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How the 7 Deadly Sins Could Lead the US into a Depression

jasonnazar.com — There are some undeniable facts and historical trends that seriously indicate the economy is in much worse shape than most “experts” would have anyone believe. On top of that, throw in a dose of religious mythology and doom-saying, and we have the makings of how the seven deadly sins could lead the United States into a Depression, not Recession.

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  • bamafun, on 07/08/2008, -3/+19great post - I think we have much greater overall concerns then just the current state of the economy.
    • MrQuoz, on 07/09/2008, -4/+4Sorry, this story has absolutely no substance. Though certain observations might be right, they are so over generalized it makes it irrelevant. I can't believe this made front page.
  • stonebear, on 07/08/2008, -11/+7Oh how the mighty have fallen.
  • phorden, on 07/08/2008, -4/+7Wow this kinda makes me want to go buy a big house that I can't afford then sit around and eat all day and think about how amazing I am. Then to top it off I'm going to decide that isn't enough and buy even more expensive things that I can't afford. :)
  • rearlgrant, on 07/08/2008, -11/+12I contribute to Sloth, but Digg is my accomplice.

    You'd think if God were omnipotent and omniscient, God could communicate clearly. Didn't He write John 1:1? So which is it -- Lust or Covet? Or is it the progenitors of the Bible who protest too much with their word choice?

    Also, I thought Greed was Patriotic -- has God changed his views on greed since he became a Republican?
    • Stormwern, on 07/09/2008, -0/+10The deadly sins are not in the bible, the expression originates from the fourth century according to wikipedia.
    • kveratis, on 07/09/2008, -3/+8Good point. Another good question is if God is so great and powerful, why did he make William Shakespeare a significantly better writer than the people who wrote the Bible? I know toddlers who are better at communicating their ideas then the crap you find in the Bible, not to mention that the toddlers aren't nearly so vengeful.
      • SLAM22, on 07/09/2008, -7/+0wow - you have some serious anger issues. Have u ever read the whole bible? if so, did u intepret it correctly? if not, did the person who told you interpretate correctly, thats a huge call to make, and unless thouroughly studied, which could take years, that kind of statement is uncalled for
      • EarlOfLade, on 07/09/2008, -3/+10@SLAM22:
        Interpret it correctly? LOLLERCOPTER!

        Ask any of the approx 30000 chrtistian cults which is the correct one and you will get 30000 different answers.

        Why is interpretation needed if it is the word of god? Doesn't make any sense at all. It does make sense if you agree that it is nothing but a collection of 2000+ year old goat herder and camel driver scifi books.
      • kveratis, on 07/09/2008, -5/+6Actually yes I have, have you? It was part of the required curriculum at the Christian private school I attended, plus I was a devout Christian for many years afterword. My previous comments were not said in anger at all, they merely reflect on a point about how unholy a book the Bible really is. It was made by men, therefore it is just a fallible as any other text made by men. The concept of divine inspiration really doesn't hold up to much scrutiny given the amount of unethical ideas presented in it.
      • rearlgrant, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2- "toddlers aren't nearly so vengeful"

        LOL

        You were lucky to have good children. My parents cursed me with having children who behaved as I did...
    • kavutu, on 07/09/2008, -6/+1To Kveratis---God grants certain gifts to people. Shakespeare was a gifted playwrite but at his time he was not looked on as all that special. History has given him this fame. God spoke very clearly to the profets and through Jesus, (who was God in humane form). What you need, my brother, is to understand the Bible is very easy to understand. but not without a well versed knowledge in the meaning of the text and words used at the time the Bible was written. GOD did not write the Bible. The Religious leaders of the 4th century put the Bible together from the writings of the 12 deciples and the Jewish Torah or Old testement. The Bible is a compilation of "books or testamonies" written by Old Testament figures as the WORD was related to them by GOD and the 12 deciples who walked with JESUS. Do you kow what the "Gospel" means? It means the "Good News" God wants us all to know and live by. If you believe the Bible is "crap" as you say I feel sorry for you and ask you to take another look. It does not matter if YOU believe the Bible is thre TRUTH or not. It is the TRUTH and if you go to Jesus HE will show you the TRUTH, the LIGHT, and the WAY to everlasting life, peace, prosperrity and joy you never knew existed. Try HIM and see if HE does not give you all this and so much more.
      • rearlgrant, on 07/09/2008, -0/+3"-- but not without a well versed knowledge in the meaning of the text and words used at the time"

        As well as a good knowledge of Ancient Hebrew and Greek; it's helpful to know Aramaic, Coptic, and Assyrian for the contextual documents and letters also. I haven't found my Latin very useful until ~300AD. The accounts from the council of Nicaea are a great read -- I've often thought that event would make a great mini-series.

        Or there are those Christians, like the Southern Baptist relatives I have, that say Orthodox Christians aren't Christian (without whom there would be no Bible...), and that God spoke English to the biblical scribes....

        BTW -- Gospel is an English word created around the 11th century. εὐαγγέλιον does not mean "good news."
      • CryRightardCry, on 07/10/2008, -0/+3Fail.
        The Bible is a collection of writings that were POPULAR at the time. There were many many many which did not make it into the collection known as the Bible.
        The Bible was put together by old men who needed to exert influence over their people. That factored into the choices of which books to include.

        And how stupid is it to say it doesn't matter if you believe the Bible is the truth or not?
        It does matter WHAT you believe, truth is truth. You got it backwards.

        And what's with you psuedo religious jackasses pretending like no one else knows the Bible? Guess what? We ALL grew up with it. To pretend that we aren't blind followers because we just don't know much about is delusional, and it's you who is fooling yourself.
        We understand it, it's just that so much of it is pure *****, and the rest is used by the right wing to slam on gays.
  • timbro1, on 07/08/2008, -2/+20everything in moderation people
  • nmc9, on 07/08/2008, -5/+7Oh man, that slideshow under Greed was awesome.
    • HeatherH88, on 07/09/2008, -2/+1Could've just gone with "If You Give a Moose a Muffin..."
  • spercival, on 07/08/2008, -4/+24WHATS IN THE BOXXXXX. WHATS IN THE BOXXXX
    • KyjL, on 07/09/2008, -2/+1Disclaimer: For those who don't get it, watch Se7en.
    • yohnstoppable, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1Nothing! Absolutely Nothing! STUPID! You're so STUPID!

      EDIT: No ***** it's from seven, but uhf ftw.
  • TEHxINTERWEBS, on 07/09/2008, -3/+4Wouldn't a depression get rid of gluttony?
    • Coffeedemon, on 07/09/2008, -0/+4It might concentrate it but I doubt it would get rid if it.
    • Stormwern, on 07/09/2008, -0/+6Not really, the poor would starve but the rich always make do.
  • sodade, on 07/09/2008, -6/+24Pride is the real killer of America. We have a generation of people so drunk on the just pride from saving the world that they let the MIC rape us for the last 60 years.
    • 801NvizioN, on 07/09/2008, -2/+1If pride is the real killer of America, pride also goes by OJ Simpson.
    • bromac, on 07/09/2008, -5/+8Pride for saving the world?

      Oh please. If you're talking about WWII, just because you guys came late to the party doesn't mean you were the life of it. I'm sure that the 10 million dead Russian soliders would have something to say to that.

      Of course you made a contribution, but this goes to show that most Americans will take any gold star they get and turn it into the biggest ego trip possible.
      • chris8535, on 07/09/2008, -2/+10that contribution was the nuclear bomb, which of course fundamentally changed the economy and military strategies of all world powers, and propelled the United States into becoming the strongest economy and military power in the world by many times over.

        Not saying it'll last forever... just saying revisionist history needs a little reality sometimes.
      • bromac, on 07/09/2008, -0/+5The Nuclear Bomb didn't save the world. Yes, it changed it, but Japan was already losing at the point of its use, and wasn't much of a threat to world security.

        Again, the only thing I have an issue with is the "Saving the World" *****. Now, drunk on pride from being behind the biggest arsenal in the world, that's closer to the truth.
      • bubba9999, on 07/09/2008, -0/+6We brought beer and chocolate bars.
  • Pitofdoom, on 07/09/2008, -3/+3What was the goal of industrialization, automation and technology as we circle the sun generation after tired generation. What is it that "we the people" seek after ?. It would appear we seek nothing that achives generational stability !
  • liability11, on 07/09/2008, -5/+2obesity is a pretty awful problem and cruise ships for example dont help too much by offering all you can eat buffets on board...
    • Sornos, on 07/09/2008, -1/+5So you're blaming the cruise ships for their costumers lack of control? That's like blaming McDonald's making their food "too dern tasty".
      • sholt, on 07/09/2008, -0/+5Well, the first may be absurd, but the second... the second would just be a damn lie.
  • neuen, on 07/09/2008, -8/+6scare tactics 101
  • Y0tsuya, on 07/09/2008, -3/+3I'd like to see how he come to the conclusion that raising interest rates will cause price of goods to skyrocket. It should be the opposite.
    • saggyb, on 07/09/2008, -2/+1You fail at economics.
      • Y0tsuya, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2No, you fail. The low interest rate environment is what caused the dollar to weaken and prices to increase. He got it backwards. Both of you go back to school.
  • Badandy127, on 07/09/2008, -5/+16Sensationalistic report? Check.


    We're in a recession, not a depression. Things would be a lot worse if we were headed for a depression.
    • AgainstObama, on 07/09/2008, -3/+3We are not in a recession either.
      • Badandy127, on 07/09/2008, -0/+6Not officially. But when the numbers come out, all indications are that we will be in one, even if it is mild.
      • Arkaris01, on 07/09/2008, -2/+8A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job.

        62,000 people were laid off last month... we're in a recession in my book.
      • AgainstObama, on 07/10/2008, -0/+3A recession is two quarters of negative growth, we haven't had one. Unemployment has always been around, of course it's not a great thing, but it doesn't equal a recession.

      • tkstock, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2It's always been said that you'll never know you're in a recession until after it's over. Indications are that we'll have at least one quarter of negative growth and a second is possible, but they usually can't figure that out until afterwards.

        We could be in one, but we won't know it for some time...
  • killtrocity, on 07/09/2008, -2/+2Some funny pictures for each of the sins.
  • papastout, on 07/09/2008, -3/+2Ah Lust, my favorite of the seven DAILY sins!

  • mal1964, on 07/09/2008, -1/+10 * Lucifer: pride
    * Mammon: greed
    * Asmodeus: lust
    * Leviathan: envy
    * Beelzebub: gluttony
    * Satan/Amon: wrath
    * Belphegor: sloth
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification_of_dem ...
    This wiki on the 7 sins is a very good read
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins
    • Tyrghast, on 07/09/2008, -8/+6The best part is, none of this is in the official Bible. The Catholics perpetuated the rampant lies of the bible and began making ***** up on the fly through the middle ages.
  • CoreyHalliwell, on 07/09/2008, -2/+10Logic. Treat yourself and your people like *****. End up like *****. I have a strong feeling it will take crisis to wake up all North Americans and other developed countries into realizing we cant all be rich and fat despite what wal-mart says.
  • bigd063, on 07/09/2008, -10/+2***** that. These are the 7 fun things in life.
  • ILoveBoobies, on 07/09/2008, -3/+4I like how the presentation places the cause of the sub-prime debacle squarely on the shoulders of the buyers. No digg for that perversion of reality.
    • texpundit, on 07/09/2008, -1/+6Greed on both sides (shady lenders AND greedy buyers) is what caused the sub-prime debacle (along with horrible US monetary policy).

      BUT, I say more blame lies with the buyers. If we weren't a bunch of vapid, greedy, "GOTTA KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES" idiots, living FAR beyond our means, the greedy, criminal lenders wouldn't have had anyone to lend to.

      If you can't see that, you've completely drank the kool-aid.
      • ILoveBoobies, on 07/09/2008, -0/+3I agree with you, blame on both sides. Buyers that should have known better along with mortgage lenders that would set a side business ethics in order to pay for their Hummer and beach house.
    • The_Red_Monkey, on 07/09/2008, -0/+3Its blame lays on the feet of the buyer. The buyer is the one taking the real financial risk and if you overbought on a crap ARM loan and you are losing your home now then its your fault. The bank was nice enough to take a risk so you could buy a house but you failed to do research and protect yourself.

      It is not for anyone to protect you other than yourself. The government is not here to provide anything but a secure border and general infrastructure. The should not do handouts and bailouts so that you can buy a bigger house and a bigger TV.
  • Lonewolfx77, on 07/09/2008, -3/+3Very well written article and funny pictures too. That slide show is definitely an eye opener.

    This country seriously needs a wake up and take a look in the mirror. We're fast becoming a nation of lazy, ignorant assholes.
  • diggonit, on 07/09/2008, -13/+3Dear Mr. Nazar,

    Go ***** yourself.




  • Duositex, on 07/09/2008, -7/+8Ugh.. Buried for mixing religion and economics.
  • xEn1gma, on 07/09/2008, -5/+5This guy sounds like a high school kid, gtfo.
  • rontowns25, on 07/09/2008, -8/+0People need to stop worrying about outside factors they can not control. What good does it do to freak out over high gas prices and inflation? No individual like yourself can influence what happens to the market. It's an eternal anomaly that is influenced by a million factors. Worrying does you absolutely no constructive good. Americans must shift their perspectives and think what can I do right now to establish some residual income so that I don't fall victim to outside factors. Get creative and analyze your strengths. If you have a strength and there is a need for your strength in the market place, then you can get compensated appropriately... www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
  • simplicityiskey, on 07/09/2008, -4/+4Best believe that lust is just as deadly as the others.
    • bagelmaster, on 07/09/2008, -2/+2Not really unless you don't wear a condom like a retard.
      • iambiguous, on 07/09/2008, -2/+3lust - promiscuity - ?????

        It is a problem. You have no idea how powerful sex is, and the things it takes and gives. It should be treated with more respect, I think.
  • Mr.Gone, on 07/09/2008, -5/+87 deadly whats?
    • EarlOfLade, on 07/09/2008, -6/+5Just some religious *****. It was created by powerhungry men who saw how easy it was to control and exploit the sheeple by using fictional gods as threats and claiming that certain activities offends these fictional gods. It's beyond comprehension why anyone believe in this crap.

      • logosx1, on 07/09/2008, -0/+4Actually, people are far easier to control when they're addicted to vices like these. Self-control is the enemy of external (i.e., political) control.
  • technogenius, on 07/09/2008, -2/+3I love seeing fat catholics
  • kleash, on 07/09/2008, -2/+2maybe lust = more rednecks?
  • Stormwern, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1They missed the greatest object of wrath, terrorists, that's what got you into war.
    • Cybermaul, on 07/09/2008, -1/+2Forgiveness is also possible. If you show those that hate you that you truly mean them no harm, there is a far greater chance of negotiating a lasting peace than by going in guns blazing.
      • Stormwern, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1Erm..sure, now if that actually happened it might fit in a topic on modern history..
  • Carrot425, on 07/09/2008, -2/+0Here's my favorite line - "...the most likely path to curb crippling inflation will be a steady increase of interest rates, which will eventually cause a rise in unemployment and the price of consumer goods to skyrocket." So, the most likely path to curbing inflation is causing more inflation?
  • chron, on 07/09/2008, -2/+8The author's summary above talks about “undeniable facts and historical trends,” yet most of what he says is unsupported opinion.

    I happen to agree with much of his opinion, but he shouldn’t cast his viewpoint as undeniable and historical.

    Examples:

    “Over 1 million students drop out of high school each year.”

    What percentage because of sloth? Aren’t at least some quitting school because of other life circumstances and/or hardships that make it impossible to continue?

    “We’ve medicated over 2.5 Million children for ADHD.”

    Because we’re lazy? Perhaps true for a percentage. The statistic itself may an undeniable fact, but the author strongly implies that this proves his opinion that we, as a nation are slothful.

    It doesn’t.

    Again, I agree with much of what he says. But he does a poor job of supporting his opinion.
    • bubba9999, on 07/09/2008, -0/+6I'd argue that the high school numbers are due to glorified ignorance. I imagine a sizable chunk can be attributed to sloth.

      I could see 1-2% dropping out due to other factors, but the fact seems to be that we're steam rolling towards making Idiocracy a reality.
    • The_Red_Monkey, on 07/09/2008, -3/+2Well when a school says that acting like a little boy is really ADHD then there is a problem. Children are meant to run, play and be loud but the schools and parents want them to be little well behaved adults. ADHD is a fake illness just like restless leg syndrome (it means get up and walk!).

      The dropout rate is due to sloth, the sloth of the parents not to act when their kid is misbehaving. They wait for the government to take care of that.
      • Crimsoneer, on 07/09/2008, -1/+3It's nice to know that you know so much about psychiatry that you can single handedly debunk the most well researched neurobehavioural disorder of the last twenty or so years. ADHD is very probably overdiagnosed, but calling it "fake" is an inane statement.

        Also, attributing all high school failures to lazyness is just wrong.
      • chron, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Red Monkey:

        Evidence for your claim that ADHD is a fake illness, please?

        Can you site studies or authoritative voices in the pertinent field?

        I doubt it.

        But I have a personal experience in this topic area.

        You see, I have a severe case of Adult ADHD.

        I spent years and years in shame, convinced that parents, friends, and then co-workers said I was lazy and that I "just didn't try hard enough."

        Once I was properly diagnosed and got the medication I needed, a new world opened up to me.

        Crimsoneer is right, in that the disorder is likely over-diagnosed.

        But it is very real, and the treatment has given me a life I never knew I could have.

        Please, think before you make blanket statements without knowing the facts.
    • weebit, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1I beg to differ... If you look at statistics we medicate instead of fix, we ignore instead of fix, we wait till the unmentionable happens before we do anything about it. If anyone tries to fix the problems we have, we call them crazy, or their fix has not been documented well so therefore you can't call it a cure.

      With schools many said the no child left behind would not work because many schools do not have the option to be state of the art schools and hire teachers from the best of the crop. Have the best of books, etc. So instead of fixing that, we gave them ultimatums. Fix it yourself or else! That is how we fixed the problem.
  • nontoxyc, on 07/09/2008, -0/+6MAD MAX HERE WE COME
  • inspecality, on 07/09/2008, -1/+5"Besides our troops and their families, over 300 million Americans have never been asked to make a single sacrifice, despite being at war for the last 5 years."

    Let's sacrifice our lives to line the pockets of politicians! Yay!
  • FriGuy, on 07/09/2008, -1/+4no sacrifice my ass. it's a little thing called taxes. and they are a bitch.
    • helleborus, on 07/09/2008, -1/+3No one currently paying taxes is actually paying for this war. That will be for your kids and grandkids, should you find someone willing to mate with you.
      • Cybermaul, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2Easier said than done, there, friend.
  • regeya, on 07/09/2008, -2/+5Great...our expert on the economy is the "CEO" of a professional-priented social networking site.

    What's next, military strategy by Kevin Rose?

    Also, he's got the effect of rising interest rates ass-backwards.

    And yeah...we've not been asked to sacrifice. We have, however, been told that Constitutional rights were being taken away for our own good, and like good little sheep, we kept our mouths shut, either out of nationalism masquerading as patriotism, or because we remembered that you're either with "us" (Bush and his cronies) or you're with "the terrorists" (who spend their time in Cuba.) The free press isn't free anymore. Sure, things are fine if you don't make waves. You shouldn't have to worry about not making waves, though.

    No, we've not sacrificed anything at all, other than everything that made America great.
  • Scheissen, on 07/09/2008, -2/+5Buried for lack of any real economics.
  • billbugger, on 07/09/2008, -1/+9"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars."
    - Will Durant
    http://onthelefttip.blogspot.com/2006/07/quote-tha ...

    Sound familiar?
    • BESTenemy, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1The forefathers had also warned us of this:

      "The spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims. It can never be too often repeated that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of war going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of war will remain on long, will be made heavier and heavier, till rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion."

      - Thomas Jefferson
  • lead2thehead, on 07/09/2008, -1/+2I think we've got gluttony and sloth pretty much nailed.
  • bobbknight, on 07/09/2008, -4/+1First we are not even in a recession, Economic growth is and has been on the plus side.
    http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/29/business/29 ...
    Don't let this Inconvenient Truth dissuade your beliefs though.

    Blog Spam, and Fap!
  • recruz, on 07/09/2008, -0/+3buried for use of wrong thumbnail- should have used lust
  • 1033, on 07/09/2008, -1/+0After reading that I realized again this is a pro-obama website, stop bashing him so hard!
  • The_Red_Monkey, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2Obviously the America sucks crowd does not travel much. Go to any country in South America or Africa and tell them that their government sucks and start protesting. Just make sure you have a will drawn up first. The reality of that green grass is not what you all think it is.
  • wynja, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2Buried for misrepresenting domestic policy. Look, farm subsidies are designed to stop over consumption. Farmers are not paid to destroy crops, but instead to let a plot of land sit hallow for year so that the soil has time to recover from the previous crop. Nutrients don't just magically appear in soil, and this cuts down on the need for fertilizers.
  • executorzz, on 07/09/2008, -1/+3The reasoning behind envy is flawed.

    "The average per household debt in the U.S., not counting mortgage debt, is about $14,500 (before the 1930s, most middle and working class people had no major debts)".

    I don't think the average household had many college graduates in the 1930s. I have combined $30,000 in debt for college and grad school. Considering a household may contain more than one working person and has only $14500 in debt is actually not that bad.
  • kavutu, on 07/09/2008, -4/+2To Kveratis---God grants certain gifts to people. Shakespeare was a gifted playwrite but at his time he was not looked on as all that special. History has given him this fame. God spoke very clearly to the profets and through Jesus, (who was God in humane form). What you need, my brother, is to understand the Bible is very easy to understand. But not without a well versed knowledge in the meaning of the text and words used at the time the Bible was written. GOD did not write the Bible. The Religious leaders of the 4th century put the Bible together from the writings of the 12 deciples and the Jewish Torah or Old Testement. The Bible is a compilation of "books or testamonies" written by Old Testament figures as the WORD was related to them by GOD, and the 12 deciples who walked with JESUS. there is so much more I could say but unless you want to read a book I will leave it at that. Do you kow what the "Gospel" means? It means the "Good News" God wants us all to know and live by. If you believe the Bible is "crap" as you say I feel sorry for you and ask you to take another look. It does not matter if you believe the Bible is thre TRUTH or not. It IS the TRUTH ,and if you go to Jesus HE will show you the TRUTH, the LIGHT, and the WAY to everlasting life, peace, a prosperity and joy you never knew existed. Try HIM and see if HE does not give you all this and so much more.
    • iambiguous, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1You know, I also think there is a lack of 'religious' or spiritual direction in the states. I've recognized that at the core, all human beings have an intricate connection to 'Big Mind' that every individual must acknowledge -or- atrophy within themselves.

      It's a delicate balance between taking and giving, which is what most religions try to control with their doctrines... rules on life, so you remain balanced.

      What's sad with the Christian religion is that it's atrophied as well. The main propagators of Christianity have slain it's very core. Christians are once again being persecuted, but not because they represent something holy, but because they aren't INCLUSIVE enough, at all. I don't know who's fault this is, but I hope in the future, all of the Americans of European descent reclaim their own Pagan-ish heritage and culture back.. Hell, modern American Christianity is so f-ing Pagan, I don't know why we can't admit to ourselves we have some wildness in us.

      Really, I feel Caucasians have had something taken from them... I think it's this soul that needs to be reclaimed so we can stop eating ourselves inside out in all of these many shapes and forms. Where the ***** is our soul, man? Work 9-5 in the grind like a machine - there is nothing sacred in our lives, so what the ***** is the point of life? ...and we feed. on. *****.

      So I agree we need some type of Saviour... but Christianity isn't an answer. We need a more Whole religion.. which is probably manifesting itself right now, so don't you worry. ;)
  • breezytrees, on 07/09/2008, -2/+1Looking over the past century, it is a stretch to rank the current problems as especially notable or dramatic. Right now, we have an unemployment rate of 5% and inflation topping 4%. Economic growth is at .6%, and the housing market is in a slump of more than 20%.

    We can't even compare this recession to that of the 70s. The stock market went from 1067 in january 1973 to 570 in december 1974, a decline of 46%. Unemployment went from 4.9% in 1974 to 8.5% in 77, to 10% in 82. Double digit inflation was evident, as well as sharp rise in the price for oil, which represented a higher percentage of consumer spending than today.

    We're in a recession yes. Some (politicians) would like to you to believe its a depression, and that they have the cure to fix it. This is all political rhetoric. Don't fall for it. Deep pessimism and fear of this great depression will only make the problem worse. Spending less, investing less, borrowing less, out of pessimism and fear will put this country into a depression. Spending more, investing more, being greedy, being envious, will make our economy grow. Spending more than we earn is a staple of a growing economy, not one of a depressing economy (I wouldn't spend more than I earn if I believe the economy will get worse.) I spend more than I earn because in the future, I believe I will earn more. E.g. i believe the economy will grow.

    This guy is an idiot if he believes that we are in a depression because "40 percent of American families annually spend more than they earn."

    P.S. edit: read about the author. He trusts his economy. Look at his actions. He's not selling short. He's investing. He believes it will grow, yet this article he wrote states otherwise.
    • StillAnonymous, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2Spending more, being greedy, and being envious will make the economy grow? You haven't learned anything from what's going on, have you?
      This rampant, drunken, spending spree is what has caused this problem. It's like coking yourself up to feel better, and then feeling like ***** when it wears off. Your solution to this problem would be to coke up all the time. Well, until you wind up dead, but who gives a ***** about what the future holds, right? Live for the here and now, responsibility be damned.
  • Stochio, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2"The meteoric growth of the United States stock market in the 1920’s and its ensuing crash was the catalyst for the Great Depression."

    No, it was not the catalyst for....it is synonymous with the depression. There is nothing being said in this sentence.

    "One of the primary drivers was the absolute lack of any common sense regulations."

    Source, please? Friedman says the primary reason was Fed inaction. The Austrian School says the primary reason was the threat of Smoot-Hawley. The causes of the Great Depression are widely disputed.

    "Fast forward 80 years, and we have a housing market on the verge of collapse, because every yuppie family in the US wanted a house just a big as their neighbors, even if they didn’t have the income to justify it."

    And if I ask the author if he is in favor of a deduction for interest expense on a home, he will undoubtedly agree. This is indeed a form of misdirection from market equilibrium. It is not a matter of people "wanting" anything. It is a matter of poor regulation. It is a matter of the Community Reinvestment Act which encourages bad loans. It is a matter of the Bear Stearns bailout which encourages still more malinvestment in the very near future. It is a matter of artifically low interest rates from the Fed. Shall I continue?


  • XxtraLarGe, on 07/10/2008, -0/+1Kveratis, if there's no absolute truth, how can you define ethics?
  • bipolarruledout, on 07/10/2008, -0/+1Most of these are extentions of greed and they have been driving our economy since day one. It's much more practical to approach this from an environmental angle.

    Oh and sex is not a sin unless you use it to hurt other people and religion does not have a monopoly on morality as much as it wishes it did.
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