主题：04/07/2009 Market View -- 宁子

Consumers continue to pull in the credit.

February saw a $7.5B drop in credit. January was up $8.1B, an apparent bright light or turn. No. it was a blip, a one up in five string of downside moves. Indeed, credit was up through August 2008 when it fell for the first time in who knows how long. Since August only two upside months as consumers pull back in the economic uncertainty. Well, not uncertainty; it is certain the economy is in the toilet.

January was up, not on the short term revolving credit (credit cards), but on a surge in durables buying and home buying. So toss that one out as the statistical aberration.

It is no surprise consumer credit is falling. Many say it is the consumer finally getting a handle on his or her finances and acting responsibly, something supposedly long overdue. You know, I am just sick of that crapola. Greenspan used to talk about the 'runaway' consumer. That is a bunch of BS from a guy who kept interest rates at 1% WAY TOO LONG and helped fuel the housing bubble on top of fueling the stock market surge and collapse before that. Who is runaway?

No, consumers are simply responding to the horrific economic conditions that our government and governmental agencies with their easy money, lack of enforcement, and forced lending got us into. Does the government tighten its belt and cut spending in order to help pay for its $11T in stimulus and bailouts? No; it places the burden on those citizens that did save, that did stay within their means, that were saving for the kids' education, and that are trying to pay for their own healthcare. So the responsible are cutting back because they are forced to do so thanks to bad governmental decisions that got us into the problem and bad decisions on how to get us out that have rung up an $11T debt, more than all prior presidents combined. Is it any wonder credit has turned negative 5 of the past 7 months?

What will be the test is whether citizens put up with this nonsense and continue funding it. The government causes these problems then tells those that were responsible they have to pay for it and put their family's future at risk what with the recession that already has them struggling and the tax hikes that are to come on incomes and via the carbon tax to come. Our President was over in Turkey telling those people how 'big changes' were coming to us back in the US with respect to energy use. Nice to know about it first here at home. So we kick you in the gut with the recession and take most of your savings that you had put in the stock market, then we stick the knife in your back by requiring you to pay for it all. It is time the US citizenry started voting with their wallets and purses and refuse to pay because money is the only thing our congressmen understand and if we decide to stop feeding the fat man as Ronald Reagan put it they might get the message that what prompted a revolution 233 years ago can prompt a revolution today, this one waged with our money.