Sports are 50% Mental

Which is just about the amount I have left in disposable income these days. No, we are not in a classic three quarter negative growth recession. Certain sectors of the economy are still doing quite well but it is not nearly as good in small business where the vast majority of Americans live and work.

A falling dollar, high gas and food prices, soaring medical costs, a declining housing market and the constant demand for tax money at all levels of government are taking their toll. This is especially true in the small business sector where these fluctuations are quickly felt. Think of it as the micro-economy.

I am not usually stampeded by the press on these issues but there is no getting around the fact that my bottom line continues to shrink as I reach the point where my customers refuse to take the pass down. We fall back on force reduction as the next best way to mitigate this costs creating unemployment.

Most of America works for small business and small business has been feeling these effects for two years now. The country may not in fact be in recession but from where I sit you could fool me.

Thanks for the comment.

I hear you on many of those charges. My dad owns a small box business and he does feel the effects.

What I was pertaining here more to, was the effects on the economy all the negative airtime our liberals give on it.

For example...if Al Gore wasn't forcing America to go green and such, would gas be as high as it is? Its up for debate, but I think it wouldn't be as high. What he has done is show the world that America is not drilling. No way, no how. That causes the speculation of oil to go up since people know our oil finds will not be hitting the market.

What you said was all true though. We aren't in a recession, but we are in a "recession".

This is why Reagan was such a success. He preached positiveness, told the people to expect the best and work for that.
It's too bad Bush has been such a failure at communication. We needed someone badly who would inspire the people and we got BLAH.
I agree that Gore has a big part in this fiasco. It is going nowhere but downhill and I would love to tell Gore just how responsible he is.

A huge segment of society gets all their news from the MSM. Many don't take the time to find out what is really happening and fewer still actually understand how the economy works.

Add to that the near criminal education system and you wind up with a society that thinks Adam Smith was married to Eve and that the government actually has money of their own.

The time to push drilling and back-burner AGW is now. After November politicians won't feel vulnerable again for two years. It is time to light up the phones in DC. Drill Here, Drill Now should be on everyones lips, but you have to do the work, since there is really no leadership on this important issue.

Hawkins wrote an article on the exact points you pointed out. In short, Reagan made Americans proud to be Americans. That was his biggest success.

I got ya. Drilling will soon be on everyones lips, the question is which side will be the first to push it. Democrats have the enviro wackos on their side, so they will lose some support from them and that may cause them to hesitate. The Republicans have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If McCain pushes for it and gets it done with Bush before the election, he will win by landslide.

I do believe our education system has to take much of the blame for what is going on. We have been indoctrinating kids to think America is some evil place in the world. I feel with the collapse of IndyMac and possible collapsing of fannie and freddie in the future, there could be a political change, but only time will tell.

My husband is expecting a revolution with the gas prices getting higher.

A self-fullfilling prophecy, perhaps.
We become what we speak.
If one speaks doom and gloom long enough don't be surprised when it comes true.
It doesn't mean wrong decisions and choices weren't made by otherwise intelligent finacial wizards but also I believe it ties into the whole emotions run the economy thing.

Exactly. 50% physical and 50% mental is what I was going for. The doom and gloom was the mental and the near repeat of Savings and loans crisis is the physical with the banks in subprime mode.

You know...Ive been thinking a revolution may happen. Its getting to the point where our government has become destructive to the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of the citizens of the United States of America (I love typing that out). If we follow what the Declaration of Independence says about it, well, we will see. If our financial institutions go down, I predict a major political change that would involve a revolution. I don't know if it will be bloody, but Im pretty sure conservatives will rebuild this country using the Constitution as our guide. Between the NRA and the military, most people who own, and know how to use, guns are conservative or at least Republican.

Only time will tell, and of course that is just my opinion.

You are right...time will tell, but things aren't going any better and don't show any signs of changing.
Our daughter works for a mortgage company and they laid off 60 people yesterday, 4 by 4 by 4 and finally 20 in the last hour. Gave them all boxes to clean out their property (they had been saving the boxes for some time)
She is still there but wondering when her turn will come.

I wish her the best of luck. That seems to be the feeling everywhere. At my job, when people are retiring they aren't hiring new people. We haven't fired anyone which is at least somewhat of a good feeling, but that time may come.