I guess the situation is not really very good but are THEY (the government) going to put 900 billions $ in the economy or not ?

It’s clear that we are going to be splashed here in Europe and then in the rest of the world.

Any infos ?

Anyway as I said, as long as there is no asteroids in sight, life goes on on the EARTH. (thank YOU GOD)

I guess they voted no on the bail out idea. I just know that my car insurance company was bought out by another company via 60% share purchase. My bank was seized by the Federal Government and bought out by another company. Two major retail chains here in the US filed bankruptcy and are closing a ton of stores. On my forums there is chatter about how certain industries who were thriving not to long ago are now struggling to make it, most of them small local businesses. Also there are so many homes for sale, and in foreclosure. Scary times.

Is the rest of the world facing this finacial crunch or is America the only lucky one in this?

Hi..yes.. what Tina said.

So far.. congress voted no on the $700 billion tax payer’s $$ buyout (whew)!!! Yes.. I’m with Wamu as well, Tina.. so my bank was seized by the Fed. gov.. however.. banking at Wamu seems business as usual, although slowly they will change the name to JP Morgan Chase..

The stock market plummeted again, more banks are merging.. more co’s going under.. and yes.. houses foreclosed ALL over the place.. very tough financial times here…

So.. I, like Tina, am wondering.. what are other people experiencing in thier countries around the world???

hmm I know this is ahrd times but for now no so important difficulties in economy and economists say that Turkey is a lucky country because we are on holiday here for 9 days, this is the reason why we were not affected much. But I do not know what will happen after this long holiday.

Keep us posted Ensengul

The dollar increse from 525 chilean pesos to 545 O.O
the crisis was unexpected

Okay ! Thanks to you, now I can feel the global feeling.
I am not an economist but I think the only solution for everybody is a global new NEW DEAL. The Congress has forgotten that only social steps can save everybody. My Grand Pa used to say “When the workers have money, everybody has money, when the workers have nothing even the rich ones suffer”.
It’s as simple as 1+1=2
I bet the Congress is going to change it’s mind !

I’m hoping not, Patrick.

That is tax payer money.. and though analysts say the gov. will “probably” not lose that money.. that doesn’t sit well with hard working Americans who are having a very tough time right now affording the basics.. food, clothes, gas (car) to get to work.. an increase in taxes on the American people will make matters much worse!!

I agree with your grandfather’s saying.. however.. it is the worker who is suffering now & will suffer more if the bailout plan is passed! =(

Hey Patrick.

On one hand, we want to preserve freedom of speech here.

On the other hand, your spelling of America could be considered offensive and it’s important to keep that we take a hard line against offensive behavior here (Amerika, alternative political spelling applied to the United States of America, often used as a slur).

On the third hand, it’s possible that this was simpy a typo, in which case, go about your merry way… :)

Wow – Jon has three hands. Sorry, weak attempt at humor – but thank you for mentioning it, Jon.

I have a degree in International Relations and I used to be a news fanatic and freak out over every little bit of bad news. Then I realized that my history teachers are right – history repeats. Things go in cycles. And everything truly does work out in the end.

So, with that in mind – I wonder how much of this “crises” is a creation of the media. If “cooler heads” would prevail, and common sense used, I think the mountains would become molehills. (Sorry, I tend to talk in metaphor – I mean the big problems wouldn’t be so big)

So, there’s my 2 cents worth!

Jon, I certainly don’t want to know what you do with your third hand, lmao. Must be promoting eduFire!

Fourth Hand :
Concerning the spelling Amerika : It’s neither a slur nor a mistake. It’s a kind of reminder about West Side Story. For the poor of the World Amerika but also Urop have been living egoistically. Amerika is not the average US citizen, Amerika is the wild west side story of America, the egoistic one. I am sorry, I can not vote but if I could I would vote Liberal. I am a leftist and as a leftist person I can not put all the Americans in the same “bag”. Wall Street and the bankers are Amerika. The suffering people and the good guys are America. I am never politically correct. Political correctness is the fruit of witch hunts ! Er… speaking about hands : I prefer the hands of Monica and Bill than the hands of George and Condolezza :-)

tee hee…. go Patrick! We’ve got a lot of hands going on.. perhaps that’s the problems here.. too many hands in stirring the soup! : P~

Patrick my friend:

I think what Jon is saying is that regardless of how innocent your written words may be intended by you (and I totally believe they are because we have spoken many times and I feel understand you more since :) ), but being a global platform, some people may take offence, even if no offence was ever intended. So we all need to double check what we say for things that may be misinterpreted.

:)

Here is the latest news about economic crisis in Turkey; the experts have just told in news today that Turkey will be one of the countries that will be affected in this crisis:) I am not sure it is true or not but dolar was 1.20 Turkish liras and now it is 1.25, not pretty much difference.

I know I am sometimes rough with my words but I am for openness. I try to remain polite and I think I am polite but I can not hamper my “French style”. In French we say “one must call a cat a cat”.
In another topic I will ask “is Patrick a dirty French”.
God bless America ! I mean the good one ! Not the one with the KKK ;-)

I’m so out of the loop about the financial status of the US (I mean, just how much more debt can it get itself into?). I have noticed that the exchange rate (I live in Ireland but my income is from the States) is getting worse — again. I remember when the $ was equal to the euro when I first started traveling. This is terrible now.

Tina and Brandi, I’m glad that your banking is still going smoothly despite the JP Morgan take-over…

I am so “with you” on feeling that the government is digging itself into a big hole with every debt it incurs. The government does need to cut back on expenses and live within its means. We, the people must do that every day, so why shouldn’t they?
At the same time, what goes down does eventually go up, like the stock market. But what really concerns me is how many hits can our economy take before it sinks into the abyss, taking other economies with it? If we look to history, the government had to create income for families out of work and out of money during the Great Depression. The government needs to once again put money into the hands of the people by helping those with homes in foreclosure to refinance their mortgages and maybe tweak their principle so they will have a little assistance. Yes, they too should have learned that they can’t afford a home that is beyond their means. Whoever created the variable rate mortgage was a foolish person.

I think that the people in this country will, after many years, see some profit in the real estate area, and I know that with the right leadership, we will get our money returned to us. It will be in reduced taxes, curtailed spending, revised budgets, more health coverage sensitive to the needs of people, and maybe passing a law that gives citizens the right to vote on any salary increases for legislators! Maybe there should be legislation that when our national debt increases, their salaries decrease! The debt has to be paid for somehow.

Patrick at first I did not get the Amerika spelling. I saw that it might offend some, but I try not to invest to many emotions into the written word as it applies to online forums and communities. The reason for this is that in our hurried times we quite often post with one intention, and convey a completely different message than was intended. I have offended people, and I think I am a pretty nice person. Text does not convey emotion or intention. So just be careful how you word things to be safe. Another thing to consider is that cultures may influence how a message is perceived as well. For everyone else, try hard not to be offended is my best advice. If we spend our time irritated & mad it is not productive for us.

I don’t know what to say about our economy. I do know that we are in charge of our own destiny. If we want to thrive then we have to make the effort to do so. I refuse to sit and listen to all of the economic gloom & doom forecasting and take it as the inevitable future. I do watch the news, I just think there is hope.

“I do know that we are in charge of our own destiny”
Hm … My own life showed to me that my destiny was not in my hands but in "God"s hands. Don’t ask me to describe “God”. I only feel that nothing is possible when a higher strenght is against you. On the third hand (as Jon uses to say) everything is possible when this higher strength is with you. I like to ask “does "God” believe in You" ?

Re. the alternative spelling of America as “Amerika”: It is generally considered a slur.

Who on eduFire wants to accede to the use of slurs or other derogatory terms in our forums?

Not I!

DJ is completely right, ‘Amerika, alternative political spelling applied to the United States of America, often used as a slur’, Sorry Patrick looks like you’re going to have to find a new nickname for the US

And also Tina, Cleverly a way to convey emotions through text has arrived. Emoticons like ‘=D’ ‘>_>’ and ‘:(’ have made their way into the modern language to… I guess help the point to be interpretted in the manner it was supposed to. =]

And unfortunately I can’t comment much on the American ecconomy, I’m not American nor have I ever been and I’m still a bit naive to this sort of thing probably to do with my age but meh, Sorry =P

DJ ! Kannst du auf deutsch sprechen ? In Deutschland is der Name Amerika ganz normal. Meinst du, dass die Deutchen die ganze Zeit Amerika beleidigen ? Die Buchstabe K ist sehr schön. Patrick wird mit K geschreiben. Soll ich jetzt Patricc schreiben ?

@ Patrick: If you’d intended this thread to be in German, you would’ve composed your title — “What is going on in Amerika?” — in German.

Again, in English, “Amerika” is a slur. It’s used pejoratively.

Please post slurs and offensive polemics on an appropriate thread . . . on some other website!

What is baffling is that Patrick insists on using offensive references to America in this and other threads. After all, most students on EduFire are Americans… not very smart to piss off most of your potential students.

I understand that in some circles of the French “intellectual elite” is fashionable to bash America for anything and everything that goes wrong in the world, but those are things best left to the privacy of one’s own circle of friends, no?