Next Round Of Foreclosures To Hit Retail

Many Malls, Other Large Commercial Properties Struggling To Make Payments

(CBS/AP)  Black Friday's retail shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won't be enough to stave off what's likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market.

Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, S.C., also are about to default on their mortgages.

That pace is expected to quicken. The number of late payments and defaults will double, if not triple, by the end of next year, according to analysts from Fitch Ratings Ltd., which evaluates companies' credit.

"We're probably in the first inning of the commercial mortgage problem," said Scott Tross, a real estate lawyer with Herrick Feinstein in New Jersey.

That's bad news for more than just property owners. When businesses go dark, employees lose jobs. Towns lose tax revenue. School budgets and social services feel the pinch.

Retail stores were busy Thursday putting the finishing touches on efforts to draw customers in, despite the battered U.S. economy, reported CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.

"This is it, we're at the end," said Barbara Cook, head of stores for Gap, Inc. "What you're seeing is the finish line of the whole kind of retail chain here."

Eighty-nine percent of shoppers plan to spend the same, or less, than they did last year. Only 11 percent plan to spend more.

Companies have survived plenty of downturns, but economists see this one playing out like never before. In the past, when businesses hit rough patches, owners negotiated with banks or refinanced their loans.

But many banks no longer hold the loans they made. Over the past decade, banks have increasingly bundled mortgages and sold them to investors. Pension funds, insurance companies, and hedge funds bought the seemingly safe securities and are now bracing for losses that could ripple through the financial system.

"It's a toxic drug and nobody knows how bad it's going to be," said Paul Miller, an analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, who was among the first to sound alarm bells in the residential market.

Unlike home mortgages, businesses don't pay their loans over 30 years. Commercial mortgages are usually written for five, seven or 10 years with big payments due at the end. About $20 billion will be due next year, covering everything from office and condo complexes to hotels and malls.

The retail outlook is particularly bad. Circuit City and Linens 'n Things have sought bankruptcy protection. Home Depot, Sears, Ann Taylor and Foot Locker are closing stores.

Those retailers typically were paying rent that was expected to cover mortgage payments. When those $20 billion in mortgages come due next year — 2010 and 2011 totals are projected to be even higher — many property owners won't have the money.

Some will survive, but those property owners whose loans required little money up front will have less incentive to weather the storm.

Refinancing formerly was an option, but many properties are worth less than when they were purchased. And since investors no longer want to buy commercial mortgages, banks are reluctant to write new loans to refinance those facing foreclosure.

California, New York, Texas and Florida — states with a high concentration of mortgages in the securities market, according to Fitch — are particularly vulnerable. Texas and Florida are already seeing increased delinquencies and defaults, as are Michigan, Tennessee and Georgia.

The worst-case scenario goes something like this: With banks unwilling to refinance, a shopping center goes into foreclosure. Nobody can buy the mall because banks won't write mortgages as long as investors won't purchase them.

"Credit markets have seized up," corporate securities lawyer Michael Gambro said. "People are not willing to take risks. They're not buying anything."

That drives down investments already on the books. Insurance companies are seeing their stock prices fall on fears they are too invested in commercial mortgages.

"The system has never been tested for a deep recession," said Ken Rosen, a real estate hedge fund manager and University of California at Berkeley professor of real estate economics.

One hope was that the U.S. would use some of the $700 billion financial bailout to buy shaky investments from banks and insurance companies. That was the original plan. But Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has issued a stunning turnabout, saying the U.S. no longer planned to buy troubled securities. For those watching the wave of commercial defaults about to crest, the announcement was poorly received.

"He's created havoc in the marketplace by changing the rules," Rosen said. "It was the stupidest statement on Earth."

The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering another option that might ease the crisis, one that would change accounting rules so banks don't have to declare huge losses whenever the market declines.

But the only surefire remedy is for the economy to stabilize, for businesses to start expanding and for investors to trust the market again. Until then, Tross said, "There's going to be a lot of pain going forward."

[exusmcsgt]

I am amazed that malls have lasted as long as they have with the plethora of more economical means of buying merchandise (outlet stores, online, etc.).

I know that teens find malls to be a great place to hang out but, beyond that.......

[lewiston14]

I agree with exusmcsgt: Around here they just keep building more and more malls when many were at 50 percent. Now some sit empty. One outfit bought a mall close to the city for 4 million because of all the crime and safety. Now after almost 10 years its still 90 percent empty. Now they want to make it into a 600 room hotel with retail and other things problem there is no retail to be had and the other local hotels are mostly empty allready. Smart move. The city is in such shape they tried to sell two parking builidings and got no offers and now want to sell bad tax bills to bottom feeders to try to collect. Then they wonder what they will do next year to balance.

[cutetinia]

IF THE AMERICAN WOULD PULL THIER HEADS OUT THE AS---SSES OF WALMART LONG ENOUGH TO SEE THAT BY SHOPPING WALMART THEY ARE AIDING IN THE DOWNFALL OF COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES. EVERY TIME A MAJOR CHAIN OR MALL CLOSES THE EXECUTIVES AT WALMART POP A BOTTLE OF IMPORTED CHAMPAGNE AND TOAST THE DOWN FALL OF AMERICAN RETAIL.ALL AMERICANS WITH ANY SENSE OF PRIDE IN THIER FAITH OF THE FUTURE OF AMERICA SHOULD JUST FORGET WALMART EVEN EXIST.EVRY ONE COMPLAINS ONE DAY ABOUT JOB OUTSOURCING AND THEN APENDS A WEEKS WAGES AT THE BIIGEST ENEMY OF AMERICAN FREE ENTERPRISE EVER KNOWN TO MAN.
---------

But their prices are so awesome.

[mikezembill]

There may be 50% less malls at this time next year. If things do not turn around by this time next year the unemployment rate may be as high as 27% to 30% and if this happens there will be a civil war in this country. The people in this country are not going to set buy and let ther kids go hungry it is not going to happen too many people with guns will take what they need and there may be millions do this.

[mikezembill]

cutetinia you are right on the mark.

[whitemale08]

As the Bush/Hannity/Limbaugh-Depression lags on, there are still plenty of ''debt-serfs'' willing to keep the ''debt-farms'' going.

COME ON YOU DEBT-SERFS (whip cracking)!!!

KEEP SHOPPING (whip crack)!!!!!!

[mikezembill]

If 100 people go in a store load there buggy up with food and walk out what are they going to do call the cops if they catch 50 where are they going to put them the jails are full now. and just think they may get something to eat after all.

[pollroller1]

I for one don''t shop much at malls. It is a lot easier to buy on the internet. You don''t even have to burn any gas, the stuff comes right to your front door. This is what is killing the malls.

[flsunjnky]

Very few people are really ready for this one, but why does it surprise me that the Bush administration has fumbled the ball AGAIN? We are all lucky that he doesn''t have another year left!!!

[jpl319us]

YOU ARE ALL MISSING THE REAL ISSUE: WHY WEREN''T THE BANKS MADE TO REDO THE MORTGAGES THEY ARE HOLDING THAT ARE IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE????????? THE GOVERNMENT JUST WANTS TO THROW MONEY AT THE BANKS, HOW DOES THAT HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE FACING FORECLOSURE OR BANKRUPTCY?????
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE DONE WITH THE 700 BILLION WAS DIVIDE IT AMONG THE TAXPAYERS. THAT WOULD HAVE BOOSTED THE ECONOMY.

[oilfix]

What another bubble?? Not to worry, the feds will try
to keep this one inflated too, with money they don''t
have. The numbers spent are incomprehensible.
A point will be reached when the public debt is so big
it can never be paid down. Game-over. No one knows
exactly when that will be.

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II and his neocon Fascist Socialist Nazi Republican supporters are only slightly upset that large business properties are the next in line to face foreclosure.

The Great Emperor is more concerned at making sure that the large corporations of Corporate America survive by taking taxpayer money and throwing it at Corporate America, no questions asked.

After all, the "3 stooges" of the government, that being the Great Emperor Bush II, "Fuzzy Face" Ben Benanke, and "Old Baldy" Hank Paulson, have no time to make sure that Corporate America spends the money wisely, trusting in the "wise" corporate executives to use the money logically.

The fact that, if there were wise corporate executives running Corporate America, that we might not have the economic DEPRESSION we have now, seems to escape the "3 stooges"!

SIG HEIL, THE HEADS OF CORPORATE AMERICA ARE AS "SMART" AND GREEDY AS I AM!!!, BUSH!!!

[frankfurt200]

Gee, I thought it was only the poor people who caused all these foreclosures. You know, those people who really couldn''t afford the payments? Now malls will be closing. I didn''t know that poor people where getting loans to buy shopping malls. I guess we learn something new every day.

[rudy6543]

One group of people who are not hurting this year are the farmers. Many of the corporate farmers made a killing off of corn sales going for ethanol, all paid by us the taxpayer. Those farmers who didn''t grow corn, but potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and such, received the benefit of less food on the market and allowing them to charge more for their produce than ever before. They also received billions of dollars of subsidies that kept them doing better than in any time in history. Remember, these are the people who don''t pay their migrant workers more than minimum wage and no benefits. So, if the economy really sucks, remember it is more than just mortgages on houses and malls that is causing it.

[truthspeake2]

It seems the fall of the new Roman Empire (Capitalism and the US) has begun...derivatives, selling mortgages, ARMs, and the Harvard and Yale folks that contributed to these types of new-found business ethics and accounting methods while getting rich have finally brought this country to its global knees. Did we learn anything...I seriously doubt it!

[likenoone-2009]

this is what happens when you live on credit if
you don''t have it don''t spend it

[downtowner97]

To the Bush supporters who read through these posts and stand up for Bush, I''d like you to do something new and fun today. Please tell us what Bush has done in 8 long years to improve the economy.

[pollroller1]

I still say that internet shopping is what is hurting the malls. I ordered my grandkids Christmas stuff on the internet. I was able to shop for the best prices and everything was delivered right to my door. The only time we go to a mall is for groceries.

[credibility2]

The photo accompanying this story is very telling. Acorn greatly contributed to the home subprime foreclosure mess because of its strong-arm tactics in coercing banks and other lending institutions to give a home mortgage to anyone and everyone who had no right or credit worthiness to own one. Acorn is a blight and needs to be eradicated permanently. A good start would be to cut off any more federal funding. They are corrupt and manipulative and don''t belong in a free society. Their tactics are fear, threats and intimidation. Their mentality carried over into the credit card sector too. Acorn feels that even those who aren''t credit worthy should get anything and everything that others who work hard, go by the rules, have good credit, etc. Credit worthiness is something one has to earn and work for. Can''t afford it, can''t pay for it, you haven''t any right to it. Period.

[rudy6543]

Interesting how the recent indictment of Cheney and Gonzalez is not making the main press:

Cheney is charged with engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president''s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.
Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the indictment.

[jimbo554]

I keep hearing internet shopping is the way of the future, but I just don''t get it. I really like to touch and feel what I''m going to buy. I guess trying something on to see if it fits is a thing of the past, and no doubt alterations are out of the question. I guess those kids who wore their baggy pants hanging down around their rear-ends were trying to prepare us for a future of ill-fitting clothing.

[mikezembill]

It may have to be a depression before the American people will open there eyes.

[ms38654ob]

There are too many useless stores open now. We need to see a rash of closures to settle things back to what''s really needed.

And to those of you who blame Acorn, get a life.

[pollroller1]

I keep hearing internet shopping is the way of the future, but I just don''''t get it. I really like to touch and feel what I''''m going to buy. I guess trying something on to see if it fits is a thing of the past, and no doubt alterations are out of the question. I guess those kids who wore their baggy pants hanging down around their rear-ends were trying to prepare us for a future of ill-fitting clothing.

Posted by Jimbo554 at 11:56 AM : Nov 28, 2008
----------------------------------
Jimbo you are right that sometimes it is good to go to a mall for some things,but there are also many things that can be ordered on line. I am sure that some of the shopping malls will still be around, but I think that as people start buying more and more things from the internet this is going to have a big impact on a lot of strip malls around the country.

[bjcone8559]

For 2+ years now we have heard the republicans screaching that those families in foreclosure should lose their homes. They love saying that these people tried to buy more home than they deserve. "Why should we ''responsible'' taxpayers bail them out?"

What say you now, republicans? Losing a mall or shopping center to foreclosure can''t possibly spark the same neurons in your twisted little minds!

Could it be that Ronnie RayGun''s ''trickle-down'' theory has caused people to lose their jobs, their incomes, their ability to pay... their dreams?

Now we are seeing the next level of this debacle. Families don''t have money to buy the items which are sold in the malls and shopping centers.

Did you ignorant dneocons mis-calculate???

[sl_991]

America''s economic woes and their solutions are far beyond the partisan politics of left and right. It is imperative to that we all understand the fundamental problems in the design of our economy and money system.

We can''t solve a problem in the same state of consciousness that created it. We have to rethink everything and be willing to look at the cause of the problems - no matter if they fit our current ideologicial boxes or not.

For more info, pleas see my blog at:
http://seekerspeak.blogspot.com/2008/11/human-causes-of-economic-crisis-and.html

Peace

[habu99-2009]

Big surprise that shopping malls are about to hit the skids...our entire "consumer" economy hinges on people spending spending spending money (sometimes that they don''t have) on stupid *** that they don''t need, only want. Malls are the great collections of retail merchants who peddle this stuff. When times are hard, "consumers" wake up and decide they don''t need (and therefore won''t buy)this schlock.

Ultimately I think we''ll find we can get along just fine without overpriced designer sunglasses, overpriced and poorly mass produced jewelry, and overpriced and poorly made (in China) clothing. Maybe (GASP!) some people will actually begin to save money instead of waste every last cent at the mall. Consumerism is a dead end street that depletes resources worldwide and doesn''t deliver satisfaction, only a want for more and more stuff.

[gce65]

Oh no! Not retail! Watch govt come to their rescue or at least make the attempt. Not so with the individual homeowner.
Let the retail sector share in the pain like everyone else. Otherwise, what''s the solution? Spend our way out of it by everyone heading to a mall and "shop for America?" Wasn''t that Bush''s idea of patriotism just a few years ago when the wars were just getting started?
We should have let the banking-insurance-financial industry go down and take responsibility for their bad lending and mortgage-backed security fiasco.

[torva-2009]

Ah the sweet irony...banks only make money when they make loans...now everybody in the country can''t loans...and the government is giving the banks our tax dollars...so much for schools, social services, and defense...

Maybe it''s time to outsource our government so we could save a buck or two!

[whitemale08]

WOO HOO!!!!

I''M A DEBT-JUNKY!!!!!

I''M AMERICAN AND I''M A DEBT JUNKY!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!

YEAAAAA!!!!

AMERICA NEEDS ME TO KEEP THIS ECONOMY STRONG!!!!!

WOOO HOOOO!!!

HURRAY FOR THE AMERICAN DEBT-JUNKY!!!!!!!

[deckardbr]

Here it comes, the great, MALL BAILOUT!

[Michael Arnold]

The pooch is screwed. The handbasket to hell has arrived.

One day last week, 40 thousand (yes, FORTY THOUSAND) people turned up near Denver to dig for free potatoes and carrots. Thats almost half of the seating in Mile High Stadium.

Stock your pantry, keep your gas tank full, and some cash on hand.

[element51]

Back when out sourcing first started it occoured to me that this might not work out to well. I thought that if a company was producing a product here in the states and were paying their workers 12 to 15 dollars per hour that the workers had the money to buy the companies products. And the companies were making a profit. Then they decided to move to a country where they could get workers at slave labor prices so they left and then sent their products back to the US to sell at the same prices they were charging when they were located in America. Suddenly all those workers who had lost their 12 to 15 dollar per jobs were forced to take jobs that paid 7 to 8 dollars per hour and could not afford to buy the companies products. So sales went down, profits went down and people could not afford even their mortgages. So I kind of saw all this coming. It will only get worse until we rebuild our manufacturing base in this country. Out sourcing was a terrible move. It is the middle class workers who fuel the economy. The right wingers claim that the wealthy need tax cuts to provide more jobs but if the jobs aren''t here and the workers aren''t paid a living wage there won''t be a middle class to fuel the economy. The wealthy need us, they just don''t want to admit it.

[McHineguy]

... Out sourcing was a terrible move. It is the middle class workers who fuel the economy. The right wingers claim that the wealthy need tax cuts to provide more jobs but if the jobs aren''''t here and the workers aren''''t paid a living wage there won''''t be a middle class to fuel the economy. The wealthy need us, they just don''''t want to admit it.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Element51 at 03:22 PM : Nov 28, 2008

I think they admit it. We just all see this from a different angle and are trying to find something that works. Heres mine:

We used to be the worlds greatest producers because our factories were the worlds greatest after WW II. But they grew their factories AND they had cheap labor. By that time we were passing regs about poluted air and water and other laws that made life pretty good here. But we didnt improve the output of our factories because trade agreements protected us. As time went on, their production grew, their quality grew, and ours didnt. Finally, in the 1990''s it became either let them in or do without (electronics, steel, clothes, etc). Now our worker compete with theirs while they have newer/better factories than we (Ive seen them). So, we can either upgrade our factories or create an iron curtain around our borders. I believe in lower corporate taxes so we can lure foreign investors into paying for upgrades to our factories. Then, and only then, can we regain our lead.

[McHineguy]

Dow up for fifth consecutive session so far today. Not sure if this means turning a corner, but at least past week has been good performance. We may have a softer landing than we think.


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Posted by ghostfighter at 01:22 PM : Nov 28, 2008

My opinion is that investors have heard that Obama is not goign to tax them as harshly as before so they are returning to the US. their investment money creates more demand for our stocks. I just hope our companies get some of it and can upgrade the factories.

[bjcone8559]

With the tax incentives, loopholes and other forms of corporate welfare that have been instituted in recent years, corporations pay very little taxes now. To state that we should throw more of our tax dollars at them to ''bribe'' them to keep the jobs here is insane. This depression is the result of ''trickle-down'' idiocy coupled with a total lack of regulation. The government''s primary job is to protect it''s citizens, and the middle class citizens of the USA have been under attack. The only answer is regulation. That is the government''s job! Corporations should not... can not be allowed to move their manufacturing to slave labor nations and then sell their products back to us. This can be fixed, but it will require a different direction. Government should look at every problem and ask, "How do we fix this from the bottom up?"

[wardoglrs]

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master... George Washington

As the economist Dr. Stuart Crane was fond of saying, %u201CThings [in the monetary world] don%u2019t just happen to happen. They happen because they were planned to happen.%u201D

*** Cheney was questioned on ABC about whether the fact that two thirds of Americans were opposed to the Iraq War had any influence on decision-making, he basically said that the American people get to make their input every four years and after that they can be ignored.

[McHineguy]

Corporations should not... can not be allowed to move their manufacturing to slave labor nations and then sell their products back to us. This can be fixed, but it will require a different direction. Government should look at every problem and ask, "How do we fix this from the bottom up?"


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Posted by nowaymcgoo at 04:08 PM : Nov 28, 2008

Unfortunately, we nor our government have the power to control this decision. Plain and simple, many investors are not American but they have American money. they will either spend it here or somewhere else and there is no tax laws we can make to control that. They spend it here if its profitable or fun. So, tax away, we are only taxing ourselves. The idea that we are taxing the rich is laughable. they have already sent their money elsewhere. They did that in October when Obama said he was gonna raise their taxes.

[bjcone8559]

My opinion is that investors have heard that Obama is not goign to tax them as harshly as before so they are returning to the US.

Posted by machineguy at 03:42



The idea that we are taxing the rich is laughable. they have already sent their money elsewhere. They did that in October when Obama said he was gonna raise their taxes.


Posted by machineguy at 04:31



I have suggested twice now that you should probably try reading before you make statements about a particular topic. It would appear, now, maybe you should read your own posts. You''re sounding a little schizophrenic my friend.

[McHineguy]

I have suggested twice now that you should probably try reading before you make statements about a particular topic. It would appear, now, maybe you should read your own posts. You''''re sounding a little schizophrenic my friend.





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Posted by nowaymcgoo at 04:41 PM : Nov 28, 2008

I was presenting separate ideas to separate posts. Both of my statements are correct as stated. They did move their money and they are bringing it back. But the idea that we can somehow pass laws that keep it here is laughable.

As for reading (implying I do not) you are far off base. I am a proliferate reader and research ideas both supporting my own and contradictory. That is why I am on this site. Although I am becoming weary of those who prefer to call names and make claims without supporting thought.

You may disagree with me. I respect that. If you have contradicting INFORMATION, I respect that and would like to read it. Please provide it. But please also stop pretending high ground when you only show opinions of your own.

[formrusmcsgt]

Malls will become empty monuments to unbridled consumerism....

[sbanicki]

It is going to take 5-years to repair the damage done to the economy because of our excesses.
Because of foreclosures resulting from poor credit decisions, we have an excess supply of homes on the market that has put downward pressure on prices. It will take sometime before homes are a good investment. Houses will be purchased for the shelter they provide. To compound the problem, the demand for housing is not going to get help from the demographic trends over the next 20-years.
This has resulted in a significant drop of the net worth of households, causing households to adjust their spending habits downward. Because of the decline in household spending, retail sales will fall off significantly and will not recover for sometime. There will be store closings and consolidations causing retail rental rates and values of commercial real estate to decline.
The net worth of Americans has further eroded because of a 40% decline of the stock market over the past year and no one can be sure of when the fall will end. Retirement savers have lost $2-trillion over the last 16-months due to the stock market crash.
It is time to institute public works projects to shore up our infrastructure, reduce or dependence on foreign oil, improve our education system and supply the jobs to overcome our current economic problems. We must resort to deficit spending to cure our problems and to make the necessary investment for our future. This is not being liberal or conservative; it is doing what is right.

[McHineguy]

With the tax incentives, loopholes and other forms of corporate welfare that have been instituted in recent years, corporations pay very little taxes now.
...

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Posted by nowaymcgoo at 04:08 PM : Nov 28, 2008

The fact is that corporations and "the rich" pay 70% of americas tax bill. I read this information on the US governments own web site regarding the IRS. I also read that all the people earning less than $42k (middle class average) pay less than 10% of the total.

we arent giving them welfare, we are trying to restore American businesses. But I do have to agree, its easier and more fun to bash and call names.

[deckardbr]

Maybe it''''s time to outsource our government so we could save a buck or two!

Posted by torva at 01:54 PM : Nov 28, 2008

Downsizing, at the end of a rope, would be better.

[bjcone8559]

Unfortunately, we nor our government have the power to control this decision. Plain and simple, many investors are not American but they have American money. they will either spend it here or somewhere else


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Posted by machineguy



You are absolutely 100% wrong! You obviously have not heard or read about the ''Chicken War''.

In 1962 the European Economic
Community raised tariffs on imported
chicken, effectively shutting U.S. producers
out of a growing and lucrative poultry market.
One year later, the United States retaliated
by boosting tariffs on four products
important to European exporters: potato
starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks.
The %u201Cchicken war%u201D was under way.
Forty years later, the truck tariff still
stands at a whopping 25 percent and
nobody quite knows why. It%u2019s a policy in
search of a rationale.
The retaliatory purpose of the truck
tariff was served. U.S. producers, whom
the tariff presumes to protect, dominate
the market despite the fact that the large
Japanese producers manufacture pickup
trucks in the United States (that is,
inside the tariff wall).

[bjcone8559]

The fact is that corporations and "the rich" pay 70% of americas tax bill. I read this information on the US governments own web site regarding the IRS. I also read that all the people earning less than $42k (middle class average) pay less than 10% of the total.

we arent giving them welfare, we are trying to restore American businesses. But I do have to agree, its easier and more fun to bash and call names.


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Posted by machineguy


Attempting to educate you is becoming a monumental task! The ''simple'' reason for the numbers you cited is the top 5% hold 90% of the wealth in this country. The idea that they only pay 70% of the taxes defeats your argument!

[formrusmcsgt]

Why is the lack of credit choking our economy?

Because way too many Americans use credit as a matter of course rather than saving for purchases, which would require ignoring their immediate gratification impulses.....

[bjcone8559]

It is time to institute public works projects to shore up our infrastructure, reduce or dependence on foreign oil, improve our education system and supply the jobs to overcome our current economic problems. We must resort to deficit spending to cure our problems and to make the necessary investment for our future. This is not being liberal or conservative; it is doing what is right.


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Posted by sbanicki


EXACTLY!!

I would add, however, deficit spending is already in full swing.

[bjcone8559]

It is time to institute public works projects to shore up our infrastructure, reduce or dependence on foreign oil, improve our education system and supply the jobs to overcome our current economic problems. We must resort to deficit spending to cure our problems and to make the necessary investment for our future. This is not being liberal or conservative; it is doing what is right.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by sbanicki


EXACTLY!!

I would add, however, deficit spending is already in full swing.

[bjcone8559]

It is time to institute public works projects to shore up our infrastructure, reduce or dependence on foreign oil, improve our education system and supply the jobs to overcome our current economic problems. We must resort to deficit spending to cure our problems and to make the necessary investment for our future. This is not being liberal or conservative; it is doing what is right.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by sbanicki


EXACTLY!!

I would add, however, deficit spending is already in full swing.