augustus

UPS reported its earnings yesterday. They are laying off 12,000 employees. Their revenue was DOWN 7.8% from the same quarter last year. This is most definitely bad news and a sign of an impending recession.

I disagree with this conclusion. Because as a member of that 2/3, I'm not a whit "wealthier" from the increase in my property valuation. In fact, I'm actually POORER, since this means increased local and state property taxes, maintanence, insurance etc. on my now-more-valuable home. I wouldn't even be technically wealthier because to SELL my house I would have to get into the group having to buy another one in this higher prices/higher interest rate/low supply environment. How is it an increase in wealth if you can’t sell it or monetize it? This is the fundamental problem with that view.

You really believe paying someone $250 an hour instead of $300 an hour is being "financially taken advantage of"??? Are these migrants burdened with taxes like the rest of us, or rent, or health insurance costs, etc. ?? I think it's the migrants that are laughing their asses off.

But an Australian told me the pensions there are not really generous. Like $2000 a month for an individual and $3000 a month for couples. In US dollars that's 30% less.

What utter nonsense. Government spending fueled by debt and consumer spending fueled by credit cards...tick tock tick tock = boom. Even Robert Rubin, treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, warned about this looming disaster a couple of days ago.

Some people might notice the looming disaster of the federal debt as the interest payments on the debt approach the highest category of federal spending. This is going to lead to double digit inflation. I have to ask, how do you deal with all this spin and not get dizzy? The people KNOW the economy is not good and inflation is ravaging the majority of Americans!

People are not being fooled by this propaganda. The economy is a long explanation of vague measurements. If you've maintained your same lifestyle for years you know at the end of the month after bills if you've got anything left over or not and how that compares to what you had before. Words can't cover up the fact that you can't afford the same stuff you could before. Too many people are 2 weeks out from bankruptcy and the soaring costs of EVERTHING does not help the average person!

Federal government deficit spending for 2023 was 6% of GDP, almost double the GDP "growth." Smoke and mirrors. Did anyone read the report and how much Government accounted for GDP? How is that sustainable? The only way it can be sustained is if Government investment spurs economic growth outside of government generating tax revenue to fund the government, and that is NOT happening. In fact, during the last Federal Budget year tax revenue was down 10% from the year before.

I've read details of this morning's report and things are not good. Nearly all of this growth came from government deficit spending and consumers going into more debt. This avoided a recession, but it isn't remotely sustainable, and we'll pay for it in the long run. There will be catastrophic results from all this debt! Also, initial jobless claims are rising rapidly. This whole deck of cards is being held up by massive spending by the Federal Government which is not sustainable by the opinion of any reputable economist.

No one is going wild, with the price of goods and services up 30-40%.

Been there. Done that. They will NEVER change. Worst of all, they will rationalize things so that it becomes YOUR fault. They are entitled to their share of the estate, as was given them, but you are not obliged to give them any of your portion. Let them do as they do.

That mostly applies to a small percentage of the population, and that figure (which is not out of this world BTW) is concentrated in housing and stock prices, which may, and most likely will, decline. For the majority of people, things are horrible! People are fleeing your state left and right because of inflation in housing. It's all over the news. California was bragging about a $100 billion SURPLUS in their state budget a year ago and now California has a $60 billion DEFICIT! Out of nowhere. You can't see the forest for the trees.

American dream far from reality for most people: POLL - ABC News ABCNEWS.GO.COM In a dispiriting sign of the times, barely more than a quarter of Americans say the American dream still holds true, about half as many as said so 13 years ago So many more people are broken and dispirited than after the 2008-2009 Great Recession and financial crisis. This is horrible.

Actually, we don’t feel better about the economy, it’s just taken awhile to adjust our budgets to the inflation shock. Anybody who shops for groceries know this story is bunk! From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.....“The index for cereals and bakery products rose 16.1 percent over the year. The remaining major grocery store food groups posted increases ranging from 7.7 percent (meats, poultry, fish, and eggs) to 15.3 percent (dairy and related products)". And now 2024 insurance premiums are rising at double digit percentages... medical, auto, home, etc. have all skyrocketed. And real wages have fallen the past 3 years. This is just straight up gaslighting. A snow job, just opinions and no data.

That's outrageous for an energy rich country.

Yes. That's as of January 16, 2024. More are closing now than opening. It's terrible! Over 40 Restaurants Have Closed This Month So Far: Here’s Why NY.EATER.COM Dozens of New York restaurants have closed since the start of the year. Five owners explain why.

NYC Restaurant Closings, December 2023 - Eater NY 40 New York Restaurants Closed in January: Here’s Why - Eater NY More are closing than opening. It's terrible!

Look, if she would have just tried to run the school in a neutral way that took the needs of the students first, she'd still be there. Unfortunately, that's not where society is right now.

BMO Alto Bank is offering 5.50% for a 1-year CD no minimum and can be opened online. BMO Alto is a fairly large bank. It is a subsidiary of Bank of Montreal and FDIC insured.

Food banks are swamped all over the country because of inflation. It's all over the news.

Exactly!! People fall for this nonsense, this deliberate propaganda. The standard of living has dropped permanently and may take years to recover.

2 out of 3 voters who respond to pollsters say the economy is not good and disapprove of the handling of the economy. Inflation is NOT under control and prices at the grocery store and gas pump are still going up rapidly, along with prices for services. And all these "record" job numbers are fraudulent too!!! For eleven of the past twelve months, job numbers have been revised down. Not sometimes revised up and sometimes revised down. No. ALWAYS REVISED DOWN. 440,000 jobs in 2023 were revised away. And most of these "new" jobs are part time jobs.

The prices of necessities like food, housing, insurance, taxes keep going up. Where you're seeing prices soften is in more discretionary areas such as furniture or sporting goods, but that's little consolation to people who are really strapped and have already cut out the extras. Credit card debt is up 40% in just 2 years as people borrow at 23% to pay for necessities!

My personal cost of living seems to be always higher than the BLS' CPI or Core Inflation. What am I doing wrong?

Check the websites of the local banks near you. You should be able to get at least 5% from one of them for 6-12 months.