sub-prime mortgage disaster which also resulted in lower values in some investments
high fuel prices
what else?
In my opinion and amongst many other things: the Federal Reserve, two or three badly-run administrations (Bush & Nixon-all republican filth) that basically opened up the doors for the Washigton corporate takeover.
Looking at the situation from a macro-economic perspective, I'd say that the baby-boomer generation has something to do with it. I mean, from the late 50s to late 90s the baby boomers were at their most productive, making money hand over fist, which inflated the dollar inventory and eventually lowered its value since the US was the ONE AND ONLY market for most of the world (which was now pretty much a wasteland from having fought 2 WWs). 90s come along, this generation has had a good 25-30 years of value-creation and earnings built into their retirement portfolios and the market decides to give them a nice bye-bye gift by overvalueing everything that has to do with the internet. Baby-boomers cash out, move their funds into fixed income stuff (hence moving a large chunk of the economy back from the private to the public sectors,) the bubble bursts and the other generations are left to get rid of the rubble.
A man called GW Bush makes it to the White House and the corporate takeover is complete: Oil companies get their wars and all rules and regulations of good business ethics are thrown out the window. The Great De-regulation process begins, which helps banks and mortgage companies, along with the FED providing enough economic lubrication by virtually giving away money, eager to lend their money at 25% to the stupidest of the stupidest, all along being cheerleaded by these people under the false pretenses that the economy was never going to go bad again and that the housing prices were never, never, ever going to go back down again. Huge amounts of money that left stock speculation are now in land speculation. The second bubble begins.
Bush decides to invade Iraq, pouring HUGE amounts of money from the country's arks to a foreign country. Since the main sponsors of the war were Big Oil, through Cheney of course, one of the first things they do is destroy riggs and oil drilling stations to purposely reduce the production of oil. The second lubricant in our economy (cheap oil, with cheap money being #1) is now in a bubble of its own and the price of pretty much EVERYTHING begins an irreversible trend.
Back to today. Many Americans are now caught in a financial crossfire. People do not have enough money to pay for their $ 4,000-dollar per month mortgage, their $600 lease on the BMW, their commutes, etc. And the FED keeps insisting inflation is only at 3-4%. If I'd were in such dire straits I'd be pretty much depressed out of my mind. And many Americans are, which now shows in the economy.
Cheers.
