OPINION > AROUND THE WATER COOLER

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

"Are the fundamentals of the nation's economy strong? "

Yes: 2

No: 10

■ Karen Anderson: No. We are funding an unpopular war with deficit financing, shades of the Vietnam War, shifting the costs to our children.

■ Bert Berson: No. I'm afraid that we may be entering dark times.

■ Chris Bryant: Some are, some aren't ... on average, no.

■ David Cohen: No. The bankruptcy of Lehman and the sale of Merrill Lynch are clear indications of cracks in the nation's financial foundation. They are symbolic of larger and longstanding problems that the new administration will have to fix.

■ Dennis Kennedy: Yes, but! The regulatory controls that were removed by the current administration and Alan Greenspan need to be put back in place to correct the current mess and to avoid its reoccurrence.

■ Julian Mancias: Yes. Even though we are currently experiencing some tough times, our economy will bottom out in the next few months and we'll be on the road to recovery.

■ Hank Miller: Let's see: high unemployment; soaring credit card debt; exploding national debt; record home foreclosures; meager GDP growth; bank and financial firm failures; depressed stock market. I'm just not sure.

■ Linda McNulty: Not strong enough or we would not see failing banks and financial institutions. As home prices continue to decline and loan defaults mount we could see more trouble.

■ Lisa Pampuch: No! It's clear from the mortgage crisis, failing banks, falling home prices, record deficits, weak dollar and inflation, unless you're John McCain.

■ John Quick: The economy is fundamentally in trouble. The Bush administration and Republican spending without a plan for paying the debt has drained the strength from what the Clinton administration bequested them. An economy in the black.

■ Emily Shem-Tov: No, it certainly doesn't feel that way with so much counting on consumer spending and so many factors weighing that down like the housing/credit crisis, inflation, rising unemployment, gas prices, and more.

■ Steve Staloch: No. Deregulation without safeguards and little oversight has turned out to be a recipe for potential financial disaster. Both the current administration and Congress failed the American people by essentially ignoring clear early warning signs of this pending meltdown.

Vote in This week's web poll

Although the Morgan Hill Times does not have any obligation to monitor this board, the Morgan Hill Times reserves the right at all times to check this board and to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to the Morgan Hill Times in our sole discretion and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. The Morgan Hill Times also reserves the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions. All threats to systems or site infrastructure shall be assumed genuine in nature and will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. Submission of any comments will be considered permission to use online or in print.

© Copyright 2008 MainStreet Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of MainStreet Media, LLC. is expressly prohibited.