As the financial crisis crimps demand for American goods and services, the workers who produce them are losing their jobs by the tens of thousands.
When October's job losses are announced on Nov. 7, three days after the presidential election, many economists expect the number to exceed 200,000. The current unemployment rate of 6.1 percent is likely to rise, perhaps significantly.
"My view is that it will be near 8 or 8.5 percent by the end of next year," said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at Global Insight, offering a forecast others share. That would be the highest unemployment rate since the deep recession of the early 1980s.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/25/business/26layoffs.php
In the aformentioned recession of the 1980's, The U.S. still had a manufacturing base on which to build. That is no longer the case today. The race to send industry offshore over the last 30 years cannot simply be reversed. And while $700 billion+ might stabilize the "economy", that's like saying the operation was a success even though the patient died.
2/3 of the American economy is generated by consumer spending, and consumers are fast becoming a rare commodity in the U.S. For those who have been lucky enough to keep their houses, perhaps it is fast-approaching the time to rip up the front lawn and plant carrots..........
Stumble It!