“Around the year 2005, a sudden spark will catalyze a Crisis mood. Remnants of the old social order will disintegrate. Political and economic trust will implode. Real hardship will beset the land, with severe distress that could involve questions of class, race, nation, and empire. Yet this time of trouble will bring seeds of social rebirth. Americans will share a regret about recent mistakes—and a resolute new consensus about what to do. The very survival of the nation will feel at stake.”—From the Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy, by William Strauss and Neil Howe, 1997

From Buzz Flash via Post Atomic

Stephen Roach, the chief economist at investment banking giant Morgan Stanley, has a public reputation for being bearish.

But you should hear what he’s saying in private.

Roach met select groups of fund managers downtown last week, including a group at Fidelity.

His prediction: America has no better than a 10 percent chance of avoiding economic ``armageddon.’’

From Boston Herald via Post Atomic

November 19, 2004

The House has given final congressional approval to a bill that bans state and local governments from taxing Internet connections for the next three years.
The bill was approved by a voice vote and now goes to President Bush for his signature.
It prevents any tax on all types of Internet connections, from traditional dial-up services to high-speed broadband lines.
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden co-sponsored the original ban.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner calls the bill “a big win for the vast majority of Internet users.”
But he is promising to renew his effort for a permanent ban on taxing Internet access.

From KATU News

President approves a measure authorizing an $800 billion increase in the nation’s credit limit.
November 19, 2004: 12:35 PM EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush Friday signed into law a measure authorizing an $800 billion increase in the credit limit of the United States, the White House said.

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled House voted 208-204 to pass the bill. Senate approval came on Wednesday.

Democrats said the debt limit increase, the third in as many years, was necessitated by Bush’s “irresponsible” fiscal priorities, including what House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California described as tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate handouts. From Cnn Money via Rueters