With gas prices too many people fail to connect all the dots. Paying higher prices at the pump affects individuals because the extra money spent on gas is money that’s not being spent elsewhere that could stimulate the economy. The bigger problem is gas prices affect every aspect of our world. It drives up prices on almost every commodity because it’s required either in the production and/or distribution. Food prices go up because it costs more for the machinery that processes the food, more to deliver it to distributors, more to deliver it to the stores where we buy it. We’re already spending less money because of the gas we have to buy for ourselves, and then in addition the things we need to buy are costing more and more on top of that. It’s called a spiral effect. I would agree that we have failed to invest in and encourage good alternative energies, but saying bio-fuels are not the answer makes no sense. They may not be the ultimate answer, but they’re certainly better than no alternative.

The decline of the dollar is bad in a lot of ways, most namely inflation and also in the price of oil. Increasing American exports because our money is worth nothing is not something to be proud of. Decreasing imports when our economy is heading down and we have less money to spend on higher-priced American goods is not a good thing. Contrary to what most republicans want to believe, our economy is not the only one in the world. I’m reading a book right now that I will likely recommend to you when I’m finished. It talks about the “rise of the rest”, referring to China and other countries whose economies have risen in recent history to the point that America is no longer the economic superpower it once was. Until we accept that fact and adjust to the “post-American world” as the author calls it, we will have some problems operating in a world that no longer sees us as a superpower (outside of our military).

I’m not sure which economic data you want me to look at, but from everything I’ve seen (including the numbers in this comment) our economy is indeed heading down. The government wasted over $40 million just sending mailings to everyone who would be getting a rebate and is betting on that money being spent to stimulate the economy. Obviously $40 million could have been spent a lot smarter than that (like being put towards the record deficit that Bush has accumulated) and rebate checks (which is a lot more than $40 million wasted) will not benefit anyone other than oil companies (see ridiculous gas prices) and credit card companies as people pay off debt so they have room to charge gas next month. The rate cuts only stimulate inflation and the devaluation of the dollar.

I would love to be wrong and for you to be correct about the economy getting better, even if only for selfish personal investment reasons, but hard numbers and reality show me a completely different picture that scares me (and hits my wallet) more and more each day.

Let’s see, in terms of the high gas prices, I believe you that it is not pleasant and is certainly no help to the economy, but the numbers in and of themselves don’t indicate that the economy per se is in bad shape. The numbers indicate that there is global competition for scarce resources and Americans need to make some changes in their consumption. Am I happy about this? No, but I don’t think it’s the economy’s fault. I think that high prices are an economic signal being sent to consumers which tells them to change their habits. For most things, you don’t need legislation, Thomas; the market takes care of itself. As prices rise, larger vehicles will become a thing of the past, people will begin carpooling and using public transportation and a new balance will be reached. And, we have failed to invest in and encourage good alternative energies, of which bio-fuels are not the answer.

And, Thomas, the decline in the dollar isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except in the case of the price of oil, which is valued in dollars. Economic theory states that as the currency falls, imports will fall because foreign products become dearer and exports should increase as our goods become cheaper. Eventually, the dollar should regain strength. In the meantime, however, the dollar cannot fall beyond a certain point without putting the whole world into a giant depression and, rest assured, no one will allow that to happen.

And, Thomas, the economy has not been declining over the past several months; just look at the economic data. IRS rebate checks are being issued right now, which doesn’t sound like anyone is ignoring anything. The economy is on the upswing, the Fed rate cuts are working through the system and rebate checks are on the way.

Here’s an interesting final thought: The economy has continued to decline for several months while Faux News and republicans claim it’s doing fine; what might the economy be like today if they had focused that energy on pressuring Congress to actually do something about it instead of sticking their fingers in their ears and screaming “I can’t hear you”?