And Jim Cramer Just Went Bear

Jim Cramer has taken a lot of abuse over the last couple of years--and sometimes, even out here. But he is often regarded as one of the biggest bulls in the marketplace, so it was definitely a strange occurance to hear the words "double dip" out of him.

In fact, here's the straight word from the Mad Moneyman himself.

...Those who have read me here and watch "Mad Money" know that I was out there early thinking that 2010 would not produce a double-dip, despite ample commentary that it would. But if health care reform passes, I am going to revise my thinking -- and you know I think it will -- especially because immigrant amnesty will cause the health care system to be overloaded and our taxes to soar...

Yes, that IS Jim Cramer. And apparently, he's no happier about the health care bill passing than you or I or Caterpillar. Considering how much this bill will hike Caterpillar's expenses, and how many other companies will get jacked up besides, Jim may be right...for a change.

I personally wonder, though, if his thinking isn't a little simplistic. After all, market fundamentals don't look much better now than they did a year ago. For a consumer economy, a "jobless recovery" really isn't much of a recovery at all. There are a whole lot of potential albatrosses hanging around the neck of the United States economy right now; the health care bill is just one among many. Exactly which one will send it plummeting into the abyss is little more than an academic argument at this point--we've got to get them ALL off to do much good in the long term.