I've known about this for a while (I have a friend who's a car salesman), but car sales in the US are sharply down. The economy is taking a lot of hits lately. The high price of gas is very destructive. Banks are doing poorly. The auto industry is suffering. I have a friend who works for one of the biggest telecom companies in the US (Level 3) and he says that they're laying off most of their IT people and sending that work to India. Are there areas of the US economy that are strong? And the government continues to mess things up. In Colorado the governor is pushing legislation that would outlaw drilling during prairie dog mating season. Effectively 10,000 jobs in the oil industry would be lost. Either you have to believe that a large number of our leadership are monumentally stupid, or you have to believe that there are those who are deliberately trying to wreck our economy. I like what Glenn Beck has to say about drilling for oil in ANWR. We should drill even if we have to go through a caribou's head to do it.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Alan Greenspan says we're probably going to be in a recession in the next 3 months. Warren Buffet says we're already in one. I'd guess that if you gathered all economists, maybe 75% of them would say we're either in one, or just inches away from being in one.
Are there areas of the US economy that are strong?Here in the high-tech electronics sector, things seem to be humming along nicely. We're very cautious, but no layoffs or draconian cutbacks. At the very least, my particular company learned it's lessons from 2001-2003 very well, and positioned us well for a downturn.
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And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, seven hours every day. That would be the sweetest thing of all.
Health Care is strong. Economists and Democrats have been saying we're in a recession for a while now, but the data has come back with just enough positive growth so that it cannot be officially labeled a recession.
How can we hope for strong economies when education is weak, and our elderly and children (and everyone in between) have a strong sense of entitlement? Those seem to be the things that will drag the economy down.
"Either you have to believe that a large number of our leadership are monumentally stupid, or you have to believe that there are those who are deliberately trying to wreck our economy." I believe the latter to be the case. The lower our standard of living falls, the more willing Americans in general will be to kiss our Constitution good-bye and accept incorporation into the North American Union. The wealth, freedom and liberty of the American people are being stolen and steadily nibbled away, just as a Prophet of God tried to warn us about in Octobeer 1988, when he said "A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world."
Even though gas prices are way up and prices in general are increasing, maybe the unemployment is really the gauge. When that hits 10% or more, people will "feel" it a lot more...?
For now, people just seem to be going along as usual...
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne