The Recession is Over?

Last week the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said the recession ended in June 2009.

The NBER can say that the Recession ended over a year ago all they want but in the court of public opinion, the Recession isn't over.

Thankfully, Warren Buffet agreed and had this to say about the Recession.

What does Warren Buffet mean by all this GDP talk?

GDP represents the total dollar value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period. Some people look at GDP as output, others as measuring the size of the economy. It is compared year-to-year or quarter-to-quarter. If some economist somewhere (i.e.-Brad) says GDP is up 7%, it can be interpreted that the economy has grown by 7% over the last year (or past quarter).

What Warren is saying is that our GDP (our output, our income (income approach), our spending (expenditure approach)) needs to get back to pre-recession levels.

We're not there yet.

I like Warren's approach; combining it with unemployment and underemployment can make a strong case that we're still in a recession.

Debate on...

The Giant Pool of Money

The Giant Pool of Money | NPR

"A special program about the housing crisis produced in a special collaboration with NPR News. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the turmoil on Wall Street? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s?"

Student Loans, Gateway Drug To Debt Slavery

Student Loans, Gateway Drug To Debt Slavery | The Consumerist

"One of the most important lessons students learn in college is how to get into debt and stay there. It's crucial to the success of the Republic. An indebted population is easier to control; needing to pay off crushing debt - a debt that if defaulted on has been stripped of many normal consumer protections and rights - graduates more willingly shuttle into cubicles, becoming the square pegs demanded by the square holes. After a few futile years of floundering idealism, their souls have been successfully jackbooted into powder and they're ready to keep the thumb on the next generation of would-be drones so as to protect their empire of matchsticks. But how did we get here? This chunky infographic examines the origins and (d)evolution of the student loan leviathan"

I have been talking about this for years. The student loan situation is out of control. Tuition costs are higher (even when America experienced one of the worst financial crises in history) and interest rates rose ON A GUARANTEED, RISK-FREE LOAN!!!

In addition, my friend found this GREAT Frontline story...