Do you still think the economy is just fine?

Question

the housing market has plummeted, the stock market has sunk, you can't even get a decent interest rate on a CD or money market & Pat Robertson endorses Giuliani for more of the same? I guess we'll have to invest on the war, like they have.
Markets and Dollar Sink as Slowdown Worry Increases
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/business/08econ.html?th&emc=th

Wes...jobless rate is real low? How about all those thousands of people that were in the housing market that are now jobless? That includes contractors, construction workers, Real Estate brokers, city employees and the list goes on & on. I happen to know at least a dozen that have been put out of work already or re-assigned to less paying jobs. I won't even get into the auto industry. Wake up & smell the coffee!

Thor Girl: I don't care what your Bush-o-nomics tell you. What I have personally experienced & see with my own eyes is enough to tell me we are going down the tubes real fast. I don't know where you live, but I live in the "real world".

Fed Chief Warns of Worse Times in the Economy
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Ben S. Bernanke told Congress that the economy is going to get worse before it gets better, a message that got a chilly reception from both Wall Street and politicians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/business/09fed.html?th&emc=th
.

Answer 1

Think of the economy as a great big pyramid.

Those people at the tipy-top of the pyramid are making money. Lots of it. They are doing fine. The Bush government wants us to judge the state of the economy by how those folk are doing.

However, in America, we have traditionally judged the relative health of the economy by how people at the base of the pyramid are doing - and they ain't doing so great. The Bush government does not want us to notice them and has done everything in its power to make them disappear from the national radar scope.

The problem is that we are at the doorstep of the Bush recession. It has been coming for a long time and no one should be surprised it is finally here. Now, everyone will feel the pinch and maybe worse.

The next president will inherit two wars, a depressed nation, a pissed-off world, and a major recession. Could we really expect anything less from George W. Bush?

Answer 2

No. It is not fine. It is false anyway. The dollar is losing value continually. The Chinese owe a lot of U.S. debt. Someday the U.S. may not matter. We will be a third world country if we don't stop this ridiculous greed. It has gotten completely out of control. I get furious when I think there are rich jerk parents trying to get their kids diagnosed with ADD or ADHD so their kids can get into Harvard. That is sick! I am dyslexic. I don't want some jerk parent trying to get ahead at my or anyone else's expense. I didn't choose to be dyslexic. I have a brother who really has ADHD and he's on medication now. He's doing well in college. Finally. It took some time and a lot of pain. The world has become competitive to the point of stupidity and dangerousness. The rich are acting like paranoid freaks but there could be a major fight between them.Case in point: Some rich jerk who lives in a $7.5 million mcmansion in the Boston area has 500,000 lights (I think that's right) on his house and is annoying his neighbors. He won't do anything about it. This is just one example.
Another jerk neighbor parked his big boat in front of this lady's window blocking her view of the ocean (she's retired and moved there for the view.) She asked him if he could please move it or that she would pay for it to be stored someplace else. He refused. He said, I can do what I want.
She ended up leaving. What the heck is going on that people can't be nice to each other or neighborly? I realize that some neighbors are completely crazy but surely, that isn't most people.

According to Business Week, the GDP is not calculated correctly in today's economy.

Greenspan was behind the lending money to people that were not credit risks and giving them more then they can handle. I know salespeople in finance. They know how to cheat the system and get credit for people that really haven't earned it. There are real problems here.

Answer 3

Try getting a loan on a piece of industrial property. I recently tried to buy a smaller facility to house my business because the facility we are in has become too large and expensive for the volume of business we are doing.
The banks informed me that they are now requiring a 30% minimum downpayment on commercial property because industrial property values are falling like a stone. They see a 20% drop in property values during the next 2 years.
With predictions like that coming from bankers, it is foolish for anyone with capital to spend it at this time. This attitude will bring the economy to a grinding halt.
In my own business, we are operating at only 50% of the gross revenue of 2 years ago. The prospect of staying viable much longer is slim. There is a growing number of vacant industrial buildings in my area. I expect that soon there will be another.

Answer 4

WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH YOU ??? ARE YOU MAD ???

Are you just another FEAR MONGERER like the universally hated occupant of the Oval Office.

Listen up !!! Everything is just fine and God's promise that the RICH SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH and the POOR SHALL INHERIT SWEET F_ _ _ ALL IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE.

The US is a Christian nation under God and the FUNDY-IN-CHIEF Bush has spoken to God (the same God he spoke to in 2003 who told him it was OK to war against Iraq and slaughter those ragheads) and God and CHRIST CONFERRED AND ADVISED AWOL Bush that the US economy is just fine and not to worry for God, like the Americans themselves,know that Americans are God's chosen people (with sad regrets to the Jews) and no harm will come to the land "of genociders and slaughterers" .

Even Pat Robertson came out yesterday and comforted us all with his remarks that everything is un-folding as it should and not to worry for God looks after Americans especially WHITE/ANGLO-SAXON/Christian Americans.

Today,China has threatened to dump all it's US dollars and if that happens,you Americans are simply TOAST for China in fact literally OWNS much of the US.

Answer 5

Short answer no. One big reason is debt.

Massive, rapidly growing government debt and personal debt have given the illusion of economic prosperity for a very long time.

But just as an individual can borrow and borrow and live very well for a very long time, eventually the debt becomes overwhelming. We are approaching that point.

Will the crash come in one month, one decade, or one century? Timing is very hard to predict, but it will unquestionably be, for reasons I won't go into, within the next 5 years.

Answer 6

No and it's never been good since Bush took office. Despite his thunderous attempts to make it sound like he's done an excellent job. He's done an excellent job in destroying America's reputation and lowering the standards of workers in America. His buddies though have benefitted and that's all the matters.

Answer 7

I've been listening to, and reading various news sources from around the world for several months now in regards to the American economy.

Those individuals who keep insisting that the economy is fine are simply not informed.

Answer 8

The housing market has tanked because companies gave loans to people with poor credit who defaulted in record numbers.

Interest rates on CDs and Money markets are directly connected to the same low rates to borrow money. Would you rather have a CD at 15% and a mortgage at 18%?

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just not allow in poor sectors of the country so your currency stays buoyant, as the EU can choose to do by not allowing in poor countries? (For all of you who are comparing the dollar to the Euro, it's something to remember.)

Jobless rates are at historic lows of 4.7%.

And Fuel prices? A third of it is thanks to taxes. Approximately $1 a gallon goes back to the state.

I do agree that personal debt is out of control. People want to keep up with the Jones' and spend themselves into welfare when there's the slightest blip on the market.

Answer 9

The economy in my neighborhood is doing fine. The parking lots are empty by 8:00 am...meaning lots of people going to work. I have income from multiple sources. Some are guaranteed for the rest of my life. How good is that?

Answer 10

Economies are cyclical but beyond that, the credit crunch is of our own doing- Americans over extend and then want a bail out. We need to do a better job teaching our children to live within their means. I love how you have to get a pot shot in against Rudy. If you want to see the economy come to a stand still go ahead and vote for those cats that want to raise taxes and watch as more jobs disappear and more companies say bye and more wealthy people hide their cash offshore