Where is the US economy headed?

In fact, pulling any levers now will only exacerbate into bigger problems for the future. It's too little and too late for lever pulling tricks.

C I
I don't know. I really don't know. It is too late.
But the problem should be faced and dealt with.

"In the meantime, the segment of American society that would like to see advances in health care, education, poverty alleviation, or any other positive economic or social goals will get bad news. The foreseeable future is a lot different from most of the post-World War II era, during which the U.S. added such programs as Medicare and Medicaid while spending literally trillions of dollars on cold and hot wars.

This time, little or no federal money will be available for any of these things until U.S. foreign policy changes. The most likely scenario is that most areas of nonmilitary discretionary spending will be squeezed relentlessly before anything gives in the realm of superpower ambitions.

The post-9/11 age of American empire will close not with a bang but a whimper, suffocated by the laws of arithmetic, the constraints of public financing, and the limits of foreign borrowing. What remains to be determined is how much the U.S. will pay -- in lost and ruined lives, as well as bills for future generations -- and how many enemies it will make throughout the world, before coming to grips with reality. "
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jul2004/nf20040729_9971_db045.htm

Rama, "...the laws of arithmatic" will control our lives for many decades to come. That's because any changes made today will not affect much of anything at too small of increments of our total disaster now facing us.

canada went through some troubling economic times in the 1980's .
canada was on the watchlist of the IMF !
in the end increased taxation for individuals and corporations , introduction of federal and provincial sales taxes , lower social benefits , lower government pension increases , reduced government expenditures brought canada's economy back to life .

we actually had to pay a SURTAX on top of our income-tax for a number of years !

nobody died of starvation during that period , but
everybody had to share in the burden to bring about a return to better economic conditions - i don't believe there is a MAGIC BULLET !
the government needed money to pay off debts that had been incurred through bad managemant over an extented period of time .
MORE MONEY HAD GONE OUT THAN HAD COME IN - that just doesn't work for very long !

just like a family must balance its budget , so must a country .

if you stop paying your bills , eventually you won't get any credit from the bank , grocer ... (or the oil nations of the middle east ) .
hbg(sorry for being the bearer of bad news)

Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea (to name just three) are examples that no matter how bad things are in your country, if everyone quits whining, works real hard, and saves and invests instead of consumes, you can go from the very bottom to quite well off in a generation or two.

But as that great American philosopher, Yogi Berra observed "The first thing you do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging".

All the democratic presidential candidates are proposing that we speed towards the abyss at 120 mph. Nearly all of the republican candidates are proposing we speed toward the abyss at 90 mph. I don't see any realization in the US that fundamental changes are needed. And I don't mean fundamental changes that include new and increased government give away programs.

hbg, Not many people are aware of the crisis we are now in; most don't understand economics or politics. Many still continue to listen to Bush's rhetoric that our fundamentals of our economy is strong. If they spend a little time understanding how different today's economy is compared to the past, how the trillions of debt by consumers and the feds, the loss in value of the US dollar, the higher cost of fuel (also exacerbated by the decrease in value of our money), the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our inability to compete with low wage countries, all add to a dismal future for Americans and our economy.

Canada's past fiscal problems were manageable, because of the timing of the solutions by your government - IMHO. If Canada had the same problems today, they would also be in dire straights; because the world economy is tied together more than in the past.

If California was a country, we'd still be the 6th largest economy in the world. According to the latest economic information of our area, hiring is down, unemployment is up, and most Silicon Valley companies have suffered huge losses in the stock market last week. It's going to get much worse as this year progresses into late this year and the next.

Maybe more people will wake up when they realize more people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, and they can't afford to maintain their standard of living.

The wake-up call has been on-going for more than a year now, but people are still unawares of the crisis in the mirror.

Will Rogers is listed as the source for this but I haven't been able to confirm where he actually said or wrote it.

Yogi Berra had the knack of screwing up quotes.

Wiki has a great quote from Rogers..

"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"

ci wrote :



unfortunately too many people don't understand their own ECONOMY (household budget) either .
some think that they should spend like there is no tomorrow and are surprised when they run out of money.
often they will blame the banks or creditcard companies for not lending them any more money .

imo even though our parents often had less money that most people have now , they were able to manage their finances better - it's a strange world we are living in !
hbg

I was watching the pundits on CNBC a few weeks ago. One of them was trying to explain that many mortgage borrowers did not understand that their Adjustable Rate Mortgage payment might go up in the future.

Give me a ****ing break.

Thats because they didnt read what they were signing.

i've been watching some of the "pre-presidental" speeches , discussions etc. with some interest (sleeping next to the elephant , you know ) .

i heard very little mention being made of the U.S. debt and how to manage the finances of the U.S.

is it really so surprising that ordinary citizens will have difficulty to understand much about money management ?

many of the large financial institutions also have shown VERY poor money management skills lately .
if the managers of these financial institutions - people with superior (?) financial training and understanding - can make such enormous mistakes that shake the foundations of the economies world-wide , is it really fair to demand that ordinary citizens have better financial knowledge ?
even more surprising , these managers have pulled in HUGE bonus payments for making such wise decisions !
can somebody explain the system of paying a bonus for making such decisions ?
(i wonder if i have a chance to get in on one of those money losing schemes AND be paid for it - and don't forget the bonus )
hbg

They no longer pay for excellent performance; many CEO's receive bonus' even when their performance is really bad, and their stocks continue to lose value. Look at Fiorina when she left HP: she received 21 million as a separation gift. When the new CEO took over HP, the stock market took a reverse course, and their stock prices regained much of Fiorina's losses.

It's always been my observaton that stock brokers and financial advisors didn't care for the individual investor; they made their money on fees and commissions. Their performance was no better (or even worse) than throwing a dart at the stock market page of a newspaper. The smart people knew that only they had an "invested" interest in their own money; nobody else can possible care as much.

If anyone wishes to invest in the stock market, all they need to do is put their money on Berkshire Hathaway; it's the only stock that outperforms.

Most people never learn money management - at home or in school. It's somewhat similar to getting married and becoming a parent; there is no formal training even though they are some of the most important responsibilities each individual has in our life time.

Greed will always attract all manners of people both young and old. That's when the danger signals should warn them something is drastically wrong; you don't get somethihng for nothing. Many learn that lesson the hard way, and lose their retirment money after saving during their working lives. A shame and a tragedy.

This world will not change; each individual must learn to take responsibility for the important stuff of life. I dare say it's getting harder as we progress into the 21st century.

WHERE DO I APPLY ? i think i might have the right qualifications !
hbg

You're retired as much as I am. Besides, you must know somebody that knows somebody, that also knows somebody. The only way I meet that criteria are my friends and family. LOL .

Obama wants to increase the capital gains tax to 40%. Maybe that's why Financial Times of London has pledged their support to Hillary Clinton.

Hey CI, have you been living in a coma state for the past 75-100 years?

Miller, If I'm living in a coma state, I done pretty good! My professional working career was short, worked most of it in management positions, retired early, and my primary avocation now is world travel. Maybe, it's all a dream. LOL

CI, looks like you're still in a coma since you're not addressing the issue. Do you really think the World hasn't changed over the past 75-100 years? Do you use the internet today or do you send smoke signals to your friends.

So do I - we desperately need to get our national finances under control.

Cycloptichorn