Name that Tune

We are in the land of the Stress Tests. Is this Post about them–No—Maybe—Yah. Consumer Credit was One-Quarter the size in 1990 as Today, and Economists deplore that it plunges some $11 billion in March; it being down some 5% from its actual High. This is absolutely horrible, Right? If only Economists had a louder Voice to admonish their fellow Citizens!! I think that these very Citizens are confused about data which Economists put out in Whispers: The Banks are writing off another $200 billion after having dropped a Trillion dollars already, and the federal government is Spending a couple Trillion a year just to keep Production up (I would actually say it was almost double that, but would receive a Visit from the Men in Black with their Nurealizer). I would suggest that the great American miracle is vastly underfunded, especially with Profits, and deplorably over-capitalized.

I would advise Readers review this article, as Obama Democrats appear to desire eventual federal sponsorship of Spending to overpaid health care providers, rather than to Banks; the current goal of the Federal Reserve and Treasury. They somehow expect a better provision of health care, with more equitable distribution of Government expenditure, by giving Citizens the benefits of government-expended health care. Adversary politics insist that the worst elements of both Sides will succeed, while any benefit is actually canceled by Opposition restraint. I would simply pass a law stating that health care providers became Employees of the State after Income awards of $250k per year (even let them file their Expense accounts according to the traditional bullcrap), and require them to take a set percentage of Patients from Government subsidy. I fully expect that We would have more untreated Patients than We have today.

Dean Baker comes up with this Truism which the Reader should contemplate. A modest year over year increase in Retail sales comes with a total reduction of Retail outlets, so the same number of people are buying from a reduced number of Stores. I live in a City where it is traditional to ignore Recessions, and commercial building is still very rapid. I expect that We are still in an expansion of Retail outlets. I simply ask myself, though, how such Stores expect to remain in business; a Concept where Retail traffic must increase to maintain Sales, in the face of increasing Prices and static Incomes common to Recessionary conditions. The second quandary consists of the question of large chain store maintenance, if the new Retail outlets could actually raise a sincere competition for the chain stores. I have depressed myself again, a state greatly to be feared in Recessionary times; I often though to establish a correlation between reduced Consumer Sales and consumption of Prosac. lgl