U.S. consumer confidence retreats in Sept-report

Fyi...

I was wondering why the market took a dive at 10:00am - didn't know any reports were due out..

Hard to be confident when jobs are being shipped overseas at the rate of a few million a year. More so when what is essentially a threat to our national security, via our economy, is ignored by the country club republicans.

President Bush is getting some very bad advice here to keep ignoring the job losses, month after month (and referencing the losses in a speech is not addressing the root cause). What looked like a lock in 04 is going to be up in the air if good jobs are not created soon.

IIRC there are anyhow 4 major consumer confidence reports:

- TechnoMetrica/IBD
- Univ of Michigan mid month
- Conference Board
- Univ of Michigan end month

Plus the assortment of newspaper and network surveys whiuch don't move the markets.

Pimg on or off let me know

To fix the structural problems.

In no particular order of importance.

1. Get rid of government subsidies for offshore investment of US companies. OPIC is the first such program which should go but support of World Bank programs that subsidize the outflow of Capital would be another.

2. Use tariffs on those nations which are engaged in unfair trade practices such as currency manipulation (China and India for example), those nations which refuse to open their markets to US products (China for example with its 50% tariffs on US consumer goods and non tariff barriers), those nations that subsidize competition to American Industry (airbus for example) and those nations which have slave conditions for their workers.

3. Use tariffs and other means to prevent the relocation of jobs offshore that are essential to the national defense. If necessary take control of the company seeking to export vital technology or industry by means of eminent domain (No I do not like this last option and I will only defend its use as an absolute last resort like say in the case of rare earth magnets essential to smart bomb technology).

4. An immediate end to guest worker programs. If people wish to come to the USA to work and make a life let them immigrate according to the rules.

5 Provide economic development zones where the corporate income tax is zero for operations within these zones. In order to operate in this zone a company must agree to only purchase American components if available and employ only American citizens or legal immigrants in these operations. These economic development zones shall be eventually be expanded to include every bit of every state once the benefits are shown I would like them to be totally implemented immediately but I realize4 that may be overreaching.

6. Scale back unnecessary regulation including the tort system. Institute a cap on punitive damages, limits on class action suits, and limits on liability to the actual percentage of liability with no plaintiff able to collect if said plaintiff was involved in the commission of a felony at the time of the alleged tort or was more than 49% negligent in the alleged tort. Note that the loser in a frivolous lawsuit shall pay the attorney fees of the winner. There are many other regulatory structures that also need to be included that need to be included such as repealing the Family leave mandate, getting rid of OSHA etc.

7. Increase the domestic content in purchases by the Department of defense and give absolute preference in non-domestic content to proven allies of the USA over say the French or Germans. The only reason any content for DOD purchase may come from non US allies is that content is not available elsewhere and is essential.

8. Do not allow expense involved in moving operations overseas to be included in business expenses under the IRS code.

9. Prosecute for perjury anyone who has made a false statement in order to employ an H1B or L1 visa worker. I will be lenient on the actual perjurer if he/she was ordered to make this false statement and he/she provides testimony to aid in the conviction of the person ordering the perjury. Just because a person is a CEO does not give them a pass on criminal behavior.

10. Prosecute anyone who orders the transfer of vital defense technology or funds a R&D project that could be of use to our military overseas except to strong allies of the USA. Make the necessary enhancements to our espionage laws so that continued support or funding of any R&D in a nation whose government has threatened the USA is guilty of espionage. The UK and Australia come to mind as meeting these criteria for being eligible for transfer of technology first. There will be other nations and a gradation of what can be transferred to which specific nation. Under no circumstances may technology be transferred to any nation whose government has threatened the USA within five years without a complete change of government or specific exemption from Congress and the administration.

11. Deport all illegal aliens immediately and take measures that prevent the entry of any more illegal aliens. Fine all companies knowingly employing illegal aliens Criminal sanctions should be imposed on anyone helping an illegal alien stay in the USA in violation of our laws.

12. Decrease the punishing levels of taxation on companies and eliminate the double taxation on corporate dividends. See effects of item 5 for how minimal this will be if item 5 covers the entire USA. Eliminate all IRS provisions that inhibit free use of independent contractors by businesses for example section 1706.

13. Eliminate the minimum wage so that the worker can be paid based on productivity. Overtime compensation will remain the same but instead of 150% of the "wage" the worker would receive 150% of the production pay. If one through 13 are enacted # 14 becomes an irrelevancy as no one will be working for that low a wage.

After learning a bit more about how carelessly and inaccurately the BLS determines the unemployment stats, this report based on people's opinions may be a better indicator of the state of our economy.

Add to that hedonics and how they calculate GDP growth. Appears real growth is only 1.68%.

Kurt Richebacher, "America's recovery is not what it seems," Financial Times, 4 September 2003
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/globecon/gdp.htm

If real GDP growth is lower, then productivity growth is also lower. It may also explain why this is a jobless recovery. The rate of real recovery is lower than government data. At 1.68% companies will not be hiring, they may actually be looking to cut cost.

Yes, you are right, the GDP also. How that is determined was in a recent article; what a joke.
Another freeper (RussianConservative, I think) on another thread (something about a shell game in the title) mentioned that the over-confident GDP is probably for the benefit of our lenders. Certainly how one 'feels' about the economy partially self-determines its direction.
I wouldn't mind the coverup so much, if our government would take action and address the reality.

Hard to be confident when jobs are being shipped overseas at the rate of a few million a year. More so when what is essentially a threat to our national security, via our economy, is ignored by the country club republicans.

I suspect that for them the problems of American working class are as distant and exotic as plight of farmers in Upper Volta (the state in sub-Saharan Africa). And if willing to help, they will rather do it to the later as being in worse situation.