Carlos Laack's Blog

Me, personally, my spending habits done already change. I don't even have money to keep for myself. With the little money I make with the boring job I work at now, all my money goes onto my rent and my phone bill. It hurts badly not to have any money in your pockets and the way the economy is rolling is seriously in a jam and it's all because of the war that is still going on since 9/11/2001.

Stocks are even dropping badly when they should be on the high-rise and not a downfall. There was a $3 Trillion Dollar Federal Budget Plan that has been passed by both Houses and the Congress and President Bush is deciding to veto the bill regardless if it is passed or not. He isn't trying to approve anything good for this country and he doesn't want to put our economy back to way it use to be before this war happened and this economic downfall this country is facing.

That's just my opinion and I don't expect everyone or anyone to agree on it, but what we need is more Democracy. If there is anything I can agree with it's that we need Changes and Solutions. President Bush doesn't fit that description and neither would John McCain. John McCain is someone who wants to keep everything running the same way things are going now the way President Bush is running the country. It is nowhere at his best and it would damn sure be nowhere even better if McCain is the next President of the United States of America

We are in a recession, but they avoid the word like the plague. They say to be hopeful and optimistic, but with what we are spending on this war and our job losses to other countries, I don't see an end to the recession any time soon.
Bush's idea of giving money to working people is a joke. Most people will use the money to pay bills and take vacations. That means the money is spent plus whatever else comes out of our pockets and then we ae right back to square one.
We need to bring jobs back to the States. I believe unions are a big cause of much of these problems. Their high demands and the cost to run these unions have caused businesses to look elsewhere for cheap labor without the interference of unions. Unions used to be a good thing. They were meant to keep the business owners honest and the employees treated well, but now they are a business all their own.
The government has spent money without any back up. We are spending money we do not have and borrowing from countries to cover our ass-ets.
There needs to be a big change and not from the people of the U.S., but from the government and it's spending habits. Honesty...we need honesty.

It all boils down to greed and corruption. Everyone is trying to make a dishonest buck. There are so many scams out there and nothing is done to stop them. The ARM loans were a joke. Now people are losing their homes or they are paying twice the mortgage they once were.
I loved Milwaukee. I loved growing up there and the thriving community we had in the 70's. Now the majority of those businesses are gone and Milwaukee is dying. Even good ol' Miller Beer may leave. What will Milwaukee do then?
The sad part is Milwaukee is one of hundreds of communities that have lost businesses and are facing financial ruin.
We can ignore it and pretend it isn't real, but just like with global warming, eventually reality sets in and then it's too late.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZsDliXzyAY

Please, please....copy and paste this and watch it.
It made me cry and it's words from a child.
This child speaks the truth and the adults sit back as if bored and indifferent.
This child speaks the truth.
Watch her and listen.
If it doesn't make you cry...you are heartless.

Antoine, my friend, trust me...it isn't just Republicans. They are all corrupt. They all are greedy. Our Governor is Democrat and he is THEE TAXMAN.
What we need is an honest person that truly cares for the future of this world. Someone not out just to make money and a name for him/herself.
What we need is a total turn around.
A complete 360.
We need compassion, sharing and caring.
We need to be humane.

Good luck with that, eh?

LOL garageman....you rambled well.

Driving through Hales Corners yesterday, I passed a store that is now Sentry in a strip mall. That store used to be called New Market. Every store in that strip mall used to be occupied by nice businesses. Today, three stores sit empty. Sign of the times? Yes, I believe it to be a recession. People losing their homes, their jobs, their businesses. ARM programs that literally rob people and bully them out of their homes. Loan companies that use this ARM program are nothing more than modern day loan-sharks, thugs, pirates and crooks of whatever other names you can come up with for them. They take people that are high risk for a home loan, put them on this ARM program, all the while KNOWING and thriving on the weakness of their client. They smirk and twist their hands in evil plots for how high they can raise the interest on the home loan befor they can break the unsuspecting client. Sickeningly greedy and crooked as they are, it is all legal. How they sleep at night is beyond my knowledge. Knowing that they are destroying lives, marriages, families...makes me want to puke. Yes Virginia, there is a recession!

This article was written by Ron Paul for his column "Texas Straight Talk" on MArch 16th, 2008.

Making a Recession Great

House Democrats recently adopted a budget with massive tax hikes, many of which are directed at those Americans who can least afford them. By allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, this budget will raise income taxes not only on those in the highest income brackets, but raises the lowest bracket from 10% to 15% as well. Estates would again be taxed at 55%. The child tax credit would drop from $1000 to $500. Senior citizens relying on investment income would be hurt by increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. It's not just that the Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich. They want to raise taxes on everybody.

The problem is, policing the world is expensive, and if elected officials insist upon continuing to fund our current foreign policy, the money has to come from somewhere. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost us over $1 trillion. The Democrats' budget gives the President all the funding he needs for his foreign policy, so one wonders how serious they ever were about ending the war. While Democrats propose to tax and spend, many Republicans aim to borrow and spend, which hurts the taxpayer just as much in the long run.

:::sigh:::::
the last bit....

This spending spree is exactly the wrong policy for an economy on the brink of recession. History has shown that all empires eventually crumble under a worthless currency and with an exhausted military. Since too many of our nation's leaders haven't taken the time to learn from history, we are seeing mistakes repeated through recently enacted policies such as the new House budget.

The US Dollar has been the international investor's tool. Countries from all around invest in the US, in the US dollar, and in turn, we benefit from a great value of the dollar. We import alot because of this, we have a high standard of living because of this, etc. The gas crunch (or more the fact that we are 'Dumb Americans' who use more energy than the rest of the world and think we are entitled to it for cheap) pretty much broke the camel's back as well. Shipping costs, travel, heating, energy, food, etc... its all gone up. Spending is down.

The real challenge is that unlike most recessions, this one is being coupled with a fall in the value of the US Dollar, as well as some hefty inflation. Due to the fall of the dollar, international investors (heck, entire countries), are pulling out of the US market. South America, for instance, has used the USD as the currency to base their own trade on. Since the USD has fell, they have pulled out, and are now setting up with using the Euro in the same way. This recession could be more than just that... it could develop into a depression of sorts. Hey, thats globalization people!!!