CNN

Somehow that fear is quite obvious, every person I've talked to even strangers are now saying we're in depression. There's an increasing number of people dissatisfied with Obambi's economic policies; the biggest group that is now doubting his power to lead this country are young people who are the first to lose their jobs that supported him last year.

When I listen to college students who voted and campaigned for Obambi, you hear remorse.

Young people of this country learned the hard way, to never be fooled again by rhetorics but to look at experience next time they cast their vote.

I think the country is already in an economic depression but it will be a mild one not like the 1930's. We will bottom out late this year or the early part of next year but remain there for a couple of years regardless of what the government does. The jobs that the government will create are temporay and will go away eventually. If the private sector job picture hasn't improved we will be back into the mess we are currently experiencing. Hopefully circumstances will prove me wrong.

The first step is to resolve the housing crisis. The feds need to buy back back mortages from banks and alow the anks to go about their business. The feds can then re-finance these loans to help people save their homes. Once people are confident they will keep their homes they will spend more and the banks should be free to loan more money. The rest of the economy will again fill safe to carry on once the American consumer goes back to spending at the malls and on Main Street accross the nation.

Did you think anyone was going to say yes we will have a great depression?The right wing loons want us to have one, so they can try to tell us "we told you so".Cheney wants us to get hit again so he can say he was right,these people are a sad bunch my friends.

I don't fear it.. For many of us hope ran out 8 years ago. For many of us this has been going on over the past 8 years, the only difference is we then had a President that only cared for the rich, that only cared for himself. Now we have our hope back, yet daily the Republican party continues to try to put that hope out. It's sad that they claim to love American and Americans but yet only want for their own greed. They can't even put it aside for a moment. Their own pockets is all they care about and that has become clear.

While most of us are adding more water to our RAMEN NOODLES, AIG is giving our money to their millionaire employees FOR BONUSES, if this kind of behavior dosn't stop, I don't see how we can avoid a GREAT DEPRESSION.

next year 2009/2010? No we will have a continued weakness with continued jobs loses, the real big storm is the national Debt interest due in 3rd quarter 2011 and 2012, if we can not pay this debt off, and I mean the entire debt of what is nearly 60 trillion dollars.
The increased tax burden will will break us for several generations going forward.

If we do it right and we propel ourselves and free ourselves from holding on to oil tanks and use innovation and creativity, there WILL be no depression. Stop fearing and live for FREEDOM!! Think innovation. Dont look back.!!

Obama's spending money like he's got it. A lot of young AA's do that and wend up broke and with ruined credit. Hence the bad mortgages etc. Now our country is going to pay the price of handing our purse strings over to yet another ambitious AA with no self control.

I went through the Great Depression so I know how to DO POOR.
In one way I feel sort of sorry for the present generation who have no idea what it is to do without something they WANT – not need.

I actually think we're kind of turning things around. Maybe its Spring being in the air, but I'm feeling kinda optimistic.

Understandable with all the news about out of control spending, abusive bonuses from AIG, foreclosures, and until recently, the fear (rather than hope) expressed by our new President. I happen to agree with Bernanke.

As much as the AIG bonuses were unconscionable, it's hard to sympathize with the outrage of Obama, who himself, just broke over 8,000 campaign promises by signing a spending bill with over $8 billion in wasteful earmarks. That's over 45 times the waste just seen at AIG. 45 times the waste to us taxpayers.

But then again, nothing has changed. Like all other politicians, Obama will vent at easy targets that we can all abhor, while brushing off the larger and tougher stuff because of the potential cost to him.

There is a silver lining to the dark economic cloud we are facing, and that is that we as Americans are looking more at what's important right now more than ever.

In a way, this crisis it's a blessing because it is making us re-evaluate the old ways of ethics and values. With technology and quick food, in a lot of ways, the existing generations have lost sight of the value of a dollar.

We are rediscovering that self-sufficiency is key to quality of life. Having your own garden means that you and your children have fresh food to put on the table- you don't need to be rich to do that or to buy seeds. Clipping coupons means you are saving money-before this crisis, clipping coupons was not popular until now. every penny counts.

Fear a Depression ? A depression we can recover from, forced servitude we cannot. Take a very close look at HR1388 that is hitting the floor today. Can you say comrade ?

And, unless the republicans start doing the jobs they were elected to do we will be facing another Repubican Great Depression.
There must be unification among our politicians for the survival of our country, but the republicans continue to put party first and their hypocritical actions. They are more worried about trying to get re-elected than all the crisises that face our country. They offer no workable solutions, obstructing any ideas that are presented.
ENOUGH!!

Because they are the party of "No." Everything they are trying to do to President Obama will backfire on them. Whether you believe in religion or not, there are a lot of people praying for President Obama to succeeed. My bible tells me that the prayers of the righetous availeth much.

The sad part about this is, they won't even listen to their party members because they are so bent on seeing our president fail.

This pool just in:

Americans love drama, and will always over exacerbate every issue that the media feeds them.

That is a possibility, depending on what happens with this new administration. If they try and ram Cap and Trade legislation through this year, essentially imposing a carbon tax on all Americans, expect the depression to follow rapidly.

And Obama, Pelosi, & Reid are leading the way. Of course they're all taken care of, but screw the American people.

I agree with Bernanke, we have gotten past the worst of this event and are on the road to recovery. April 1, will begin the road back to prosperity if we can ever get the banks reregulated!!! Geithner has been a dissappointment with his slow reactions and lack of openesss with details.

I agree with Bernanke, we have gotten past the worst of this event and are on the road to recovery. April 1, will begin the road back to prosperity if we can ever get the banks reregulated!!! Geithner has been a dissappointment with his slow reactions and lack of openesss with details.

Oh, so THIS is that "change" we've been told about. Obama is going to CHANGE a recession into a depression!

You obviously are not reading the voting on your home page today.
The majority of us don't believe there will be a depression, and will continue to believe that there will be an improvement within the year.

You don't think? We are headed for much worse thanks to reckless spending by the government. Politicians think they can save us but they are only making things worse.

Government didn't make this country great. The people did!

What's wrong with you people, look around you, we are already in a depression.

BHO should make it his bounden burden to beat back the bullyin' fears of bad days of depression by bolsterin' bravery among the browbeatin' body politic and act as a beacon with a beamin' face before the American people.

How he's goin' to do it is a matter of bein' at the beck and call of the economic times to thwart any beastly brute blockin' his bearings. Hope he does a reasonable job. The nincompoops who cry foul at every of his move need to learn to cooperate rather than yield to self-centered egotistic efforts. We realize these are vague statements, but bein' at the back of the burner ain't gonna fly either.

obama lied .........the economy died. Lets see........credit got us into this mess so the skinny commie borrows and spends to get us out ? Small buisness in the private sector hires 75% of the work force so obama gives all the money to government projects . American workers need the jobs so obama puts in a loop hole for atleast 300,000 illeagles to be hired for the government projects. And congress gets a pay raise but we are only to be outraged at commision based employee's at AIG getting thier bonus from the guy obama put there after the communist take over . It's all clear to me!

Bush put us in debt .....but obama can put us in debt better . ( X 3) I get it!

Seriously? Another Great Depression? What happened to there is nothing to fear but fear itself? Now we have nothing but fear. The fear mongering in this country is causing a routine recession to turn into a catalyst for change at every level, a push towards a more socialist society, and a downward spiraling of the economy. The more fear we inject into this situation, the worse it will get. We're at a little under 92% employment. Do people really think we're going to lose 20% of jobs within 12 months?

I sure wasnt called about this, were you ? In any event, I "have" been stocking my freezers, buying up extra canned, boxed, foods..I dont know if a great depression is coming or not, but, where we live, we always have to stay stocked up anyways in case of natural disasters, I'm just getting a lot more prepared in case of a national disaster like a depression..I pray this wont happen, but, I DO want to be prepared as well as possible if it does..also am buying lots of seeds to garden with TOO..and if it doesnt happen, I will have food to donate to food banks !
boy scout motto:
BE PREPARED...

That's strange, the poll on the cnn homepage says 77% don't think there will be another great depression.

That's pretty scary.

During the great depression FDR said what the country needed was confidence, but Obama has done everything he could to undremine it. No wonder people are worried, the way Obama talked until even people in his own party told him to lay off the gloom and doom rhetoric. Now the damage is done, the democratic election year exageration of the economic downturn has gripped the nation and people stopped spending even what they could afford to, so the nations economic wheels came screeching to a halt. Obama ran on the promise of hope but has only delivered fear and desperation.

Depression or not, this country has sunk so low because of it's blatant disregard for the Judeo/Christian values which were upheld during it's founding and for decades that followed. As we have moved away from those values we have clearly moved toward impending doom. History proves the fact that when a nation turns away from the true and living God of the Holy Bible (oh yes, I did say that, however offensive it may be to some) then that nation will fall. The only hope for this country is a true revival and that is what our leaders should be praying for.

Congress cries foul, with the AIG bonuses. State, will do something so it won't happen again. I say, it never should have happened in the first place, if congress was really doing its job. The Great Depression #2 is on it's way with the help of the government.

Dick Cheney says fear AL-CACA and nothing else.

We tend to get what we speak – so if we keep saying there will be a depression – probably it will – as for me – I am going to prosper in these times. I have to be original in many ways – looking for new and different ways to support and prosper, but I will.

In the same way that it wasn't announced until a year later that we were in a recession.....

I think most of us are already in the Great Obama Administration Depression!

Last year I was employed but had a hard time paying all my Bills on time.

This year I'm unemployed and having a hard time keeping myself in Food and Shelter!

Enter GOPers stage left claiming it's somehow all Obama's fault...in 3...2...1...

Hint: You GOPers might want to stop naysaying every single thing everyone who is not a GOPer is doing to fix this mess. Consumer and market confidence is a big factor in our recovery, and as much as we all know you'd love us to suffer until it's time to run in 2010 (and 2012 for that matter), so you can continue to play blame-game politics, you're just damaging the effort and it's not winning you new voters...just making your "base" more angry and irrational. They're already convinced though, so it earns you nothing. And while you're at it, stop encouraging the weekend warrior pseudoi militias to plan a domestic terrorist attack with your nonsense blabber about soshulizm and 2nd Amendment rights...you do it every time a Dem is POTUS and it's entirely transparent.

Change we need!!!

Not me! We will get out of this mess, although there are those for failure. The failure will appear in the mirror!

The Democrats are bent on making it happen,what I don't understand is what is in it for them,will it make it easier to get rid of capitalism and CHANGE our economic system to socialism,is that it ??

I do not fear a depression, because a depression would end. I fear the destruction of America...the destruction of freedoms, the destruction of the education system, the destruction of our businesses, the destruction of our way of life...and it is all thanks to one man...a man who promised change without specifics...a man who will leave the most debt with the least results...Obama! Those who live in other lands and reach out to Allah for our destruction must truly love you!

Let me add ....we are going to hear our President speak on his next bill...the Budget Bill for next year...largest in history.... listen carefully and be very afraid. My guess this will be another redistribution of wealth...and social issues that should have waited until the economy is Healthy.

We voted in a man with an Islamic background....then a Rev Wright background....and a socialist activist background. He has proven that with his lack of focus on jobs and banks...and the security of this country.

I only get my information about the economy from Ron Paul, he's been correct on everything all along. Bernake didn't even see it coming, unless he planned it.

With Obama spending us bankrupt, we'll be lucky if we can get thru this without having to learn mandarin. I wonder where he plans to go after he destroys the United States? Maybe he's got s secret mansion in Kenya.

A lot of Americans have no confidence in Geinther and he has no cabinet as of yet. Why didn't Geinther way back in November add no bonuses to the bailout monies?

I'm a firm believer in "expect the worst but hope for the best" in life. I grew up in a poor family and never became part of the "possession craving" general population. My stepfather made very little money, but was always the first one to help someone in need. I do believe things will get worse before we pull out of this, but it will take the majority of the people getting rid of their "life owes me" attitude and go back to the work ethic and sensible lifestyle similar to the 50's. There's a lot more joy in that than some people today realize.

Currently, believe it or not negative consumer attitude is the biggest threat facing the nation as the economy trys to recover. Extreme cuts in consumer spending, reduces growth, loses jobs and causes buisness cut backs. Now just a little extra spending can go a long ways in doing what the President s trying to do and that is stimulate the economy. You can not take it with you, so if you have your bills paid, a little emergency fund set aside, then do something for your neighbor and the nation, go spend some money. Go to the movies, take the family out to eat, buy yourself something that you want. Take the family on a short trip, nothing grand but a weekend away from home, it will do you good and it will actually help the nation, It does not take alot, but if Americans lighten up just a little, and spend just a little more freely, we can bring this economy back on line. Burying your money in the back yard does nothing for you or the country.

Considering the horrendous billions being spent by the Obama administration, it appears we're headed for a depression some time this year. But when listening to Chairman Ben Benanke of the Federal Reserve Board and learning of his brilliant education and financial experience, I'm strongly pulled in the direction of his comments which see this country as weathering the fiancial storm reasonably well and coming out maybe in 2010 smelling like a rose!

I blame the GOP in general, and W in particular.

Things are not great, but "elements" of the media are experts, in scaring people to death, for no good reason (maybe these "elements" took lessons from Lucifer – oops, I mean Dick Cheney).

Bernanke, if you think we have averted the depression by actions taken by the government, my question is if you knew how to avert anything why didn't you do this a year ago to avoid the recession?

During the Great Depression there were certainly lots of people who made fortunes while everyone else suffered. For them there was no Great Depression, and the same will hold true this time around. Bankers, lawyers, Wall Street insiders, medical professionals, and most of all, politicians, will still be making the same money they always have. It's all about who you ask, and unless a poll interviews 100,000 people or more, than I wouldn't give it much credence.

I am gonna go with some Hope. The people who are most pessimistic of our President and his ability to help our economy are those who for some weird reason expect or want him to fail. I Hope and Pray for the best. God Bless The United States of America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My only comment is that fear is what will ruin our country. If people will stop and think about who and what is ruining America they will find it is in themselves. Our country was founded on free enterprise and the talents that were given to them by their Creator. Too much material things given freely to our children only created a feeling of ME first and you last. Give your children books written years ago and watch movies that were free of greed and violence and try to imagine how it was then. We dealt with so called gangs differently then. Actually there weren't any gangs! Only different people. And, we didn't have a hundred different names for what we called using our head and "deal with it." Now it is ADD, ADHD, ETC.....It is bout time to look at ourselves and say we can do this. Lets help our neighbor. When you help someone , you help yourself and it makes you stronger. WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!

This article tells me people are finally reading and believing their Bibles again.....should the day come if one is prepared there will be no worries. The motto is live simply, and enjoy each day you live.

Really does not matter what politicians say. It is time for the FEDs to help small businesses and forget the greedy rich brats on wall street. They mean nothing if small businesses are not able to survive.

Given that there are many things going on to stop the slide into a depression, I don't think it is going to happen. The current administration is trying things to keep it sliding. Unemployment isn't 25% yet, and I doubt that it will get much beyond 10% if it even gets there.

I think we avoided going into a depression by implementing the President's policies.

With Obama's policies of tax and spend, expect to see Obamatowns all over the United States.

The economy is tanking and the Obama Administration has not plan. He let Nancy Pelosi borrow $1.5 trillion this year to fun 2 hugh pork bills. This isn't leadership! This isn't fiscal responsibility! No wonder the nation is nervous about the economy. We are losing our jobs at the same time our tax dollars are being given to Wall Street Execs as bonuses. I've had enough of Obama blaming Bush. Obama can either fix the problems or step down and get out of the way. Where is the change that we were promised?

People are scared, and that's understandable. However, the tent cities set up across the country have been there for quite some time. The stock market has been tanking for over a year now. It's not like this should suprise anyone. President Obama isn't Jesus. He can't touch the budge and create a surplus. It took us years to get here, and it will take years to get out. I hope that people will at least give this President at least half of the benefit of the doubt they gave Bush.

The MEDIA has helped to drag us into a "Depression" mode by constantly airing negative information about the stock market and FEARS of a decline in the USA.

It's my opinion that business people have let people go out of "You know, I better tighten my company's belt and let some people go before this thing gets worse!" Thus, more people "..losing their jobs when they could've remained employed. It's become a domimo affect.

Even the stock market responds to GOOD news in the midst of this negative mess we're in...

I remember stories that my mother had told me about the Great Depression. How depserate the people were. Standing on the corner to get hired.

If our economy does not get any better, yes there will be another Great Depression 2. Maybe we need this to be a wake up call for the American people. We did live beyond our means and maxed out our Credit cards and bought things that we knew we could not afford.

Think about that.

You mean a trillion dollars wasted to stimulate the "government" isnt going to help the economy??

Bernanke is an expert on the great Depression. I trust him. These people are the ones who listen to Rush and Hannity and the oh-so-authentic Glenn Beck, all of whom are praying for Obama, and the country, to fail, so they can wag their fingers at us. Get a life! I'll take Obama's optimism and plans over Cheney's abuse of the Constitution all day, every day. If his interview on Sunday didn't scare the living daylights out of even Conservatives, they are beyond hope and help. The man thought he was dictator in chief, seriously. I think he needs some mental help. Thank God the country was smart enough to get the whole crew out of Washington before they turned us into a police (Blackwater) state. And he has the gall to be 'worried' about Obama? That, my friends, is called spin. I think in the very back of his mind he thinks that he might actually be called to account for these crimes. We can only hope!

The Obama Depression is on its way if he doesn't start listening to all points of view. So far, the One has been close-minded, and his only solutions are TAX TAX TAX, SPEND SPEND SPEND.

A 1930s style depression is unlikely. In 1929-31 a Republican 'Let the Markets Work' President [Hoover] refused to do anything to relieve the problem. Too at that time there was no people 'safety net' or bank deposit insurance. Today the worst of the 30s demons have been vanquished.
We have an engaged President, and un-employment insurance and FDIC.
The greed of the financial sector by declaring mortgage paper to be worthless on one hand while refusing to sell or 'adjust' it on the other, is a substantial impediment to a quick turnaround but if things get much worse, there will be mortgage cram-down legislation, bank nationalization [through FDIC 'failures'] and 'forced' bank lending. Then when the 'secureitized' bonds are forced down to a predetermined value [?40%-50%? of 'face'] the system will cough up the crap and begin to function again. Finally, to prevent this from ever happening again, there need to be laws controlling lending, subjecting Credit Default Swaps to insurance law regulation and IMHO eliminating adjustable rate mortgages, and requiring that at least 51% of any mortgage must be held by a single entity [thereby subjecting the entire mortgage to rules and legislation 'control'.

This trend has to change if the economy is to rebound. A lot of how quickly we rebound is based on if we start feeling better about things.

There is no doubt in my mind we are on the doorstep of a great depression.

There are several factors which have led us to this point, the main one being greed and second poor leadership in Washington during the past eight years.

It is extremely hard for this administration to work with Republican's as they are opposed to anything which may use some of their all mighty dollars to avoid this coming event.

I will also say, I believe we are seeing the decay of the Republican party as we have once known it to exist.

People fear a recession for a number of reasons and several point to the current administration. A Secretary of Treasurey who didn't pay his taxes and who was on the bailout committee in November, 2008. Why weren't bonuses to AIG and other institutions who are bailed out addressed BEFORE the bailouts were handed out? Why weren't their stipulations that there would be no bonuses at taxpayers expense?

With President Obama's untiring leadership, we will no doubt achieve this Great Depression.

Obama, be a man of integrity. Be a person we can trust. We are really not sure how you (not) a millionare got where you got when other millionares could not afford to do it? More than suspicious!

I ask you, stop the Hollywwod ACT.Only talk about issues you really can do something about or else you are a figurehead.

We are now terribly hurt by Democrats, Ceo's, Republicans and those who were supposed to watch the watchers.

You have lost us. Take the responsibility to say we are all fools living in an era that is much like the Roman Empire.

We are the lions. We will chew our own paws off! The mouse (people) are far too small to contend with the powers that be. Attitude can NOT save us!

Shameful haughty Greed is what has gotten us where we are!
Some only reveal of their past, what looks good on the surface. That which will surface too late, will be the truth that is ripping us to shreds.

The reason why many depressions happen is people lose confidence in the market, and investros stop investing in businesses. Without new companies and production, the economy takes a dive. We've been letting the rest of the world do the work for us, and just investing in their economies. Let's stop with the fear and get to work.

The new depression started a few months ago, they just won't admit it yet.

Remember how long it took for them to admit we were in a recession?

The recession of the 1980's was worse than the one we're in now, and no one even remembers that.

Good. We deserve one. It's what we voted for last November (52% of us anyway). The American people are going to find out what happens when they vote for "nice abs" and "cool dance moves" over experience and integrity. Now we have unemployment approaching 10%, a deficit that dwarfs all deficits that came before it, and Russian bombers taunting us off our southern shore. But hey, don't you still feel all warm and fuzzy inside because the rest of the world now loves us so much?

(Right! The rest of the world is laughing at us for shooting ourselves in the foot. By electing B.O. we did exactly what our enemies and "frienemies" were hoping.)

We are no way near a depression. In the last several days, we went to two shopping malls and the way people were buying it looked like Christmas. After the mall, my wife and I had to wait one hour to be seated at a restaurant, that after the previous one told us that there was a 90 minute wait.

“Only nine in ten say recovery is likely within a year; one in five predict it will take...
These numbers don't add up, Mr. CNN. Nine in ten is 90 percnt. So... How did u get to t second half number, of one out of five? U polled 110 prcnt ppl?

Several months ago, Johnny Mac stated that the economy was sound, this past week the Obama administration basically says the same thing. Funny how you can pounce on an opportunity one minute, and then play the fiddle the next. Obama has enough money and leeway now to play his two faced game.

I will find my way through a depression or recession, I wonder if any of the democrats know how to garden, hunt, fish, and gather. Guess being a stupid Republican just may pay off.

Have a great day people.

The media is scaring people, and I blame the media for the hysteria and fear in people.
All the media hype is to blame.

...but the economy is turning around?? BO said so!! Since it is in print from the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, it's gotta be true.

Way to go with the fear-mongering, CNN...another great story...

with companies like aig taking money and using it for bonuses from the already desperate taxpayers, it seem a depression is near, probably already started.

The results of this survey are not surprising, given the fact that the media, including cnn, is feeding the fear frenzy daily, and the greedy bastards on Wall Street are playing games with our money. I've pretty much stopped listening to the news about the economy because I know that it's going to take a while for it to come around, and even longer for it to get better.

And Obama is doing his absolute best to make sure that Depression happens.

Look at it from his point of view: Franklin Roosevelt used the Depression of the 1930s as a great excuse to drag the US toward socialism. He started the process of making the Federal government the huge, intrusive, over-bearing monstrosity it is today, and Obama has made it abundantly clear he'd like nothing better than to further that process.

And, by the way, FDR's imbecilic plan to spend the country out of that depression failed, utterly and completely. It resulted in a small recovery that lasted a couple of years, but then the effects of all that over-spending kicked in, resulting an a far longer and more severe depression than it otherwise would have been.

I'm sure FDR mean well; I'm sure Obama does too. FDR wanted to help all those poor schmucks who were too dumb to help themselves, and Obama feels the same way. Unfortunately, a lot of us don't like being treated like dumb schmucks and would rather live our lives without incessant interference from, and confiscatory taxation by, Washington bureaucrats.

I know it sounds strange, but maybe a depression is exactly what this country needs. We need to get back to basics.

The cowards at AIG should come forward. They won't because they don't want wads of spit in their food while dining at some fine restaurant. They don't want bed bugs slipped into their luxury hotel rooms, or tainted drinks from the bar. I understand their reluctance to come forward, would you? These greedy slime buckets want to take our money and remain anonymous, and for good reason. Americans are furious and if spitting in their food is the least they can do to satisfy an uncontrollable urge to hit the AIG maggots over the head ...well, so be it.

If your neighbor is unemployed, it's a recession. If you are it's a depression. Unless of course you work for AIG. Thanks, all you politicians. Once agin you fein outrage, yet you enabled all the misdeeds. We need a revolt in this country. If someone's in office, they need to go. Remember come election time.

The real enemy is our lack of determination to get out from under the thumb of China. We need to pay them back, and stop depending on them so much for manufacturing. They need us to fill their bank accounts, and we should just STOP IT.

I agree we could possibly get into another 'Great Depression' IF these major corporations continue to reward themselves with our hard-earned money. It is people like the Secratary of Treasury for AIG that are putting us more in a slump. The only way for any of us to recover from their actions is for Obama to put his foot down and actually rain on their all-paid parade. Time after time these executives are either overlooked for their actions or walk away with a slap on the wrist; and guess what, it is apparently not helping the situation because they continue to do it. Please, please, please Obama....help us.

Funny how Obama is soooo upset about the AIG bonuses, yet, as an unproven senator, he was more than willing to take money from Raines....and millions in untraceable donations as President-Select....wow...all the sudden, he feels like it's coming out of his pocket! Well, how do you think we feel with the stimupork pkg?

I've talked to people who lived through the Great Depression – our current problems (although quite severe) are nothing compared to the hardships of that generation. Today's economy is robust compared to the decade+ of the Depression, and we have many social safety nets that did not exist back then. We forget that the Depression lasted from 1929 to 1941, and generally WW II was the "stimulus" spending that ended it.

Surely, people are hurting today, but I wonder if the bigger problem is perception. If more people have deep negative attitudes about the economy, it will take longer to turn things around.

I believe we are already in a depression, but no one wants to actually use the word. Unemployment is on the rise (unemployment + underemployment = 21%), industrial output is dropping like a stone, inflation is rising rapidly, the stock markets are in chaos and the financial system remains frozen and banks are failing everywhere, despites huge infusions of cash by the government. Economic experts say it will take five to 10 years or the American economy to fully recover. How does this not qualify as a depression?

Bernanke thought that the coming Depression would be caused by a sudden and catastrophic failure of the financial system. He didn't realize it would be caused by Obama's failed spending and tax policies, which will slowly grind the economy down to a halt.

Of course people fear a depression. The policies that are currently being set in place make one very likely.

Of course, that's just what they want. Bribing voters with a few scraps of bread doesn't win many votes when the economy is thriving and everyone has a job.

Well, what do you expect? Libs wanted a tax and spend, socialist, inexperienced...nobody....and they got one...now, they get to reap the benefits!

Yeah, but Ben Bernacke said that because of our totolly awesome, hip and cool president that we've avoided a depression, and we all know he's never wrong either.

I think with all the strategies being adopted by Obama and all his cabinet, things will work out well for American citizen. Though it might not be easy now because things has to be re adjust and properlly channel to the right couse, the former President has really mess up the office and Obama need to adequately clear the place and reshape the America economy for better living for the Americans. Personally, i did not foresee any depression whatsoever.
However, i can see America coming back to its economic progression rather than depression.

Fellow citizens, please snap out of it. Don't "watch the news" read it. Go to work, pay your bills, and live on a budget.. US Govt, " give every legal citizen adult one million dollars $1,000,000,000. Economy will be fixed.