Economy Broke???

I was at the Chrysler dealer today to order a part for my wife's car (I gotta drive cheap imports). The dealership was Chrysler, Dodge, Mercedes, Land Rover, and KIA. There was an older guy there paying cash for 4 Mercedes S600's for his 4 daughters for Christmas. Don't know what kind of price he got, but the windshield price was 120,000 Euro.
Guess he didn't read the papers. They were all butt ugly (the daughters), so maybe that was his last ditch effort to get them married and out of the house.

Dave

Did any of the girls have skinny legs? lol

You say paying cash? Couldn't be a drug dealer, could it? Good thing the cops didn't stop him along the way there.

If you have ever been in the situation of a son or daughter not wanting to move out and get a life you can certainly appreciate this post.

Beauty is as close as the light switch. All cats look alike in the dark.

They don't all scratch the same.

Prosperity isn't where ONE man has wealth; prosperity is where MANY have wealth...and ABUNDANT PROSPERITY is where MOST PEOPLE have wealth.

Now, if you'd said that the showroom had SEVERAL people buying multiple Mercedes at a time, I might've been impressed. Heck, Elvis could buy several new cars at a time, and often did; that didn't say a word for how the rest of the economy was doing.

Germany is now reporting falling auto sales. They are behind us on the recession, but they may not be immune. Here in Michigan, the 3 biggest employers in the state are facing bankruptcy. And if they go, most of the supplier companies are gone. Even with falling sales, GM is still ahead of Toyota, so it isn't just the domestics.

George W. Bush sent American boys to war, and now he's bringing the boys home...NOT the boys in Iraq and Afghanistan; but the boys in Detroit, THEY'RE coming home.

[At least until the bank forecloses on the home they can no longer pay for.]

Thanks for the enlightenment, obamma.

Sure, the super rich are not out of money, and see the current world's economy as "christmas" for them. Here in the United States, everything is cheaper than it was a year ago right now if you've still got some money. Although perhaps getting a deal isn't it at all. Daddy's little girls might just be getting what they want.

Did they have T.V cameras following them around filming the next "reality" tv show?

The car dealer is required to report large cash deals like that to the IRS (over 10 grand) same as a bank.

Is this a joke?
I couldnt even fathom anyone paying for 4 cars all of which are just about the most expensive car made now. Where do you live, Washington?

Might not in Germany.

I know they have VERY strong privacy laws compared to the U.S.

For instance, once payment of a bill is confirmed, the records of a transaction need to be destroyed. There's no ability by the companies or the government to go back and "data mine" hotel stays or telephone bills or credit card purchases.

You don't blame all the Americans that buy Japanese and other foreign makes. You don't blame the Unions who have pushed management into making promises no company could ever keep. You don't even blame the executives for not seeing future trends and mismanaging the company.

Just George Bush, huh?

So if everything were going great right now, would you give President Bush the credit? No, you wouldn't.

No, your not partisian at all, are you?

At least half the country has wealth, probably much more. But what percentage would make it right in your mind? And do you think taking from those who've earned it and giving it to those who haven't will make it right? And will the people you give it to invest/save it, growing it and passing it on to their heirs, or would they blow it and end up needing more and more?

Spending it before it gets redistributed.
Vito

Bush has to do something, anything right to get credit. Somebody speaking bad of Bush has eight years to go on, you just have wishful thinking.

Blaming the American public for buying something is asinine. Somebody tell you what to buy or not. Their money, their choice. Gas was cheap and SUVs are safe and carry a lot of people, so people bought them. Just because gas spiked in a year and half wasn't their fault, but the spike may have cuased the housing problems because people couldn't afford both.

20% of the citizens control nearly 90% of the nations wealth and
they can buy most anything that they want.

The gas prices caused the housing problem? You are truly an ignorant fool.

Do you know what "bundling" means and how it affected the housing crisis?

Do you understand what the devaluation of the dollar means, how it is done, and the implications of doing so?

Do people have free will and a brain with which to weigh the facts about purchasing a home with no money down via ARM mortgages?

Did individual's personal greed to buy and flip a houses come into play?

I'll answer for you. "Huh? What? No? The "man" made them buy those houses, they didn't know and shouldn't be held responsible for not knowing. The government should bail out anyone that messes up in life."

The gas prices caused the housing bubble to burst. Priceless.

Please remove your head from your backside before spouting off with such foolish, inane, uninformed blather.

Let's see, bundling was making packages of housing mortgages to offer investors. They put risky with stable mortgages to entice the investors. A risky one is if the person can't afford his payments for some reason. A reason might be because the fuel double and tripled in price.
No the gov.. shouldn't have done the bailout.

Don't think people's greed had anything to do with it. Of course they're going to take the path of least resistance, but some to ever get into a house used what was available. If you have to qualify for what home you can afford, then it doesn't matter about your greed or what decision you make, you're only going to get a house you can afford. So when the gov.. took all the checks and balances off, then you qualify for everything.
You don't speak w/ knowledge, you just try to out talk and over talk with your dribble.

When the rich man asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter the kingdom of Heaven, did Jesus tell him to keep accumulating all he could, in order to ensure his place...or did he tell him to sell ALL he had, and give it to the poor? And did Jesus say to give only to the "deserving" poor, or simply to give to the poor?

The way you seem to take my statements, you seem to believe Jesus was a communist. But re-read what I said in the post you attacked...I never said that there was anything wrong with prosperity.

But to spread prosperity to a wider percentage of Americans, we need GOOD jobs for everyone, and an expanding manufacturing base will provide that...just like it did in the 1950's and 60's. What we don't need is a federal budget that's so broken that the dollars we Do earn are worth less and less, primarily due to the trillions of government debt and the borrowing associated with that. And THAT didn't all happen since the 2006 elections, no matter what you WANT to believe; the majority of the doubling of the national debt occurred with a nnalert majority in both houses of Congress. The only difference between the nnalert and the nnalert in Congress that I can see is that the nnalert tax and spend, but the nnalert DON'T tax but STILL spend...and someday our children and granchildren are going to have to face the monster that these folks have built...and that the President didn't have the fortitude to veto when he could have.

Glad to see that the short bus showed up and dropped you off, Dave. Whenever I need someone to show up and make a comment that shows a total lack of intelligence, I can always count on you to show up and fill that position.

BTW...I voted today, but not for external_link. There are enough empty suits in high places in this country already, as I see it. We don't need another cowboy who's all hat and no cattle, especially in the top spot.

You're just a fool.

In your book no one is responsible for the decisions they make.

In your book no one should plan on changes in the economy. The way things are today is how they will and should always be. And if they do change it's the governments fault.

You're a classic Marxist socialist. You think the government is responsible for taking care of people.

Just say it, it's easy, "I am a socialist. I do not believe in free markets or capitalism. The founders were wrong, Karl Marx was right. The government is responsible for taking care of everyone". See, that wasn't hard, was it?

What exactly do you consider to be wealthy when you state that over half the country has wealth? Seriously, without the rhetoric.
If owning a home and having a job makes you wealthy, then mabey so... but I believe the statistic is that something like 90-95% of the money is in the hands of fewer than 5% of the population.

Rod

You're right. You've convinced me. I've changed my mind on everything. I think that the ideals of the old white men that started the country were good for them, but are clearly outdated and do not suit our country today. They could not have foreseen the complexities of life in the world today, and were burdened with their religious zealotry.

This is truly very liberating. I realize now that I've been living a lie. Seriously. It's going to be so much better now with President external_link here to take care of us, like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I apologize to everyone, you Rod, tlak, everyone. I sincerely mean it. I've been duped by talk radio pundits and others and I am ashamed. I will do my part to help bring more people around to seeing things the right way.

I think we need to write a new constitution with these values in mind. And I don't think people should be allowed to voice differing opinions than these we know are right, confusing people like me with their facist propoganda. And whatever someone can add to society is enough, and whatever people need should be made ready for them. I really do understand that now. Rich white people have been running this country for too long, and it's past time to even the playing field for everyone.

We need Constitutional Rights to free health care, a guaranteed good paying job, a house, and other things that will ensure we are able to live like the rich people. It is not fair that some people get to live so well while the rest of us have to work so hard for so little. That is unfair and has to be changed.

We should leave the Middle East immendiately, and anywhere else we have troops in the world, then we can save a great deal of money we are needlessly spending. We can talk to our enemies and come together as one world, one race of humans, and stop antagonizing other freedom loving peoples. We use up so many resources and pollute so much more than other countries, and that has to stop.

You may think I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not. I'm embarrassed and ashamed of myself for being so intolerant. Adults should be able to do as they wish without biggoted people judging them. A person should be able to marry and spend their life with anyone they want. And womens bodies truly are their own to do with as they wish. African-Americans have been treated horribly and deserve to be compensated for the atrosities we committed against them.

Again, I've been judgemental, predjudicial, biggoted, homophobic, and just plain wrong headed, and I am thankful that you guys have been here to help me see the error in my thinking. I cannot thank you enough, as today I feel as though I am starting my life over. I was frightened over having President external_link elected, but now it feels good, it feels right. We need a change and he is the perfect person to bring us together and make the country, and the world, a better place.

Thanks again, and please forgive my earlier posts and rants. It was wrong of me to do that.

I look forward to seeing you guys around the site, and having much better relations now that I've seen through the lies those on the religious extreme right were constantly telling me. I was such a fool for believing all that crap. I kind of knew all along that something wasn't right about it, but it's hard to admit sometimes, even to yourself.

Broke nothing, that an amputation. Courtesy of my old boss Eladio at Fleetwood Assembly div of GM 1984.

Blah.
I didn't even read all that crap.
Answer the damn question. It was an honest question. If you hold all the answers, answer the question.

All that crap was for real. Seriously. Conservatism is wrong. I meant every word I said.

All these people that voted for President external_link can't be wrong, so I must've been. I've been poor for long enough, and I, like so many others, need a hand up. I think he'll help me. I'm not going to fight it anymore.

I'm truly puzzled why you and so many more view life, politics and economics along with who knows how many more issues in strictly black and white terms.
If only it were so simple...

Well, like I said, I'm trying to become more enlightened and open-minded. I just know that I'm tired of swimming against the current, time to join the flow.

I took the opportunity of your post to read Matthew chapter 18. This post seems pretty heated. So let me gently point out that Jesus Did not tell the young man to sell his possesions and give them to him or the gov. to distribute to the poor. He said .....sell your possesions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

And I believe that is the 65 and older group.