Do you feel a Recession (U.S.)?

As social policy, once we have a government that actually believes in governing and the common wealth, it would be better to add the tax after an alternative is viable. But in terms of a true national emergency, the carbon tax would both be used to provide seed capital for alternative energy, and to pay down the national debt (assuming we don't buy anymore F-22 boondoggles with it instead).

I agree- cheap oil has been a fantasy and a disaster. Think where we'd be if Reagan had't pulled the plug on the alternative energy startups in 1980!
--
Wilfred M Rand
http://www.pbase.com/wilfredmrand/

I live in horse country, with the accent on million$. You can't get a Prius within 50 miles....the wealthy here are buying them as fast as they can make 'em.
--
Wilfred M Rand
http://www.pbase.com/wilfredmrand/

Here,here. I don't even understand the idea that one's home is somehow an "investment" to be put at risk. It's your home, people. Only borrow against your home as a last resort for an absolute necessity.

I honestly don't know what people are thinking. Or what they are paying. I designed and contracted my own house (doing the things that I could do myself over a bit of time) for a fraction of what everyone else pays. I honestly don't see how some of these builders get what they get, but there's a sucker born every minute. At any rate, there was a time when people built a house to actually live in. I built my house with every expectation that it would be my first and last. I don't understand the mentality of building a house with the idea you will sell it in 3 years, do it again, do it again, etc. I would get tired of moving. At any rate, most of these people are getting what they asked for. It's no different than going to Vegas and rolling dice and risking it all with the expectation that A: the value always goes up and B: you always win.

Buy / build the house you can afford. By "afford" I mean that if the economy goes south and you lose your job, you can still make your payments working a worse job that pays less. Plan on living in your house. Live within your means. Don't borrow much. Keep it simple.
Made sense to my grandparents. Makes sense to me.

Funny how many people go preaching that "free market" BS until something goes bad in their world. Suddenly, it's somebodies fault, and then they look to govt. to blame and / or bail them out. The philosophy of the day seems to be that free market is god and to hell with regulation, unless regulation benefits me or enables me to make more money, then regulation is A-OK!

Cheers to you!

jonrobertp said:

I can't for the life of me understand why people are so stupid to
borrow on an asset that is simply overvalued. How long did they
think (problem defined: they did not think ! ) that houses would go
up at that fast rate? then which young buyers could afford to buy
one at all????
And the size of those houses?? just nuts !! We live in a house of
less than 1100 sq ft, the family of 4, and it has worked ok. Now
they don't even build them that size ! And our house is only 2
decades old--so fast has the greed grown in their hearts . They
asked for trouble and got it. Too bad big bro gov't is bailing them
out at the expense of everyone, including those of us who had nothing
to do with it. Kinda a social welfare/capitalist "solution".
--
Have a great and wonderful Day !! Cheers !!

See China's Best (new !! ) at http://www.jonrp.smugmug.com

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... the good ... studios ... I mean big studios ... are much easier to book ... the bad ... big studios ... I mean big studios, are much easier, and frankly, bargains compared with the hey days of car shoots. Heck, some of the biggies like Stage 3 are reeling in this mess. Damn, Andre and the guys were the creme de la creme. Alas.
--
Keith D -

Yes I do feel recession :-(

Ryszard
--
With the age come; wisdom and dementia.
So we forget how wise we are.
I'm so poor; I can't afford my own opinion.

Well, first of all, there is not going to be a currency collapse. Sure, the problems that we have were caused not only by Mr Magoo, but Mr Bernanke will have to be a little more honest with us. He knows that any fiat currency will turn into dodoo over a prolonged time, and that's exactly what has happened to the mighty dollar. Major currency reform is not going to happen, so just get used to paying more for food and gasoline. Life goes on. And by the way, the Euro is being printed just as fast as the dollar. You see folks, it's like this: The Fed is owned by European banks that are controlled by the Rothschilds. They control everything in the world. They control all business, manufacturing, insurance, oil, etc, etc. And yes, they control all politicians in this country and the world. They have control over the Democrats, Republicans, and whatever is in between. They have all most all the gold, and they give us paper to play with, and not only that, they charge us interest on our own money. But hey, other than that, it's sunny here in California and life goes own. It's Beck's time, and as long as I get some call from my ads, my mouth churns out lip service!

Since 2003 I have been trading gold and silver futures. gold stocks, etc.. done well.

the dollar is garbage, this country is going down the towdy...

Not to worry, Armageddon is very close.. no more stinking human governments..

Dan 2:44

Give me slightly higher taxes and a much higher income anytime.

jp

Yes, yes! Back in 1962 I was 12 years old. My mom would send me to the market with this two wheeled contraption with ten dollars. I would be able to buy at least 3 or 4 grocery bags, slip in a .98cent Revell or Monogram world war 2 plastic model fighter and still have a little bit of change left. Yesterday I went to Stater Brothers market and the shiny tomatoes had a price tag of $2.99 a pound! By all means buy silver and gold now, while it's still cheap at $20.00 plus, and gold at a $1000.00 plus!

Roscolo said:

Actually, $4, $5 or even $6 / gal. gas is good. Maybe we will wise up
and think LONG TERM for a change and begin investing in rail, because
at those prices, I think U.S. citizens will finally begin to wean
themselves off of driving everywhere for every little thing and
actually embrace rail transportation. Rail is just like the beginning
of the Interstate Hwy. system; to reap it's benefits in 10-20 years
we need to begin investing and construction NOW.

Also, $4-$6 gal. will maybe finally kill the SUV and V8, V6 cars
since our govt. can't seem to have the good sense to legilate these
polluting energy wasters out of existence.

It's funny. I sorta feel sorry for the people driving Hummers and
Escalades. For a few years these were real "status" cars that
everyone seemed to secretly desire. Those driving them had a sort of
"elite" status. Now, however, it's just the opposite. Those who
bought them can't even sell them now because no one wants to drive
them, so they're stuck with them. And it has to be embarrassing; no
one looks upon the Hummer driver with envy - people openly laugh at
their stupidity - literally I see people on the street and in other
cars looking at the Hummers and Escalades pointing / laughing /
smiling. Pretty sure they aren't laughing WITH you; they're laughing
AT you! Bring on the high gas prices. It's time for spoiled Americans
to get back to the basics - work, grow your own food for a change,
stop polluting everything, and learn the lesson that greed and
overconsumption of resources comes with a heavy and painful PRICE.

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That whole rant is pretty lame!

What a joke . . .

If we want to drive big cars . . . why not?

If we want a big V8 under our hood . . . who the #ell are you or anyone else to tell us otherwise?

If you don't want that . . . keep your Kia!

Save the planet . . . save the earth . . . when the world is tired of us humans, I'm sure it knows how to get rid of us . . . and it will still be here after we are long gone!

--
J. D.
Colorful Colorado

I'm not rich . . . but I drive a big truck:



Remember . . . always keep your receipt, the box, and everything that came in it!

Ted Williamson said:

We've been in a recession for 8 years and it's not getting better.
Off shoring, outsourcing and downsizing have affected nearly 80,000
jobs here.

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So what do 80,000 unemployed people do? Move in with relatives and collect unemployment? How are they surviving this economic storm?

Sorry, but rail service will never work in rural and most urban usa. Rail and bus can't go where my business needs to go or when I need to go there. Never did, never will. This country just is not built out the way a large city is or most small European countries.

jdawg said:

Ted Williamson said:

We've been in a recession for 8 years and it's not getting better.
Off shoring, outsourcing and downsizing have affected nearly 80,000
jobs here.

Click to expand...

So what do 80,000 unemployed people do? Move in with relatives and
collect unemployment? How are they surviving this economic storm?

Click to expand...

I was born and raised in southern Michigan, but left when I realized that the auto industry was never going to be the same as it was.

We left when the git'n was good . . . back in the mid 90's!

And, even though I wasn't in the auto industry (self employed full time photographer and photojournalist and photo lab owner), I did a lot of work for the auto industry, just as many of my clients worked in the auto industry.

The whole state of Michigan is so tied to the auto industry that when car sales go down . . . Michigan goes into a world of hurt.

And it is like a yoyo . . . a few years a feast . . . a few years of famine . . . over and over and over again!

You can never catch up that way . . .

Every time we went back to Michigan, my in-laws and friends would all ask when we were moving back . . . to which I would reply "NEVER!".

When I was back there last year . . . their tunes had changed!

From everyone I heard "Good thing you left when you did!"

Most of my friends and relatives back there have lost their jobs . . . but they won't leave!

My step daughter did . . . her job was moved to Mexico and she lost her job . . . then they moved back to Michigan (she got rehired) as the Mexicans were churning out inferior auto parts . . . then six months later, her plant shut down for good as they moved it back to Mexico . . . then the Mexico plant was shut down as their cheap labor experiement didn't work . . . and the company she worked for shut down the Mexico plant and built a new one near Atlanta, Georgia (can you say 'bust the union? I'm not a union fan, by the way).

Anyway, she lost her job . . . house . . . truck . . . and is now living with us in Colorado until she gets back on her feet!

She has a good job here . . . back in Michigan, she said that for every job opening there were 100-1000 people after that same job!

Some of my friends have left Michigan . . . the rest are barely hanging on there.

I honestly don't see how people can still live there these days . . . and it will only get worse before it gets better!

Even here in Colorado things are pretty tight right now . . . but nothing like the bad economy in Michigan right now!

--
J. D.
Colorful Colorado



Remember . . . always keep your receipt, the box, and everything that came in it!

28to70 said:

Well, first of all, there is not going to be a currency collapse.
Sure, the problems that we have were caused not only by Mr Magoo, but
Mr Bernanke will have to be a little more honest with us.

Click to expand...

LOL, you expecting honesty from people at that level and up ?? ) good lack.

28to70 said:

He knows
that any fiat currency will turn into dodoo over a prolonged time,
and that's exactly what has happened to the mighty dollar. Major
currency reform is not going to happen, so just get used to paying
more for food and gasoline. Life goes on. And by the way, the Euro is
being printed just as fast as the dollar. You see folks, it's like
this: The Fed is owned by European banks that are controlled by the
Rothschilds. They control everything in the world. They control all
business, manufacturing, insurance, oil, etc, etc. And yes, they
control all politicians in this country and the world. They have
control over the Democrats, Republicans, and whatever is in between.
They have all most all the gold, and they give us paper to play with,
and not only that, they charge us interest on our own money. But hey,
other than that, it's sunny here in California and life goes own.
It's Beck's time, and as long as I get some call from my ads, my
mouth churns out lip service!

Click to expand...

Reg
Ryszard

--
With the age come; wisdom and dementia.
So we forget how wise we are.
I'm so poor; I can't afford my own opinion.

I do not know much about real economics. However, I can add and subtract really well.

For the past 15 years I have asked myself how everyone is affording the things they are buying. It started off with cars, then houses. I knew how much money I made and I knew about how much money they made. It just didn't add up. Everyone seemed to be doing so much better than me. Bigger houses, bigger cards, bigger tv's, golf club memberships, etc.

I finally realized one day that no one is acutally paying for anything. Everyone thinks in terms of "monthy payment".

Me to Civil Engineer Co-worker: Wow you got a new pathfinder? Didnt you just buy a brand new on last year??

Co-worker to Me: Yea, but we traded it in and got a great deal. After it was all said and done I got a brand new model and my monthly payments are the same.

Me to Co-worker: Really? What did the new car cost?

Co-worker: I'm not sure exactly, I traded in the "old" one and the put the negative balance on this one and gave me a great interest rate to make the payments the same.

Me: Oh... so how much do you owe now?

Co-worker: I think the new balance is about $46k, but my monthly payments are the same.

Me: $46k for a pathfinder....

Same with the houses. The Real Estate agent tells the buyer all about the new LIBOR based loans that have crazy low rates and adjust every 6 months and are interest only. And how she just refinanced her house using a LIBOR loan and how her payments on a $300k house are only $900/mo. She gives you the number of a good mortgage broker and he too is recommending a LIBOR loan.

The buyers eyes get big and they say to themselves, "Wow self, I have no idea what the terms of this loan are but I did hear her say 2% interest rate and $900/mo for a big ass house. Hmmm... I am fully aware that interest rates are at an all time low and can't go anywhere but up... and I am fully aware that my loan can adjust, or something.... but I think ill choose to ignore those issues and I will blindly assume that my house will go up in value 20% per year to offset any risk I may take on with this type of loan. Afterall this nice real estate agent and this nice mortgage broker are probably looking out for my best interest and they would never recommend something to me that could get me in trouble... and man, that house is big and I want it sooo bad"

Ohhh poor home buyer. "I was duped into a horrible sub prime mortgage and now I can't pay my monthly note on my $450k house with my $70k salary. What is the world coming too? Woe is me... I thought it was my god given right to live in a mini mansion and drive 9 gal/mi SUV on a 70k/yr salary. Woe is me...."

Oh one more thing about the housing market. Was it not obvious that the housing market had to crash when appreciation exceeded inflation year after year after year after year... like I said, I know nothing about formal economics or finance - but it doesn't take a genius to realize that at some point the market had to correct or no one would be able to afford a house anymore.

I would venture to suggest that the sub prime loans didn't cause the problem so much as they delayed it. All the sub prime loans did was make it temporarily affordable for the average person to buy a house. Whatever. Hopefully it will fix itself without taking down the entire economy with it.

Shift in topic... You know what makes me the saddest, when I hear about a 3yr old at a day care at 6:30 pm crying her eyes out becuase she wants her mommy or daddy - but mommy and daddy are more interested in working 12 hrs a day to pay for their mini mansions and suburbans and plasma tv's than they are about taking care of their own kids. Each to his own I guess - but I can't help but feel sorry for kids with parents like that.

Guess I should stop now.

Craig said:

Since 2003 I have been trading gold and silver futures. gold stocks,
etc.. done well.

Click to expand...

I'm on disability check from Social Security, I can't afford any investment, after rent, medicine is not enough for food. Nothing to invest :-(

Craig said:

the dollar is garbage, this country is going down the towdy...

Click to expand...

Reg
Ryszard

With the age come; wisdom and dementia.
So we forget how wise we are.
I'm so poor; I can't afford my own opinion.

"Its the recession we had to have" (Australia in the mid 80's)

Its always good to have a recession every 20 or 30 years, it brings people into line, slows spending and makes us realise who STUPID we have been to spend all our money on creditcards and huge mortgages to pay for lifestyle we know we cant afford.

Like buying a new camera every 2 years, and getting upset the the 5D MkII isnt released. It means its time for a recession, to slow consumer spending and start saving what little money you really have.

There, I said it. You dont need a new camera, your current one will do fine.

UncleMikey said:

I have noticed that more of the people contacting me want to talk
price right away. They are shopping for the best price and cost is
on their mind more than this time last year. My '08 wedding season
is booked heavier than ever and this is abot the time that I should
start to pick up bookings for '09. I am getting calls and emails
but couples are difinately looking more at the cost. It could be a
good year for the newbees, who will do a wedding for less that it
actually costs them to do it.

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Dont tell oldpro that, he will lecture you on your bad business practise and management. (sorry, slightly off topic i know)

5D Monster said:

Dont tell oldpro that, he will lecture you on your bad business
practise and management. (sorry, slightly off topic i know)

Click to expand...

Come on, 5D . . .

You claim to be a pro . . . perhaps its time you start acting like one!

--
J. D.
Colorful Colorado

Remember . . . always keep your receipt, the box, and everything that came in it!