Economy

[truckracer]

I am not an expert on economies or economic theories but I did have some good psychology classes back in college.

I have been thinking about the county's current economic downturn.
Our state has not been hit as hard as others but then again
I think I live in one of the poorest states in our country.
I guess if you don't have much....you can't lose much LOL.

Thinking back with all the news propoganda, I never hear anyone
Say the sudden spike in energy prices caused the
Recession.

I know in basic economics we were always taught that anywhere
You have plenty of cheap natural resources and plenty of labor.... You
Have the ingredients for a great business climate.

I think one of the biggest players in the current economic
Crisis is the news media. They have preached doom and gloom
To the country until everyone has given up
On their goals, stopped producing, stopped buying, and scared
To death to let go of a dollar.

The news media talked this stuff up for over a year until
Everyone stared dumping their stocks, and stuffing money under
Their matress.

Now while everone sits glued to the tv, radio, newspapers, and financial
Websites waiting for the media to tell us everything is going
To be alright.

I think the best thing to do is turn off the garbage
And stop listening to it. Go about e eryines business
And chase your dreams.

Just a thought

 

[Van]

I can see what your saying but cant agrea with it completely because even though I live in one of the poorest counties in Georgia I see the strip malls are busy along with the sit down resturaunts and the downtown section here in Athens is busy as well. I drive by the movie theater up the street daily and most of the time it has a half full or better parking lot and the weekends its around %75 full. We went to the $2 movies today and they were packing them in as well and the main mall had a hustle goin on.

Yes I do agree that people are spending less but I think its more at the boutiques that charge exorbant prices and at the specialty stores such as Earthfare which is a local health food store that has prices for organic foods that would blow your mind. People are also spending less at the dealerships because the banks wont lend and at the home repair places because it would be senseless to do unneeded upgrades and repairs when they could loose their job and eventualy their house.

I think that the banks are mostly responsible for the recession because even after getting stimulus money they're still not lending any money and have went the route of forcing early loan payments and in a local incident forced the closure of an auto dealership which put alot of customers in a bind with newly purchased cars ( way to go Bank of America ). Talking with some of the local dealers when I was considering a new used car I was generaly the only person at the lot and when I went to see about a small loan from my bank they turned me away even though I have decent credit and a stable work history at a solid company. Everything you hear on the news about the banks not lending is true and the same goes for the CC companies such as capitol one which is raising its rates to %29.14 next month which I have opted out of and my account will be closed shortly.

Most Americans are responsible as well because of spending money they dont have to buy things beyond their means such as homes and vehicles and now their paying the price for their gluttony and so are many others who may or may not have followed them down the same path.

 

[Stargazer]

If things are that busy then it does not sound like the great depression just yet. Has to be quite a bit more jobloss for things to get really serious.

 

[MikeD-C05]

When the unemployment rate gets up to 20 -25 % then you will have the great depression part 2. At the rate we are going that could be by the end of the year. Already at 8.1 % rate from 5% last year.

 

[riffjim4069]

I think we will bottom-out at around 10% enemployment and that things will stabilize and very slowly (18-36 months) pick up. Who knows for sure? We shall see what happens.

 

[bhelms]

I believe much of this is a cup half empty/full manifestation. The media and many politicians certainly want us to believe we're in a dire crisis, and that is largely agenda driven. Those of us - businesses and individuals - who refuse to believe that and thus won't cave in to the "inevitable" are the real "hope for change" here. As long as we are capable we will continue to work, invest, and spend, and that will be the only meaningful "stimulus" that will turn this thing around...

 

[satjay]

Here is our state (MI), we have seen quite the domino effect with the economy. Its not just the auto companies that are stuggling, sooner or later other areas are getting it as well. I know many people who are laid off, that dont work in auto sector jobs, but when you have less people working, less spending it trickles down.

Though I do scratch my head at some of the surpriseing spending/purchasing going on. This past weekend, the Detroit Tigers ticket office oppened up for the season. Now I did not expect no tikcets to be sold, but when they announced it was there third highest ticket opener in the past ten years for regualar season games (as long as the new stadium has been opened) I was a bit surprised. My wife and I are both working, though I have moved into purcases based on want VS need, trying to build up more of a backup as other things go up in price, utlites and such and day care for our two kids, which is about the cost of a monthly housepayment. Looking foward to one starting kindergarden next year

 

[starman345]

It seems to me that the negatives are being over emphasized by the media in this economic slide. I watch the stock market closely and have noticed stock pages like globeinvestor and stockhouse have virtually nothing positive in their headlines day in and day out. I realize this is a down time and they need to report on that but I think they overdo it. A month or two ago the TSin Canada) rallied from being down to around 7500 to over 9000...not a word about it in the headliines, it went completely unnoticed, or at least unreported.
Lots of people are out of work, I wonder how much of that is due to the impression (given by the media) that times will get tougher so companies better cut to the bone and be ready?
Generally I don't think the media knows what is going to happen, if they did they might have predicted the situation we are in now but I can't say I remember reading about this anywhere.
I think things will turn around sooner than later, once there is a ray of hope to grasp onto, and provided the media gives it the same attention it does the doom and gloom then we will round the corner. Personally, I think the recovery will be rapid once it starts.

 

[navychop]

Well, I guess I've done my part to help the "stimulus" - sorta. Went to Expo Design for their closeout sale and bought a lawn table and chairs setup. Got it all home, found one chair broken. Hoping the manufacturer will honor their "15 year warranty."

Gee I wish Home Depot wasn't shutting down those Expo stores. Didn't buy too often, but sometimes we got some nice stuff there.

 

[bhelms]

...I think things will turn around sooner than later, once there is a ray of hope to grasp onto, and provided the media gives it the same attention it does the doom and gloom then we will round the corner. Personally, I think the recovery will be rapid once it starts.

And that's exactly the attitude we need! But I wouldn't count on the media spreading the good news. It's contrary to the current agenda.

I too am still working. No job is 100% secure but I'm not spending a lot of time worrying about mine - I have a job to do instead! So I am hoping for the best but I am prepared for the worst as I envision it. (Maybe it could be a whole lot worse, like global holocaust, but I'm not going to worry about what would ultimately do us all in!)

And the recovery could indeed be rapid. Many are being very cautious at this time and thus only spending on their needs and letting their wants wait a bit for more certain disposable income and better economic outlooks. To be sure that is all adding to pent-up demand, and once that is released we could see a rapid shift in the other direction. That's the kind of "hope" I'm more willing to bet on, and I also "hope" others begin to see it that way soon...

 

[Van]

I watch the news daily ( its enough that I may need prozac soon ) and see all of the doom and gloom yet when I drive through town past all of the businesses that arent dealerships and home sellers the parking lots tend to be %40 or better full during the middle of the day. The regular priced movie theater down the street from us has been %60 or more full every weekend and around %35 and up during the week days depending on the time. The strip malls are busy as is the main mall and our walmart stores are packed on an hourly basis. The retailers that arent doing well and have closed are places that have succumbed to fear and a few others that had management issues to begin with.

 

[bhelms]

Yeah - based on similar things around here (retailer parking lots, theaters, sports events, Walmart, etc.) you wouldn't know we're supposed to be in a recession! Sales/revenues are soft to be certain, but they're far from dead...!

 

[Van]

I've been reading several papers and watching whats going on around town. Single family homes and condo's are taking a hit along with the auto industry as we all know but here in my town walgreens is starting construction on a new location while badcock furniture ( true name I kid you not ) is building one and there are about 8 other construction projects going on not including what the UGA is doing. Reading my fathers local paper his area has around 2000 apartment units being built and the area has alot of jobs open with manufacturers like Stihl to name a few. Spend a bit of time searching and you'll find that there are many locations that are doing well like Richmond VA, Madison WI, and Fargo ND which is really booming from whats being reported.

 

[richiephx]

It is not my intent to make this thread political, but, let's put some blame on the politicians in Washington, both Dems and Reps. What they are doing now is reckless and irresponsible. Instead of focusing on the root causes of the economic collapse, they continue, business as usual, to frivolously spend and waste money they don't have. Every voter in this country should be outraged and demand that term limits be placed on members of Congress. Eliminate the career politician by voting them out of office. Now THAT would be REAL change we can count on.

 

[Stargazer]

Perhaps people are still spending the money on the small ticket items which are usually the ones that are needed and cutting back on big ticket items like houses, cars, etc. People are keeping their used cars longer than they used to which in part could be due to cars lasting longer than what they used to and people fixing their used cars instead of buying new ones or buying used instead of new. It is easier for someone to cough up a few bucks for something compared to a lot of money for the big ticket items.

 

[Van]

Drove by Lowes today and the parking lot was at %85 capacity so spring projects are ramping up. At the same time a Tractor supply company has opened up down the street and a block away Farmers hardware closed its doors claiming the housing down turn, I've been in this place and its high prices plus lack of inventory and two inches of dust everywhere lead to its death.

 

[bhelms]

Is that new store Tractor Supply Co.? We have one here and it's doing well. Been open for about 5 years. Has a lot of stuff the local farmers need/want (naturally) but also caters to regular homeowners and pet/livestock owners with a number of unique items. I don't have a farm, but I'm in that store 3-4 x per year for special needs.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...1?cm_mmc=SEM-_-Yahoo-_-brand-_-tractor_supply

It's sad to see Mom & Pops going under, but what you describe is typical - old, obsolete stock, or nothing really needed, dirty, cluttered, poorly-lit stores, etc. We had a sizeable local co. that was soup-to-nuts retail (food, clothing, hardware, lumber, building supplies, home and garden, large & small appliances, you name it) go under after 70+ years in business. I was sorry to see them go. I did buy from them occasionally over the past 30+ years, but apparently none of us did often enough. They had some things you wouldn't find elsewhere and a great, somewhat unique meat market, but not that much so to keep them viable. Mom & Pops can get help revitalizing and differentiating their businesses. Some of it is free or very low cost through SCORE, and SBAs, etc. I think most of them are too proud to ask for help, however...

 

[starman345]

Well, after me moaning about the stock market sites always being negative, today they make me a liar:
Globeinvestor crows "Wall street surges in best day of 2009"
Its nice to see green in my portfolio for a change

 

[Bobby]

AMEN!!!

 

[Sadoun]

Here is a brief video that explains the credit crisis and the root cause of it:
The Crisis of Credit Visualized