The economy

Gas prices has plummet (because of the economy). People stress about how bad the economy is getting, and I agree, to a certain stand-point. Because the economy goes down, I noticed gas prices decreased. Yet, certain items went up. If I remember correctly, the price of a gallon of milk went up (Last I checked, a month or so ago)?

If the economy is as bad as the media and everyone claims as is, why are people still going to stores and spending a crap-load of money on unnecessary 'wants'? Funny thing, I work at Dollar Tree, I see people buying pointless things there all the time, even IF it's only a dollar per item. If you're going to spend money, spend it wisely, if all of you people are claiming how BAD and UNSTABLE the economy is right now.

People's actions and their words really annoys me. I see people spending hundreds of dollars at Walmart or at retail stores for stupid junk, and yet on the media, I see CNN or some news-channel claiming:

"The economy is unstable / plummetting / etc"

So, my question? Is the economy in the United States (and perhaps Canada, and world-wide) really THAT bad? Or is it that people just doesn't know how to conserve their money? Is the media just overly exaggerating to make things worse for our economy?

-Kasuhitomi

Yeah, the economy is that bad. Businesses are laying off people left and right and even closing many of their stores. Spending/traveling is down big time, despite what you think. There's still dumb people, and it's not like spending would halt completely, but you have to take a look at the big picture rather than what some people are doing.

I believe it will be a problem but due to the Bush Administrations wise delaying actions (OMFG! DID I COMPLIMENT BUSH?) it won't be a problem for the average individual until Barack's regime comes to power. That is, unless something more drastic (more banks failing) happens.

However I'm going to be angered at the policies "required" to "fix" our economy. Keynesian policies all about, pepper in some FDR "New Deal"* and add a decent helping of kolkhozes and we'll experience an unparalleled economic turn around.

* New Deal supporters were often advocates of Mussolini's economic programs in Italy that "Kept the trains running no time". These also eventually paralleled programs in Germany: Large scale public works (roads, train routes, dams, wiring the nation, and other large government projects). These were often accompanied with euthanasia for the mentally disabled (followed by dissections of the brain) and segregation of the races, this is something I believe Obama will not support, but it is a possibility after all. Especially since our public education system tells us it was a great success and this is definitely not a rant.

No, it's because the economy is screwed up. Bushs' main priorities were not fixing the economy, or lower taxes, or the war in Iraq. He cared about banning gay marriage >_> So because of that, our economy is screwed up.

Many people are losing jobs. Big businesses are going out of business completely, example is Mervyn's.

Hope Obama fixes it.

Bush is nothing new. The '90s economy had an industrializing China feeding us cheap products and a revolutionary new product (TEH INTRAWEBZ!) no pomegranate our economy will grow. Of course the wave of success had to end(ended in the .com boom, but revived primarily with Google) and our decline due to China & India's economic rise was inevitable.

Lets do a comparison to the past, shall we? The last major "super influential" product was the television. Notice that when it became a popular product in the late '40s and early '50s our economy was rapidly growing. Our economy passed through the Korean War, the Cold War military build up and the rebuilding Europe, while continuing to grow. Regulations on businesses were actually lightened after FDR and Truman (although terribly unpopular, like Bush) had set been concentrating on the Truman doctrine (aiding those who fought communism) more than the economy (basically left on cruise control). Then JFK came along and the economy was still impressive but in the mid 1960's it began to slow down with LBJ and the terribly unpopular Vietnam war (not so unpopular until the Tet Offensive media orgy) stalled the American economy. In conclusion, I say our economy will recover and that America will get over "TEH WORZT PREZIDENTE EVAR" in due time. Who, after all, remembers the "glorious" Ulysses S. Grant? (Another analogy could be compared to the 1970's after Nixon/Ford and the huge economic slumber that they "created". They were quickly followed by the lolfest of Jimmy Carter).

We're going to make Bush our modern Hoover and Obama our modern FDR (who I generally dislike, but you ask any 70 year old and they idolize the fascist scumbag).

I actually want the economy to completely crash. I don't know why I do, but I just do... That way, it would force a giant re-structering of everything.

I actually want the economy to completely crash. I don't know why I do, but I just do... That way, it would force a giant re-structering of everything.

So your pretty much saying you want a Great Depression?

So your pretty much saying you want a Great Depression?

Maybe... I don't know why I have those ideals, but I do.

Maybe... I don't know why I have those ideals, but I do.

Good luck :f6:

People that want radical change are generally willing to accept difficulties in order to push their agenda (or create difficulties). Examples are: The burning of the Reichstag, the attempted coup against Chavez, and assassination attempt of Darth Sidious. All of these inspired radicalism.

kleptophobia's Star Wars reference was quite hilarious. Especially since I watched the third and last movie of the new ones that were released around 2000 two days ago on television.

With the legislative body cutting out a 700 billion dollar jump-start fund: 350 billion meant for bank relief and the other 350 billion open for contention, there should be no surprise that this money will eventually hit the everyday American's wallet in the form of increased taxes.

I truly believe that any attempt to understand the overall flow of government is pointless. Even though this is an extremely rough estimate, if you ask your parents how they pay for tax and then superimpose that value on the hundreds of thousands of people in America, that comes to quite a lot of annual money.

But where has all that money gone? I've been recently reading the New York Times and the Star Ledger in order to verify what groups are attempting to qualify for the funds being given. Among the banking side which has been guaranteed a cut in the 350 billion, Goldman Sachs, a very prominent investment firm in New York City pays it's top wage earners more than 500 million annually. These millionaire men have decided to not take their bonuses. An extremely smart decision as Goldman Sachs has accepted four million from the government in order to "get on the right track." The underlying point is that if they have enough money to pay ridiculously unimaginable salaries to their top investors, then why has the government deemed it necessary to give them a cut within the 350 billion banking fund?

Washington Mutual (WaMu) sold out to JP Morgan Chase and one of the key terms of this transaction involved JP Morgan Chase aquiring and keeping stock of all of WaMu's customers and the investments which were made. A fellow banker at my church told me that numerous WaMu investors lost nearly all their money due to this transaction even though it seemed that reimbursement was guaranteed.

On the non-banking side, CEOs of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler went to Capitol Hill in order to ask for a $25 billion cut of the $350 billion up for contention. They were thorougly scolded and escorted back to their private jets. Among the many arguments they presented was the type of "Herbert Hoover" idealism that inspired the "trickle-down-effect." The idea that if you help out the business owners, eventually that aid will trickle down to the employees. The auto-industry has semi-legitimacy to this claim as they employ a large work force especially areas such as Detroit. Unofortunately, I don't quite agree with this argument if no guaranteed cuts are set apart from worker employment.

Perhaps the most reliable form of employment is if the government renacts policies that Roosevelt enacted during the Great Depression. Policies which basically created thousands of federal workforce positions that employed millions among the American populace. This sense of having a job gave the American people hope for tomorrow.

Even though I'm not a large fan of Obama, the fact that he was open-minded enough to make Hilary Clinton his Secretary of State and is seeking help from presidents of the past has definitely earned some hope from the small optimist within me. Obama's cabinet is aggressive, goal-driven, and no-nonsense. I've decided that all I can do as an American citizen is to stop and watch the world revolve on itself.

Before I close, I've always been under the impression that gas prices are not based on supply and demand. My Human Ecology professor did a cross-inventory on oil companies and told me that they carry numerous aquifiers. The prices of gas are perhaps more psychological than applicational. Perhaps they capitalized on the fact that Americans were fighting in a war and therefore used that as an excuse to raise the prices. A more technical explanation reveals that the top three sources for imported oil are Canada, Saudia Arabia, and Mexico. Most of the rise in oil prices was due to speculation. Big investment houses would buy oil futures only to make a profit on them. Because of the recent economic crisis, they are unable to buy out potential oil stocks therefore causing the price to drop to the true level of actual supply vs. demand.

Before I close, I've always been under the impression that gas prices are not based on supply and demand.

QFT. Oil does not follow the traditional supply and demand model as it has become a sociopolitical issue. If you keep government out of it gas prices would likely be higher (many governments try to lower prices, especially China). Another thing is that most oil companies are state owned (Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and probably many others).

Anyone who wants the economy to fail, have fun living on the streets because the middle class will fail to exist causing a quasi-de juer segregation simply because those in the government will become so powerful that American voters will no longer have the ability to change anything. This is what we have to look forward too under Obama.

Sadly, at the moment my Dad is under lots of stress. He is white-collar worker for GM and is one of the three remaining in his department which was once 20+ strong. If the Big 3, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BASIS OF THE ENTIRE AMERICAN ECONOMY, do not earn their government bailout funds, then all of the middle class is pineappleed. Alright I hope Cyadd has fun while he fishes around soup kitchens and revels in the fact that he once owned a machine called a "computer" that would do marvelous things and wanders aimlessly looking for one.

Well we should give Obama a chance but if he did what he claims he will, we're in for a fun time. The hard working are going to get shafted, your inheritance to your children will be given to the State. The State will regulate which job you should get into (hell, they already are, look at colleges focused on liberal arts that only promote a service based economy). I say we shouldn't let an economic down turn throw us into a socialist seizure. Perhaps large government contracts will be given to service companies to spin the State in a proper and more respectable light, but then again maybe we will go the way of Grossdeutschland and make Volkswagens.

this is really ironic that your talking about this when tomorrow is black friday. most people should take advantage right? or what

Spending more money than you need is what feeds economy in a way, I guess. Plus, mad Black Friday and Christmas sales are the key to people overly spending money. Save now, earn later.

I do have to admit people DO buy useless things. But I just tell myself that it's their loss. I will save money while they waste theirs.

The economy in Europe is not bad at all. It's what it has been like forever.