EconomicCrisis.US

Most of us have heard about the “Greek Crisis” and the contagion effect it has had across Europe. Many observers pin our ability to recover quickly (or simply recover) from our current economic woes to how things play out in Europe.

But how quickly we recover also depends on what the federal government does.

The Greek Crisis and the financial crisis we are still experiencing share the same basic root: debt. Excess debt, to be precise.

If a history of financial crises teaches us anything, it is that accumulating excess debt is always risky for a society. This lesson is of little consolation to us now, of course – especially since we seem to have been asleep when it was taught. But we can pay attention to the lesson it teaches us about current policy.
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U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones warned of an economic collapse if the government doesn’t get a handle on its spending.

In a speech to members of the Federal Managers Association Thursday in Havelock, the third-district Republican congressman said America could not remain a strong nation if it didn’t pay its bills.

Speaking to about 150 FMA members at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center, Jones said the country just could not continue “kicking the can down the road” when it came to debt that would ultimately have to be paid by children and grandchildren.
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Orders for U.S. durable goods increased less than forecast in July, a sign that one of the few remaining bright spots in the economy is cooling.

Bookings increased 0.3 percent, compared with the 3 percent median estimate of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Excluding transportation equipment, demand unexpectedly fell.

Manufacturing is slowing after leading the U.S. out of the worst recession since the 1930s as consumers cut back on spending. The pullback in factory activity will probably contribute to deceleration in growth in the second half of the year.
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The U.S. trade deficit took an unexpectedly large turn for the worse in December, loading more foreign debt onto Americans and lengthening the odds against President Barack Obama’s effort to spark job growth by sharply boosting exports.

The Commerce Department report Wednesday, recording the third straight month of rising trade deficits, showed that exports continued to rebound at a solid pace in the final weeks of 2009, but a surge in oil imports wiped out the gain, leaving the country’s trade balance $40.2 billion in the red. That was up sharply from the $36.4 billion shortfall in November 2009.
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