Economy UP

“"One only "good" quarter after historic growth is a bad economy?..."

Pardon me if my infdormation is not correct, but the Wall Street Journal report that the Spring growth was at 3%, the lowest since right after the attack.

Phead - Seems there are a bunch of yield signs on the street...”

“Would anyone deny that the budget and trade deficits are major impacts on the strength of the dollar?”

“Did you know what Bison meant by that laqtis? I'm still trying to decipher it.”

“Please correct me if I'm wrong because I'm trying to test a bit of reasoning:

The budget deficit, which can mostly be attributed to tax cuts, increased military spending (AKA needless Iraq invasion), and decreased investor confidence is a major factor in the weakening of the US dollar - the currency of oil, globally.

Gas prices have risen in the US, at least partialy due to the weakness of the dollar, causing a rise in the price of everything that has to be shipped.

We got 300 dollar tax rebates...

hmmm...”

“Just because the Group of Seven and the IMF are really worried about it doesn't mean you should be too Phaedrus.

You're just being a negative Bush hater.”

“Okay. Sorry about that.

Also, the tax cuts didn't end up costing the middle class more than it saved. I would never even think that - Because I love my country.”

“Vi - Ah, no I have no idea what might have been the meaning behind that.

Could I say that if that's "good", I hate to see bad?

I'm sure he'll brak it down for us. He must just be busy. Hey, we all gotta work to pay the taxes, eh?”

“Bison don't work. They graze on public land.”

“Link

...This year the deficit in the nation's current account will reach a record $600 billion, estimates Charles McMillion, president of MBG Information Services, a Washington economic consulting firm. That deficit measures the trade in goods, such as stereos and cars, as well as services, such as tourism and insurance - indeed most everything except the flow of capital, such as investments and foreign loans.

And this current-account deficit continues - to the tune of $1.1 million a minute. The cumulative deficit since 1990 in the US current account adds up to $3.1 trillion, Mr. McMillion calculates.

To finance the deficits, the US must borrow an equivalent amount, one way or another. These new debts are added to the nation's already massive foreign debts. It means more of the federal taxes Americans pay are being sent to central bankers in China, Japan, Taiwan, and to other foreign entities and individuals - now owning about 40 percent of Uncle Sam's debt...”

“God Damn!

They don't have to take us over militarily, they could just call in all their debts!


CRAP!”

“The IMF put out a report recently that estimated we’d owe about 40% of our GDP to foreign investors in a few short years (scroll down to 'Global Issues'). They called that number unheard of for an industrialized nation and issued a warning usually reserved for banana republics.

But don't listen to them, Mr. Bush is doing an exemplary job.”

“Guys, it's not nice to pick on people wearing blinders.”

“I can add to the list.

Unemployment went up in June in the Philadelphia job market. About a thousand new jobs were gained, but 4,000 jobs were lost. Not bad for a robust economy, huh? Firehouse closings, police cutbacks, more people competing to flip burgers. Great economic news!!!!!”

“Maybe Anne Coulter could explain it to them so they can answer.”

“They're out googling neocons slogans for a snappy comeback.”

“Cheney off!”

“Oh yeah, Well Cheney you, you mother-cheneying cheney-wad!”

“I think my return to this board has upset the balance of the Force.”

“A record deficit producing a lackluster economy with anemic job growth.

Would someone please explain supply-side economic theory to me again?"
VioLiN
01:30:12 PM
07/30/04


Jeez Violin! OK, I'll explain again.

Supply Side Economics is a theory put into practice by conservative republicans to drive up the defecit, produce higher unemployment and line the pockets of rich people. The middle class and lower class normally make economic gains in a supply side economy, a few years after the morons who put it into effect are voted out of office, and the practice ceases.

There, I'm not going to explain it again!”

“Perfesser BB, thank yu four the ekinomiks lesin.”

“Spelling don't count!”

“One good bit of economic news: Osama bin Hidin still has his job.”

“Osama bin Forgotten.”

“Here in our area we can't hire enough people. We have more production work than we can get done. We have been trying to increase our workforce by about 20% but the people we hire (whaaaa) don't like second shift, or just don't show up for work. It's not as if we don't pay well or have good beneifits, because we do and they are. Although we are in great need of people we are not going to employee people like that. The last thing we need to do is fill our shifts with people who are just there taking up space
We had one fella who was out 2 days in his first 2 weeks of work.



Fire them phucker!”

“hi pete.”

“From the Charleston, WV, Gazette:

Months of rumors finally came to a head Thursday as Dow Chemical Corp. announced that up to 165 Kanawha Valley workers have lost or will lose their jobs this year.”

“Last night the pundents on Faux News were talking up the 250,000 new jobs that the report was going to come out today with.....


Now they are saying that only about 32,000 jobs were added and there is no mention of this on Faux News at all...in fact the comments/story from last night is also missing.”

“oops.”

“(Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers added 32,000 workers to payrolls in July, just an eighth of the number forecast and adding to evidence that a slowdown in economic growth may extend into the third quarter.

Job gains also were revised lower for the preceding two months, to 78,000 for June and 208,000 in May, or 61,000 less than originally stated, the Labor Department said in Washington.



From U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The number of persons who were marginally attached to the labor force was
1.6 million in July, the same as a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally
adjusted.) These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked
for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed,
however, because they did not actively search for work in the 4 weeks preceding
the survey.

Real average weekly earnings decreased by 0.8 percent from May to June
after seasonal adjustment. Real Earnings for July 2004 will be released on Tuesday, August 17, 2004.”

“But that's okay, because bacpac is employed and doing fine, so the economy must be rosy, right?

I think he works for Halliburton. Or maybe bacpac is a troll for Dick Cheney.”

“This is very disappointing news indeed. WJR radio in Detroit (all news station), quoted a person from Economy.com. The quote was that economist see payroll as a better indicator of how the economy is growing/failing. He said this in response the unemployment drop a tad. He cited that one reason for this is that the job market is so tight, that people have quite looking for now. he report then went on to say that we are still 1 million jobs in the hole since Bush took office. 1 million jobs lost, means that we are not growing the market.

Is this what is meant by "turning the corner?"”

“Turning the corner? I've been more or less unemployed for going on 19 months. Seeing I don't qualify for unemployment, I'm not counted in the unemployment figures even though I'm actively looking and interviewing for jobs. There are lots of people like me out there.”

“He views payroll as an indicator because in Supply Side economics, when you grow an economy, you either hire more people or pay overtime. If you hire many people, and unemployment is low, this creates competition among companies, driving wages up. Unfortunately for 98% of people in this country, increasing wages are absent the past 3 years due to Supply Side Economics.

Folks, if capitalism is based on greed, why would you pay your employees more when you are bringing in huge profits? You won't, you pass that along to your investors.

Supply-Side (Trickle Down) Economics is the fools gold of the middle class, economically speaking.”

“Leading Indicators Drop in July

By Adam Geller The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - A closely watched measure of future economic activity fell in July for the second consecutive month, reinforcing evidence that the nation's financial recovery is slackening.
The Conference Board said Thursday its Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators dropped by 0.3 percent in July to 116.0, following a revised decline of 0.1 percent in June. Last month was the first time in more than a year that the index had lost ground.

"The latest decline in the Leading Index reflects a loss of forward momentum," said Ken Goldstein, economist for the Conference Board. "There are growing concerns about the high cost of gasoline and milk, as well as worries about where economic growth will come from now that tax refunds have been spent and short-term interest rates are rising."

The index is closely followed because it is designed to forecast the economy's health over the coming three to six months.
[...]
The New York-based Conference Board said six of the 10 indicators that make up the index declined in July. They included vendor performance, the interest rate spread, stock prices, average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance, real money supply and manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods.

The components that rose were building permits, the index of consumer expectations, average weekly manufacturing hours and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials.
[...]

Tampa Bay Online”

“Ranks of Poor, Uninsured Rose in 2003

The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of the uninsured swelled by 1.4 million, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

It was the third straight annual increase for both categories. While not unexpected, it was a double dose of bad economic news during a tight re-election campaign for President Bush.

Approximately 35.8 million people lived below the poverty line in 2003, or about 12.5 percent of the population, according to the bureau. That was up from 34.5 million, or 12.1 percent in 2002.

The rise was more dramatic for children. There were 12.9 million living in poverty last year, or 17.6 percent of the under-18 population. That was an increase of about 800,000 from 2002, when 16.7 percent of all children were in poverty.

The Census Bureau's definition of poverty varies by the size of the household. For instance, the threshold for a family of four was $18,810, while for two people it was $12,015.

Nearly 45 million people lacked health insurance, or 15.6 percent of the population. That was up from 43.5 million in 2002, or 15.2 percent, but was a smaller increase than in the two previous years.

Meanwhile, the median household income, when adjusted for inflation, remained basically flat last year at $43,318.”

“Yeah, but the heritage foundation says that being poor ain't so bad.”

“Seriously.

Being poor in America is like being rich.... in subsaharan Africa...”

“America, ... what a great place. The bottom line is a park bench or a steam grate for everyone.”

“Getting a steam grate isn't all it's cracked up to be. Lay down and before you know it, all the other po' suckas on da block is laying right next to ya!”

“Interesting conclusion.
Get a job and a spouse and you won't be poor anymore.”

“Yeah, HPM. The simple views of marriage and work seem to pervade the studies over at Heritage...

Odd, that.”

“Don't know about the economy as a whole, but I'm as busy as I've ever been. I'm typically working 12 hours day and am behind on most of my projects.”

“Perhaps if you got another spouse and another job things would get even better.”

“Heeeyyyy.... You could be on to something!”

“Well, I have a spouse, a job and I am busy as hell and can't seem to save a dime.”

“Get another wife. And make sure she has a job.

Sorry maple, it's economics.”

“Better be a good job...”

“Well, if it isn't, you can just add another.”

“Jeez tree, if you didn't squander all your money on kayaks, ...”

“No no no.
Not a replacement spouse and job a supplimental spouse and job.”