My thoughts on a failing U.S. economy

You know the bleak statistics. The economy grew at only 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. Housing prices and consumer confidence are down, gas is up and the Federal Reserve is chopping down interest rates like Paul Bunyan. Everyone seems to be talking about the economy in 2008, and the buzzword is recession.

Perhaps not surprisingly, people are getting scared. The general political consensus is that an economic slowdown has replaced the war in Iraq as the major issue in the presidential election. I can see Bill Clinton now, chuckling himself to sleep, muttering his old mantra,"It's the economy, stupid" late into the night.

As for me, I must admit that from an ethical stance, it sort of bothers me that the American people are now officially more worried about bond markets than body counts; but even from a pragmatic stance, I can think of one good reason why Iraq should still be the biggest issue in '08. The president does not manage the economy, and it isn't in his power to do so. Ron Paul pointed this out recently in a rare moment of cogence.

At the end of the day, the most the president can do is toy around with taxes and fiscal policy, trying to keep the economic soil fertile. Conversely, on the question of Iraq, as commander in chief the president has the authority to do pretty much whatever strikes his (sorry Hillary) fancy. And for that simple reason, Iraq needs to remain the priority of this presidential election.

Of course, some people might counter me by pointing out that President Bush and the Congress are working on their $150 billion economic stimulus plan as we speak. True, but in keeping with what I just said, this plan is basically about just throwing around some tax rebates and looking confident. It's more political than practical, and I heard one economist say that it doesn't amount to much more than taking water out of the deep end of a pool and tossing it in the shallow end.

I'm not that pessimistic, but a $150 billion plan can really only do so much to help an ailing, $13 trillion dollar American economy. Furthermore, the whole idea of this stimulus plan is to get more money circulating, and obviously this means that any rebates should go toward people most like to spend it, but that's not quite how it's shaping up.

Statistically, the people most likely to spent it are the poor, so one could be forgiven for thinking most of the aid should go to them. Hell, they're already poor anyway. But there is a hitch, namely that poor people don't pay many taxes, and it's just plain bad politics to give tax rebates to people that don't contribute in the first place.

It is a tough sell, regardless of the economic logic. Thus, proving that politics is the order of the day, most of the benefits of Bush's planned package are skewed away from the poor, and though Democrats in the Senate are trying to tweak it slightly, the priorities are pretty clear. Giving the whole situation an honest look though, for young people in our shoes, there is little to worry about.

There are even a few opportunities. Most of us don't own homes, stock, or many things that could really be considered a financial "asset." We are reasonably well educated, and probably won't be looking for a true career in the very near future. So we can just ride out the storm.

Take some time now to do a little research, pocket a little beer money, and you just might be able to make some decent investments when the price is low. As long as any economic slowdown is relatively brief, it shouldn't be a major concern of ours. Don't fear the reaper.As a closing caveat, I want to state for the record that I have taken a grand total of two economics classes, which puts my advice somewhere near on level of Will Ferrell.