The United States Economical decline

[zeffie]

Alright, I wanted to start up a debate on this subject.. as I realize aspects of the economy may be part of other debates concerning oil problems, The President and the War currently.. we do not have a thread that simply speaks about the current issue with the economical decline in the United States.. such as the drop in the DOW recently..

http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/dow/

"The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 1.2%, falling to its lowest point since Oct. 11, 2006."

Many issues can be attributed to why the economy is going into a recession if it's not already.. concerning various aspects of business and consumer spending. Oil at $100 a barrel? That's a problem.. and how about other issues like the war which does impact our economy as well? When consumers are forced to spend even an extra 7 cents on a gallon of gasoline, it adds up and cuts into the budget for each individual. Thus, consumer spending declines on other aspects, such as shopping at the mall, online or for other various products and services.

In my area, I remember when gas was around 2.50 a gallon, then 2.90, then 2.95, 3.00 then 3.07.. then back down to 2.95 then back up to 3.07.. it's insane.. however it leaves an impact on my spending and budget that I have to keep careful watch on.

As I am sure everyone else does as well. The value of products and services is going down, however it seems that oil is going up and up.. this is not an easy fix, as we are so heavily dependant on oil to supply our needs.. I certainly hope this does not last much longer.. or things could simply become much worse.. job hunting is more difficult now a days as well, and other issues have arisen..

What is everyones angle on the economy if they follow the DOW or simply the news?

[Kaito]

Good subject.

I think the increase of price has affected everyone. Not only is it oil and gas, but it's normal produce and food. For instance. Boats run on gas that transport food, the increase of gas increases the price of it being shipped over there increasing the price the super-markets have to pay.

63,000 people were fired last week. 420,000 people gave up looking for work. Are those numbers not deafening? I mean, that's insane. Really the only way to get a job now is joining the army.

[zeffie]

Good subject.

I think the increase of price has affected everyone. Not only is it oil and gas, but it's normal produce and food. For instance. Boats run on gas that transport food, the increase of gas increases the price of it being shipped over there increasing the price the super-markets have to pay.

63,000 people were fired last week. 420,000 people gave up looking for work. Are those numbers not deafening? I mean, that's insane. Really the only way to get a job now is joining the army.

I agree, all of that effects business in a large way.. I certainly see it firsthand, I work in a consumer oriented environment.. I work inside Costco Wholesale for a 3rd party company named Wireless Advocates.. selling cell phones.. anyways, my point is that I observe a lot working there, and you tend to notice what people put in the shopping carts a lot of times.. is it a big screen tv? Sure, at times.. it's not like everyone has no money.. however the notice is when you see people coming in and out all the time getting just essential products most of the time, like food and toilet paper.. and other normal essentials... rather than the usual amount of spending on electronics or other wanted items.. even cell phones.. I certainly see a huge difference in the market over the course of 3 months.. from December until now.. and it's been on a decline.

Now, the normal reality is that during this time consumer spending does tend to decline after the busy Christmas season and all the spending done then.. and now it's tax season, people save a little more money, and wait for the tax return, or they owe back on taxes.. however it certainly seems to be a larger impact on the decline of spending and consumer confidence in spending.. as we see evident by the drop in the DOW and other issues, like job loss and so on.

When it comes to times like this, people will always look for value in what they purchase, spending less and gaining more whenever possible.. which certainly makes sense. Do people go out and buy a flat screen tv everyday? No, however when issues like the economy arise.. people will spend less, hesitate and worry more.. so spending is constricted, just due to fear of job loss, raising oil prices and other price inflation.

[takingbackheaven]

That is true. The economical decline effects everyone. Airfare has gone up, because gas went up. The big question is why they focus so much on Iraq, when we're having so much turmoil at home. The canadian exchange rate versus our exchange rate is about the same.

The gas issue? They focus on Iraq and neighboring countries, but more of our imports come from venezuela. What's wrong with the picture here?

[asylum51]

It's a vicious cycle. The higher prices get, the less we spend. The less we spend, the higher prices get. Until the point where everyone's shit broke. The demand is not high enough (except in the case of oil, which drives the other prices up) for luxurious conveniences, and so we spend on necessities which means that those companies have to raise their prices to survive, because their costs are up. Some of it will come down though, but it has to get worse before it does...

And btw I read an article recently debating how the war HELPED the economy, can't find the link but you all should check that out...

[zeffie]

It's a vicious cycle. The higher prices get, the less we spend. The less we spend, the higher prices get. Until the point where everyone's shit broke. The demand is not high enough (except in the case of oil, which drives the other prices up) for luxurious conveniences, and so we spend on necessities which means that those companies have to raise their prices to survive, because their costs are up. Some of it will come down though, but it has to get worse before it does...

And btw I read an article recently debating how the war HELPED the economy, can't find the link but you all should check that out...

It's insane.. I was checking out in line at costco yesterday and bags of rice were like 10.99 a bag or something to that effect, and they are like oh yeah tomorrow it will go up to 11.99 it sounded bad.. prices are just going up and up, even from day to day.. I work inside costco at a kiosk that sell cell phones, and our market has just crashed and burned, Im considering other work at the moment, because I see no demand for phones, and I'm not making enough money.. it's aggrivating.