By John Lillpop ——Bio and Archives--August 29, 2009
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"Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in July as Americans jammed auto showrooms to take advantage of the “cash for clunkers” program while avoiding other purchases. "The 0.2 percent gain in spending was in line with forecasts and followed a 0.6 percent increase in June, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Excluding cars, purchases were flat. Consumer sentiment was little changed in August, a separate report showed. "Auto dealers benefited from the Obama administration’s incentive plan, which ended this month, while retailers such as Kohl’s Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. struggled to lure customers shaken by mounting job losses. Spending gains aren’t likely to be sustained as incomes stagnate and households pay down debt, casting doubt on the strength of the economic recovery. “The cash-for-clunkers program helped auto sales but hurt other sales, which shows consumption remains weak,” said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. “Consumers don’t want to spend on other things and cannot spend, to some extent, because income growth is still anemic.”Even more distressing is the fact that the lion's share of the auto sales went to Japanese companies. Apparently, Americans are skeptical of buying from a car company that is being "managed" by the U.S. government, an entity that has proven itself completely incapable of doing anything right while in the grips of Marxists in the White House and Congress. Which brings up an interesting point about President Obama's recent boast that he "had saved the economy." Perhaps he did, indeed, save the economy. The Japanese economy that is! Still, on a more cheery note, a look at the "Countdown until Obama leaves Office" board reveals that there are just: 1240 Days, 16 Hours, 43 Minutes, 57 Seconds remaining until America is once again free. And counting!
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John W. Lillpop is a recovering liberal. “Clean and sober” since 1992 when last he voted for a Democrat. For years, John lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, the very liberal sanctuary city which protects, rather than prosecutes, certain favored criminals. John escaped the Bay Area in May and now lives in Pine Grove California where conservative values are still in vogue.