More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

[Nicolos_Darvas]

Since Bush ended the recession from Clinton this economy continues to roll in spite of 2 wars, a massive destructive hurricane and Clinton's recession.
Since we don't hear shit from the media anymore about Iraq that must mean things are good over there.

BUSH is rockin and rollin !!!!!

Elect and Re-elect Republicans this fall.

Consumer Spending Surges in November
Friday December 21, 8:49 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="4"><tbody><tr><td height="4">
</td></tr></tbody></table>Consumer Spending Surges in November by Largest Amount in 3 1/2 Years WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers put aside worries about slumping home sales and soaring gasoline prices and headed to the malls in November, pushing spending up by the largest amount in 3 1/2 years.The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending surged by 1.1 percent last month, nearly triple the October gain. The gain reflected various promotional efforts by retailers such as heavy discounting and longer store hours at the start of the holiday shopping season.
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td><table class="ad_slug_table" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="center">[SIZE=-2]ADVERTISEMENT[/SIZE]
<iframe src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N763.yahoo.comSD1509/B2460336.3;sz=300x250;dcopt=rcl;click=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12fv12ku6/M=615987.11374409.12144202.1383221/D=fin/S=8988914:LREC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1198256200/A=4964455/R=0/*;ord=1198249000041196?" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" bordercolor="#000000" frameborder="0" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300"> <SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N763.yahoo.comSD1509/B2460336.3;abr=!ie;sz=300x250;dcopt=rcl;click=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12fv12ku6/M=615987.11374409.12144202.1383221/D=fin/S=8988914:LREC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1198256200/A=4964455/R=1/*;ord=1198249000041196?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12fv12ku6/M=615987.11374409.12144202.1383221/D=fin/S=8988914:LREC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1198256200/A=4964455/R=2/SIG=13jdvfu8o/*http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N763.yahoo.comSD1509/B2460336.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=1198249000041196?"> <IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N763.yahoo.comSD1509/B2460336.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=1198249000041196?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=250 ALT="Click Here"></A> </NOSCRIPT> </iframe></td></tr></tbody></table><script language="javascript"> if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['FlbjJdG_Ru4-']='&U=13b29bp5b%2fN%3dFlbjJdG_Ru4-%2fC%3d615987.11374409.12144202.1383221%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4964455'; </script><noscript> </noscript></td></tr></tbody></table>The November advance was the biggest one-month jump since a 1.2 percent rise in May 2004 and was significantly above the 0.7 percent analysts had expected. Incomes were also up last month, rising by 0.4 percent, double the October increase but slightly below the advance that had been expected.
An inflation gauge tied to spending showed a 0.6 percent increase in November, the biggest jump in more than two years, reflecting last month's big surge in gasoline prices. Excluding energy and food, prices were up 0.2 percent. Core inflation is up 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, above the upper range of the Federal Reserve's comfort zone of 1 percent to 2 percent.
The big jump in spending came at a critical time for retailers -- the start of the all-important holiday shopping season. But there have been more recent signs that sales slowed in December.
Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity. Many economists believe that overall economic growth will be at a barely discernible rate of 1 percent in the current quarter, as the country struggles with the fallout from the housing downturn and a spreading credit crisis that has made bank loans harder to get for individuals and businesses.
While the risks of a recession have risen, the Federal Reserve is fighting to avert a full-blown downturn by cutting interest rates. It has not been as aggressive as financial markets want, however, because of Fed worries about inflation pressures.
The 1.1 percent rise in consumer spending followed a 0.4 percent rise in October. Excluding the effects of inflation, spending would have risen by 0.5 percent, the best showing for inflation-adjusted spending in 11 months.
After-tax incomes were up 0.3 percent in November, but after adjusting for inflation, incomes actually fell by 0.3 percent after a 0.2 percent drop in October. Democratic presidential candidates, hoping to make the economy an issue in next year's contest, have been stressing the weak gains in incomes as an example of failed Republican policies.
With spending rising at a faster rate than savings, the nation's savings rate dipped into negative territory in November at 0.5 percent. That meant that households spent all of their incomes and either dipped into savings or borrowed to finance the higher level of spending last month.

 

[gopherbob]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

"With spending rising at a faster rate than savings, the nation's savings rate dipped into negative territory in November at 0.5 percent. That meant that households spent all of their incomes and either dipped into savings or borrowed to finance the higher level of spending last month."

this is good ?<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

 

[mr merlin]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Its a trend that has been going on for many years bob. Not a good thing but Nics right - the economy is not bad right now.

 

[scrimmage]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush-NOT!!!

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush-NOT!!!

Its a trend that has been going on for many years bob. Not a good thing but Nics right - the economy is not bad right now.

The surge in consumer spending in November is not a sign of US economic health,but an example of Bushonomics.
The reason as described in the WSWS article is that consumer prices across the board have exploded so therefore the average consumer by necessity has to spend more than before for the same basic items.Higher prices =more spending.
Of course Bush Adminitration apologists and bootlickers take simple economic facts and make silk purses out of sows ears with them.
In the words of a former great American [16th President] statesman Abe Lincoln,"You can fool some of the people all of the time,and all of the people some of the time,but you can't fool all of the people all of the time"...

the link for this is:
Inflation surge hits consumers, compounds global banking crisis

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=20></TD><!-- 440 pixel column for main page body --><TD vAlign=top width=440><!-- SHTML page goes here: THERE SHOULD BE NOTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->[FONT=Arial,Geneva,Helvetica,Swiss][SIZE=-1]WSWS : News & Analysis : North America[/SIZE][/FONT]
Inflation surge hits consumers, compounds global banking crisis

By Barry Grey
20 December 2007


Amidst mounting losses by major US and European banks and extraordinary measures by central banks to avert a financial meltdown, a dramatic increase in US inflation has further roiled global markets, raising the specter of a slide into ?stagflation??economic slump combined with sharply rising prices.

On December 13, the US Labor Department reported that producer (wholesale) prices jumped a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent in November. Led by a 35 percent increase in gasoline prices, the spike in producer prices was the biggest monthly increase since 1973.
The following day the Labor Department announced an increase in consumer prices for November of 0.8 percent, which translates into an annual rate of 4.3 percent. It was the biggest monthly increase in consumer prices since September of 2005. Energy prices were up from October by 5.7 percent, and food, apparel, housing and medical care prices also rose steeply.

The inflation figures sparked major sell-offs on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 178 points on Friday and more than 172 points on Monday. The flight from stocks was driven, in the first instance, by fears among the banks and big investors that the acceleration of inflation would prevent the Federal Reserve Board from continuing to slash short-term interest rates.
Wall Street roundly denounced the Fed on December 11 and sent stocks plummeting by more than 294 points when the US central bank reduced the benchmark federal funds rate?the target interest rate for inter-bank loans?by only a quarter of a point. This was despite the fact that the rate cut was the third consecutive one enacted by the Fed, which has reduced the federal funds rate by a full percentage point since the credit crisis erupted last August.

The banks and major investors see interest rate cuts as a means of flooding the financial market with cheap credit and staving off further losses from subprime mortgage-linked investments that have collapsed as a result of the US housing slump and surge in home foreclosures. However, further rate cuts can only accelerate the already steep decline of the US dollar on world currency markets and fuel an even more rapid rise in prices.
The inflation figures reported last week are just the tip of the iceberg. The prices of basic commodities?energy, foodstuffs, metals?are soaring at record rates around the world. At the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat and rice prices for delivery in March 2008 have jumped to an all-time record, soybean prices are at a 34-year high and corn prices at an 11-year peak.
The head of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization warned Monday that the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are rising to historic levels. There is a ?very serious risk that fewer people will be able to get food,? particularly in the ?developing world,? said Jacques Diouf.
In the US, dairy prices were up 14 percent in the past year; meats, poultry, fish and eggs, 5.4 percent; cereal and baked products, 5.2 percent; and fruits and vegetables, 4.5 percent. Researchers at Iowa State University predict that soaring corn prices?in part the result of the diversion of corn to ethanol production?will push retail prices for meat up by 7.5 percent and raise egg prices by 13.5 percent over the next year.

Meanwhile, unprecedented moves by major central banks to inject cash into the financial markets have done little to reduce sharply higher lending costs and induce banks to lend more freely to other businesses, including fellow banks. In an attempt to loosen near-frozen credit markets, the Federal Reserve Board and central banks in Europe, Britain and Canada last week jointly announced low-interest rate auctions of cash and currency swaps worth a total of $64 billion.

But the move only exacerbated fears of a global financial meltdown, revealing the level of anxiety among central bankers over the precarious state of the US and European banking system. Stock markets in Europe turned downward amidst fears that the coordinated action was woefully inadequate to seriously address the crisis.
On Monday, the European Central Bank announced an even larger injection of capital, saying it would extend unlimited short-term credit to Eurozone banks in need of cash before year-end, when bank balance sheets must be closed out for the year. On Tuesday it reported that it had pumped over $500 billion into the financial system.

Many commentators are acknowledging that even such massive infusions of cash will only delay the inevitable reckoning resulting from years of vastly inflated home prices, which served as the basis for an explosive growth of inflated, speculative asset values. A very small layer of bankers, hedge fund managers, private equity executives and big investors raked in fabulous sums in the course of the speculative boom, while living standards for the vast majority of working people continued to stagnate or decline.

Writing in the Financial Times on Monday, Wolfgang M?nchau said of last week?s coordinated central bank action: ?The idea was that a coordinated response would reassure the markets, but it had the opposite effect. It turned out that market participants are not infinitely stupid. They know by now that this is not a liquidity crisis at its core. If it had been, it would be over by now.
?It is a fully fledged solvency crisis that has arisen because two giant and interlinked bubbles burst simultaneously?one in property, one in credit?leaving banks and investors on the brink of bankruptcy, some hanging on by their fingertips.?
Fresh developments over the past week have substantiated this diagnosis. Last week, Vikram S. Pandit, the new chief executive of Citigroup, the largest US bank, announced that the bank would bail out seven affiliated investment funds, bringing their $49 billion in assets onto Citi?s balance sheet. This move will inevitably result in further write-offs of billions of dollars in subprime mortgage-linked investments that have essentially collapsed.
The subprime-backed securities were held by Citi?s structured investment vehicles (SIVs). These are off-balance-sheet and nominally independent entities that are, in fact, managed by the banks that sponsor them. Not subject to regulatory oversight, these funds engage in high-risk, high-yield speculative investments, generating profits by investing cash from the sale of low-yield short-term loans, called commercial paper, in longer-term, higher-yielding ventures. They depend on their ability to continually raise new cash from the sale of their commercial paper to pay off their short-term debt.

The implosion of the US housing market has undermined the SIVs, much of whose assets are tied to subprime mortgages. Unable to find buyers for their commercial paper, they have been forced to sell off assets at sharply reduced prices, and face full-scale collapse. Citi?s seven SIVs have seen their nominal assets fall since August from $87 billion to $49 billion.

Under its previous CEO, Charles Prince, who was forced out at the beginning of November, Citi had insisted it had no financial responsibility for its SIVs and would not rescue them. This only further undermined confidence in the bank, which has reported some $11 billion in losses from subprime-linked investments.
Now that it has taken its dubious SIV assets onto its balance sheet, Citi will have to generate billions in cash to cover added potential losses. The bank?s capital cushion is already well below that of its major rivals, and its woes were heightened when Moody?s Investor Services, one day after the SIV announcement, downgraded the bank?s long-term ratings, saying its expected the bank to report further losses.

Citi has already announced it is working on a major restructuring plan and is expected to announce large-scale layoffs. In addition, most Wall Street investors have concluded it will be forced to cut or entirely eliminate its stock dividend.
On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley, the second largest US investment bank, announced it was writing down an additional $5.7 billion in mortgage-related assets, bringing its fourth quarter write-off to $9.4 billion. The bank reported a loss from continuing operations of $3.9 billion for the fourth quarter ended November 30?its first ever quarterly loss.

At the same time, the bank said it was selling some $5 billion of equity units convertible into common stock to an investment arm of the Chinese government, in effect giving the Chinese state-run company a 9.9 percent stake in Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley thus becomes the third major international bank to raise desperately needed cash by selling part of itself to Asian or Middle Eastern state investment entities. Last month Citigroup sold a 4.9 percent stake to Abu Dhabi?s investment arm, and earlier this month the Swiss banking giant UBS, after announcing $10 billion in subprime-linked write-downs, sold stakes to the Singapore government and an unnamed Middle Eastern investor.
Also on Wednesday, Standard & Poor?s said it may downgrade the AAA ratings of leading bond insurers Ambac and MBIA due to rising delinquencies and foreclosures on subprime mortgages. The ratings service also slashed the rating of ACA Capital, another bond insurer, from A to CCC, that is, junk bond status.

Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and other major banks are reportedly in talks to bail out ACA Capital, which has guaranteed $26 billion in mortgage securities.
The downgrading or collapse of major bond insurers would have a devastating impact on banks, whose insured securities would have to be downgraded or written off. It could have a whipsaw effect, leading to a collapse in confidence in the broader bond market and a bond market fire sale.

Most estimates place the total write-down of subprime-linked assets thus far at $90 billion, and many analysts predict that, before the dust settles, $400 billion will have gone up in smoke. According to Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius, a loss on this scale could result in a reduction in lending of $2 trillion.
The Financial Times, commenting Monday on the accelerating financial crisis, wrote of the collapse of the ?shadow? banking system. ?A plethora of opaque institutions and vehicles,? it wrote, ?have sprung up in American and European markets this decade, and they have come to play an important role in providing credit across the financial system. Until this summer, structured investment vehicles (SIVs) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) attracted little attention outside specialist financial circles. Though often affiliated to major banks, they were not always fully recognized on balance sheets. These institutions, moreover, have never been part of the ?official? banking system: they are unable, for example, to participate in today?s Fed auction.?

The newspaper went on to quote Bill Gross, head of Pimco Asset Management Group, who recently wrote: ?What we are witnessing is essentially the breakdown of our modern-day banking system, a complex of leveraged lending [that is] so hard to understand. Colleagues call it the ?shadow banking system? because it has lain hidden for years, untouched by regulation yet free to magically and mystically create and then package subprime loans in [ways] that only Wall Street wizards could explain.?
It is this vast edifice of speculation, swindling and greed?driven by the contradictions and crisis of modern global capitalism?that is now imploding.


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[Thor4140]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Keep on trying to put lipstick on this Pig Nikky. One of the biggest markers of a robus economy is home buying. You buy a house you have to furnish it. Everyone wins. Nobody is buying houses. In fact a lot are losing them in this wonderful economy. Maybe you mean China?

 

[Spytheweb]

Death of the US dollar

Death of the US dollar

George Waterboard Bush is killing this country.

@Death Of The Dollar

 

[ironmike67]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

This country needs Ron Paul .

 

[ZZ CREAM]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

With people still not recognizing the truth of our economy and still retaining the desire for more George Bush...........................I think we need to put about a TRILLION DOLLARS into education .

 

[scrimmage]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

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</TD></TR><TR><TD height=5>Let's give George Bush credit for the latest December jobs report.If government hadn't added jobs there would have been negative growth,also notice that retailers cut positions during what's supposed to be the biggest month for retail sales.
Time to wake up and face the facts,the US needs to remake itself and deal with coming new realities.

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<BIG class=pr>AP</BIG>
Stocks Sink on Jobs Data; Tech Plummets
Friday January 4, 6:12 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer <TABLE height=4 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=4></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Wall Street Finishes Lower After Slower-Than-Expected Jobs Growth, Rising Unemployment NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street fell sharply Friday after the government's much-anticipated employment report showed


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
weaker-than-expected job growth and a rise in the unemployment rate.
The Labor Department's report that employers raised payrolls by only 18,000 and that the nation's unemployment rate rose to its highest level since November 2005 unnerved investors, who worried that a weakening job market will hurt consumer spending and tip the economy toward recession.
A better-than-expected reading on the nation's service economy briefly pulled stocks off their lows but wasn't enough to shake investors' concerns.
Investors had been awaiting the jobs report for weeks as they tried to determine whether the economy would continue to benefit from robust consumer spending even as sectors like home construction, mortgage writing and manufacturing slow. Wall Street is concerned that areas of weakness could puncture growth if consumers can't depend on a solid job market.
Manufacturers, construction companies and financial services companies all cut jobs during the month amid an anemic housing market. Retailers also made reductions.
The December report showed employers added the fewest jobs to their payrolls since August 2003. Economists had predicted much stronger growth and an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent. Instead, unemployment climbed to 5 percent in December from 4.7 percent in November. While 5 percent unemployment is still considered good by historical standards, the increase from November clearly made some investors nervous. "It's a scary number, no question about it. No matter how good you wanted to feel about the economy averting a recession, there is far less conviction than even two or three days ago," said Joe Balestrino, senior portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

 

[Nicolos_Darvas]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Hey genius -- 5% unemployment is still full employment according to most economists. Looks like we have a mid cycle slowdown here and then look for markets to pick up this summer and fall.

 

[dirty]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

What is scary about that Nic is Holiday Season usually adds More jobs because stores are busier... that did not happen this year because Sales did not meet expectations so there was no need for new Help....

I am as Conservative as they come when it comes to economics, but I am also not blind.... The Value of the Dollar is dropping, the Euro is going up... the Dollar is only used by 65% of the countries now as currency of trade... the Real estate market is in the Tank (even here and North GA and the ATL market has been Immune from it), Banks are having to Borrow Cash from Foreign Countries like China, SA, and Dubai to stay afloat, and I could keep on going.... This country is on the Brink of a Financial Disaster that will make the Crash of 1929 Look like Childs play.... and if we don't do something to Secure the Banking Industry we are fucked with No Vaseline... The World Banks have said we have around 3 months to do something or disaster is looming..... Not a Pretty Picture..... You can bury your head in the sand all you want... But it does not change the Fact that Our economy (Which is still good at the moment) is on the Borderline of Collapse.

Also released Wednesday is Groceries are up 30% .... Highest Increase since the 70's.....

 

[ZZ CREAM]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

What is scary about that Nic is Holiday Season usually adds More jobs because stores are busier... that did not happen this year because Sales did not meet expectations so there was no need for new Help....

I am as Conservative as they come when it comes to economics, but I am also not blind.... The Value of the Dollar is dropping, the Euro is going up... the Dollar is only used by 65% of the countries now as currency of trade... the Real estate market is in the Tank (even here and North GA and the ATL market has been Immune from it), Banks are having to Borrow Cash from Foreign Countries like China, SA, and Dubai to stay afloat, and I could keep on going.... This country is on the Brink of a Financial Disaster that will make the Crash of 1929 Look like Childs play.... and if we don't do something to Secure the Banking Industry we are fucked with No Vaseline... The World Banks have said we have around 3 months to do something or disaster is looming..... Not a Pretty Picture..... You can bury your head in the sand all you want... But it does not change the Fact that Our economy (Which is still good at the moment) is on the Borderline of Collapse.

Also released Wednesday is Groceries are up 30% .... Highest Increase since the 70's.....

I have to apologize to you Dirty...............your analysis is not clouded by love of Bush. I am sorry that I questioned your ability to be independant. Well done!:cheers :cheers

P.S. You have not even mentioned credit card debt.

 

[scrimmage]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Hey genius -- 5% unemployment is still full employment according to most economists. Looks like we have a mid cycle slowdown here and then look for markets to pick up this summer and fall.

If "5% unemployment is still full employment"[5% is the official government issued #,and we know how accurate the information they provide is],then what were all those people[7,500 for 350-400 available jobs]doing lining up in the Atlanta area for a few low-paying jobs?
BTW someone like Anthony Ridley 42 who says he's been unemployed for 7 months would not be counted in the unemployment figures,people who've been looking for work longer than 6 months are dropped from the survey.

Thousands show up for shot at Wal-Mart job

By HELENA OLIVIERO, PAUL DONSKY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/09/08

They came in droves ? high school students, retirees, young moms, the unemployed ? all for a shot at a job at a new Wal-Mart on Memorial Drive in central DeKalb County.
In just two days, and with virtually no advertising or even any signs, a staggering 7,500 people filled out applications for one of the 350 to 400 available jobs.
<!--endtext--><!--endclickprintinclude--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=175 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=170 bgColor=#cccccc border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=9 width=168 bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=body>HOW TO APPLY
Must apply in person at St. Philip AME Church on Candler Road. For the next 10 days:
? 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday
? 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday
? 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

RELATED:
? More DeKalb news


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--startclickprintinclude--><!--begintext-->
Delois Zeigler was among those who packed a meeting room Tuesday at Saint Philips AME Church near Avondale Estates, hoping to soon be wearing Wal-Mart's trademark blue uniform.
"I need a job," said Zeigler, who has held temporary cleaning and cooking jobs since moving to metro Atlanta two months ago. "I'm open to anything."
Although Wal-Mart often draws more than 1,000 applicants in one day, store manager Henry @@@@@@ said the turnout for the Memorial Drive site was stunning.
"When I arrived Monday morning and saw people lined up down the hill, it was absolutely frightening," he said. "To see that many people, I was like, 'Oh my goodness.' I was very happy."
The big turnout speaks volumes about the state of the local economy, said Bruce Kaufman, a Georgia State University economics professor. While the unemployment rate in the area remains relatively low, Kaufman said the large number of job-seekers suggests that many people are either under-employed or had stopped looking for work.
"People are trying to upgrade to a better job," he said. The Wal-Mart, being built on the site of the former Avondale Mall, has been controversial. Some residents in nearby affluent Avondale Estates worried the store would bring crime and traffic, while others hoped it would spur economic growth.
For Anthony Ridley, 42, the issue was simple. He was just looking to work again after seven months of unemployment. "I am ready, and need to work again," Ridley said.

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[dirty]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

I don't consider a Job paying $8-$10 Bucks a Hour at a Wal Mart in GA (Yes that is how much they make here) as a Low paying Job considering you have to have no skills whatsoever unless you are a pharmacist, etc... and they are hired totally separate.... why should anyone make more than that to say "Welcome to Wal Mart" or to run a Cash register that is all Computerized.... :+clueless

 

[Nicolos_Darvas]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Scrimmage -- I think you would do well in a communist or socialist country where all the wealth is distributed by the government equally.

I will take low taxes, limited government and capitalism until someone shows me a better system.

For those that don't think they pay enough taxes like Warren Buffet I say get your checkbook out tonight and make out a check to the US Treasury and send it in tonight !!!! Just don't ask me to pay more. I already pay way way too much.

 

[scrimmage]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

I don't consider a Job paying $8-$10 Bucks a Hour at a Wal Mart in GA (Yes that is how much they make here) as a Low paying Job considering you have to have no skills whatsoever unless you are a pharmacist, etc... and they are hired totally separate.... why should anyone make more than that to say "Welcome to Wal Mart" or to run a Cash register that is all Computerized.... :+clueless

Whatever the skill level is, someone making $10. an hour x40 hours x 52weeks would earn just $19,200 a year,to put it in perspective most new cars cost more than that.Even those with a job that is modest still have to put in the same hours,and it's easy to say that the other guy's job is basically doing nothing worthwhile,but that's the kind of jobs todays America produces[waiters,waitresses,bartenders,cashiers,janitors,fast food]for lots of workers.
Upward mobility is harder to achieve for many Americans as many higher paying jobs have been offshored or outsourced,and people that have to struggle to make ends meet get stuck in their current predicaments for a long time.

Here's a summary of Chapter 3[which covers Wal-Mart]from the book Nickel and Dimed,in which the author Barbara Ehrenreich works at a series of low-wage jobs:

Chapter 3: Selling in Minnesota

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ehrenreich spends more time looking for a place to live than in the other cities. The vacancy rate in Minneapolis was less than 1%, and Ehrenreich was unable to find an apartment. Hotels renting by the week or month were also hard to come by. She decides to find what she can and keep looking later. The only affordable place she can find is a rundown motel with no bolts on the door and no screen on the window. She has trouble sleeping and she is worried about her safety and the safety of her belongings. She keeps her laptop computer locked in the trunk of her car rather than leave it at the hotel.
She is able to find a job at the local Wal-Mart. Her job is in ladies clothing, picking up dropped clothing and taking clothing from the dressing rooms and putting them back on the racks. The job is extremely low paying and she is unable to afford much of anything outside her housing payment. She cannot buy any kitchen items and is unable to cook anything on her own, living instead on fast food that she can find nearby. Still unable to sleep because of the condition of her hotel room, she eventually finds a nicer room at an extended stay hotel with bolts on the door and he screened window. Her sleeping problems ceased and she feels much better during the day at work.
She finds her work at Wal-Mart repetitive and monotonous, and begins to believe that the employees are working far too hard for the wages they are given. She decides to try to plant the idea of the union into the other employee's minds. She begins discussing unions and what they could do for the employees.
Howard, the assistant manager, is a person Ehrenreich finds difficult work for and an enemy of the employees. His regular meetings seem pointless to her, and only feed into the monotony. The one bright spot of her days is Melissa, who works alongside her in ladies department. She and Melissa think up new jobs to do so that they can do them together. When Ehrenreich eventually leaves at the end of the month, Melissa decides to quit to rather than work at the Wal-Mart without her.

From:
Nickel and Dimed Summary - WikiSummaries, free book summaries

In this excerpt from "Rejecting the System",the writer Emily Spence mentions that 1 in 5 Americans live on less than $7.00 a day while at the same time the number of millionaires swelled to 8.7 million:

...there is little loyalty to companions, employees, nor employers. Instead, the overriding concern is simply advancement of one's own profit and this aim, alone. Hoarding behaviors will, then, be on the rise, too. At the same time, the gap between the haves and have-nots will, also, enlarge. All the while, people will be seen not as having much merit in and of themselves as they will largely be viewed as expendable commodities -- as means to an end to add to one's own financial and other assets.

This being the case, the number of millionaires in the world swelled to 8.7 million. Meanwhile, is there any mystery about whatever most of them are trying to do rather than spread their wealth in service to humanity or improvement of the natural environment? No. Instead of promoting widespread benefits, they are, for the most part, striving to become billionaires (called "kleptocrats" in a related Wikipedia citation below as they are thievishly parasitic on the body politic).

Indeed, many are wildly successful in achieving this objective. 'The number of billionaires around the world rose by 102 to a record 793... and their combined wealth grew 18 percent to $2.6 trillion, according to "Forbes" magazine's 2006 rankings of the world's richest people [5].' In addition, their group has been expanding steadily. All the while they, also, command vast stores of resources (obtained through their purchasing power), manipulate their governments (through lobbies and other means) and control others (via military might and other kinds) to keep everything solidly behind their acts of racking in ever more dollars and possessions, including huge tracts of land and factories, for themselves.

The flip side to this situation is that US jobs are disappearing overseas to second and third world countries in which the populations are paid measly salaries of ~ a dollar a day for their hard work. Moreover, these laborers will get fired if they dare to complain about their income, work conditions, or other aspects of their jobs. Furthermore, they are, for the most part, easily replaced as there often exists the condition of large unemployment in their locations. Therefore, they'd better, meekly and gratefully, do as they're told by management.

Meanwhile, the goods that they produce are sold to eager consumers in first world countries, consumers whose own economies are crumbling due to a growing deficit of work at reasonable wages. For example, one in five Americans now lives on less than seven dollars a day according to fairly recent US census figures [6]. All the same, it is primarily the near poor, who give the most to charities -- not the middle and upper classes. It is because they are almost poverty struck and know the degree that being so can be horrendously grim to the point of being even life threatening.

link:
On Rejecting "The System"

 

[dirty]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Why can't they learn a skill.... learn how to sew, lay block, be a electrician, etc... who says they have to work dead end Jobs.. :+clueless


When People are not willing to better themselves and learn how to improve their lives then their is no helping them whatsoever.....Skilled workers can find work all over the place if they are willing to work and are Drug free....The Temp Agencies and labor department around here are begging for people to come in that can just pass a piss test.... WE can't fill jobs around here... I am sure it is like that in most of the Country.... Most Legitimate companies insurance will not allow you to hire people that fail drug tests.... for people that can't where do you expect them to work...:+clueless:+clueless:+clueless


Lets just go with your Socialist Belief that they are entitled to make $20 a hour, Drive a good car, Have health care, good homes, etc without doing a god damn thing :hung

 

[scrimmage]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Why can't they learn a skill.... learn how to sew, lay block, be a electrician, etc... who says they have to work dead end Jobs.. :+clueless

When People are not willing to better themselves and learn how to improve their lives then their is no helping them whatsoever.....Skilled workers can find work all over the place if they are willing to work and are Drug free....The Temp Agencies and labor department around here are begging for people to come in that can just pass a piss test.... WE can't fill jobs around here... I am sure it is like that in most of the Country.... Most Legitimate companies insurance will not allow you to hire people that fail drug tests.... for people that can't where do you expect them to work...:+clueless:+clueless:+clueless

Lets just go with your Socialist Belief that they are entitled to make $20 a hour, Drive a good car, Have health care, good homes, etc without doing a god damn thing :hung

The skills you recommend learn to sew[compete with 3rd world textile workers]or construction[which only pays well if unionized-hard to get into- otherwise it's feast or famine],aren't what the understaffed "Temp Agencies"are looking for[office/computer skills].
Saying that the major reason Temp Agencies or the Labor Department can't meet their quotas because most applicants can't pass a drug test,but couldn't it be because the pay,benefits,and working conditions of the jobs are not attractive to prospective candidates.
Nobodys just entitled to make $20. an hour,but if someone does the best they can in the position they're in,makes an effort to be productive[even working at a Wal-Mart or Starbucks for example]then they could expect to make enough to get by[the car might have to be just basic transportation like a Hyundai,and a home means having to settle for something modest not a mansion].
The 793 billionaires in the world saw their combined wealth grow 18% to 2.6 trillion in 2006 so they are keeping up with inflation.Meanwhile as prices on everyday household items skyrocket what kind of salary increase does an average worker get?
Corporations squeeze their labor force for more and more productivity ,or outsource many of their best paying jobs in order to wring out more profits,which then go to the narrow shareholding class,or to outsize compensation for top executives.

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Hey Nico, care to comment on the current state of affairs?

Dow is dropping like a rock, dollar is ridiculously low in value, inflation is highest its been in 17 years, and a recession is on the horizon.

Excellent job, indeed, George W Bush.

 

[Pay the Snucka]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Hey Nico, care to comment on the current state of affairs?

Dow is dropping like a rock, dollar is ridiculously low in value, inflation is highest its been in 17 years, and a recession is on the horizon.

Excellent job, indeed, George W Bush.

Don't forget the wonderful job he has done in the middle east. Nic has no comment on W, his hard on for Al Gore prevents him from paying attention to what is going on.

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Don't forget the wonderful job he has done in the middle east. Nic has no comment on W, his hard on for Al Gore prevents him from paying attention to what is going on.

I didn't expect him to answer, because he knows he's dead wrong.....and he's busy looking for unseasonably cold daily temperatures in remote parts of the world. He's really got his eye on the prize.

 

[JTGAMBLE]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

BOOMING ECONOMY

 

[scrimmage]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

BOOMING ECONOMY

Excellent job George Bush!
Here's some satire from "the Onion",on the current state of the US economy,unfortunately this cuts close to the bone since it's really almost this bad out there right now.

3.2 Million Unemployed Americans Apply
For Opening At Ohio-Area Bob Evans

January 21, 2008 | Issue 44?03

FINDLAY, OH?In what some economists believe to be a sign that the U.S. could be headed for a recession, a job opening last month at the Findlay-area Bob Evans prompted a deluge of more than 3 million job applications from out-of-work Americans, restaurant manager Tom Fields confirmed Tuesday.
Within three days of placing a "Help Wanted" sign at the Bob Evans front entrance, Fields reportedly received more than 800,000 resum?s for the part-time hostess job. The newly available position offers no health benefits, minimum-wage pay, and a dress code that mandates both the standard red-and-white Bob Evans kerchief and "a smile," as well as a 15 percent discount on all meals eaten during one's shift.

Enlarge Image More than 74,000 qualified applicants wait to speak with the manager.


<!--[image:72813]-->
"Word of a job opening in this country sure does travel fast," the visibly exhausted Fields said. "I'm just dreading having to make those 3,199,999 rejection phone calls."

Over the next two weeks, another 2 million applications poured into the chain eatery from college graduates, former teachers, engineers, factory workers, computer programmers, 60,000 Americans formerly employed in the private sector, construction workers, Ph.D. candidates, and nearly 1.3 million Americans who have previous food service experience?including 230 former executive chefs.

Fields, who decided to forgo calling the group's 6 million personal and professional references before making this particular hire, called the selection of potential hostesses "very strong."

Although competition among the applicants has been fierce, many say they are simply glad to once again have the chance to apply for a job.

"I would kill for this opportunity," said former Ford plant supervisor Chris Thaney, who has been unemployed since 2006 and previously earned $75,000 a year. "I really think this is the lucky break my family and I have been waiting for."

Thaney, who waited for 15 hours for an interview in a line extending out the door, around the block, and into neighboring Toledo, said he was so excited by the possibility of securing the 25-hour-a-week position that he uprooted his family from Georgia and moved them to Findlay.

After the interview, Fields told the 43-year-old father of three that he would keep his resum? on file and "would let [him] know."
Enlarge Image Former pediatrician Dr. Peter Weintraub, whose beeper number is (203) 494-1375, was not offered the job.


<!--[image:72814]-->
"The final decision will be tough," Fields said. "We're looking for someone who is a team player, has good people skills, and won't buckle under the pressure. This place can get pretty nuts during breakfast, and we're always slammed after church on Sundays."

Fields said that he has already gone through one round of interviews, and plans to tackle the rest of the 2 million resum?s piled up on his desk by the end of next month. He hopes to have the field narrowed to 400,000 by the end of August.

Leading economists said they were not surprised by the turnout. More than 4 million Americans reportedly applied for a job at a Fort Wayne, IN American Eagle Outfitters in December, and all 7.7 million of the nation's unemployed expressed interest in a part-time, holiday-only position at the Westmoreland Mall Sunglass Hut last November.

A number of experts also predicted that, once the position at Bob Evans is filled, there will not be another job opening in America for at least six months.
"I completely botched the interview," said former AT&T mainframe programmer Richard Morrow, who studied the Bob Evans menu extensively for the interview, but was flustered when Fields only seemed interested in Morrow's experience studying abroad in college. "I wanted it too bad and it showed."

Thus far Fields has remained tight-lipped about any leading candidates for the job. Sources amongst the waitstaff, however, were "almost certain" that the position would be filled as early as next Wednesday by Fields'16-year-old niece, Samantha.
3.2 Million Unemployed Americans Apply For Opening At Ohio-Area Bob Evans | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

BUMP. BUMP. BUMP.

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Nico: Like I said in another thread, you never address a challenge to your ridiculous posts. Here's your chance to respond to my challenges from mid-January.

 

[Thor4140]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

edit

 

[Thor4140]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

...and he's busy looking for unseasonably cold daily temperatures in remote parts of the world. He's really got his eye on the prize.

:LMAO:LMAO:LMAO:LMAO:LMAO:LMAO:LMAO:LMAO

 

[Doc Mercer]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

The only thing "booming" in Bush's world is when Condi sucks off his WMD in the Oval Office ...

My God ... is this dude Nicolas really Britt Hume in real life???

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

BUMPITTY BUMP.

Nico: What's happening?

 

[Nicolos_Darvas]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

BUMPITTY BUMP.

Nico: What's happening?

This post was on 12-21-07, 09:01 AM. What is your point ?

The current mess has everyone's fingerprints all over it. Your boy Obama and all his fuckstick Dumbocrats had a big hand in the fannie/freddie Fiasco. No one gets a pass on this mess.

 

[MAXIM]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

This post was on 12-21-07, 09:01 AM. What is your point ?

I think his point is that you've been lost in la la land for quite some time.
[a bit embarrassing the more you look at it isn't it] :LMAO

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

This post was on 12-21-07, 09:01 AM. What is your point ?

The current mess has everyone's fingerprints all over it. Your boy Obama and all his fuckstick Dumbocrats had a big hand in the fannie/freddie Fiasco. No one gets a pass on this mess.

What's my point? How about that you have your head so damn far up your ass that you actually believed our economy was in great shape. You're incapable of thinking for yourself and this thread proves that you are a complete joke. Keep listening to the whackjobs on the MSM (Hannity, Rush, and Fox News) and keep bringing it in here, laced with profanity and bigotry.

By the way, I like how it was an excellent job by Bush when things were (in your effed up mind) going great. Now that you have actually admitted it's a "mess", it seems to be both parties' fault....you're a clown.

PS: I'm not voting for Obama numbnuts. I'm voting 3rd party as a protest vote against the two party system that silences the true voice of the people.

 

[ZZ CREAM]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

What is scary about that Nic is Holiday Season usually adds More jobs because stores are busier... that did not happen this year because Sales did not meet expectations so there was no need for new Help....

I am as Conservative as they come when it comes to economics, but I am also not blind.... The Value of the Dollar is dropping, the Euro is going up... the Dollar is only used by 65% of the countries now as currency of trade... the Real estate market is in the Tank (even here and North GA and the ATL market has been Immune from it), Banks are having to Borrow Cash from Foreign Countries like China, SA, and Dubai to stay afloat, and I could keep on going.... This country is on the Brink of a Financial Disaster that will make the Crash of 1929 Look like Childs play.... and if we don't do something to Secure the Banking Industry we are fucked with No Vaseline... The World Banks have said we have around 3 months to do something or disaster is looming..... Not a Pretty Picture..... You can bury your head in the sand all you want... But it does not change the Fact that Our economy (Which is still good at the moment) is on the Borderline of Collapse.

Also released Wednesday is Groceries are up 30% .... Highest Increase since the 70's.....

Fukkin A! Dirty of all People nailed the upcoming crisis that would be apparent to all in September........................NINE MONTHS LATER! Wherever you are D............WELL DONE! (And I hope you are well!)

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Bump. I love this thread.

 

[4625]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

Nicky has taken his, ball, rattle, and Faux News molar implant and gone away. . .No posts since the election of Hussein. . .

 

[Road Dawg]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

 

[HotShotHarvey]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

NICK...You're right..business is booming in America and all is well.....it's Obama's fault...and he's not even POtUS yet! ...OH...and the cow jumped over the moon which is made of green cheese!! LMAO...at you-as usual!!

 

[HotShotHarvey]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

The delusional get more delusional every day!! Right NICK??

 

[MAXIM]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

McNic is embarrassed to be alive. 2348ji23e - 2938u4ji23
He knows the 'repub rejects' have ruined us all. (but he'll NEVER admit it)
:+whipping

 

[Munchkin Man]

Re: More great economic news ... Excellent job George Bush

To His Fellow Americans:

The Munchkin Man would like to implore all good and patriotic Americans to get down on their hands and knees before going to bed every night, and give thanks to their Lord Thy God during their prayers, for the divine intervention He so generously provided, by sending President George W. Bush to the Oval Office as America's leader during this most turbulent time in America's history, a deeply spiritual man, whose deep Christian faith and unwavering devotion to principle, has succeeded in protecting Americans and their beloved family members and fellow citizens, from any further terrorist attacks, since the tragic date of September 11, 2001, against insurmountable odds.

Count your blessings and thank God for President George W. Bush!

AMEN.

Munchkin Man