Economic recovery..

[Mithrandir]

Will it happen? How will it happen?

How is the US economy going to rebound?

Where are the jobs?

Where's the proof that there is hope for the US economy?

There's a lot of intelligence on this site....what are the answers...

[billbuckner]

Is it really bad or just a bit worse than it was before? I don't see people starving on the streets or trying to sell their daughters for goats.

[SeaDogStat]

More holidays...

[heyelander]

mmmm... goats.

[revo]

the economy HAS recovered already, that we know. GDP has grown every quarter since Q3 2009. 2010 GDP was even better than pre-recession 2007.

So of course, jobs and housing are the real issues. It's a vicious circle due to tightening on lending. Free money is hard to come by, and people can't dip into their house equity (because 1, there isn't any, and 2, the aforementioned tightening) to use that money on consumer spending. So businesses still aren't hiring despite having cash saved.

[Bob Kohm]

De-funding redundant public libraries.

[Hammer]

businesses that had to trim people are afraid to hire people back. For one, they figure their getting by during the downsize. Also, with so many people looking for jobs and so few open recs to hire people, businesses are being extremely cautious when it comes to bringing people on. They have such a large pool to choose from, if they dont find the perfect fit, they wait.

[Lucky]

the economy HAS recovered already, that we know. GDP has grown every quarter since Q3 2009. 2010 GDP was even better than pre-recession 2007.

So of course, jobs and housing are the real issues. It's a vicious circle due to tightening on lending. Free money is hard to come by, and people can't dip into their house equity (because 1, there isn't any, and 2, the aforementioned tightening) to use that money on consumer spending. So businesses still aren't hiring despite having cash saved.

This.

[Wonderboy]

mmmm...daughters.

[joncarlos]

A lot of businesses used the downturn as a handy excuse to trim the fat (higher paid, more seniority, lower performing, etc). This has led to 2 things that hadn't happened on a large scale with most of the previous downturns:

-They don't want/need those people back
-Those people aren't all that interesting to companies looking to hire

Unfortunately those people do a lot of buying houses and consumer spending (sometimes with money they don't really have) and so even though companies are doing well (GDP up, DOW/S&P up), unemployment is still high and people aren't spending that much.

I don't really know how to get out of that. How do you get more dumbasses employed?

[Mithrandir]

Build more libraries?

J/K, Mith. :flame:

just like every profession..there's a lot of dumbasses employed by libraries !! My predecessor fits the description to a tee.

[Lucky]

I'm sure someone will correct this if it is wrong, but I can't recall examples of companies in huge financial trouble deciding to outsource labor or build plants in other countries. The situations I recall are successful companies outsourcing or moving overseas in order to make even more money.

But this goes back to my standard rant. I think companies should stay here, make American products, and pay American workers to do it. I don't care it this means there are no more LCD televisions at Walmart for $80. I wouldn't mind having to save up to buy a television or a washing machine or some other durable good. I'd rather see them more expensive, better made, and American made.

Now, why don't "patriotic" American businesses see it the same way? Why don't "patriotic" American citizens see it this way? We've got too much worthless, cheap, cheaply made, foreign made crap in this country. Japan built a hugely powerful economy which got to its feet by selling the US cheap junk. Remember when "made in Japan" was a derogatory remark? Now we look for things made in Japan, because we know they will be quality goods. China is the same way. They have been selling us cheap junk as their economy grows and becomes more sophisticated.

I don't agree much with Chris Matthews, but he is right when he says that our problem is that we don't make anything anymore. We have too much of our work force in "service" and not enough in "manufacturing". And we have way, way too much of our economy in "financial services", something like ten times the percentage of other developed nations.

I don't want to sound too much like Pat Buchanan, but we need to stop the flow of cheap junk into this country, and start manufacturing our own quality products.

So. There you have it. The cough syrup is wearing off now, so I'll shut up.

[GwynnInTheHall]

I'm sure someone will correct this if it is wrong, but I can't recall examples of companies in huge financial trouble deciding to outsource labor or build plants in other countries. The situations I recall are successful companies outsourcing or moving overseas in order to make even more money.

But this goes back to my standard rant. I think companies should stay here, make American products, and pay American workers to do it. I don't care it this means there are no more LCD televisions at Walmart for $80. I wouldn't mind having to save up to buy a television or a washing machine or some other durable good. I'd rather see them more expensive, better made, and American made.

Now, why don't "patriotic" American businesses see it the same way? Why don't "patriotic" American citizens see it this way? We've got too much worthless, cheap, cheaply made, foreign made crap in this country. Japan built a hugely powerful economy which got to its feet by selling the US cheap junk. Remember when "made in Japan" was a derogatory remark? Now we look for things made in Japan, because we know they will be quality goods. China is the same way. They have been selling us cheap junk as their economy grows and becomes more sophisticated.

I don't agree much with Chris Matthews, but he is right when he says that our problem is that we don't make anything anymore. We have too much of our work force in "service" and not enough in "manufacturing". And we have way, way too much of our economy in "financial services", something like ten times the percentage of other developed nations.

I don't want to sound too much like Pat Buchanan, but we need to stop the flow of cheap junk into this country, and start manufacturing our own quality products.

So. There you have it. The cough syrup is wearing off now, so I'll shut up.

Good Post

[OaklandA's]

I don't want to sound too much like Pat Buchanan, but we need to stop the flow of cheap junk into this country, and start manufacturing our own quality products.

But most of it is not cheap junk, at least not now. The cars, computers, appliances, and TVs coming from Asia are good quality. So consumers have a choice of buying decent foreign products at a good price, or decent domestic products at a slightly higher price. Most consumers would like to be patriotic, but the price/quality combination often wins over patriotism.

Unfortunately, businesses are often in the same boat. If they can develop the same product for less overseas, then what motivation is there to spend more to build it domestically? They understand that their profits and stock valuations benefit from lower costs, and many will not want to sacrifice those for patriotism.

[Lucky]

But most of it is not cheap junk, at least not now. The cars, computers, appliances, and TVs coming from Asia are good quality. So consumers have a choice of buying decent foreign products at a good price, or decent domestic products at a slightly higher price. Most consumers would like to be patriotic, but the price/quality combination often wins over patriotism.

Unfortunately, businesses are often in the same boat. If they can develop the same product for less overseas, then what motivation is there to spend more to build it domestically? They understand that their profits and stock valuations benefit from lower costs, and many will not want to sacrifice those for patriotism.

The motivation is that it helps our country to invest domestically and it hurts our country to spend money overseas. Isn't that motivation enough?

As I said in my OP, Japan makes quality products. But they do so because they sold us crap for 40 years first. That's where China is now, selling us toys with lead paint on them.

Where does it say that we, as consumers, have a right to buy cheap products from other countries, to the detriment of our own country? Historically, other countries have protected their national industries from foreign competition. In the past, we didn't need protection, because we were the strongest and the best. Now our industries need protection. We should provide it.

I understand economics of the situation...that inefficiencies in the market can be manipulated to produce great profits. Right now, the difference is that our companies can get children in Pakistan to sew soccer balls with their teeth, procuring labor and materials cheaply and without any safety regulations. Is that what capitalism is about?