I heard the other day that 200,000 new jobs were created in July....what the media experts described as a "surprise" yet again.

The deficit is gonna be numerous billions less than anticipated (I can't remember the exact figure but it's a healthy sum....probably 75 to 90 billion range). Again, a "surprise" to the media experts.

My own personal observations echo the same. I have several friends who are sales people and they have reported a dramatic increase in sales over the past couple of months.

Things are looking up in that regard. I sure hope so. I'd rather the economy be booming when 08 roles around, rather than stagnant. The left would have a hard time making the same arguments they made in the 04 race and remain believable. Nobody would buy their "sky is falling" BS if things are prosperous.

... Well I'll be damned - who'd a thunk it?

Quoted: I heard the other day that 200,000 new jobs were created in July....what the media experts described as a "surprise" yet again. The deficit is gonna be numerous billions less than anticipated (I can't remember the exact figure but it's a healthy sum....probably 75 to 90 billion range). Again, a "surprise" to the media experts. My own personal observations echo the same. I have several friends who are sales people and they have reported a dramatic increase in sales over the past couple of months. Things are looking up in that regard. I sure hope so. I'd rather the economy be booming when 08 roles around, rather than stagnant. The left would have a hard time making the same arguments they made in the 04 race and remain believable. Nobody would buy their "sky is falling" BS if things are prosperous.

I agree on all points . The economy seems to be moving along damn well. Greenspan is going to continually hike interest rates to keep the growth in check to avoid inflation. Hopefully he doesn't go overkill .

I'm telling ya, Bush knew what he was doing with those tax cuts. Supply-side economics baby!

You know, had Kerry won, both he and the media would be giving him credit for our strong economy.  

Is the recent increase in interest rates, housing bubble, $2.71 87 octaine gas and GM, Ford and Dodge having to give "employee" pricing to move vehicles a good sign?


My 537 plan had a wopping .95% rate of return last quarter, so I got that going for me.

Correct. The economy doesn't sag or rebound in a year's time. It takes afew years for changes to really cycle around and have an effect.

The economy was already going to shit the last year Clinton was in office and that was a trend that continued for several years after he left. but it was not of Bush's making. However, what we are seeing may be a direct result of some of the Bush tax cuts and other economic measures. I think the increased spending is definately directly related.

Quoted: Is the recent increase in interest rates, housing bubble, $2.71 87 octaine gas and GM, Ford and Dodge having to give "employee" pricing to move vehicles a good sign? My 537 plan had a wopping .95% rate of return last quarter, so I got that going for me.

GM, Ford and Dodge need to start asking a reasonable price for new cars in the first place, then they might sell. Many people are rather reluctant to pay $30,000 for a vehicle model that isn't worth more than $20,000. It isn't economics, it's common sense.

You saw what happened when the price came down to reasonable levels. They sold like hot cakes. The people could have afforded them if they'd wanted them at full price. There's just not too many people willing to pay ridiculous prices for something when they have alternatives.

It has been picking over the last year and a half or so.  I haven't make my resume searchable on the internet job sites since I hired on at my current job almost two years ago.  For the last year hardly a week goes that I don't get an email/VM or phone message from some consulting group looking to fill an IT possition and even I tell them I'm not available they ask if I know anyone who may be available or interested in changing jobs.

These guys are desperate.  

We just hired six new people in my department and all six are from India, here on work Visa's.  It's not because we were looking specifically for Indians, but all the applicants were from India.

Lets see we hired Sai, Moorti, Rajam, Jaikar, Santosh and Mussannif.

Edit:  The rest of my team is Jennifer, Raj, Antony, Danny, Xiao-Quan, Jim, Lakshman, Ravi, Steve, Justin and Dave.  Two of the western sounding names above belong to East Indians here on work Visa's.  So of a team of 18 people 11 are from India in the US on Work Visa's.  

This makes me wonder what all the US Students are learning in college.  What ever it is, it certainly is IT related.

It's Bush's fault.

Quoted: My 537 plan had a wopping .95% rate of return last quarter, so I got that going for me.

... Perhaps it's time to begin considering how to invest your money on your own rather than "toeing the company line" and/or water-cooler Internet hearsay.

Quoted: You know, had Kerry won, both he and the media would be giving him credit for our strong economy.

True to the tits and right as rain.

One of the (very) small pleasures in life is reading economist Paul Krugman's columns in the NY Times these days.  He's an obsessed, rabid Bush-hater who has been saying for years Bush was bankrupting America, we were looking at an Argentine-style collapse, democracy as we knew it was ending, the falling dollar would destroy us, inflation and interest rates were about to sky rocket and ruin people who bought houses during the real estate bubble, the poor were getting poorer and the rich were taking everything for themselves...........

Same shit 2x a week every week for 4 years, all of it completely wrong.

Quoted: You know, had Kerry won, both he and the media would be giving him credit for our strong economy.

Yes but if it were Kerry, it prolly wouldn't have happened because the first thing he would have done after being elected is raise taxes.  Then I shudder to think what he would have done as a followup.

Damn that Bush and his 5.0% Unemployment rate.

Of course it is.  The Gov used every trick in the book to stimulate the economy.  Long term still concerns me though.


We still have an expensive, and dumb workforce.  We still have the National debt, the Trade deficit, and deficit spending for a Government which is at least 3 times bigger than needed.
We still have draconian Govt. regulations pushing jobs overseas.  We still have million of immigrants competing for the few jobs that are left.  We still have record high energy prices for dwindling energy reserves.  We are still giving away the wealth of our future to the old timers, and the welfare queens.
We are a service economy:  We are all "servicing" each other.  Who the hell is creating the wealth.  The Chinese?  I just cant understand how that can be OK long term.
Sorry for being negative.  Life is certainly good for me and mine right now.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

Huh, 500 layoffs in a town of 30,000 in the past week here.

Jim

correction:  100 layoffs (likely permanant, company is going under), 200 displaced permanantly when factory went to Mexico.

Quoted: Of course it is.  The Gov used every trick in the book to stimulate the economy.  Long term still concerns me though. We still have an expensive, and dumb workforce.  We still have the National debt, the Trade deficit, and deficit spending for a Government which is at least 3 times bigger than needed. We still have draconian Govt. regulations pushing jobs overseas.  We still have million of immigrants competing for the few jobs that are left.  We still have record high energy prices for dwindling energy reserves.  We are still giving away the wealth of our future to the old timers, and the welfare queens. We are a service economy:  We are all "servicing" each other.  Who the hell is creating the wealth.  The Chinese?  I just cant understand how that can be OK long term. Sorry for being negative.  Life is certainly good for me and mine right now. LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

Since I was born we've had a deficit, draconian Govt., regulation pushing jobs overseas (thanks to the Unions), immigration problems, dwindling energy reserves, welfare queens and when I was 12 I remember my grandmother complaining that .49/gallon for gas was highway robbery.  When I was 13, at school I won a pin with an American Flag on it during an art competition that was made in China.  I pointed out the irony of that to my Dad and he said get used to it.

Let the good times roll indeed.

Quoted: Quoted: My 537 plan had a wopping .95% rate of return last quarter, so I got that going for me. ... Perhaps it's time to begin considering how to invest your money on your own rather than "toeing the company line" and/or water-cooler Internet hearsay.

Yeah, what he said.  That RoR sucks, dude.

Quoted: Huh, 500 layoffs in a town of 30,000 in the past week here. Jim correction:  100 layoffs (likely permanant, company is going under), 200 displaced permanantly when factory went to Mexico.

This sort of thing happens all the time.  It's not Bush's fault.  Did you happen to see my post above?

BTW, what does this company make or provide?

I work for a rather large Financial Company in the IT department.  In this department there are eighteen Application Support Engineers.  Eleven of that eighteen are here in the US on work Visa's and seven are US born.

I've read in certain publications that IT jobs are considered to be boring too US Students in Highschool and College.  The Irony is that these same students spend the vast majority of their time playing computer games and surfing the web.

If you know what this mean:

$ ps -ef | grep -v grep | grep was | awk{'print $2'} | xargs kill -9

you can get a job paying over $40,000 a year right out of highschool.

Personally I didn't know any of this right out of highschool.  Indeed Unix was still being developed as an operating system, Bill Gates was still working out of his garage and the concept of having a personal computer was a pipe dream.  The only real computer I got a glimpse of when I was in highschool was locked in an converted classroom.  There was an airconditioner the size of your average current day sedan attached to the outside window.

I didn't graduate highschool.  I got my GED in 1983.  I don't have one college credit and it was not easy but I have managed to scrape out a an IT career.  I'm making $80,000 dollars a year now and my job is anything but boring, hectic, demanding, insane and challenging but boring is not a word I would use to describe my IT career.   Oh and well paying......

Wonder how long its gonna last?

Could be regional. There area where I live is a ghost town compared to what is was 5 years ago.

Quoted: Could be regional.

Of course it is. Old industries die and new industries spring up in new places.

Plenty of jobs to be had in military service and prisons.  Not so many where you will actually be manufacturing anything tangible though.

Taxes pay for AR15fan to afford to buy a gun from SA,   SA pays McClean to clean his shop, and DrFrige to fix the Fridge.  They Make tons of money which they invest with Sysops FS company.  His FS company pays him to keep the computers squared away, and pays me to shuttle the boss around.  The Boss pays taxes which AR15fan uses to buy another gun, and maybe a Japanese car.  Were are all one big happy incestous family until somebody notices.... We haven't actually Created anything.

Can somebody smart please tell me how this house of cards can manage to stand for very long?  

There is no denying that the resturants and Walmarts are FULL, so I'm not saying it can't work.  Only that I don't understand how it can work for long......

Quoted: Quoted: Could be regional. Of course it is. Old industries die and new industries spring up in new places. Plenty of jobs to be had in military service and prisons.  Not so many where you will actually be manufacturing anything tangible though.

I think in the case of California, it's more an issue of businesses moving out of the state to avoid our insane workers comp system, health insurance requirements, and regulations. The industries are not dying -- they're just leaving.

Quoted: Taxes pay for AR15fan to afford to buy a gun from SA,   SA pays McClean to clean his shop, and DrFrige to fix the Fridge.  They Make tons of money which they invest with Sysops FS company.  His FS company pays him to keep the computers squared away, and pays me to shuttle the boss around.  The Boss pays taxes which AR15fan uses to buy another gun, and maybe a Japanese car.  Were are all one big happy incestous family until somebody notices.... We haven't actually Created anything. Can somebody smart please tell me how this house of cards can manage to stand for very long?   There is no denying that the resturants and Walmarts are FULL, so I'm not saying it can't work.  Only that I don't understand how it can work for long......

I aint fixin' his Frige! He still owes me from the last time.

But seriously there is one thing that I am concerned about... what about all these people that re-fied their homes and pulled out the cash? Those loans have to be paid back and some of these people are now saying... Ummmm Oh shit, I cant afford to pay it now.

Lost of people took the cash to pay off the credit cards yet Maxed them out again. Dumb.

Quoted: Quoted: Taxes pay for AR15fan to afford to buy a gun from SA,   SA pays McClean to clean his shop, and DrFrige to fix the Fridge.  They Make tons of money which they invest with Sysops FS company.  His FS company pays him to keep the computers squared away, and pays me to shuttle the boss around.  The Boss pays taxes which AR15fan uses to buy another gun, and maybe a Japanese car.  Were are all one big happy incestous family until somebody notices.... We haven't actually Created anything. Can somebody smart please tell me how this house of cards can manage to stand for very long?   There is no denying that the resturants and Walmarts are FULL, so I'm not saying it can't work.  Only that I don't understand how it can work for long...... I aint fixin' his Frige! He still owes me from the last time. But seriously there is one thing that I am concerned about... what about all these people that re-fied their homes and pulled out the cash? Those loans have to be paid back and some of these people are now saying... Ummmm Oh shit, I cant afford to pay it now. Lost of people took the cash to pay off the credit cards yet Maxed them out again. Dumb.

Think of it as a buying opportunity when the time comes.  The housing market will soften in some places, and IMPLODE in NY, NJ, FL, AZ, CA.    As surely as the Dotcoms imploded waaaaay back when.                  Damn, I'm in a cynical mood tonight.

I'm going to STFU now before I drag the economy down by sheer negativity.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Taxes pay for AR15fan to afford to buy a gun from SA,   SA pays McClean to clean his shop, and DrFrige to fix the Fridge.  They Make tons of money which they invest with Sysops FS company.  His FS company pays him to keep the computers squared away, and pays me to shuttle the boss around.  The Boss pays taxes which AR15fan uses to buy another gun, and maybe a Japanese car.  Were are all one big happy incestous family until somebody notices.... We haven't actually Created anything. Can somebody smart please tell me how this house of cards can manage to stand for very long?   There is no denying that the resturants and Walmarts are FULL, so I'm not saying it can't work.  Only that I don't understand how it can work for long...... I aint fixin' his Frige! He still owes me from the last time. But seriously there is one thing that I am concerned about... what about all these people that re-fied their homes and pulled out the cash? Those loans have to be paid back and some of these people are now saying... Ummmm Oh shit, I cant afford to pay it now. Lost of people took the cash to pay off the credit cards yet Maxed them out again. Dumb. Think of it as a buying opportunity when the time comes.  The housing market will soften in some places, and IMPLODE in NY, NJ, FL, AZ, CA.    As surely as the Dotcoms imploded waaaaay back when.                  Damn, I'm in a cynical mood tonight. I'm going to STFU now before I drag the economy down by sheer negativity.

I see the same "implosion" and all these people that refinanced and pulled money out bought a home at a 1/4 of what it is worth now and just borrowed and borrowed and borrowed and NOW they have shit for equity and upset. Im glad we didnt and we have a nice chunk of equity built up. I know of one guy who refinanced his home more times than I care to know... Now he owes and has NO equity.

Not looking good. I think your cynicism is in order.

Quoted: Quoted: Is the recent increase in interest rates, housing bubble, $2.71 87 octaine gas and GM, Ford and Dodge having to give "employee" pricing to move vehicles a good sign? My 537 plan had a wopping .95% rate of return last quarter, so I got that going for me. GM, Ford and Dodge need to start asking a reasonable price for new cars in the first place, then they might sell. Many people are rather reluctant to pay $30,000 for a vehicle model that isn't worth more than $20,000. It isn't economics, it's common sense. You saw what happened when the price came down to reasonable levels. They sold like hot cakes. The people could have afforded them if they'd wanted them at full price. There's just not too many people willing to pay ridiculous prices for something when they have alternatives.

Too bad people don't think along those lines when it comes to real estate.  Maybe housing prices would still be reasonable.  There was a local story today - average housing prices have risen over 20%, to 50% in some areas, while wages have stayed flat.  

Quoted: Huh, 500 layoffs in a town of 30,000 in the past week here. Jim correction:  100 layoffs (likely permanant, company is going under), 200 displaced permanantly when factory went to Mexico.

It sucks when that happens to a small town. My town of 20,000 has seen three factories go and two new ones have taken their place. Still I'm pretty happy with the way things are going right now. The glass is half full.

IT's Bush's fault

So glad the Dems didn't win and take credit for, "turning the economy around".  I wonder if any Dems still have the "It's the economy" stickers on their cars

you know, i don't understand shit about the economy in spite of acing it in college but it has struck me as strong and only getting stronger (i live in the dc metro area). yet i hear on wtop that a new poll gives bush a 41% appr on the economy, the lowest rating yet, and i hear nothing but negaitivity from the coiffed talking heads on tv. wtf? wasn't the post-9/11 recovery an economic miracle???