Consumer spending - down. Disposable income - down. Wages - down. Employment - down.
Unemployment - up. Inflation - up. Government spending - up. Taxes - up. Deficits - up.
Obamanomics works!
Posted on 03/27/2009 7:39:26 AM PDT by Zakeet
Real consumer spending, representing outlays adjusted for inflation, fell 0.2% last month, a reversal after rising by a three-year high of 0.7% in January, the government estimated.
February's level of spending was higher than the average seen during the fourth quarter of 2008, signaling that consumer spending could add to economic growth in the first quarter, rather than subtracting as it has done in the past two quarters.
Economists at Morgan Stanley boosted their forecast for first-quarter consumption to 1.3% annualized growth after a 4.3% decline in the fourth quarter. However, they still see gross domestic product plunging at a 5.1% annual rate in the first quarter, nearly matching the fourth-quarter's 6.3% decline.
Meanwhile, personal incomes fell 0.2% in February as wages declined 0.4%, putting incomes at the lowest level since April. After-tax disposable incomes eased 0.1%. Read the full government report.
Adjusted for inflation, after-tax incomes dropped 0.4% in February, reversing direction following a 1.4% surge in January. Income figures for the first month of the year had received a boost as a result of several one-time factors, including annual cost-of-living raises and a once-a-year technical adjustment to tax payments. In current dollar terms, last month's nominal spending rose 0.2% after a 1% gain in January.
With incomes falling and nominal spending increasing, the personal savings rate ticked lower, to 4.2% of disposable incomes, compared with 4.4% in January.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Consumer spending - down. Disposable income - down. Wages - down. Employment - down.
Unemployment - up. Inflation - up. Government spending - up. Taxes - up. Deficits - up.
Obamanomics works!
Obamanomics (trickle up poverty) hit us here at work too. No raises or bonuses until the economy picks up.
But I thought the economy had turned around? Thats what Mr. Hopey-Changey and the MSM said.
Well, I’m just downright confused.
The WaPo headline says:
“Consumer Spending Up in Feb”
“Everything is going according to my plan—muahahahaha!” (George Soros)
Better spend it on hard goods now while the dollar is worth something.
The fact of the matter is that consumers and investors alike have absolutely no confidence in Obummer his administration or his policies which will all ultimately fail and make matters much much worse economically and financially for our country and its people.
I am just saying when hyperinflation kicks in, the dollar wont be worth much.
Hard assets like land will hedge inflation.
Short the US. The economy is not getting stronger.
That’s what Soros is doing with his hedge fund.
I've been reading up on inflation lately, and strategies to deal with it, and so far what I gather is that not only should you buy hard assets, you should do it with borrowed money. The idea is that you borrow strong dollars, buy assets, and pay back the loan with weak dollars, thus increasing your real gain beyond the nominal gain you would get from simply buying assets with your own strong dollars. If you borrow strong dollars, buy the assets, and then pay it back with weak dollars, you have effectively lowered the real price of the assets because in real terms of purchasing power, what you ultimately pay for those assets is much less than if you buy them with your own strong dollars.
That's as far as I've gotten so far. Not sure if I'm going to actually do it, as there is some debate about inflation vs deflation. There's also the question of what hard assets to buy. If real estate prices fall further, then that might not be a good place to buy. Still studying.
"Consumer Spending Increases for Second Straight Month"The government says consumers increased spending for a second straight month in February even though their incomes slipped due to continuing massive layoffs.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent in February, in line with expectations. That follows a huge 1 percent jump in January that was even better than the 0.6 percent rise originally reported.
You say that like it’s a bad thing? My only consolation in all this is that it can’t possibly succeed, and thus will give us opportunities to get back in there later on down the road.
That’s absolutely true. That’s how, long after the inflation of the 70s, when all mortgages were at least a thousand dollars, you found these old folks who had gotten their mortgages back in the 60s who were paying 300-400 for nice houses.
Soros is a slimeball and Obummer supporter who is trying his best to destroy the American dollar and make it worthless.
You got it.
Real consumer spending lets see I wonder if tax returns about this time of year had anything to do with it?
That was one impetus behind the decision my husband and I made to replace the HVAC/AC in our house. The current system is 25 years old and not efficient; our summer electric bills are quite high. If we get high inflation I expect the replacement cost for the system to be much higher in a few years. In addition, the EnergyStar tax credit is another nice incentive.
I am of the same mindset.
I hope you enjoy the new system
It’s the only big-ticket expense this year, and probably next year. We’re not going on vacation, buying any other appliances, buying any new(er) cars, etc. Heck, we wouldn’t even be updating this system except it’s costing more and more to maintain each year due to its age, and the new one will save us money on electric bills over the long term.
I’ve still got 8 or 9 years to go on my mortgage, so theoretically, my mortgage payment is a decent inflation hedge. If I end up paying it off with weak dollars, that’s a good thing.
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