Posted on 09/15/2007 2:24:18 PM PDT by AuntB
The new numbers on consumer confidence are out. They show American consumers very confident that the economy is going down the tubes.
Over in Asia and Europe, stocks plunged on fears that Americans may no longer be able to find the second jobs and recklessly borrow the money needed to buy imported stuff. Economists now freely use the "recession" word following the report that American payrolls fell in August, the first monthly decline in four years.
American consumers, in other words, are all dried up. And the discussion has begun on what kind of baloney economy kept them lubricated for so long.......
Of course, some professions thrive in tough economic times. Business should be brisk for bankruptcy lawyers. And we will need auctioneers to help unload foreclosed properties........
Today's "partying," he said, would lead to tomorrow's "hangover."
So here we are: The partygoers have downed a bottle and still they can avoid a hangover.
A recent article on the Motley Fool's British Web site offered "Five Ways to Prepare for a Recession." The prescriptions: Don't make big luxury purchases you can't pay for with cash. Build an emergency fund. Live more frugally. Reduce your debt. Find more work.
All sound advice, but consumers had better act fast like five years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
If I lose my job I am going to apply to be an Admin Mod.
So is the problem that folks aren’t consuming enough? Or not saving enough? The article complains about lack of consumption. You warn about not enough savings. It has to be one or the other. Can’t be both. Like complaining about global warming and global cooling at the same time.
Wait, folks already to that.
Don't matter...Nobody, or very few are borrowing anything anymore. Most are tapped out, with stagnate incomes.
Refinance/mortgage and loan people are the new Maytag repair men. They are sitting at clean desks with silent phones, if they still have jobs.
Wow, they had to be hit over the head with a 2x4 before they learned.
Yeah, stagnant wages, and wages driven down by millions of low wage illegal aliens can cause quite an impact. Yes there are others that borrowed/spent to much, like our government does, but for the most part, everyone is or will be cutting back on spending/borrowing.
In the coming months, this will be more than evident...
Bad move, the SpellCheckers get overtime and there's more work available.........
Good Lord, have forgot about the human factor? NO MATTER what happens here in America WE WILL MAKE IT.
Savings? LOL most of the real people out in the country would love to have savings but are damn glad they can get up leave the cave and kill something and drag it back to the cave, and all this is because of the terrible leaders we have. Taxes to death 60% of what we make is stolen from us each year and it keeps getting higher every year. But we STILL make it. WE may not have any savings but we make it.
The American people are great in SPITE of our government, its the people who make our country great not those dump ass overlords in Washington.
And you ain't helping any by buying into this BS.
BigMack
Seems like this was a popular theme near the end of the 80’s, just in time for the election in 1988. It was also a popular theme in 1992. Funny how it never really came up while x42 was President, even when it became clear that there would be a dot.com bust
I know this is a true statement but I hope to heck this doesn't happen. Actually, it already is happening. It appears that a lot of freepers have forgotten that the feds. inserted 200 billion into the economy since Aug.9.
What is your opinion of a recession?
Recession is baked into the cake. The Fed can lower all they want, but people are not going to borrow to continue speculation in the housing bubble. Because of that, 100’s of thousands of real estate and banking people are going to lose their jobs. Also people are not (and cannot) refinance for extra cash to spend on stuff.
This will be the subject Monday. Interesting? Yes.
As long as one remembers to keep a portion back it is correctly stated.
Markets are made to mint money, as it were. But we are in danger of entering the ‘greater fool’ territory. Thats where the real estate market went. I can see where the people who say “they aren’t making land anymore” come from, but they don’t quite understand that there is alot of land out there not being used.
Yeppers....it shall be.
I’ve heard rumors that we’ll be having more than just a recession by end of next year, latest.
I lived there for a while. The political thinking there runs the gamut, all the way from Lenin to Trotsky.
I have to agree on the recession. I am glad I am not a big spender. My brother invented the word “tightwad”. He and I are kind of close.
I hope you are wrong. Rumors are flying everywhere.
I do, as well, but I’ve been hearing the same thing for the past year...that mid to end of 2008....there’s much more than a recession that will be coming down on everyone in this country.
My best guess is inflation. Bernanke is not going to let deflation take hold, but he can't force people to borrow. So his only choice is pure inflation, people will realize this and spend and speculate. The markets will do ok since they join in the speculation. But that will just mean we will get a big inflation blowoff before our recession instead of just a recession.
We shall see. In the meantime, I’ve been advising, everyone I know for the past 9 months, get out of debt, don’t make any large purchases, put away money....get emergency supplies in order.
I am into real estate debt right now. Only 25% of my gross pay, but still means I have no job flexibility. I have cut back in most everything else though.
I have 6 months supply of money for mortgage payments and other expenses. I will be more comfortable when it is a year's supply.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.