I think the economy is worse than they say. I have tried to find employment for over a year and have failed. I own a small house that I do whatever I can to try and pay for every month. I own two cars that are over 7 years old with over 150,000 miles on them that barely run and I have to put gas in them with a credit card. So I guess what I am trying to say is that if the economy is not that bad then why am I struggling to survive?????

 

It may be the area of the country you are living in or the field your are looking for.

 

From my understanding there are some good jobs in certain fields in the NKY area.

 

I pray that the Lord provides some help with your search soon.

Off topic, but I'll take a "wild" guess you voted for McCain. Thus my comment referencing him.

 

This economy is not just going to suddenly fix itself. It's a nice thought, but it ain't gonna happen. If you don't think some kind of stimulus package is not the right answer, suggest to me a viable alternative.

I thought that I already had, but maybe I am thinking of another thread. Slashing taxes and encouraging real investment - the kind that only happens in the private sector - is a very reasonable and logical alternative to having the government borrow money and expand its control over the economy. The Soviets showed how ineffective a strong central government running an economy can be - and they had decades of experience at writing and executing five-year plans.

At the same time, as I look at the people and how they live in Africa where two gallons of water A DAY is all they get. (that is about the equilivant of one flush of the toilet in our homes.) and they live in homes with no running water, no heating or air conditioning, they eat in a day what we eat in a meal, they get ONE PAIR OF SHOES PER YEAR MAYBE.

 

It is not bad.

 

It is bad in our frame of reference.

 

But looking at the world in whole, it is not bad.

 

That does not make the pain any less.

I thought that I already had, but maybe I am thinking of another thread. Slashing taxes and encouraging real investment - the kind that only happens in the private sector - is a very reasonable and logical alternative to having the government borrow money and expand its control over the economy. The Soviets showed how ineffective a strong central government running an economy can be - and they had decades of experience at writing and executing five-year plans.

 

And you'll do this how?

I thank you for your positive comments. I am still surviving which is better than some so I am not complaining, I just want better. I don't want to stress every month on how to pay this and that.

And you'll do this how?

Slash taxes. This country has the second highest corporate tax rate among developed countries and yet the American people have allowed their government to demonize corporations for outsourcing jobs and moving operations offshore. Our government is driving jobs away and continuing to borrow money from China and raising taxes on our job providers is not going to solve the problem.

Both. How's that for an answer?

 

I am not blaming the recession on the media. However, I do not think that the media is helping to end it by claiming gloom and doom at all times- it hurts consumer & investor confidence.

 

Obviously, it has to be a balancing act.

 

 

That was more or less what I was trying to say. You did it in a more concise manner.

That was more or less what I was trying to say. You did it in a more concise manner.

 

But, alas, an unheard voice in the wilderness.

Both. How's that for an answer?

 

I am not blaming the recession on the media. However, I do not think that the media is helping to end it by claiming gloom and doom at all times- it hurts consumer & investor confidence.

 

Obviously, it has to be a balancing act.

 

You can't give the first answer and then give the second answer. One is driving the other. Which do you think it is?

Both. How's that for an answer?

 

I am not blaming the recession on the media. However, I do not think that the media is helping to end it by claiming gloom and doom at all times- it hurts consumer & investor confidence.

 

Obviously, it has to be a balancing act.

:thumb: The media makes news and then reports it all the time. In part, that is what is driving newspaper circulation down. Whether its global warming, presidential elections, or the economy, the mainstream media writes a script and then reports and/or emphasizes stories that support their world view. The health of the economy does depend in large measure on consumer confidence and the media does play a role in bolstering or undermining such confidence.

I think the economy is as bad as I remember in my lifetime. I know more hardworking people out of a job than I ever have.

 

However, I think the media makes things worse by creating hysteria over the situation.

New Deal government spending was not just about hand outs, cch5432.

My dad was just talking about this the other day. Before the war, he remembers the WPA and all it did. The government spent money, but unlike today, they got something back. Useful things like schools, parks, dams, buildings.

What I am saying is, the government spent money, created jobs, got people spending again AND got some good return on their (our) dollar. There are many ways to help pull or kill the economy, but most of it all begins with the Government and their actions.

Also, there are 40,000 plus auto workers who think that the media may have just got another story yesterday. Those guys think it's for real, now, too!

You can't give the first answer and then give the second answer. One is driving the other. Which do you think it is?

 

When I say both, I mean kind of like this:

 

The media takes what people are saying and then exaggerates it to the nth degree. Then people talk about it.

 

Once again, the media can't cause a recession but it can make it worse. So the media is not a driver for a recession happening. But it is a driver for a recession getting worse.

New Deal government spending was not just about hand outs, cch5432.

My dad was just talking about this the other day. Before the war, he remembers the WPA and all it did. The government spent money, but unlike today, they got something back. Useful things like schools, parks, dams, buildings.

What I am saying is, the government spent money, created jobs, got people spending again AND got some good return on their (our) dollar. There are many ways to help pull or kill the economy, but most of it all begins with the Government and their actions.

Those are some good thoughts.

 

I prefer work programs to welfare programs of course. However, I'd also prefer that the government contract a lot of those programs out to private companies- that way, at least it would be done efficiently.

 

I guess I can kind of agree with the bolded, except I want to clarify that recessions and expansions happen without the government intervention. And more often then not, government intervention hurts the economy. (There are certain exceptions)