augustus

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.

Inflation is accelerating again! Inflation Is Already Back on the Rise. Will the Fed Raise Rates Again? (msn.com)

Here's a recent article from CNBC about credit card debt. What is amazing is the average interest rate charged. 22.77% ! 43% of Americans with credit card debt say it's due to emergency expenses—here's how much it's costing them WWW.CNBC.COM Nearly half of Americans are using their credit cards as an emergency fund, even though it costs them in interest.

Personally I don't want to know who is on the list. That list will get you killed more often than rich depending on who you are. I'm not powerful enough for the latter so it would be the former as most of us would.

All over the country. In NYC restaurants are closing left and right. TGIF just closed 37 locations. Consumers have run out of purchasing power.

You are right. The government has been way overstating job growth. I'm sure the inflation numbers are fudged too. Initial US employment reports overstated by 439,000 jobs in 2023 WWW.FOXBUSINESS.COM Increased government spending and hiring have padded 2023 year-end unemployment numbers by over 400,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Let's..........THE REAL WORLD: Americans Hold Grim View of Economy - Suffolk University WWW.SUFFOLK.EDU First-ever Sawyer Business School/USA TODAY poll shows that despite declining inflation rate, 70% of Americans believe economy is getting worse, not better

This analysis is shocking and speaks volumes about what really is happening. Things are not well!

I have a very difficult time comparing 2024 to past business cycles as people like to do here. Big bloated federal government back then compared to unbelievably huge monstrous bloated federal government in every aspect of our lives. I think it is like comparing a stick of dynamite to a hydrogen bomb. It’s only matter of time before this debt fueled growth comes to an end. Total Treasury debt at end of 2000 was approx. $5.7T and is now over $33T. Federal budget deficit is over 6% of GDP now during an economic EXPANSION. OMB forecasts over $2T in annual deficits WITHOUT a recession over next 10 years. Things are just peachy!

The California Teachers Pension fund announced they are seeking a loan for "liquidity purposes" so that they don't have to sell their assets at "fire sale prices"........Translation: their private equity portfolio has turned to crap.

The people have less spending money because prices have come up much faster than most people's pay. This is why we are seeing expansion in poverty for the first time in decades and a shrinking of the middle class. The number of jobs doesn't matter when they are working poor jobs. My Big Mac meal has gone from $8 to $13 in just 3 years. That's an increase of 60%!

Synchrony Bank is offering 5.50% on a 15-month CD with no minimum balance. You can open it online.

Holy Smokes....Google is going to lay off 30,000 employees and replace them with AI.

Kids have always been rotten. The law is not dealing with them effectively.

For God's sake, make sure you have a bathtub mat. I slipped and fell a few years ago and broke my humerus. Hurt like hell.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/ozempic-patients-are-going-to-the-er-over-severe-side-effects/ar-AA1lUyqn?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=d91cc8a0ef9744f5aec6d96e6b7488c2&ei=15 Here's another interesting article about Ozempic.

"On 9/27/2023 at 9:42 AM, pubic_assistance said: Too many people live past a true active life. My own father has been sitting in a chair waiting to die for far too long. Keeping his heart beating with dozens of pills, but devoid of any ability to do anything but watch TV, eat and shit. I find it rather ridiculous and sad. It's not a life to live." There is a conflict between these 2 of your posts.

That's true. Household debt in nominal dollars is at a record high, but it is not at a record high in inflation adjusted terms or as a percentage of GDP (although it's pretty close). What definitely is out of control in any terms is the Federal Government's debt level. It's horrendous. Worse than 1945 coming out of World War II.

Inflation slowing from an excessive rate does not mean a recession is likely avoided. It is not necessarily a direct corollary.

Unfortunately for your theory, it wasn't political instability that caused the Euro Crises of 2009. It was excessive national debt levels. You see, when people begin to suspect that their savings won't be paid back, they head for the exists.

Exactly. That is the cause of most recessions. Even the IMF said recently when the recession hits in the US it will have been caused by the excessive debt levels here, particularly the Federal Government. It really has already started. The last Federal Fiscal Budget that ended this past October saw tax revenue DROP by 10% compared to the previous fiscal year. And this is happening when things are supposedly going swimmingly.

OMG! Most recessions are caused by asset bubbles fueled by debt creation. ECO 101. The only thing "off topic" to you here are the posts you don't like. YOU bring up Jaime Dimon and then decide you don't want to hear about anything he said.