Will Somebody Please Tell Bush to Stop Trying to Talk About the US Economy?

Posted by Brad , Sadly No! at 1:05 PM on March 17, 2008.

It cost JP Morgan less money to purchase Bear Stearns than it would have cost them to purchase Alex Rodriguez’s contract from the New York Yankees. And between you and me, I think A-Rod would have been a far better investment.

On a related note, aren’t you glad now that Bush didn’t succeed in privatizing Social Security?

UPDATE: Oh yummy:

As feared, foreign bond holders have begun to exercise a collective vote of no confidence in the devaluation policies of the US government. The Federal Reserve faces a potential veto of its rescue measures.

Asian, Mid East and European investors stood aside at last week’s auction of 10-year US Treasury notes. “It was a disaster,” said Ray Attrill from 4castweb. “We may be close to the point where the uglier consequences of benign neglect towards the currency are revealed.”

The share of foreign buyers (”indirect bidders”) plummeted to 5.8pc, from an average 25pc over the last eight weeks. On the Richter Scale of unfolding dramas, this matches the death of Bear Stearns.

Maybe I should take advantage of plummeting home prices and purchase a shack somewhere in rural Idaho. After society collapses, I’ll move out there with my telepathic dog and invite you guys over for a big-ass post-apocalyptic party. Sound like a plan?

Gavin adds: How will you keep up the payments on your immortal robot body?

…Oh, and by the way, “the uglier consequences of benign neglect” is totally my phrase of the day. Just this morning, I was very near a point where the uglier consequences of my benign neglect toward looking both ways before crossing the street were, you know, revealed.

UPDATE II: Will somebody please, please, please tell Bush to stop talking?

President Bush gave assurances this morning that financial markets are continuing to function, adding that the U.S. is "on top of the situation."

"One thing is for certain, we're in challenging times," Bush told reporters after meeting with his top economic aides. "The United States is on top of the situation."

Speaking after the Federal Reserve's moves late Sunday to shore up money markets, and J.P. Morgan Chase's cut-rate purchase of Bear Stearns Cos., Bush said he supported the central bank's action.

"The Federal Reserve has moved quickly to bring order to the financial markets," he said.

The Dow has dropped by over 140 points so far today.

This reminds me of Bush’s great statement about the Iraq war being “hard work” (See video to your right)

We’re so screwed.

Tagged as: economy, bush, bear stearns, jp morgan, recession

Brad is a regular blogger for Sadly No!.