No matter who you're talking to, the state of the economy will surely be a topic of discussion. So I thought I'd ask how the state of the economy is affecting you and more specifically, is it affecting your decision on buying, trading, selling or performing mods on your bike?
The Economy Thread
Andy
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No matter who you're talking to, the state of the economy will surely be a topic of discussion. So I thought I'd ask how the state of the economy is affecting you and more specifically, is it affecting your decision on buying, trading, selling or performing mods on your bike?
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it's not affecting any of my purchasing decisions at this point but did in the past. Today's major crash will send people in a panic. Wisconsin has been recovering but as many know it's been a hotbed of political unrest and several recall elections are coming up next week.
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It's definitely affecting me - I have taken a $40,000 a yr. cut in pay x 2 years. At least I have a job - I am grateful. But, I work longer (80 hrs. a week) & make less. As a result - I am being careful about acquiring additional debt. It's easy to go into debt -
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I'm with redpin. Not so much with bikes but 2 years ago I was very careful, some months I wouldnt take a paycheck. Not because the company was doing bad but because I was preparing for the worse just incase things went really South. The last year has seen a rapid turn around.
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Business for me has been steady. Actually pretty good over the winter months when uncle Ben was printing money. Predictably though, once it was clear he was going to stop, things began to slow down for me. I'm sitting on 3-4 times the cash I've ever had. Why? From one month to the next, I can't see the future if it were 10 feet in front of me. One month it looks like we could see late 70's style hyper-inflation. The next month Eurpoe is on fire and might create a contagion that sends us into a depression. I hear a lot of talk about "uncertainty". That business people are "Uncertain" about the economic outlook. I see it differently. It's the "CERTAINTY" that's the problem. WE are all certain that if the Predsident and his party had it there way, we would wake up tomorrow morning living in a European style Social Democracy. Well the one thing we DO know for certain, is that when we look accross the Atlantic at those kinds of Countries........They are taking the European Union UNDER. Now I don't know about anyone else, but THAT kind of certainty scares the Hell out of me! Mayberry
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Ive been layed off twice from the same place and now re-hired as temp employee with my contract ending in Dec. Ive stopped all plans of buying a new house for my family, my cars are aging and Im not planning to buy any vehicles. Pretty sure things are only going to get worse for this country, so major purchases are done for quite a while.
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Hang in there Buddy! Help is coming. We'll have a change in direction late next year, and Real Capitalists will be back in charge. Remember, being broke is temporary, being poor is a state of mind. Sounds like you're doing the right things. That will pay off sooner or later. Mayberrytwstdcain said:
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Yesterday I was standing on the sidewalk in front of the Whitehouse. I was sending morse code messages to the Whitehouse with my eyelids (in case anyone was watching). "Please - since you just borrowed an additional $300 billion from us - can I have some back - say - $200,000 (with interest)." LOL!
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I can't agree that things are going to get better late next year. Whether it is Democrat or Republican, both parties do not and will not have the interests of the common working man in mind. There's been a shift in political thinking across both parties and this damage and way of thinking is going to take about a decade and a half to turn around IF political philosophies were changed completely tomorrow. And that ain't gonna happen. This, right here, is sadly the new America.
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Working in the manufacturing/construction industry, I have been to the gates of hell and back. There are 2 lessons I have learned over the last 4 years and those are: -stay away from debt!...because what you make is usually not the problem, but what you spend will make or break you. I have watched some very rich frinds go through bankruptcy because they couldn't control their spending. If you want to get out of debt and stay out of debt, go listen to Dave Ramsey for a while. -and just as important, control your own destiny. Stay 2 steps ahead of your job, your employer, and your industry. If you need more training, get it now, not later. If you need a new job/position, look now, not after someone else has made a decision for you. No one will fight for you except for you. ....now couple lesson one with lesson two. If you stay out of debt and build up a cushion you will be able to make ALL the decisions in your life and will not have to be reliant on a job or an employer to decide the fate of your future.
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This is the expected result with a Marxist in the Whitehouse. When Ohbummer says job's are his #1 priority [for last 2 years]; he is only talking about his own.
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Damn, your optimistic of a Party that has failed to make any real positive changes in lets say 20 years... So who is this real capitolist that is going to save us? Romney, Trump, Palin, Huckabee, Gingrich, McCain? Front runner right now is Romney and he is as bad as the ones you call Marxist on the other side of the same fence. Hey, Trump has my vote... Atleast he is not a politition, he just plays one on TV...Advntrus2pointoh said:
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Yep, that is definetely a good thing. My problem usually is what is American? Do you buy a Hyundai assembled in America or a Chevy Aveo built overseas? Do you support the American company or the American worker? Not directing this at you directly, it just has always been one of my quandaries... Personally, I typically opt for the one that keeps American workers working.bubba said:
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Yesterday, more than 2 Trillion was lost in the stock market. The Speaker of the House, John A. Boehner (R - OH) claimed he got 98% of what he wanted in the "Debt limit Bill". So I guess we know who is to blame for the recent post signing tanking of the Stock Market. Thankfully, today's jobs report numbers were in excess of what was expected. Non Governmental jobs (private sector) have increased over 2 Million since President Obama came into office. At the same time, Federal, State and Local jobs have taken a huge hit. The brilliant Republicans decided just before recessing to NOT sign a continuation FAA bill which meant that at least 74,000 workers (4,000 Government, 70,000 private industry) would become unemployed for duration of the recess (5 weeks). Why would they do this? Union Busting. Thankfully Harry Reid publicly embarrassed them into signing a continuation bill. Listening to his advisors and reps from Wall Street who wanted a 4 Trillion dollar deal, President Obama offered exactly that, which included cuts and changes to SS and Medicaid to the chagrin of his party. Since Mitch McConnell's publicly stated main purpose in life is to make sure Obama doesn't get re-elected, he nixed that deal because he knew it would help re-elect the President. His recent August the second quote from the Washington Post kind of says it all; "I think some of our members may have thought the default issue was a hostage you might take a chance at shooting," he said. "Most of us didn't think that. What we did learn is this - it's a hostage that's worth ransoming. And it focuses the Congress on something that must be done." Thank you John Boehner and Mitch McConnell for making sure that our country took a huge hit in order to keep the richest 2% from having a 4% increase in taxes. Maybe these two should call up these Ultra Rich people and see what they think after their losses this past week surely amounted to several times the costs of a tax increase. I know that my personal 401K has lost 20% over the last month.
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Buy the product made in America and support the American worker, not the American company. Why? Because the labor is greater than the profit and an American worker will redristribute more money back into the economy than the company will.dsjr70 said:
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