Bush on the economy
 

- President Bush, acknowledging the risk of recession, embraced about $145 billion worth of tax relief Friday to give the sagging economy a "shot in the arm. "




Nearly all economists think the U.S. economy is skating on some very thin ice, and some believe we've already plunged into recession.



The economic data paint a scary picture. A weak holiday season for retailers. An uptick in unemployment. A decline in manufacturing. Still more pain for the housing and financial sectors. Both business executives and average consumers are wary of spending.

Investors responded predictably to the recession worries, sending major stock indexes tumbling. Half a month into the year, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has dropped almost 6%.

Things may look bleak, but eventually conditions will improve. The key question for investors looking for buying opportunities is when that happens. For example, will the economy grind on in low gear for much of the year, or will it bounce back strongly by the summer?

We asked economists what early signs of a recovery might be.

For now, most of these indicators are getting worse, not better. But if the economy decides to break out of its funk, these trends should give you a heads-up.

1. Will Washington take action, and will it work?

It's an election year, and "neither the White House nor Congress want to be seen as doing nothing," says Avery Shenfeld, economist at CIBC World Markets (NYSE:CM - News). That's why some are betting Washington will step in with some fiscal stimulus, doling out extra cash to get parts of the economy moving again.

Re: Bush on the economy
 

What this country needs is "Tax Cuts" for everybody, not just the poor, not just the middle class, not just the rich but for EVEYBODY.

Of course we all know what the Dingobats will do if they gain control of everything.

:bricks:

Re: Bush on the economy
 

wait....I thought the economy was going great?

why would Bush say its going great, and then say this today? Why would our Commander in Chief lie to us?

Re: Bush on the economy
 

Now if the Americans use the money to buy something "made in America" it might actually help. Well ... this is old hat for me and my preference of John Edwards so I will not ramble on .... BUY AMERICAN!!!

Re: Bush on the economy
 

I went into a Wal Mart a few years back and saw a guy with a suit on giving orders to a few of the retards he had worjing in there and I said "can you show me anything Made In The USA whatever it is I'll buy it", he went into his little office and never came out.

:bricks:

Re: Bush on the economy
 

Buy something ? If this rebate happens I'll be using it towards the tax bill I expect to have.

Re: Bush on the economy
 

i will agree with that... however, the flipside being, America doesn't make much of anything anymore besides porn, beer and really poor performing automobiles...

perhaps if our education system emphasized science and math a bit more than prayer and abstinence, we wouldn't have lagged decades behind the Far East in terms of technology and innovation....

Re: Bush on the economy
 

The economy is so great, that for the past year (at the very least) over 50,000 bankruptcies happened every month.

Yep, keep on rollin...

Re: Bush on the economy
 

The up and coming micro-brews are good anyways... hey, you have to be positive about something :D

Re: Bush on the economy
 

That's not how it worked. It looked like that was happening because the checks came out at different times so the IRS made it as complicated as possible. But you actually did get the money back. What happened was some got a check and some didn't. Then when you did your taxes it took the money out again. So those who got a check had to add the money into their taxes or they'd have gotten double. Those who didn't get a check should have left it blank so then they got it once too.