Over the Edge

Holy shit. The Republicans just wrecked the entire U.S. economy in order to break the back of a union:

The collapse came after bipartisan talks on the auto rescue broke down over GOP demands that the United Auto Workers union agree to steep wage cuts by 2009 to bring their pay into line with Japanese carmakers.

Funny how no one demanded the banksters take a pay cut before we handed out 50 times what the Big 3 were asking for. But oh well.

Anyone who was holding on for a Christmas rally just got a big old lump of coal in their stocking.

The writing was on the wall earlier today, when KB Toys went bankrupt -- two weeks before Christmas.

And it will be in even bigger letters tomorrow, when retail numbers come out and, in all likelihood, one of America's largest commercial REITs goes bankrupt as well.

Dow futures already are down 350. They could turn on a dime, of course, or on a Washington whisper. But the market is not the economy.

The economy, even with a bailout, was heading for a rotten new year, with December unemployment (I would bet) set to rise by 800,000 people. If GM goes belly up, we can double that, at least.

But... but... we're not in a depression because unemployment is still low, the optimists cry.

But the only thing you have to know about the Great Depression is this one quote:

Just when you thought it was over, it was really just beginning.

And so it is, again.