Where is the US economy headed?

The way the Japanese and Germans live are in many ways much better; they've kept up their economy along with the US for many decades, and they have also saved and lived more frugally than the Americans. They also have universal health care that provides health care to everyone. The US health care system costs are escalating to the point where many middle class families can't afford the premiums, so they live without. The Japanese have a much higher savings rates while Americans have increased their debt.

The higher price of fuel has bankrupted many airlines and transportation companies; the oil producers are killing the golden egg. Without strong economies, it doesn't matter what the price of oil is. Demand will naturally fall.

OPEC continues to play with the supply; it's because we have not bothered to seek other forms of energy and efficiencies; it's our own fault for the situation we're in. American car makers learned that very quickly, because they had to close many of their plants with their gas guzzling cars and trucks.

We must expand alternative energy sources, and drill for oil in the US while we develop other energy sources; all in tandem. Drilling oil now will not drop the price of gas; it'll be some seven to ten years before new drillings produce oil. It's for the future supply that will help our country to meet demand at home - while we reduce demand.

It's good that you realize there are other factors involved that impacts our economy beyond oil.

hawkeye, We bank at WAMU; they are not only down and out, but their services is essentially worthless. The only thing that's saving us is the simple fact that we owe them more than we have in their bank. $2.33/share, heh? Poor devils; many will be getting their pink slips soon, and they deserve it for all the frustrations they imposed on us - even at the supervisor level.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/business/11lehman.html?hp

the Koreans will not save them, I don't think that the arabs are going to throw anymore petro dollars down the rat hole for American financial institutions (previous investments have not worked out very well), who oh who will save them???Anyone?? Anyone???

Probably not.......I do believe that Lehman is finished.

ci, you are so used to disagreeing with me that you disagreed without realizing you actually agreed. You just said high fuel prices are killing airlines. That is only one example. High fuel prices are burdening every industry, but harder on some than others.

You also finally admit we need to both drill and develop alternate sources of energy. I have been arguing that very thing ever since I joined this forum.

Standard of living, that subject is an interesting one, I haven't been to Germany or Japan, but I have been to England and Scandanavia, and I can tell you that we live much much better than they do in most ways. In some ways, we are spoiled, we live too high for what we can actually afford. People buy a new car instead of buying medical insurance. We are irresponsible as a society. We are not living within our means, and that includes individuals, government, and business. As we read of banks, they were loaning money irresponsibly to people and ventures that were too poor of a risk.

They have transit systems that work better, medical systems that work better, political systems that work at least as good, they work less, they life longer, their families hold togther better (less divorce)....you clearly don't know what you are talking about..

okie, That's the fault of the airlines for not charging what it costs them to stay in business. If any business continues to charge less for its services than it costs to run it, they will go broke. That's econ 101. Competition is one thing; to give away your products or services is bad business (period).

That's one reason why high quality medical care is so expensive today.

Sir, if you would care to take a stab at defending the shitty American medical system, kindly join me here: http://able2know.org/topic/122300-1

I would take my lifestyle anyday over Englanders. And scandanavians for that matter, but I would take theirs over England. I know people there, hawk, so I know a little bit about it.

And you are comparing two different cultures with unique sets of circumstances and problems. Life expectancy is not all that different, except I think we are more obese, due to our sedentary lifestyle, which probably explains what little difference there is in life expectancy.

Transit systems, you can have their smelly subways and trains and buses. No thanks. I will drive my car, and someday it will probably be an electric car, if I can afford one.

Divorce, I haven't checked the statistics? Is it because they simply don't get married very soon, or not at all?

OH, Ya, lets add that they run their economies and lifestyles an far less energy then we do....they are more responsible humans than we, and less at risk of being held hostage by the energy producing countries...
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_usa_per_per-energy-usage-per-person

Econ 101, if an airline charges too much, airplanes tend to fly empty, and they go broke anyway. Maybe there is too much competition, ci, so maybe an airline or two needs to go broke. To be honest, why are people flying all over the place anyway? Business can be conducted remotely.

Truth be known, maybe the CEOs are bleeding the companies dry, but thats the responsibility of the boards of directors to correct those problems, and that my friend, is a very huge problem in business today. The big shots are living higher than their companies are performing.

You can only charge what the market will bear. So you have to balance what you charge with resultant demand. Then you either make money or you then cut costs. If you can't cut costs, and the market will not bear an increase in price, then your business is made obsolete by the market.

It would be a waste of my time.

Thats an indication of standard of living, hawk, which proves we are living better at least in many ways. But I may agree with you on one point, perhaps we are living too high, we need to economize, live within our means. All of this housing mess illustrates that. People need to buy smaller houses, and build smaller houses, houses they can afford to pay for, not ones so big they default. Our little houses here would be mansions in some European countries, if I have it right.

okie, Haven't you learned anything from the current economic mess in the US? It's simply called "living beyond your means." It's also called "irresponsibility." You need to get at the core of the "why's" in order to understand issues.

The US lived high on the hog for the past decade, and most families are now in debt up to their eyeballs, losing their jobs (unemployment is increasing at alarming rates) and homes, lost their health insurance, and are lucky if they can still afford to have shelter and buy food.

So you're telling us our "standard of living" is better? Boy, you are blind.

a little problem with your plan, over the last 20 years lots of mcmansions have been built, which as energy prices remain high many can not afford to heat or cool, which have been built with open floor plans so that rooms can not be closed off (thus not heated or cooled....like our ancestors did) and they
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have been built in the middle of no where so that every single person who might consider living in them must drive a ton......aren't we brilliant!

And what do you propose we do about them apples?

You are a bambi...."investors" suck wealth out of companies (or more often suck cash and replace with debt) with zero regard for the health of the company or the workers because THEY CAN....and they pay off the officers of the company on the way out with the loot.

Well, for starters, I can't do anything about it, nor should I. Let people go broke if that is their choice.

As for me, all my working life, I have chosen to live close to my work, all except a short time. I have also chosen houses less than the realtors told me I could afford. Thus, my house is paid for, almost, my cars are paid for, and I owe nobody else anything, not bragging, just stating facts. All I can do is make the right decisions for me and my family.

I didn't buy gas guzzlers when gas prices were low, thus my cars have value now, and they are paid for. My house is insulated good, and I have cushion in my budget for energy price increases.

In my way of thinking, paying interest, or payments, especially credit cards, is basically stupid, so I don't do it. Only on a house where the investment usually does not depreciate.

Look, I am not disagreeing that big shots are abusing their positions in some cases. I already said that. It is easier to steal with a suitcase than it is with a gun.

ci, are you going broke? If not, quit your whinin.

okie, No, we're not going broke, but many in our country are. I have empathy for my fellow Americans when our government and businesses abuse the "common man."

I especially feel sorry for those families with children who are having difficulty with higher cost of health care, food, and fuel.

My wife and I are retired, and both of us have Medicare. Our savings have dwindled a little, because we had major renovations done to our home this year, and I've been keeping up with my travels.

We're not starving or worry about shelter - or money.