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Well it appears the crystal ball is clear but it is the economy that is murky. Economic conditions in the U.S. right now certainly feel like a car teetering on the edge of a cliff, like in an old CHIPS episode and Officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn “Ponch” Poncherello is holding on trying to prevent it from going over, before the commercial.

As more people begin to worry and fret over the economy, stress levels begin to increase. When that happens, people begin sleeping less which leads to watching more late night television infomercials, lose hair, gain weight and all the other crap that happens to you when you are scared shitless if you are going to have a paycheck two months from now.

The unemployment rate soared and job growth came to a near-halt in December, the government said yesterday, as the housing downturn rippled through the economy. It is the strongest evidence to date that growth is slowing.

“We are on the verge of recession now,” said Robert A. Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “We are teetering on the edge of a precipice, and it will not take much to push us over.”

But the losses were considerably broader. With homes worth less and credit harder to get, consumers are buying fewer cars; automakers cut 6,300 jobs. The holiday selling season was mediocre, which led retailers to cut 24,300 jobs.

President Bush indicated this week that he was considering proposing measures to stimulate the economy in his State of the Union address Jan. 28 — likely, tax breaks targeted at bolstering business investment or consumer spending. Maybe he’ll pull the old go to Disney trick out of his bag. The same “go out and spend” message he had after 9/11. Remember, “The country has just been attacked, quick, run to the mall and but stuff to keep the economy going. It is your patriotic duty.”

The jobless rate rose to 5 percent last month, from 4.7 percent in November. Moves of that size are rare; the last time the jobless rate moved that much in a month was October 2001, just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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Steve

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