- The U.S. trade deficit dropped 9.7% in January to the lowest level since October 2002. Less cheap plastic junk from China, less foreign oil!
- South Dakotans are bucking up and paying their bills: our credit card delinquency rate went down 1.3% in Q4 2008. (Unfortunately, the national rate went up 1.2%. Nationwide average credit card debt per borrower: $5729—what are you people thinking?!)
- Mrs. Madville Times and I only put $33 on the BP gas card last month.
- The four-day school week is catching on around the country. (That means fewer kids will miss school for the Mundt Debate Tournament!)
- Usually it takes genuine good news to make the markets go up; now all it takes is less bad news.
- Shorter work weeks mean more time to spend with family. If you can find a way to keep your benefits and get by on less pay, more time around the house can be good for everybody.
- Coping with a dip in our fiscal well-being (and realizing things just aren't that bad) could be good for our mental health.
- One thing we sold more of last Christmas: piggy banks. Save, save, save!
Dang—there's some early 80's recession rock that hasn't aged! Nuts to the economy—enjoy your weekend!
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on the United States to remain "a credible nation" and not weaken the U.S. dollar with endless government spending on bailouts and stimulus packages.
ReplyDelete-- Associated Press, March 13, 2009
Does this mean the Red Chinese see us as seated on their left hand?
Who'd a thunk such things during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution?
China telling America to go easy on gov't spending*mdash;oh, the irony!
ReplyDeleteIn recent months, the [Chinese] government has unveiled a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus plan and a 850 billion yuan ($124 billion) to expand and revamp an inadequate health care system.
—MSNBC, March 4, 2009
PremierWen also says China can add more to its stimulus any time it likes.
[Same source]: As part of a robust national budget that will be unveiled Thursday, China will raise spending on its increasingly potent military 14.9 percent this year, maintaining nearly two decades of annual double-digit defense hikes that have stirred concern in Washington and among Beijing’s neighbors.
It's like Reagan's SDI in reverse: Where we tried to scare our opponent into spending more than it could sustain on defense, maybe the Chinese are trying to talk us into spending less... so they can catch up!
Of course they do. They own us!
ReplyDeleteAnd the UN had the gall to say we were behind in support and called us deadbeat. Might as well go directly to the Chinese and tell them to give them the money.
Compare how much we've paid in to the UN cmopared to any other country BTW. I think we should just kick them out of NY and tell them to support themselves!
Anon 3/14
ReplyDeleteExcuse me Cory by I say "Amen"
When has the UN had anything good to say about the U.S.?
Let them go build a new UN building in Russia or China.