DISQUS

I agree that the fixation on Wall St is all out of proportion. But I do think that financial markets' performance has a huge impact on the "real" economy, primarily through credit. I'm no expert, but it strikes me that the full effect of the credit crunch may not be showing up in the data yet: economic news from month to month still seems to be trending solids downwards. I just saw on Calculated Risk for example that the non-manufacturing sector of the economy contracted 7% in November. Ouch.

Mulligan seems to point mostly towards historical trends of dissociation between Wall St and the rest of the economy, but the current crisis is substantially different - because of the credit effects - from most stock-market downturns or general recessions. Not by any means an expert, but that's my $0.02.

Anyone know the extent to which GM has filled the UAW trust fund, and what their remaining obligation is?

Fucking A right. Obama deserved to win, but we truly need to remember that we are a free people whose ultimate destiny lies in our own, individual choices. Best of luck, President-elect Obama.