December surprise: is the GOP cooking the books to avoid recession till after Election Day?

Mother Jones, July-August, 2008 by James K. Galbraith

The second threat, not often mentioned, is our reckless foreign policy, including the invasion of Iraq, bellicosity toward Iran, and the ongoing subtext of hostility toward China. Since the Middle East has the oil and China holds our debts, all this is spitting in the soup, big time. It may not by itself wreck the financial system. But it doesn't exactly build up the reserve of good will that we may need when the financial going gets tough.

For half a century much of the world believed that we provided security under which they too could prosper; many no longer think so. Today, our country, like our banks, has a problem of global trust. Unlike the banks, we have no higher power to keep things going if we screw up.

You get what you pay for

How Fed's election-year rates varied from
nonelection years when the incumbent was:

Republican    -0.92
Democrat       0.61

1984-2004. SOURCE AT MOTHERJONES.COM/DECEMBER-SURPRISE.