I Don't Think We Are In A Recession. Do You Think We Are In A Recession?

Well, are we or are we not? Should we start stock piling flour, plant corn in the back yard, and steal the packets of sugar from restaurants? No one in politics or the media can seem to agree whether or not we are in a "recession". Regardless of what anyone wants to call it, times are not great and the future looks a little rough.

First, lets define "recession". I went to Webster's for this and he says a recession is "a period of economic decline when production, employment, and earnings fall below normal levels."

Sounds pretty much like what is going on, except for the earnings. The oil companies are publishing record earnings. This morning bp announced earnings 65% above last quarter. 65% up! No joke - I had to get gas today and the pump stopped at $75; convenient since $75 is my gas budget for the next two weeks - problem was it did not fill my tank up. Someone please explain how an employee making $7 an hour can support his family when one gallon of gas is nearly $4 a gallon. Public transportation is an answer for some, but most communities don't have that option.

I also heard yesterday that some of the cause of the inflated prices at the grocery store is the increased production of corn for ethanol. This has caused a ripple effect in nearly every aspect of food production directly because there is less corn being used for food and because many farmers are not growing wheat, choosing to produce corn (due to the government mandate for ethanol), so wheat prices are getting higher. Indirectly this is effect on milk, beef, eggs, and more because cows and chickens eat corn. Third world countries are also taking a hit, because corn and wheat are some of their staples and the providers can simply not afford to buy the grains.

Unemployment has hit a high, with manufactures (especially vehicle makers) having lay offs because sales are so low and other companies simply not being able to afford to hire due to increase costs else where.

Okay, so the state of our economy: people are loosing jobs and not being able to find others, gas prices are almost above minimum wage, food prices are getting higher, the housing market is down to the lowest it has been in 30 years, and most companies are reporting losses. Call it what you want, but it sounds kind of like what Webster was defining when he wrote "recession"

I have a suggestion. First of all, quit the bio-fuel, environment saving rhetoric, and dig some wells in Alaska. God gave us this planet and all of its resources to use. He governed man to be over the fish, birds, and all other animals. Drilling in Alaska, would provide immediate relief at the gas pump and create jobs. It would also make us far less dependent on other countries for our energy. I know there are downfalls including a breed of moose (mooses? meice?), but we need to do something. Consumers are hurting and if predictions are correct and gas reaches $5 a gallon this summer, there are a lot of other industries that will be hurting too (trucking, tourism, restaurants, any forms of recreation.......). I think our citizens are more important than some moose(s).

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that we should be good stewards of the land and that we should not just carelessly use resources without thinking, but I also believe that God is not going to allow the earth to last one moment longer than his plan, even if I do recycle my cans and plastic.

I would give some comment about what happens will depend on the election, but at this rate, we need to make some changes now, or the next president will have more on his (or her) plate than expected. Not to feed into the media drama, but another depression could be around the corner. Not like the great depression (I hope), but depressions generally follow a recession. (Depression - a period during which business, employment, and stock market values decline severely.) We are not too good for that to happen.

Come on George, this could be your chance to regain some confidence with the American people. Somebody, anybody do something!