkruzen]

The World Silver Survey claims that the shortage or deficit between supply and demand is only 22 million ounces. This whole report is a hodge-podge of inconsistencies. You must remember that Gold Fields Mineral Services (GFMS) does this report the way most people do their tax returns. They decide on the bottom line first and work backwards to prove what was decided initially. The WSS points out that this is the 16th year of deficits. If there was a similar deficit in oil, or corn, or copper, the law of supply and demand would make the price go higher. This is the most basic of economic principles and, in silver, it’s a development never seen in any commodity ever before. The silver miners in the Silver Institute should be screaming their heads off that something is very wrong in the silver market. If there weren't games being played, the price would be much higher. The real deficit in silver is somewhere between 50 and 100 million ounces. In a nutshell, the unrestricted paper short selling, primarily on the COMEX, and central bank dumping and leasing, primarily from Red China.

Silver hit $54.00/oz in 1979 which, in today's dollars is about $130 per troy ounce.

Granted, the Hunt brothers accumulated silver because it was illegal to own gold at the time; still, it would take less than a billion dollars to corner the market at current price and inventory levels.
The reason the Hunts lost on their trade was that the Comex and the CFTC (Commodities Futures Trading Commission) changed the silver trading rules (i.e., they raised the margin requirements to 100%; they refused to let the Hunts take delivery of their silver; and they allowed only futures sell orders, not buy orders). Of course the market could do nothing but collapse. But first (before changing the rules) a number of the board members of the Comex and the CFTC shorted massive quantities of silver. They made billions in the greatest financial manipulation in history - up until that time and blamed the Hunt brothers for the collapse of silver. [NOTE: Today's stock and financial market manipulations are even larger and more blatant.]
When the bubble bursts, California is the only state where the banks can't come after the owner for the difference in the sale of the property, when the owner walks away and hands over the keys. Making money on the upside great, downside risk - none. So why not speculate? That's the reason owners there put no equity in their homes. Consumer debt is at historic levels to what it was in the 80's, so don't count on a quick recovery this time around. No it's not going to be the 80's again. You'd think the Fed would have remebered history and what a wide open spigot of money flow does. Yes history does repeat itself, but not exactly. By the time the sheeple discover silver/gold, I'll be selling them mine as I did in the 80's. So history repeating it self isn't always a bad thing, if your on the right side of the fence.

Good luck in your optimistic view point. Remeber, knowledge is power.

[jmueller44]

quote:Originally posted by Vitas:
The short answer is BUY AMERICAN.

Is anything still made in America? :D

[Imkruzen]

USD

[AceFrehley03]

quote:Originally posted by jmueller44:

Is anything still made in America? :D


Yep.

America produces some really good dumbasses.

[Vitas]

quote:Originally posted by jmueller44:

Is anything still made in America? :D

Say YES! to USA! ™

2003 Lincoln Towncar Premium Cartier 4dr4.6v8 4spd Auto OD
USA Owned
USA Assembly- Wixom, MI
USA Engine
USA Transmission
90% US/Canadian Parts Content

Compare that to the Caddy CTS:

2003 Cadillac CTS 3.2v6 5spd Auto
USA Owned
USA Assembly- Lansing, MI
United Kingdom Engine
France Transmission
65% US/Canadian Parts Content
http://www.usstuff.com/cars2003.htm

2004
http://www.usstuff.com/cars204d.htm


2005 Ford Taurus SE 4 Door Sedan 3.0v6 Auto OD
USA Owned
USA Assembly- Atlanta, GA
USA Engine
USA Transmission
90% US/Canadian Parts Content
http://www.usstuff.com/cars2005.htm

2000 – 2005
http://www.usstuff.com/cars.htm

--------------------------------------------

How Americans Can Buy American

Do You Know Where Your Car is Made?
http://www.howtobuyamerican.com/content/db/b-db-autos.shtml

[Imkruzen]

Unfortunately quality is what people buy. That is why the Asian car sales are rising and North American car sales are plummeting. It puzzled me why people would buy small Japanese cars as opposed to a larger North American cars for the same money or in some cases, less. North American car manufacturers have to shape up to gain market share, it’s that simple.

[Imkruzen]

Asian companies had a 37.5 percent share of new car and light truck sales last month, Autodata Corp. said yesterday. Tokyo-based Nissan's sales rose 32 percent, Toyota's climbed by 26 percent and Honda's gained 18 percent. Sales fell 3.9 percent for General Motors Corp. and 1.5 percent for Ford Motor Co.

[jmueller44]

Well, I had a Honda that was junk at 130K. My wife had a Hyundai that belched so much smoke at 119K that you couldn't see the cars behind you in the rear view mirror. Yes, these cars were cared for well. My '91 Mark looks terrific inside and out, and is still running strong at 126K. I am not complaining. I bought the Honda new for $5800 and drove it for twenty years. I gave it to my son in law and he put a few more miles on it before it self destructed. The Honda was cheaper to operate and easier to work on, but all things considered, I rather drive my Mark.

[jmueller44]

quote:Originally posted by Vitas:
Say YES! to USA! ™

Interesting post. I drive a ’91 Mark VII LSC, my wife drives a ’98 Ford Ranger, and we own a ’92 Harley Davidson FXLR. I bought a floor jack from Home Depot the other day. As I was sliding it under my Mark, I noticed that it is made in China. I must say that it irked me to think of using a Chinese jack on my American car.

I love the way our government, that is supposed to protect us, conspires with business chiselers of all descriptions to export American industry, technology, and jobs. Then, they bring the crap that they produce back here to sell to us. It’s disgusting. Every time I buy a foreign made product, I feel like I am eating my own children. I swear that, every year a Christmastime, I hear at least one news report stating that the retailers are unhappy because we are not spending enough. This happens every year regardless of the economy.

Last week, I heard on the news that strawberry growers in Oregon are in a panic because they can’t find enough cheap labor to pick their crops. Am I supposed to believe this? Twenty million illegal Mexicans in this country and they can’t find enough cheap labor to pick their crops? What are all these Mexicans doing? Maybe the growers are not satisfied with cheap labor. Maybe they want their crap picked for nothing now. Yes, I realize that independent farmers are screwed too.

I don’t know it this is true, but the latest assault and insult to the American worker that I have heard goes something like this. Certain large business entities are examining the idea of constructing huge seagoing factories. These vessels will be placed just outside the 200-mile limit of the United States. There, third world workers will toil in sweatshop conditions to produce goods for the American market. This might be some urban legend, or science fiction, but it would not surprise me. Perhaps someone could use this scenario in the rewriting of 1984. I am sure that Alvin Toffler could have great fun with this.

The short answer is buy AMERICAN.

[Imkruzen]

American industry is responding to its share holders by keeping their bottom line, profits up. In order to do this they strive to cut costs. Labour and health costs eat away at the bottom line. GM for example loses $1,500.00 on each car they build to employee health care benefit plans, which are spiraling up at an alarming rate. At this point GM builds cars as a hobby and GM finance is the only arm of GM that is making money on cars. The announcement of Kerkorian buying large quantities of shares of this money loser, is what leads annalists speculate that the company will be severed into 2 separate companies. The profitable side of the business finance is what Kerkorian wants and then bankrupt the auto manufacturing arm. This way GM can rid itself of the pension obligations to the Government Pension Guaranty Corporation like United Airlines did when they filed for Chapter 11. Currently GM’s net worth is a lot less than it’s junk bonds. So stock and bond holders will get the shaft.
Consumers are being ravaged by inflation. The Government’s hedonic inflation adjusted CPI only keeps the numbers looking good, when in fact inflation is running at well over 6%. The middle class is disappearing in America and the lower class struggles to stretch their dollar value as much as possible by purchasing goods as cheap as possible. China is not the problem to America. Do you hear other countries complaining about cheap goods coming from China? Government debt, war and military spending is Americas problem. Productive capital which could be directed to building the infrastructure and tax reduction goes to foreign banks which in turn finance Government debt to keep the party going. The foreign banks will eventually have their fill of American dollars and the debt hangover will set in. Foreigners hold $1.5 trillion dollars in various Government debt instruments. Joe six pack continues to go into debt by extracting wealth from his over inflated house value and pays cheap interest which in turn extracts more money from the economy to the banks for them to lend out more and the economy keeps chugging along, but how much longer? It’s a vicious circle. America is a consumer nation, not an industrial nation like it used to be. The Government has abused the privilege of being the world reserve currency and this is the result. There are no free hand outs from Government, like the Fram commercial, “You can pay me now or pay me later” Unfortunately Government has chosen the later. That day is very near. Majority of Americans can't afford to buy American.
Some trivia – how long is a trillion seconds in years?

[jmueller44]

Well, a million seconds is twelve days, and a billion seconds is 32 years. Any effort to calculate a trillion seconds causes me to lose conscienceness. Too many shots of Yeager. Further trivia: From where is the first recorded account of an organized labor union?

[ June 23, 2005: Message edited by: jmueller44 ]

[Imkruzen]

1 trillion seconds is equal to 33,970 years give or take a few seconds,

The earliest recorded strike occurred in 1768 when New York journeymen tailors protested a wage reduction. The formation of the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) in Philadelphia in 1794 marks the beginning of sustained trade union organization among American workers.

[ June 24, 2005: Message edited by: Imkruzen ]

[jmueller44]

Ah yes, but there appears to be written record that certain tomb workers had a trade union in ancient Egypt!

[Imkruzen]

I assumed, you being American, were referring to your nations labour movement. smile.gif

[Vitas]

quote:Originally posted by jmueller44:

The short answer is buy AMERICAN.

I agree 100% Look through those links, and it will make your heart feel warm.

American, is not Canada, nor Mexico.

[Imkruzen]

This year alone America's current account deficit is likely to be $800 billion. To put this number in its proper perspective, $800 billion is equal to the combined market capitalization of the following fifteen Dow Jones companies: Alcoa, American Express, Boeing, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, DuPont, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, Honeywell, 3M, McDonalds, Merck, SBC Communications, and Walt Disney.
At the moment however, foreigners are content to invest the vast majority of that $800 Billion in U.S. treasuries, or other debt instruments. But when they finally lose confidence in the future purchasing power of the dollar, or when Americans can no longer afford to pay the interest on all those obligations, expect them to rush to exchange these debt instruments for equity. When they do, in the absence of government restrictions to limit foreign investment, the entire Dow 30, and most of the S&P 500 for that matter, could well pass into foreign hands. I wonder what our politicians will have to say about that, or who they will look to blame?

[Vitas]

quote:Originally posted by Imkruzen:
From: Ontario |


The United States of America ROCKS.

That is all you have to know.

[Imkruzen]

On Tuesday, the BIS added its good name to the list of non-believers in the economic policies of the Federal Reserve and US management.

The Financial Times quoted William White, head of the BIS's monetary and economics department, as saying there would be serious ramifications for the US if it failed to change economic policies that continue to produce massive deficits.

His warning was quite specific, saying that US unwillingness to increase taxes and decrease spending would cause the US dollar to come under severe pressures, resulting in a disorderly decline and economic turmoil.

Keep on rockin in the free world!

[jmueller44]

It is certainly no secret that the government is full of elected morons.

[Imkruzen]

Finding something to read which does not include reference to the financial disaster in the making called the United States would be nice. That seems to be a near impossibility. Course a group of delusionists remain committed to rationalizing the economic mess created by the Greenspan/Bush team. Fortunately, their remaining tenure is limited. That the replacements for both might not be an improvement is the scarey part of the whole situation.

[Vitas]

quote:Originally posted by Imkruzen:
Finding something to read which does not include reference to the financial disaster in the making called the United States would be nice.

Take a Pill.-g-

[Imkruzen]

"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."

[John Stuart Mill Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion.]

[Vitas]

quote:Originally posted by Imkruzen:
"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion

You have us on that one. Go forward!

[franco]

LOL

I think this thread speaks for itself. No need for rebuttal

Look on the bright side though, you'll have that Y2K shelter to hunker down into after the sky falls.

[Imkruzen]

I am in full lock-down mode here at the Bunker, and I gotta tell ya that I look pretty sharp in my camouflage Speedo and these bandoliers of ammo across my chest. The reason that I am so frantic is that the growth in Total Fed Credit has gone to zero for over a month now. This is, for me, the ultimate in bad news.

[jmueller44]

That is the least of your worries. There is a proposal to eliminate all borders in North America. Imagine 20 million "Dry Backs" flowing into Canada looking for work and hand outs. :eek: :D

[jmueller44]

quote:Originally posted by Imkruzen:
Course a group of delusionists remain committed to rationalizing the economic mess created by the Greenspan/Bush team. Fortunately, their remaining tenure is limited. That the replacements for both might not be an improvement is the scarey part of the whole situation.

Yeah, just imagine another eight years of Hillary at the helm! Holy smokes!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[jmueller44]

By the way. Did you know that Monica Lewinsky is coming out with a new fall fashion line up under the label "Crispy Cream"? :D