So pitch your theory!

[enjoy the ride]

One of the things I hope will come about because of this is to have places where you can actually get something fixed. In the last few years, trying to find some one to repair an appliance or to upholster furniture has been a proablem. It has been so much cheaper to replace than fix something.

 

[Mackay]

guess I went way off topic here so i moved the post to the thread everything frugality.....sorry.

 

[FarmerChick]

One of the things I hope will come about because of this is to have places where you can actually get something fixed. In the last few years, trying to find some one to repair an appliance or to upholster furniture has been a proablem. It has been so much cheaper to replace than fix something.

So true!

Old timey repair shops....where are they? Guess no one wants anything old repaired...I do...I do...HA HA

 

[Big Daddy]

This speaks volumes. Commercial real estate is teetering on the edge of a knife. As consumer spending dwindles, more and more shops are closing their doors. When shops close, the owners of the CRE properties can't pay their mortgage. I don't know about other parts of the country, but around here, ads and billboards for office and retail space available are everywhere. With unemployment still on the rise, I don't see how this situation is going to get better any time soon. If the CRE market collapses the way the housing market did/is, I don't see how a full blown depression can be avoided. JMHO

Our whole economy is based on spending. That's why Washington is trying to get the spending going again. Just imagine what would happen if people only bought what they absolutely needed to live on. Only a small portion of our economy is based on supplying essentials, food, water, clothing, electricity, etc. So all the other businesses go out of business. Then the only people that have jobs are those that work in essential businesses. Next thing you know there are masses of people needing food and shelter with no way to pay for it. The same problems are happening in Europe and Asia.

I just found this tidbit on CNN this morning.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/10/news/economy/retail_malls/index.htm?postversion=2009041014

The proof is in the pudding. I was listening to NPR yesterday. They had the CEO from Mersk Shipping on. He says there are over 5000 container ships at anchor with no loads. There are 100's of thousands of empty cargo containers sitting on docks at all the major ports around the world. Nobody is spending and the economies around the world are collapsing. How fun is that?

 

[Big Daddy]

Well, when you look around and see shops closed everywhere as well as major retailers closing up it indicates something unusual. It doesn't look good at all. Wish I had a paid mortgage.

 

[Wifezilla]

You aren't the only one

 

[gettinaclue]

Amen

 

[On Our own]

So even the bank CEOs are saying this is essentially a suckers rally.

But, the collapse of the dollar looks remote.... So what is it? I am leaning toward another deep depression, but that life goes on. Hardship for many, but no societal collapse of any sort.

 

[Hiedi]

As many of you know Jim Cramer declared the "depression over". Ooops, sorry that laugh came out didn't it?

But, there are many economists that agree with him that recovery is within six months.

Others however, are still proposing that we ain't seen nothing yet and a full out collapse is still immanent.

So, who do you think is right? And propose your favorite theorist or link!

Unfortunately, I do not have any formal education in economics; but maybe that is a good thing. Due to my lack of knowledge, I have to view this current economic crisis through the eyes of common sense instead. Since this recent crisis began, I have been trying to learn a little economics (on the fly). I never realized that economics could be so darn political, and there were so many schools of thought in this field. It seems as if the so-called economists can not agree on much of anything; that tells me they do not truly know what is going to happen in the future. For every expert that says our economy is slowly starting to recover, there are just as many experts saying things are getting worse. I try to get balanced information by reading many different sources. My personal opinion, I have always thought that our debt-driven (consumer based) economy was unsustainable, and that it would eventually fall apart. The foundation has been cracked for quite a long time, and now appears to be crumbling before our very eyes. Our government is trying its best to save a flawed system so they are exhausting their spending efforts (by either creating new money or borrowing it from foreign lenders), considering they are broke. My biggest concern at the moment is hyperinflation as a result of printing all the new money, or our federal government will eventually default on its massive amount of debt.

 

[Big Daddy]

As many of you know Jim Cramer declared the "depression over". Ooops, sorry that laugh came out didn't it?

But, there are many economists that agree with him that recovery is within six months.

Others however, are still proposing that we ain't seen nothing yet and a full out collapse is still immanent.

So, who do you think is right? And propose your favorite theorist or link!

Unfortunately, I do not have any formal education in economics; but maybe that is a good thing. Due to my lack of knowledge, I have to view this current economic crisis through the eyes of common sense instead. Since this recent crisis began, I have been trying to learn a little economics (on the fly). I never realized that economics could be so darn political, and there were so many schools of thought in this field. It seems as if the so-called economists can not agree on much of anything; that tells me they do not truly know what is going to happen in the future. For every expert that says our economy is slowly starting to recover, there are just as many experts saying things are getting worse. I try to get balanced information by reading many different sources. My personal opinion, I have always thought that our debt-driven (consumer based) economy was unsustainable, and that it would eventually fall apart. The foundation has been cracked for quite a long time, and now appears to be crumbling before our very eyes. Our government is trying its best to save a flawed system so they are exhausting their spending efforts (by either creating new money or borrowing it from foreign lenders), considering they are broke. My biggest concern at the moment is hyperinflation as a result of printing all the new money, or our federal government will eventually default on its massive amount of debt.

It's my understanding they don't actually print any extra money. It's all just on paper. I don't think they will default. As a matter of fact I think they will balance the budget by 2012. I think the top 2% will be doing a lot more than their share. However in the long run it will work out better for them.

Every rally in the stock market is a fools rally. Prices go up or down based on gut feelings. The high was artificial just like the entire economy. You have to hit a ceiling sometime. I think the only way to save the economy is to get manufacturing jobs back in the US. Tariffs on imported goods need to be raised. American companies that have other countries make their products and sell them here need to be treated as foreign companies and pay the same tariffs. NAFTA is the worst thing the government has ever done to this country.