Where is the US economy headed?

@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre, I agree that any bank or loan company has the right to enter into a contract with the recipient in regard to how the money will be spent, as a condition of making a loan to anyone. I do not disagree with that. I was simply pointing out that credit card companies actually go a step further and are actually acting as an agent to pay for the credit card user's purchases, and so I was arguing that it gives them even more reason to monitor purchases or how the cards are used, to help them determine if they wish to continue to act as the credit card holder's agent, and how they continue on what terms.

I am agreeing with you, but just added the point about credit card companies being even more involved in their customer's purchases than loan companies, but I think whether it be credit card use or granting of loans to people to spend, they have a right to information on their customers, to help them determine risks of doing business.

I am opposed to loan sharks, those that prey upon the weak minded, but the best way to eliminate this stuff is for people to simply wise up and not fall for scams and unusually high card interest, etc.

1 Reply

@okie,

Quote:

but the best way to eliminate this stuff is for people to simply wise up and not fall for scams and unusually high card interest, etc.

Actually, the best way is to refuse to use or even have any type of credit card.
I do not have, nor have I ever had, a credit card (except my debit card).

I get offers every day for credit cards, and I immediately throw them away.

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or be responsible, we never spend more than we can pay back, no interest fees, we don't use cards that charge an annual fee, and we use cards that offer bonuses, grocery store master card, we have about a hundred dollars in groceries racked up in points, we have CAA card that gives us a percentage towards our yearly CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) membership, most years we collect enough that we don't pay a thing for the membership

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@mysteryman,

With our lifestyle, it would be much more difficult without credit cards. We use them to book airline tickets and motel reservations, buy gas, and for major purchases in which the additional insurance is a plus and/or we have means to get our money refunded immediately if a product is damaged or not delivered as contracted. We do a lot of purchasing on line too and they are useful for that as well as receiving an itemized statement of purchases every month and an extra means to show proof of purchase. This service doesn't cost us a dime, however, as we use only no fee cards and pay our bill promptly so that no interest accrues.

I will agree that we did not always have the discipline to do that, however, and had to learn the hard way how to handle it.

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@mysteryman,

mm, good way to live. My parents never owned a credit card, ever. I do have a couple of credit cards, but I only use them for stuff I can pay for, such as gasoline which makes it easy to buy at the pump, and for large ticket items, which allows me to get cash back at the end of the year on those items. I pay off the balances at the end of each month, and never pay interest. So I don't care how much interest they charge, I only care that they do not charge me annual fees to use the card, etc.

1 Reply

@okie,

okie wrote:

mm, good way to live. My parents never owned a credit card, ever. I do have a couple of credit cards, but I only use them for stuff I can pay for, such as gasoline which makes it easy to buy at the pump, and for large ticket items, which allows me to get cash back at the end of the year on those items. I pay off the balances at the end of each month, and never pay interest. So I don't care how much interest they charge, I only care that they do not charge me annual fees to use the card, etc.

Did they even have credit cards when your parents were raising a family? Seems to me that a credit card was a new invention in my lifetime. I think my oldest kid was like 11 or 12 before we ever had one.

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@Foxfyre,

I looked it up on Wikipedia, Foxfyre, and apparently the idea goes clear back to the 1800's, but actual real usage maybe began in the 20's and 30's. Wide usage did not really take off until the 50's or really the 60's and 70's. I remember my first card was a company issued card from the oil company I worked for right out of college in the late 60's, and of course it was a status symbol to have one to use for the company vehicles. Then we got them personally, which gave us discounts by virtue of being an employee, for our own personal use. Only because my parents drummed into me the wisdom of not living on credit, I have been able to escape the debt disease.

I am forever grateful to them for their wisdom. Their lives and attitudes were shaped by the great depression, wherein they learned the value of everything. We made clothing out of flour sacks, and our fried chicken included virtually every part of the chicken. I knew a dear woman that I am guessing died a virtual millionaire, but in younger days extending into old age long after she needed to watch a dime, she routinely made chicken soup with the heads included in the soup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

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@okie,

Contrast the way people lived in the great depression with now, where you see the homeless walking around with cell phones. Doesn't make sense. How many people that don't have health insurance have a hefty car payment, buy lottery tickets, or have a costly smoking habit, or walk around talking or texting on the latest cell phone? Or do they opt for a trip to Cancun instead of buying insurance?

We do not have a health care crisis, we have a stupidity crisis, a responsible citizenship crisis in this country.

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Many will receive the following news as very good, while the conservatives continue to see the negatives of job losses.

Quote:

Jobless claims drop, data skewed by auto jobs
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since January, but the seasonally adjusted data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry.

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According to this morning's newspaper article, the $700 billion of TARP approved last year, not all the money has not been used, and over $70 has been paid back by the banks.

Although our economy is still in crisis, and more people will be facing foreclosure, this seems to show signs of our economy improving.

These mixed signals will surely be common for the foreseeable future.

Even GM seems to be working to get back on its feet.

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@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

According to this morning's newspaper article, the $700 billion of TARP approved last year, not all the money has not been used, and over $70 has been paid back by the banks.

You wanna write that again?
If we take it the way you wrote it, then all of the money HAS been used.

1 Reply

@mysteryman,

That's the reason you misread most of my posts.
a) $700 billion of TARP (troubled asset relief fund) was approved last year
b) not all the money has been used (by our government)
c) over $70 billion has been paid back by the banks

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

Bu look at your words.
You said..."not all the money has NOT been used"

Thats a double negative.
Now I know what you meant, but I was simply responding to what you wrote.

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This interesting, and it doesnt help Obama at all...

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/09/breaking-senate-postpones-cap-and-trade/

Senate postpones cap-and-trade until Obama's poll numbers improve or coal company defender Robert Byrd dies

Quote:

The Washington Post reports that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold off on consideration of the House cap-and-trade bill until September at the earliest:
President Barack Obama’s push for quick action by Congress on climate change legislation suffered a setback on Thursday when the U.S. Senate committee leading the drive delayed work on the bill until September.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer said her self-imposed deadline of early August for finishing writing a bill to combat global warming has been put off until after Congress returns from a recess that ends in early September.
“We’ll do it as soon as we get back” from that break, Boxer told reporters. Asked if this delay jeopardizes chances the Senate will pass a bill this year, Boxer said, “Not a bit … we’ll be in (session) until Christmas, so I’m not worried about it.”
But Boxer did not guarantee Congress will be able to finish a bill and deliver it to Obama by December, when he plans to attend an international summit on climate change in Copenhagen.

So, IS the Senate waiting for Obama's numbers to improve, or do they know that the bill is bad for their own political futures?

1 Reply

@mysteryman,

My error and my apologies.

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@mysteryman,

mysteryman wrote:

So, IS the Senate waiting for Obama's numbers to improve, or do they know that the bill is bad for their own political futures?

There are a number of senators who know this bill would be devastating for their states and more than a few who understand what a huge tax increase this will be and what an avalanche of corruption will be unleashed if it passes. We might even believe that they actually care about the full long range effect, but I think most count on there being sufficient distance between that kicking in and passage that most people won't remember how it happened and won't blame them.

There is also a lot of rumble about a second stimulus package. What do you think the chances are of us being successful in demanding that they use all the original package now, right now, in ways that will help businesses create permanent jobs and not further increasing the deficit and projected debt? As it is, that original stimulus is scattered over years to come, most of it has nothing to do with job creation, and is doing little or nothing to help the economy.

1 Reply

@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre wrote:

As it is, that original stimulus is scattered over years to come, most of it has nothing to do with job creation, and is doing little or nothing to help the economy.

And do you remember what an emergency it was, it had to be signed within a couple days, remember? And now ci is accusing conservatives of rushing to judgement on Obama after 6 months.

Biden has recently claimed they greatly underestimated how bad the economy was. But Obama claimed it was the worst since the Great Depression. So which is it? Obama seemed to claim it was very bad during the campaign, but now they claim otherwise?

They accused Bush of "rushing to war, and that was after years of cat and mouse with Hussein, and after Congress approved the war. Now they rushed the stimulus package through, a package that has supposedly only spent 10% of the money so far, but it was an emergency, remember? And now the medical reform is a virtual emergency, after over 200 years without it, we must do something immediately, according to Obama. But why would we believe Obama and Biden. They admit they were wrong about the economy. And Obama's community organizing, about the only thing he was an expert on, the community is still living in run down housing projects in Chicago, so why would we take his word on anything?

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@okie,

Yeah Okie, I'm totally lost myself.

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@cicerone imposter,

So, anyway, the rate of acceleration in unemployment has decreased.

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@roger,

Those are good signs for America, but MACs and conservatives want miracles, and want to see employment increase rather than the slowdown in job loss before an increase is possible. They also don't understand that this is the worst economic crisis since the great depression - all created by their leader GW Bush.

1 Reply

Where is the US economy headed?

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