How do you fix a failing US economy?

[Awryly]

When the politics of fixing is superglued.

As we all know, the American economy has cut 30-40% off average household wealth.

Maybe that was a good thing. The party is over. And the hangovers will persist.

Americans have been living far beyond their means on cheap credit the Fed has enthusiastically provided. Mortgages, credit cards, student loan have seduced the willingly seduced. So much for the lauded American "sense of responsibility".

Americans will have to learn to live in straitened times that show no signs of ending. Politicians, corporates, the financial industry have all co-operated to create a Catch .223.

The rich will survive and still make money off the depressed peasants. They always do.

[Peter1469]

When the politics of fixing is superglued.

As we all know, the American economy has cut 30-40% off average household wealth.

Maybe that was a good thing. The party is over. And the hangovers will persist.

Americans have been living far beyond their means on cheap credit the Fed has enthusiastically provided. Mortgages, credit cards, student loan have seduced the willingly seduced. So much for the lauded American "sense of responsibility".

Americans will have to learn to live in straitened times that show no signs of ending. Politicians, corporates, the financial industry have all co-operated to create a Catch .223.

The rich will survive and still make money off the depressed peasants. They always do.

I agree with a lot above. Don't forget massive government debt spending (at all levels of government). If massive debt spending is sustainable, end all taxes and have government print whatever money it wishes for operation. (Of course that would cause stagflation).

[Mainecoons]

Yep. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while. Good post Awryly

[Chris]

Yes, true, the economy is failing and Americans will have to adjust and it will be hard. We will survive.

But I think the last line is class warfare prophesy right out of Marx.

[Awryly]

OK. We seem to be in agreement on the basics.

How do you think a depressed populace will react to working for a lot less, affording less, and seeing what wealth they have left evaporate like a 401K in a corporate scam?

[Chris]

Not really. I doubt we agree on causes, and causes will determine how to react.

I'd also like to see reference and more detail for "the American economy has cut 30-40% off average household wealth".

[zelmo1234]

I don't know how are they dealing with it in your country

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6092339/New-Zealands-wealth-gap-widens

[Peter1469]

OK. We seem to be in agreement on the basics.

How do you think a depressed populace will react to working for a lot less, affording less, and seeing what wealth they have left evaporate like a 401K in a corporate scam?

Corporate scams may affect some retirement plans (particularly people not diversified), but the largest harm to retirement plans is government over spending (economic crash) and the over printing of money (inflation- which kills savings).

[Chris]

Could probably fix the US economy the same way you could the NZ economy.

From The Foundation for Economic Growth (http://www.economicgrowth.org.nz/artman/publish/index.shtml): "The Foundation for Economic Growth is a group of like-minded individuals who have decided to act rather than accept New Zealand's continuing poor economic performance. "

http://i.snag.gy/Md28J.jpg

[Awryly]

I don't know how are they dealing with it in your country

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6092339/New-Zealands-wealth-gap-widens


Nor, it seems, do you not know how they are dealing with it in your country.

Which, of course, was the topic described clearly by the OP.

If you want to dance differently, create your own steps.

[Awryly]

Corporate scams may affect some retirement plans (particularly people not diversified), but the largest harm to retirement plans is government over spending (economic crash) and the over printing of money (inflation- which kills savings).

You have no inflation.

When do you expect it to arrive?

[Awryly]

OK. Words of one syllable.

How do you think Americans will like being poor?

[Chris]

It seems to me the OP was out of character. It invited discussion when the OPer had no intention of engaging in discussion.

[countryboy]

Yep. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while. Good post Awryly

I especially liked the part where he/she/it considered whether the average household wealth in the USA dropping by 30 to 40 percent might be a good thing. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-rolleyes010.gif

[Awryly]

I especially liked the part where he/she/it considered whether the average household wealth in the USA dropping by 30 to 40 percent might be a good thing. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-rolleyes010.gif


Reality checks are usually good things.

[countryboy]

You have no inflation.

When do you expect it to arrive?

You must be very blissful.

[countryboy]

Reality checks are usually good things.

They can be, but the rantings of raving lunatics never are. :wink:

[Awryly]

They can be, but the rantings of raving lunatics never are. :wink:

You've obviously not read King Lear.

My guess would be you listen to a lot of Alex Jones. Who, as we all know, is a paragon of moderation in all things.

[Chris]

You have no inflation.

Yes, we have no bananas, how's that song, and dance, go?

http://i.snag.gy/61lJR.jpg

One form of inflation is by increasing the money supply, printing more money, QE1/2/3...

http://i.snag.gy/6LNYA.jpg

And the effect of increasing the money supply?

http://i.snag.gy/osJDE.jpg

We have no bananas because we can't afford them any more, lol.

[countryboy]

You've obviously not read King Lear.

My guess would be you listen to a lot of Alex Jones. Who, as we all know, is a paragon of moderation in all things.

Wow, you're even more blissful than I thought.

[Awryly]

Wow, you're even more blissful than I thought.

The time has come the walrus said:

....to define "blissful?

[GrumpyDog]

OK. We seem to be in agreement on the basics.

How do you think a depressed populace will react to working for a lot less, affording less, and seeing what wealth they have left evaporate like a 401K in a corporate scam?

By taking an assault rifle and mass murdering Congress, after the One blunders into making an executive order trying to nullify the 2nd amendment banning assault rifles.

113th Congress, in the 13th year of the new millenium, heading to a debt ceiling crisis by February 13.

How did the Mayans miss that?

[Awryly]

By taking an assault rifle and mass murdering Congress, after the One blunders into making an executive order trying to nullify the 2nd amendment banning assault rifles.

113th Congress, in the 13th year of the new millenium, heading to a debt ceiling crisis by February 13.

How did the Mayans miss that?


Apparently they ran out of calendar.

[Taxcutter]

How do you fix an ailing US economy.

EAsy first step: Immediately rescind about 80% of the regulations fettering the economy, and impose a ten-year moratorium on new regulations.

[nic34]

Please, oh please tell us recind which regs taxcutter?

[Cigar]

How do you fix an ailing US economy.

EAsy first step: Immediately rescind about 80% of the regulations fettering the economy, and impose a ten-year moratorium on new regulations.



You should get right on it ... after you win an Presidential Election :rofl:

[zelmo1234]

Obmacare and it excise tax on the top 2%

nearly all of the EPA regulations demoanding that companies have percentage of there energy come from renewable resources.

CAFE and Energy guide standards for Cars and the appliance industry.

light bulb bans! Prevailing wage requirements. silly regional fuel standards That's a start!

[Peter1469]

You have no inflation.

When do you expect it to arrive?

But we do have some inflation. See we redefined the CPI to remove certain categories of consumer goods such as food and fuel, thereby making inflation look flat. But we also keep interest rates artificially low. Just imagine if interest rates go up. Servicing of the debt will exponentially increase. That = a breaking point that will crash the system.

[Peter1469]

But we do have some inflation. See we redefined the CPI to remove certain categories of consumer goods such as food and fuel, thereby making inflation look flat. But we also keep interest rates artificially low. Just imagine if interest rates go up. Servicing of the debt will exponentially increase. That = a breaking point that will crash the system.

That is how Lihmans Bros failed.

[GrumpyDog]

Do not raise the Debt ceiling, forcing the Dingleberry Dems and Barrack Houdini Obama,( the President who made an elephant disappear),to finally submit a balanced budget, and some kind of surplus to start paying down the 16.4 Trillion National Debt.

In the interum, the selling of valuable American mainland realestate to Chinese, Japanese, German, and Russian megawealthy, will temporarily prevent an immediate collapse of the currency.

[Awryly]

But we do have some inflation. See we redefined the CPI to remove certain categories of consumer goods such as food and fuel, thereby making inflation look flat. But we also keep interest rates artificially low. Just imagine if interest rates go up. Servicing of the debt will exponentially increase. That = a breaking point that will crash the system.

Bizarre.


Two measures of inflation are often reported: core CPI (http://useconomy.about.com/od/glossary/g/core_inflation.htm), which does not include food and energy cost, and non-core CPI, which includes everything. Core CPI is important because this is what the Federal Reserve (http://useconomy.about.com/od/governmentagencies/p/fed.htm) looks at to decide whether or not to raise the Fed funds rate. (http://useconomy.about.com/od/monetarypolicy/a/fed_funds_rate.htm) The Fed uses the core CPI because food, oil and gas prices (http://useconomy.about.com/od/supply/p/oil_gas_prices.htm) are so volatile and the Fed's tools are so slow-acting. Therefore, inflation could be high if gas prices have risen (http://useconomy.about.com/od/commoditiesmarketfaq/p/high_gas_prices.htm), but the Fed won't react until those increases trickle through to the prices of other goods and services.

Food is not a primary consumer item? Gas I can understand.

So, what's the non-core rate?

[Awryly]

But we do have some inflation. See we redefined the CPI to remove certain categories of consumer goods such as food and fuel, thereby making inflation look flat. But we also keep interest rates artificially low. Just imagine if interest rates go up. Servicing of the debt will exponentially increase. That = a breaking point that will crash the system.

Bizarre.

[Peter1469]

Bizarre.

CPI was redefined to mask inflation. If you recall, the US had a couple of years of flat, or even negative inflation, as food and gas rose a good bit, while most other things stayed flat. That was deflation in those items.

[Uncle Slam]

I say we take all of the surviving "Greatest Generation" and let them figure it out. After all, they did such a GREAT job in the past!:huh:

[Awryly]

Looks as though Obama has had enough of Republican dead-headedness.


Obama has suddenly taken a much harder line. In debates over the so-called "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts at the end of last year, Obama's team secured a deal widely seen as a victory. That tougher stance has also been matched by Obama staking out a firm line on forthcoming talks with the Republicans in Congress over raising the debt ceiling. It marks an apparent shift in Obama's view of the presidency, from one where he has to act as a conciliator to one where he can lead from the front.


"He has made noises that he is going to give up his old theory of the presidency and he is going to now use it as a 'bully pulpit'," said Professor James Josefson, a political scientist at Bridgewater College in Virginia.



First he will make them publicly look like the roadblocks to a decent society that they are. Then, when they have pitifully lost the 2014 election, he will be into them boots, socks and all.

Expect fireworks. Light wick and stand clear.

[JackRuby]

I recently heard that when gas drops to around the three dollar mark it means the economy is doing poorly, and when it pushes 4 dollars the economy is doing good. Seems kind of backasswards doesn't it?

Jack

[Peter1469]

I recently heard that when gas drops to around the three dollar mark it means the economy is doing poorly, and when it pushes 4 dollars the economy is doing good. Seems kind of backasswards doesn't it?

Jack

It does. I wouldn't trust that source.