Am I the only one alarmed by any article that uses California as a predictor for the economic future of any land mass on which I am presently standing? And if that was unnerving, probably more upsetting is the fact that their analogy really rings some bells. Ouch. The Wall Street Journal jars us into reality with this tantalizing possibility:
Here's the latest trend that started in California and is spreading to the rest of the country: recession.It's all but certain the U.S. economy is in a recession, as falling home prices and Wall Street turmoil have put the brakes on consumer spending and stoked unemployment. But California got there first. Now, the state provides a template of how a broad U.S. downturn could look.
That's just terrific. I knew I hated California. I mean for a long time it was just this sort of general, ill-defined dislike. Like California was the irritating classmate you had who seemed to have the potential to be part of the clique, but never quite got over the hump of, say, using Oxy-10, on a regular basis. You know. Just a little, off.
But when my most horrible projections of fiscal responsibility abandoned, economic powerhouses squandered and bludgeoned into the bloody soil on the rugby field of the market, are reflected back in my face... horrible woes, indeed. Regulated unregulated power grids. Unfunded pension mandates. Police departments with no payroll. Cats and dogs, living together.
We're #1!
First Into Recession, California Shows Possible Future for U.S. [Wall Street Journal]
Mostly Unrelated: Oxy-10
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:17PM
East coast is the best coast, bitches.
Posted by peWonderWoman , Oct 09, 2008 1:25PM
The California Plastics are melting, oh my!
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:27PM
Help Jesus PUNISH the greedy debtors!
Vote YES on 63.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:27PM
Thanks for proving the old saw, "New York is more provincial than the provinces" correct.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:31PM
Live there. Then talk. I lived in NY and I know where I'd rather be, recession or otherwise.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:33PM
This is terrible journalism on the journal's part. A furniture store in Stockton is in trouble. No shit?
They should leave the anecdotal pieces to the AP.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:33PM
Live there. Then talk. I lived in NY and I know where I'd rather be, recession or otherwise.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:35PM
Just more negative talk from people who hate America, and the troops.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:35PM
cal res re is down 40%+ median. that ain't likely to happen in the heartland.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:39PM
too pac, didn't read
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:44PM
Well played, #10....vastly well played. I was going to go with a Tupac reference but you beat me to it.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:47PM
hey, number 8...if it wasn't for California you'd be beatin' your meat to a Foley's catalogue image. Why do you hate freedom?
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:49PM
@10
I love you more and more each day.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 1:56PM
@10, 13... while i was walking under my cloud of misery this morning to the subway i thought about how sick i am of the "too whatever, didn't read" thing and about how lame that is, and about how it makes my life worse that this horse continues to be beaten on a continuous basis.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:04PM
@ 14 -- too whiny, stfu
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:05PM
Hey, number 12. Only Jesus can give you freedom. Haven't you read the constitution and listened to your next VP? You need to get out to the "heartland" more often, where the most voters live.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:05PM
I am a supporter of the "too ---, didn't read" commentary.
The short sweetness of it is endearing. Sometimes it is genuinely funny....from the silly (in re the Russian/Georgian thing : "too long, didn't readovich" to the deep humor (like today's "too pac, didn't read"). Simply brilliant.
Other times it is simply a marker that the particular subject was studied and noted. It is a note that the author is still with us and hasn't been decimated by the ongoing credit upheavals.
#14, I am sorry you are in a funk but it is nice to hear from you as well as we all fight our way around and within this financial shitstorm.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:07PM
What happened to BX today?
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:12PM
Can we blame this on celebrities and celeb-governors?
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:21PM
Michigan was in a recession before it was cool!
Posted by diablo , Oct 09, 2008 2:25PM
I thought the recession started in Michigan, Florida, Nevada or Arizona, or some other rust belt or southern state. Otherwise, EP sounds like a child bashing California instead of questioning the writers' assertion that the recession started in California.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:36PM
DB : love it or leave it!
The snarky pieces along with these droll, inside-joke comments are what make DB so great.
Cheer up, @14, or maybe try drinking earlier in the day.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:38PM
@21 you pontificating moron, California started going downhill right after the Walsh's left Beverly Hills for Hong Kong
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 2:56PM
No way it was he Walsh's leaving, because the olsen twins were still there on full house. The midwest has been in recession for years now. I think the unemployment is up over 10%.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 3:15PM
drudge says there is no recession in the CA movie industry. They should help arnold out then.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 3:29PM
I blame San Francisco morals.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 4:25PM
I'll award 10 points for the awesome ghostbuster's reference, but no golden star.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 4:26PM
I'll award 10 points for the awesome ghostbuster's reference, but no golden star.
Posted by guest , Oct 09, 2008 4:26PM
I'll award 10 points for the awesome ghostbuster's reference, but no golden star.