What is your view of the condition of the economy... this is a test?

Question

I am watching The Newshour as we speak and they are doing a segment on biased perceptions of the media.

They were just discussing a major gap between republicans and democrats on their view of the 'condition' of the economy. They said that 10-15 years ago, while both disagreed on a solution, at least they agreed on the condition of the economy.

Now they did not state where each stood on the economy but rather that there was a large gap between their opinions of the economic condition.

So, what do you think is the condition of the economy and what is your political affiliation?

PS... My view as a liberal is that the economy is booming ONLY for the most wealthy.. corporations, stock traders, executives, etc... while the working/middle class is hurting. In my state, wages for jobs have decreased while ins. premiums, the cost of living, tuitions and many other basic things have increased. This is not even to mention outsourcing, etc... that is causing the loss of many middle class jobs

Not really a test but more of a survey to examine what they were talking about.

Pancakes, what party are you?

jpx my definition of the middle class is probably any family between 80k to 250k per year. Ppl that need to work but actually can acquire things versus ppl who dont have to work or have to work but can not acquire things.

PLEASE STATE YOUR PARTY

I agree with you for their reason on passing the bankruptcy bill.

My stat.s on the wealthy come from economic numbers such as the gdp..., just looking at the stock market (I am an ex daytrader btw) and some common sense because I happen to live in a very wealthy beach area... meaning discussions with neighbors, etc...

oh yeah last comment was for madmasky

Answer 1

I have no political affiliation, but I believe we have entered an almost-unnoticed march into a recession, stagflation, or inflation. There are few jobs, and many boomers looking for work who aren't even counted in unemployment figures.

The unemployment rate for my masters degree cohorts is about 25 percent, and I think that for the general population it may be even more.

There are also going to be major corrections in our US dollar as China and other countries come more to the forefront. My thesis involved watching currencies and prices, and the US dollar is inching down and prices correlate to (with room for a cushion profit) the currencies of the import country.

If you are hanging onto those IRA's (or any stock-type funds or even a lot of cash) my advice right now would be take the penalty and build your dream home, finance your business, or your education, because the dollars are worth more right now than they will ever be again.

And yes, the wealthy are doing very well indeed. Those of us in the lower rungs need to work on our "service" skills. The only other jobs are military or penal institutions. Seems the wealthy and powerful would just as soon put us all in large multiplexes out of sight.

Answer 2

The type of business I am in is in the front lines of the economy. I can tell you without pause that our economy is in a serious downturn. This down turn is a direct result of the drain caused by the war.
Despite what most people seem to believe, war is not good for the economy. During an active war, a country literally burns its capital. Building a war machine shrinks an economy not expands it. As a simplified example; Maytag builds a washing machine and spends $100 in capital. The new washer is sold for $300. The net result is that the economy expanded threefold.
Now the government builds a bomb for $100 in capital. This bomb has no value other than defense. It is not sold for a gain. The economy lost $100 in value or shrank. During a war when these bombs are used up and replaced at a quicker pace than normal, the economy shrinks at a rapid pace.
Government spending is always bad for the economy. It is never good. Another example: It cost $1.4 million for 1 cruise missile. Consider how many people it takes to assemble that missile once all the parts are assembled in one place. I can't imagine it would take 2 people more than a week to slap the missile together.
Now consider a building contractor who must build 6 homes that would sell for $240,000 each, which is equal to the cost of the 1 bomb built by 2 people. This contractor must build these 6 homes in the same time period, 1 week. How many people must he hire to accomplish that? Over a 1000.
Since the government must take the money from the private sector through taxes to make bomb, in the example above 998 jobs were lost to make that 1 bomb.
Although this is an extremely simplified example, in every instance government spending and particularly warfare is a drain on the economy. For the last three years, the war in Iraq has chipped away at our national wealth, and we are starting to feel the effects now.

Answer 3

I don't know if I can trust the figures from the Commerce Dept. when I see people coming on TV and saying that the U.S. accounting methods are worse than Enron's. They say it would be illegal for a company to do what the government does.

Economics is like a mystery science. It is so large, so complex, so changing. One never knows what will happen next.

The government is borrowing and spending so much money. That borrowed money is flowing through the economy.

At the same time prices are rising. Is that a measure of GDP? If the total value of goods and services is GDP, do higher prices translate to higher GDP.

The economy may not do so well if the government cuts back its spending. Those who are working for a paycheck can find that their paychecks can suddenly stop.

The government seems to have two choices. One to continue borrowing and spending and continue putting off the debt until 2025. This may lead to massive inflation. So much money is required to service the debt, it becomes an onerous burden.
Imagine that everything we buy will have an interest payment tagged on for 70% of its purchase price. And I'm talkin the cash price. Financing is another matter.

The other possibility is that we stop spending and kill the good economy. At this point there would be a slowdown in business. and taxes would have to rise or services would have to be cut.

Maybe the government can shift the burden of tax collecting back to the states. Smaller tax revenues to the federal government could be offset by higher state taxes.

As the value of property rises the property tax rises. The increase in home prices has filled many county's coffers.

Either which way, I don't see much good news for the economy.

Answer 4

I am a right leaning independent, I also don't give much credit to Dem's or Repub's for economic growth..
I think the economy is growing nicely, not booming, at a controlled pace especially if you consider that oil, which is a huge factor in our economy, is trading at or near an all time high, (inflation adjusted).
A booming or growing economy always favors investors over wage earners, (even though most are both),because investments grow & shrink with economic up/downturns, whereas people in almost any industry will get at the least a 2-3% cost of living increase per year.
Insurance premiums have skyrocketed, due in large part to jackpot lawsuits forcing the cost of medical insurance way up, which gets passed back down to us after everone else takes their slice of profit along the way.
I agree that outsourcing to foreign nations can be the cause of alot of unemployment followed by reduced wages when one has to start a new career, but that has been going on since NAFTA passed during Clinton's admin.

Answer 5

Please. In 1992, the democrats claimed the economy was 'the worst in 30 years'. Clearly that was false, but people believed what the TV said. Now, CNN reports the economy is 'the worst in 20 years'. Same play, different election.
If you don't watch TV, 2006 is a fantastic year economically. Even with the price of oil at record highs, the DOW is almost at 12,000, and should break it before the end of the year. Financially, I have been doing great even through the recession of 2000-2001, and I am very middle classed.

Answer 6

I must say this is probably the nicest answered question I've seen here. There are lots of good points here. So I must put my 2 cents in. The economy looks good simple because it is a war economy. Look at all the weapons, equipment and ammo that it being expended in Iraq everyday. It costs to replace it, therefor helping the economy. War economies are always good. As for record taxes coming in...no kidding. With the record breaking profits corporations are raking in it means more taxes are being paid. Unemployment being at a record low, not all the unemployed are being counted. If it was a realistic counting of unemployed the rate would be around 15%. Once you are no longer for unemployment insurance and drop off the rolls, you are no longer counted. Also it was mentioned about credit. People are overextending themselves with credit, whether in be refinancing their home or just credit cards, it pumps up the economy. As inflation rises more people will be hurting. Now personally my wages haven't kept up with inflation, my health insurance has had double digit increases every year, gas costs more for me to go to work. the economy doesn't look so good to me!

Answer 7

This might be a little hard to explain clearly but I will try my best. For example: When you play monopoly and you own an entire side of the board while the other properties are spread with the other players if you you keep the prices in proportion with the other players you enter in a healthy economy. So everybody is making money every time they pass go and saving it. When everybody have all the money of the bank(government) in hand then you raised the prices as high as you can. since they have more chances to stop in your properties you will end up with all the money. "I should have said here that this create the illusion that the economy is in good state because everybody is spending their money. Stocks go up but is only good for one player." Once that happens you go back to lower prices and the to healthy economy but you would need to print more money to keep the game going. On the second cycle you will be so rich that it would make no point for the others to stay in the game.
I don't know what all that means but you should try it.:) You will understand then.
I agree with you and we are in that cycle of high prices.

Answer 8

The economy right now is fairly strong (as test sales in my middle class restaurants are booming) but I feel personal economies are in real trouble. People are over exposing themselves by spending more than their means... Ipods, Flat screens, X boxes RENTING cars?? I was 19 before my parents got AC in their house. they just couldn't afford it. I see more and more people buying homes they can not afford sighting they are just too expensive..wrong they just choose not to live in a lower class neighborhood. I fully expect 20% of the middleclass to face forclosure within the next three years. (Why do you think they passed the bankruptcy bill last year?) Funny you mention education and insurance as high cost yet both due laws supporeted by the DNC.

As far as on the on th national level...LOL We are told there is low inflation when we know the prices of homes have risen 7% a year. gas food etc all up...I love stats...I can prove or dissprove anything.

You say economy good for the wealthy...what evidence do you have of that?

Answer 9

I think the economy is doing well....I wouldn't say great, but it has been worst, but I still think the effects of the tech bubble burst can still be felt......Just to point out a fact....the nation as a whole has never had a good economy......their are places that will always have a down economy, but overall the economy can be doing well......A boom in one place means a recession in another......this is usually why some people complain about it even though someone else might see it as really good. I don't think the middle class is hurting...what is your definition of middle class?

Answer 10

The economy is doing better than it was in say 2000.
The funny thing is people love to gripe about wall mart and the oil companies , but some day if you really want to see a mennace look at a company like Ditech ( the morgage folks ) take a look at there numbers there profit increased by 71% . No oil comany ever did that well , and ditech is busy taking people home away .