Database assembles U.S. warnings of Saddam threat

Hello Alarmed,

I agree with Jordan.  I'd like to have flagged the article, because it confirms much of what the public has suspected for years.  However, there's no contribution of your own to accompany the story.  We need reporting, not just cut and paste. ;)  Hopefully, we'll see you add more to this in your own words.
         ~ Swan

There's been an aful lot of talk about a recession lately.  And I have to wonder how we got to this point.  After the Dow-Jones was at 14,000, and companies reporting record profits quarter after quarter, now it's time for a recession.  The sub-prime housing mess can be blamed.  But so can rising oil prices and runaway spending.  A lot of that spending is for the war (which has also created economic uncertainty) which was begat by a lot of false statements.

My bad.

You said that "everything points" to us having a recession. What exactly makes you believe this? I have degrees in both economics and finance and right now I peg the possibility of a recession between 25-33%. Our GDP is still growing, inflation isn't increasing significantly, and unemployment is still around 5%, which all points to a good economy.

I would also like to note the fact that while polls show that people think the economy is doing poorly (which, in my opinion, is just a representation of what people glean from the mainstream media) but they also think their own economic situation looks bright.

I know I am being optimistic but that is the American way. 

Hello BigT,

It seems that I've made an error in good journalism.  I've believed the articles that I've read in newspapers and on television, without having backed it up with my own research.

I feel better knowing that the future is brighter for the country than I'd once thought. :)  Thank you for the information - I can share some good news with everyone now!
      ~ Swan

Well, I hope you are being serious, I think you are. And I didn't write what I wrote to knock you down or anything, I think there's an argument to be made for both "we're going into a recession" and "we're not going into a recession." All we here is that the economy is on the verge of tanking.

All the reports coming out about the poor condition of the economy I think stems from a couple of facts. First, the stock market is taking a hit. People reflexively think if the stock market is going down so is the economy. That's not always true.

Secondly, the reports that the economy are bad comes from a certain bias the media has. There have been reports all throughout Bush's term as president saying the economy is doing poorly. Four years ago it was a "jobless" recovery. That was 8+ million jobs ago. The last couple of years the fear has been that inflation is going to bite us. But it is still around 3% (I think a little bit under 3% actually). And there were other news stories purporting economic doom for America (oil, the falling dollar, trade imbalance, etc.).

If all of those stories were true then we should already be in a recession and/or should have been in one for a while now.

With all that being said, you can still be right about America facing a recession. It's definitely possible. But even if we don't go into a recession (which is two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the official definition anyways) it is a good idea to cut up those credit cards and to save instead of spend. Thanks for the reply Swan.