Yes, Uncle Sam is going to continue buying stuff and stimulizing (a new word for the new economy) with money it prints. And -- getting back to pure Yogisms -- it ain't gonna work.

The net decline in wealth -- including the stock market, housing, private equity, etc. -- plus the withdrawal of credit now totals $415 trillion or more. You think $700 billion for concrete and a fat guy holding a "Go Slow" sign is going to help?

Roosevelt calmed people by spending a fortune in and on the Works Progress Administration (WPA) -- great buildings and better murals, but not a lot of long-term economic impact.

We are a bit too advanced for that kind of naïve reaction. Not to mention the government is going to need many more trillions to fix the financial system.

And that's the rub -- even Uncle Sam cannot help too much, long term, as the world kicks its addiction to excess credit. And with that goes a big drop in fundamental demand, from the United States to China.

Be sure to read all 7 reasons the stock market isn't going up any time soon.

Michael Shulman is a contributor to OptionsZone.com.

Seven reasons the market is not going up any time soon: #7 The government is gasping for air originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The government bailed out banks to the tune of $234 billion so far ($205 billion for Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) plus $29 billion for the Bear Stearns deal). Now General Motors (NYSE: GM) wants a $50 billion bailout (in the form of loan guarantees). So why not give the airline industry a bailout too?

After all, Wired reports that they're poised to lose $5.2 billion this year. Why? Well it doesn't help that "fuel bills have jumped $50 billion this year to an estimated $186 billion. Jet fuel now accounts for 36 percent of the industry's costs, up from 13 percent just six years ago," according to Wired. So why not bail out the industry -- after all it's hard to have a global economy if the airlines can't operate flights. To its credit, airlines seem to have had some success in pushing Congress to crack down on oil speculators -- oil's price has fallen from $147 to $101 in the last few months.

But since the administration seems to be in such a giving mood -- after all, our VP notes that his hero, Ronald Reagan, "proved deficits don't matter." And after bailing out banking, automobiles, and airlines, maybe they can get around to bailing out the three million homeowners in foreclosure and the 39% of mortgage holders whose properties are "underwater." Finally, why not use more taxpayer money to compensate investors whose stocks have lost 13% in the last year? Anybody else want a bailout?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Time for an airline bailout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.