Can some of you study econ just a tiny bit before you start making silly claims?

Question

The economy is not doing well.

The stock market isn't booming. Dow Jones Average uses 30 stocks (out of thousands) to project the market. It just so happens those 30 stocks are doing well. The rest of the market is not doing well. If you want a more accurate barometer, then check out the S&P 500.

It's irritating to see one parrot after another declare the stock market is booming, when in fact, it's not even close.

The USD is at an all-time low against the Euro and it's at a 15 year low against the British Pound.

The housing market is stagnant at best. Home owners are foreclosing at a record pace. Mortgage companies are going under.

The top economic forecasters say we're going to experience a recession this year.

Gas is climbing at an alarming rate. Consumer confidence drops when gas prices climb, which means less consumer spending, which means the economy is going to slow down.

Try to research things before you declare them as fact.

Here...educate yourself:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/

John, you may want to call up Greenspan and tell him you think the economy is fine.

He and his advisors are going to feel so silly when they find out John says the economy is fine!

lol

If people actually followed everything on Yahoo's TOS there would be no more questions in this forum.

You're free to report it. I like it when people have to resort to reporting because they don't have anything in return.

That minus 10pts will teach me!

Answer 1

Amen brother. The US GDP rose only 0.9% this year which is significantly lower than most top economists predicted. As said on NPR recently, "those economists must've forgotten that a little thing called the housing market exists."

Gas price increases now are due mostly to problems and shortages in production at US refineries, not to the price of oil which is not at it's highest level even though gas is.

I agree totally that people need to look beyond the 2 second blurb on the news where they mention the DOW being at its highest ever--it's impressive but nothing to base an opinion of the entire economy on.

EDIT:

So in response to pain_made_me_beautiful's slam on CNN above: The fact that it is a CNN link doesn't mean its a liberal slant. The economy is the economy and the numbers do not lie. GDP rose ONLY a little this year and the housing market has had its worst year in decades in light of continually rising interest rates. Check CNN, check Fox News, check MSNBC, check the fec......they'll all tell you the same thing.

Different networks may offer different opinions as to WHY these things happen but no one will dispute that the economy is struggling.

Answer 2

I actually have a BS in Economics - OK, it was along time ago, and I've been working in the computer industry, but I still have something of a clue on the subject. I'm far from an expert, but I like to think I know a little more than someone who took Econ 101 from a leftist professor in the 90s.

It's true that the Dow follows fewer stock than the S&P - it's also true that it's calculated in an arcane way, and that it occassionally drops some stocks and picks up others. So, it is, indeed, more of a barometer for the best of the market, rather than the whole market. The S&P 500, though, is also doing well, it hasn't broken it's record, but it's recovered to the point that it's very close to it. Even the NASDAQ, which is heavy in tech stocks that took a beating in the crash, has recovered quite a bit.

So, yeah, it's a bull market.

The dollar is weakening - which makes sense economically, the dollar is overvalued, which makes American goods and services overpriced in an increasingly global market. The challenge the US faces is avoiding inflation while it's currency normalizes. So far, that challenge has been met reasonably well. So, while inflation remains under control, I'll welcome greater strength among other currencies.

The housing market is experiencing the inevitable hangover of the recent bubble. Not surprising, but it will be bad for the economy as some wealth, in the form of bad loans and lost 'value' just 'disapears.' Not every market is being hit, though. The market isn't stagnant, so much as falling in areas that had too much speculation, while merely slowing in others.

Greenspan says the chance of a recession relatively soon is around 1:3.

Gas in a single commodity, and, while it does impact consumers who - like myself - have a long commute, it wan't exactly unexpected. Gas prices have trippled, so far, this millinium, and it hasn't poleaxed the economy. It's barely gotten Americans out of gas-guzzling SUVs.

Answer 3

This is delightful - what else can I say? I love your take on what entomologists mean by the word 'social'....my mind is racing now to find another 'scientific' word which crosses over into every day speech. Is this what they call an epigrammatic poem? I've just looked up the word epigram in my Webster's dictionary "a neat, witty, often paradoxical remark - a short poem on some event or person, often with a satirical point. Well, an an ain't much of a person - but the rest of this fits. Lovely.

Answer 4

I never studied economics but I do own stock and if the economy is slow now I can't wait for it to pick up because I will be smiling all the way to the bank.

Answer 5

I am glad to see that someone else realizes the true situation of things. I have heard so many go on and on about their huge tax cut when most of the cuts went to a small porportion of the population and those being ones that did not need a tax cut to begin with. Everything about this country has been put on the back burner to put this war on priority. Not the military but the WAR itself. I have heard so many on here tell about how great the country is going, housing is down, jobs created are lowpaying ones. How on earth do they figure that things are better? I am an accountant and I can't see all this growth that they are talking about. I see a slow drain on America that is bleeding it to death. Things are bad in this country. I think the Republicans are in a collective state of denial about how this country really is. Either they are they are fully delusional. I am beginning to thing that they, and Bush, live in a world entirely of their own where reality has no bearing.

Answer 6

If people did research before posting anything on this website, the website would not exist. Also, I have taken research courses, and if you were writing a credible paper, you could not use one of the sources that you posted, because they are from a magazine, and therefore not credible.

Answer 7

I agree, but you forgot to mention the most important economic indicator.. the GDP, which is accepted to be the best indicator of economimc health. The GDP has been growing at a very slow pace.

Answer 8

Doom and Gloom. Easy sell. I look around and see a couple of things we could do better. Cut gov't spending, lower taxes, open Alaska for oil production. There are solutions to your stated concerns, but Congress is the one stopping progress. Americans are working hard; we're paying record taxes.

Answer 9

The rhetorical question of "Can some of you study econ...?"; not a question, vent, be judgmental or condescending if you wish, but don't pretend that a question mark means you didn't violate the intent of this forum. So, can you study Yahoo Answers Guidelines?

Answer 10

Josh, I have a degree in Economics. I know a good economy when I see one. And, this is a good economy.