May 15, 2009

Not what I'd call consensus so far... But looks like 11% are with me (89% against). Pretty much what I'd have guessed...

Fear
44 (23%)
Desperation
39 (20%)
Panic
12 (6%)
Capitulation
20 (10%)
Despondency
26 (13%)
Depression
24 (12%)
Hope
17 (9%)
Relief
3 (1%)
Optimism
2 (1%)

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

don't know where we are now, but have an uneasy feeling 'bout where we're headed.

http://tinyurl.com/pharr6

Happy Snapper said...

Ya..

thats with no choice for 'DENIAL'

so the real majority did not vote, including myself.

Anonymous said...

Responses probably are skewed by geography. Folks from California might have reached capitulation while those in Kansas may only be in denial.

fat amelican said...

Better "hope" that Mr. Unicorn keeps those 14 Trident missile subs in good working order. They're the only thing that will stand between us and total domination when our economy implodes next year. Idiots like Obama end up starting world wars, and the next one will be a doosey.

RJK said...

I think most think we're in denial and you didn't even list that as a choice.

Stu said...

Anon 1 - That uneasy feeling is called fear...

I am somewhat surprised that Panic was not only basically overlooked (only 6%), but how do you look past it and jump all the way to Despondency and depression? Do those who voted for these latter two feel that we have already have moved past panic as a nation?

My thinking is panic equals desperation and I just don't see that right now. Theft, violence, suicide, irrational behavior, etc. are all symtoms of panic. I have not seen or heard of any big national rise in any of these areas as of yet. In fact the only irratonal behavior I have seen is in the stock market.

I was wondering if some of you that selected despondency and depression could explain your rational. I am just curious and wondering if I am missing something here or to someone elses point on this blog that it may be regional in nature.

Personally I think the entire country is in the same boat right now with no regional difference to speak of, but that may just be me...

Anonymous said...

Your denial of the choice of denial comprises prima facie evidence that you and everyone else remain in denial.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the difference is that we're workers who live in the US, while you live in a pink bubble in London.

Gee, who should have more credibility?

Out at the peak said...

The median of the tally is Panic, but overall there is definitely a strong stance at the Fear/Desperation stage.

With several car dealerships being shut down, it's going to rock the commercial real estate boat even more. I think once we see more vacancy, some areas will be in a panic.

Anonymous said...

Economists See Long Road to Recovery

Economists in the latest Wall Street Journal survey see an end to the recession by autumn, but say it will take years for the economy to fully recover.

On average, the 52 economists who participated in the survey project that the recession will end in August. They expect gross domestic product to contract 1.4% at a seasonally adjusted annualized pace in the current quarter, compared with the 6.1% drop recorded in the first quarter. Slow growth is expected to return by the third quarter, with the economy expanding more than 2% in the first half of 2010.

Stu said...

Of course the GDP will look good, but that is pure SPIN and HYPE due to the fact that in this country (and only one other I know of) GOVERNMENT SPENDING is INCLUDED in the GDP numbers... yeah you heard that right...

Anonymous said...

Don't be smoking those green shoots Keith.

They are not what you think!

euonymous said...

Keith, with all due respect, it's probably a lame question.

1) Things ARE a little different from one place to the next.

2) The question "where are WE" is much different than "where are YOU"

3) Most of the population formulates an opinion based on

a) personal experience/observation

b) the bullshit information doled out by our friends/idiots in Washington,

as reported by

c) our friends/idiots the MSM


I'd say the only accurate answer is that we're in the "Fucked" stage.

As in:
We have been f'd,
We are currently being f'd,
We will continue to get f'd,
and if the nation we once knew is important, well, we're just plain fucked.

Oh, and, sorry for the foul language.

Can we play a different game now??

Anonymous said...

Folks, Chrysler closing 800 dealers, and GM another 1,100. If you low ball 30 workers per dealer, we can't possibly be at HOPE. No freaking way!

Natural Eyebrows said...

I'm a bankruptcy lawyer in AZ, so my finger is on the pulse. All week long, and sometimes on Saturday I talk to former high flyers who need to get out from under two mortgages, a $600 car payment, $50,000 in credit card debt and maybe more.

Calling my office for an appointment is an act of capitulation for these people. I believe there are many more still in denial that will be forced to capitulate only when the collection lawsuit is filed or the foreclosure notice arrives.

Business is still getting better, although cases are more complicated and challenging.

Angry Leprechaun said...

Euonymous, you a nailed it.

Anonymous said...

Where do the 101,000 people fit in on the list.

http://www.gilroydispatch.com
/news/256156-gilroy-chevy-not-among-
parent-companys-1100-forced-closures

All told, the National Automobile Dealers Association reported that 101,000 jobs could evaporate between the GM and Chrysler dealership cuts.

Anonymous said...

IDK, but I've tripled my money on the stocks I bought at the bottom!

Now will they go back down 66%? Probably/maybe/don't know. It's a good idea to take that original third off the table now and preserve capital.

Anonymous said...

Keith's famous "roller coaster" chart does not accommodate the fake comebacks (mini-bulls) that happen in long downward slides such as the one we are in.

Be pre-warned:

Storms of crap are coming back...

-- Late 1930-1932: Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-Square
-- 1964-mid 1967: Saturn opposition to Uranus and Pluto
-- Saturn, Uranus, Pluto T-square (late summer 2010)

Anonymous said...

"The Worst Is Yet to Come": If You're Not Petrified, You're Not Paying Attention"
http://tinyurl.com/pharr6

I think that one statement explains things perfectly.

In my own world, regular folks who don't follow the news are just now realizing TSHTF.

Gt Charlie

Anonymous said...

Well, I just experienced Panic in the Slough of Despond.I am unfortunately, being completely sincere.

I read the GEAB LEAP bulletins from France [-in English- just google those words,] and just read the excerpt for non-subscribers for June 2009. It bookmarked something else I've been pondering the last 2 weeks.

I'm very sensitive to facial expression, voice subtleties and body language, [to the extent my ex said he thought I was a witch] and I've been noticing something different on the daily CNBC chatter. The vitriol against current changes in the works vis-a-vis Capitalism being trampled by Big Gov, etc, has dampened. It's less. It's as if they know something is about to happen or come out that will reveal something really unsavory. I sense---bravado wilting.

Like they know enough from behind the scenes, being talked about in hallways, to know it's going to get bad, soon.

Okay. Nothing there that surprises me, had to happen eventually. And then I read the Geab/Leap bulletin for June..the death of the paradigm of thinking, evaluating, decision making we were all born and raised with [all the years since WW 2]....and even though I've been pissed at our collective blindness to many things,in favor of pushing the cultural hoopla, my heart sank..and I let out a long oohhh..

Geab/Leap is a sort of think tank and they have been insightful, ahead of the curve. I wrote them a long letter a year ago and they were kind enough to respond similarly. Whoever they are, we were seeing the world through the same lenses.

My God, it's going to be so depressing when the mental stuff hits the fan..The lies, the spinning, dissembling, corruption,
the Cultural Illusions...the assumptions, the beliefs...and the Crash..there's going to be a crash one side of that wall or the other.

You can think you are facing reality but then a sentence, the revelation of one extra little fact hits you, and the truth that you haven't been facing things, hits you in the pit of your stomach. This was a pit moment when I saw that article.
So I think June, give or take a bit, and denial is going to be a thing of the past. And everyone will look at his neighbor just as we did after 9/11, and we will ask perfect strangers, en masse,
"Now what? What next."

I am feeling fear, today.

Grandma PKK

Anonymous said...

Finally, we are starting to see a little bit of fear here in Wisconsin.
But still a few morons out there who are only working every other week(!) But are still some how able to buy a house.

Anonymous said...

Nice read Grandma PKK, well said.

Do you float?

GT Charlie

yu been skooled said...

Interesting distribution.
Shows about 1/2 of your voters are plain idiots, mindlessly picking from the first two options.
The remaining distribution tells the story, with the median around despondency. Those folks are probably correct.
But once again you are mistaking "not following the crowd" with being on the right side of a trade. Your ignorance and lack of education betray your understanding of sampling and gaussian distribution.

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