Bush urges new rules on online sales of addictive prescription drugs

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

r the economy...? I'm not sure there's a helluva lot that can be done about the population growth, certainly not by bush in his remaining time in office.

Actually, the economy in America today is very strong. It's only being called a recession because it's near election season. It's always a recession during election season.

But the fact is that our economy is strong right now. Recession is not a word you throw around, but a real meaning, which many people don't understand. Recession means 2 fiscal quarters of negative GDP growth. We haven't even had one period of negative GDP growth yet, and we are actually having strong GDP growth still.

So don't buy into everything your read in a 25 cent newspaper or on the TV.

I don't see what is wrong with this - you should order your prescription drugs from a doctor, not over the internet like candy. This certainly would help with drug abuse in America, at least of certain prescription drugs.

It's already illegal to be ordering large quantities of drugs over the internet anyways, I believe.

 

[bingalpaws]

To think our economy is just fine and normal, while we're hitting
- crazy low dollar levels
- a ridiculous reduction in median home prices
- record (yes, RECORD) levels of foreclosures

is just inaccurate. Oh and I'm not sure where you're even getting 'recession' from, you're the first person to have mentioned the word this entire page .

 

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

Crazy low dollars just implies a trade deficit. A trade deficit implies huge spending power, which is a good thing. There is nothing wrong with Americans buying a bunch of shit from foreigners. Unless, of course, you think the dissolution of American culture by foreigners is bad...

A ridiculous reduction in median home prices means it's more affordable.

Record level of foreclosures, well, yep, that's bad. The economy is always bad for someone. It's never always perfect, never always bad. In the scale of things, this is a small problem. I know this may be hard to grasp if you don't understand advanced economics, but...

GDP is a function of consumption, investment, expenditures, and net export. Given it's at around 13 trillion, this bubble in the housing market is not that big a deal.

Also note that the housing market bubble burst is due to democratic legislation saying houses should be made more affordable for those who can't afford them or are poor.

Someone mentioned economy, I could quote it if you need it. Regardless, our economy is very strong right now, and it is incorrect to assume we are doing bad.

 

[bingalpaws]

Crazy low dollars just implies a trade deficit.

..or inflation. Trade surplus/deficit is not the only factor in the dollar's relative value.

A ridiculous reduction in median home prices means it's more affordable.

For buyers, but a major hit in one of the most expensive assets a homeowner will ever <partially> own. Hell, I think we just recently hit the first time ever on record where the average equity in a home fell below half.

Record level of foreclosures, well, yep, that's bad.
....................
In the scale of things, this is a small problem.

I can't say we have the ability to see how bad this housing freefall is going to continue to be, so we really can't assess where this will end up. Housing values are on a *ridiculously* fast downward plunge right now, pretty unprecedented - probably completely unprecedented but I don't feel like grabbing figures. Add to that the record level foreclosure rates we started seeing in q4 last year (which of course fuel the drop in home prices even more), and it gets even worse. Then the gov starts messing with the scenario by drawing up plans to freeze certain people's arm-style mortgages to 'help' things. I just think it's too early to say this will stay small.

I know this may be hard to grasp if you don't understand advanced economics, but...

heh, alrighty... let's try to make it simple to grasp for everyone reading, as few here understand advanced econ very well

GDP is a function of consumption, investment, expenditures, and net export. Given it's at around 13 trillion, this bubble in the housing market is not that big a deal.

I guess that's where we'll have to agree to disagree then .

GDP is around $13t, but residential (just residential, obviously the residential real est market effects the commercial to a degree) real estate is worth more than that, hell maybe even double that. I wish I could recall specific % numbers off the top of my head for what the fall was last year, but if this continues for long enough, at the same pace, it can become a big deal.

Also note that the housing market bubble burst is due to democratic legislation saying houses should be made more affordable for those who can't afford them or are poor.

Surely that's a part of the reason. Others would say it was all those evil, mean lenders setting up predatory mortgages. Others would say dumbass, poor, irresponsible, subprime borrowers signing up for mortgages they couldn't handle.

I guess I'd just say that the bubble isn't due to any one specific thing I mentioned, or the specific thing you mentioned, but just the nature of housing. Look at any graph of housing values over a long enough period of time to see the normal up/down swings, or 'bubbles', and you'll see that this is just a normal part of housing values, no single thing caused this. <<<shit, on the note of housing bubbles, and basically lending more validity to my concern voiced earlier this post, is that the up/down periods seem to be getting loonger and looonger each bubble phase over the past ~40 years, so if we're in a steep one that continues, it's likely it'll be longer than the last down periods, which were 4, 4, 2, 2, respectively>>>

Someone mentioned economy, I could quote it if you need it.

No need, I was just messing, but actually the word I said you brought up <which you did> was 'recession', not economy.

Regardless, our economy is very strong right now, and it is incorrect to assume we are doing bad.

I'm not assuming we're doing bad either - comments to the effect of the economy made by me earlier were not meant to imply we're in some horrible financial scenario right now. But to think everything's great and there's nothing to worry about seems to be jumping the gun.