I think at least in the short term we're seeing an economic recovery but its too early to say the economy is on firm footing. I personally believe the tax cuts have definately helped the economy but at the same time I think Rhester's point regarding it being driven by debt is very valid. As the article indicates one of the main driving factors is housing. Housing right now is being fueled by low intereste rates that are encouraging people to take on debt. Also the recent rise of such exotic mortgages as interest only are adding more fuel to the housing purchase fire. All of that is by definition completely financed through debt. At the same time a lot of consumer spending is still being driven by credit card debt while much of the tax cuts themselves are offset by higher government debt load. All of this debt has had the desired affect of pulling us out of the recession and economic downturn but it is one with potentially very long term negative implications. When I say that there are problems with the economy I'm not looking at quarter from quarter but looking at 5-10-20 years down the road.
Dang it bigtexx, you're assuming I actually paid attention in those business classes I took at UH over ten years ago. All that really matters is what is the cost of beer. There is your true economic indicator for most Americans.
Or you can track milk, let's see I paid 1.99/ gallon five years ago, Today I pay 3.25/ gallon- Well at least inflation is under control.
Good question, how do they figure inflation? If milk has gone up along with every other milk by product like yogurt, cheese and ice-cream; if gasoline has gone up; if energy costs are up; if health care costs are up; if insurance costs are up; if housing costs are up then what has gone down to keep inflation figures from skyrocketing?
It's all in how you do the books... You can even do your own index based upon your own cost/geographic location. Inflation is out there and it is more than 3.5% but it could get worse depending on how the money supply, debt and asset bubbles are handled.
I have a couple of cats that hunt as a team. They were able to get the possum that lived in our back yard to move out very quickly.
I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you. HA HA I WIN THE WAR WITH MY SUPREMEST SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE RUBBER AND THE GLUE. Please excuse yourself from any future thread the deals with rubber, glue, or anything that requires an honest appraisal of life in our country. ....and bring me a sandwich, bushboy.
Nobody asked me, but I would check with the Commerce department, which appears in the second sentence, and then move to the other usual sources for such materials, like the CBO, the Treasury Department, etc, which maybe has a sight on this thingy called the interweb. But you can look it up yourself. I'm on vacation.
June job cuts highest since Jan. '04 Layoffs in auto, retail sectors to blame for surprising monthly number, employment firm says. July 6, 2005: 10:01 AM EDT NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Job cuts jumped 35 percent in June, with the number of layoff announcements pushing the monthly total to its highest level since January of last year, an employment firm said Wednesday. Employers announced 110,996 job cuts in June, compared to 82,283 in May, according to a monthly report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. June job cuts rose 73 percent from the year-ago period. So far this year, 538,274 job cuts have been announced this year, 14 percent more than the six-month total of 472,735 last year. Despite reports that show economic growth and job gains, major layoff announcements in the auto and retail sectors contributed to the surprise June number. "The fact that job cuts are rising in the summer is not even the most surprising trend. The surprise is that we are seeing a growing number of mass job cuts," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The cuts are not necessarily an indication of economic weakness, but rather the by-product of numerous trends, including changing consumer demand, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions, automation and consolidation. We are also starting to see job cuts resulting from higher health care costs as well as higher oil and natural gas prices." http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/06/news/economy/job_cuts/index.htm?cnn=yes
Consumer confidence is at 3 year highs, GDP growth continues, inflation is low, interest rates are low, the dollar is strengthening versus foreign currencies, taxes have been lowered, home values are at record highs, manufacturing (ISM index) just recently turned the corner, the unemployment rate is at 4 year lows, WHAT MORE DO YOU LIBERALS want? Seriously, if you think that a story about job cuts, which btw doesn't even mention how job additions have outpaced cuts lately, is proof that the economy isn't expanding, then you just don't understand the very basics of economics. What happened to being positive about the economy? With all these positives, you focus on one half-metric of a statistic? Incredibly partisan, as usual. Incredibly mis-informed, as usual.
Not looking at the full picture here. You need to net job gains and job cuts. Of course there will be underperforming sectors. Is the liberal definition of an economic recovery one in which no sector cuts jobs? That would be a historic first!
texxx I actually agree with you about how the economy is doing well, but there are still areas where improvement needs to be made. I found the last sentence interesting though Don't you think this needs to be addressed?
Very accurate. It's amazing how the liberals will latch onto any bit of news that they perceive as negative, then trumpet that news to the heavens as proof that their political position would produce better results. Truly laughable and ignorant.
It's amazing how the wingnuts will latch onto any bit of news that they perceive as positive, then trumpet that news to the heavens as proof that their political position produces better results. Truly laughable and ignorant.
LOL - nothing smart to say, so you come back with the "I know you are but what am I" routine. That says a lot. A whole lot, in fact. I accept your SURRENDER and acknowledgement that the economy is on FIRM FOOTING!
surrender? what are you in 3rd grade? my reply was satire to show how intellectually stupid your logic is I now know i will have to dumb down my posts for you in the future the economy is doing great (if your middle-upper class and up), no doubt about it - I haven't denied it - but the picture for a lot of Americans isn't so rosey foreclosures are at record highs health costs are sky rocketing pensions are in jeopardy we still have work to do to make this country even better for more people
Actually, your argument attempted to equate a laundry list of positive economic indicators versus a half-metric of a statistic posted by mcmark. .5 of a negative does not equal 10 positives, as your argument implied. As such, your satire was misguided and based on a faulty premise. That, friend, is 'intellectually stupid'.
Automakers in tough bid to lure buyers Wednesday July 6, 1:32 PM EDT By Tom Brown DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler's decision to jump into the fray of hard-sell discounting signaled the start of a full-scale price war by Detroit's Big Three automakers on Wednesday. The strategy may work over the short term, as it did for General Motors Corp. (GM) last month when it moved the metal at an impressive clip and cleared up GM's inventory problems. But Wall Street analysts said the automakers can't price-cut their way to prosperity, and weaker market pricing does not bode well for new vehicle launches in the fall. ... Good news for American consumers. Not so good news for the automotive industry.
