Cramer: Depression Comparisons are ‘Scare Tactics’


Do as I say, not as I do.

That appears to be Jim Cramer's philosophy. The CNBC "Mad Monday" host told NBC "Today" show viewers Dec. 2 that comparisons between the current economy and the Great Depression were inappropriate.

 "[T]hat's got to be taken off the table," Cramer told "Today" host Meredith Vieira. "There have been enough things done by this government to absolutely preclude that. I, myself, do not want to use that term ever again on the ‘Today' show even to compare it. Things are very different. We do need help from Europe; we need help from China. But take the Great Depression talk off the table. That is scare tactics."

 "I'm reluctant to start talking like that," Cramer said of describing the current recession as "the longest since World War II," as Vieira did. "I've adopted a ‘just the facts, ma'am,' approach, kind of a little bit more of a ‘Dragnet' approach, so to speak. Because when we give those characterizations what happens is we can affect things."

He was right. Comparisons to the Great Depression are way off the mark - Cramer makes them enough, he ought to know.

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  "Remember, we have had declines of unemployment 33 percent in this country in the '30s," Cramer noted. "We're trying to just - we're flirting with 7-8 percent. That's why it's important to keep a little calmer head."

Recent contractions in gross domestic product are also far from the huge drops seen during the Great Depression. And current stock market volatility doesn't compare to the 90 percent decline during the Depression.

 But Cramer has been among the most vocal scaremongers when it comes to throwing around Great Depression warnings.

 Criticizing economists who opposed the $700 billion taxpayer bailout of the financial industry on the "Today" show Oct. 1, Cramer warned the country was "on the precipice of Great Depression II."

 He made a similar claim about the financial bailout in September, arguing that if Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson didn't find a way to get a rescue package passed, "we are going to have The Great Depression II on our hands."

 On Nov. 11, Cramer supported another proposed bailout - this time for the U.S. auto industry by saying it would prevent another depression. "It's like look - we got to bail them out," Cramer told CNBC "Street Signs" host Erin Burnett. "We have to. We have to keep the Great Depression off the table."


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Cramer may be insane

If Cramer said on weekends he likes to sit by his living room window, sip a fruited ginger ale, and watch naked dwarves fall from the sky - would you be surprised?

Viera said this is the longest recession since WWII!?!!

In the news today was the story that the U.S. has been in recession for 1 year and I would submit that it has only been universally noticeable because of the financial market meltdown in the last couple of months not to mention the propaganda value the lefties used during the election. There were several recessions in the 50's but the one I remember lasted pretty much from 1973 to 1981 a span of 8 years. 1987 to 1990 wasn't so hot either but I can't remember if we went into recession. Anyway what has she been smoking? Typical libspeak just spout whatever is in your empty head and so far this recession is not a depression. 

Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster

The Carter Stagflation

The 1973 to 1981 period you mentioned is still the worst since the Great Depression.

While we are "flirting" with 7 - 8% unemployment, We had reached 10.8% unemployment during that stagflation period. We also had double digit inflation and double digit interest rates and no growth.

I remember Carter's malaise speech that had the U.S. giving up on itself.

Any person who recalls that time and even tries to relate that period with this is not being truthful and is still afflicted with an acute case of BDS.

Libs never let facts get in the way

of the agenda. Even though there have been some down turns in the economy since 1981 and some major shocks to the markets we have not had a real recession in this country since 1981. It seems terrible to those who have never really experienced one. They are scary. But I detect a spoiled child mentality to the hyperbole used to describe this recession. If it turns into something worse then we can use the D word.

On the few days the financial markets melted and the market was in free fall one of the dumb anchor babes on CNBC keep saying will free markets and capitalism survive? Well markets going up and down is the free market and is capitalism. If they didn't then they would be state controlled and wouldn't move by fiat. I told people that after the crash of 1929 the market didn't recover to that level until 1956. Look at the Nikkei again down 80 percent from its 1990 high of 40000 and it has not recovered to that level in 18 years. I think government, under the gun to do something, can make these situations worse and prolong the agony. IMO the bailouts is just throwing good money after bad.

Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster

Not only is Cramer a

Not only is Cramer a hypocrit for uttering the word Depression then telling critics not to but ironically he advocates policies that will bring it on if fully adopted. He advocates the policies of FDR, he advocated the bank bailout, he and his buddies in the MSM and Dems for years talked down the economy and advocates propping up the big 3 automakers via another bailout.  If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's a duck! 

Did anyone else see the WSJ article this morning?  The loons are now talking about printing money to pay for the bailouts.  Hello, hello, is anyone home at the Fed????  Are you people insane?

Mr. Bernanke's comments set the stage for an important meeting of Fed policy makers in two weeks. The Fed's main lever to help an ailing economy -- short-term interest rates -- has already been pulled about as far as it can go.

Pushing down long-term interest rates could spur business and consumer demand, Mr. Bernanke said. Many consumer and business loans are closely linked to longer-term Treasury yields.

During the 1940s, the Fed maintained a ceiling on long-term government bond yields at around 2.5%. It created ceilings on other government debt as well.

It could bring down long-term rates now by purchasing Treasury bonds itself. A central bank has the capacity to effectively print money by injecting reserves into the banking system and could use the funds to buy securities like bonds. In normal times, this would be highly inflationary. But Mr. Bernanke noted that the recession is putting downward pressure on inflation now, which gives him flexibility to keep pressing with new measures to battle the recession. He also said the Fed would unwind its programs when the economy stabilizes, to help guard against inflation.

The Fed has already taken a big step toward targeting long-term interest rates. Last week, it said it would buy up to $600 billion in debt issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae and Federal Home Loan Banks, all mortgage businesses with close tied to the government.

Printing $600 billion to buy debt?????  ARE YOU PEOPLE INSANE????  

Don't look at this chart unless you have a change in underware: http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/usfd/page3.pdf 

Guess what happened since September????  

Adjusted Monetary Base - equals the sum of currency in circulation outside Federal Reserve Banks and the U.S. Treasury, deposits of depository financial institutions at Federal Reserve Banks, and an adjustment for the effects of changes in statutory reserve requirements on the quantity of base money held by depositories.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.

Off the subject

does anyone else think that if Everybody Loves Raymond is made into a movie that Cramer would mke a great Frank?

Isn't it wonderful Cramer

Isn't it wonderful Cramer has such a calm demeanor on unemployment when El Centro CA is experiencing 27.6% unemployment.  Hey Cramer, is SoCal in economic revival buoyed by it's liberal policies?  What would you call a depression then, 50% unemployment?  Take note which areas are experiencing under 4% unemployment.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.

Cramer himself is a walking

Cramer himself is a walking scare tactic.

Just google 'cramer stock debacle' - you'll be entertained for hours - if you happen to like disaster movies and rubbernecking fatal car wrecks.

...and Erin Burnett (a

...and Erin Burnett (a crummy B.A.) is as thoroughly unqualified to be the go-to world financial expert with all that's happening as Obama is be POTUS.

But I guess in NBCLand, she's way overqualified. 

Gee...was this same Jim Cramer?

I could have sworn that this was the same guy screaming at the anchorette that we were in Armageddon?

http://www.youtube.c...

Useless idiot...

www.ArmchairEnergist...

Cramer has Obamamania

Cramer can't help himself - he has ObamaMania.

Since the latter stages of the primary, Cramer has been slipping back into partisan insanity. Cramer is an admitted Democrat and was raised in Philly (where machine politics reined and you were a Democrat or you lost your job).

Cramer refused to blame anybody who has a (D) next to their name.  And therefore he is now having to try to balance his actual views to incorporate his political views and it becomes a muddled mess.

Cramer has been a great resource for individual investors.  His advice on financial policy has actually been prescient in many cases.  But he refuses to admit that this is the last place any individual investor should be trying to pick stock.  He also somehow didn't notice that all commodities were in a bubble and that now we are in the bursting part of that bubble and that it doesn't equate with 'the depression'.  He missed it all on the way up and now the way down is a mystery to him.  He got sucked in by all those 'technical' analysts back when oil was running up towards $100 and thought there was actually a rational 'price' for oil or anything else (which was following in the wake of oil like lemmings).   Oil, and all other commodities, where on a 1998 Nasdaq-2003 Housing speculator driven bubble not seen since the 1920s.

Cramer needs to stop watching MSNBC and get back to talking to traders and CEOs to find out what the hell is going on on Wall Street. 

Cramer Who? "America

Cramer Who?

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

Cramer

In the words of that great American Ralph Cramden...

 

YOU ARE A MENTALCASE!

 

Maybe someone should stick a copy of Peter Schweizer's book "Do As I Say, Not As I Do--Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy" in his Christmas stocking along with a lump of coal!!

 

For the record, I am NOT RECOGNIZING BARRACK HUSSEIN OBAMA ODINGA AS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!  I would like to become part of a
secession front!