Economy Getting Better?

[955er]

I wish that was true.

it is

 

[955er]

Foreign ownership of American agricultural land. - Entrepreneur.com

 

[Kaizer Peas]

Let's see, if the Fed prints billions of dollars backed by nothing, what might that do to the value of a dollar and all that dollar has to buy? Then we add the new banking regulations that Chris Dodd had a hand in and decided not to run for office again since he knew that there's no way he could be elected again so he sort of put it to us.
Now how are we going to create new jobs with all this and the threat of Obama care and the EPA doing their version of cap and trade?
Until Congress can stop the hemorrhaging of run away spending and start to seriously cut spending, no new jobs and a rough economy for a long time and we might just become Greece.:confused2:

 

[BeeferMan]

I realize this is a political point...

No, there is nothing political in my statement. It is simple reality.

Coroporations and business owners are not the problem. Government regulation and taxation are the problems. Government waste and greed is what fuels this...

Corporations and business owners are not THE problem. But they are part of the problem. Many of your statements are true, but they are a fraction of the entire picture. "Government waste and greed"? Absolutely - but you stop way short of the whole story. Greed is a huge part of the problem. But it is more than just government greed - it's the greed of the "entitled", it's the greed of those who feel they are entitled to be supported while doing nothing, it's greed of the consumer who buys junk at the lowest price and wonders why their neighbors are out of work, it's the greed of unions who feel that corporations are bottomless money pits. And so on, and so on. And yes, it's greed of business owners and corporate management who feel the the sole purpose of being in business is to make a profit, and thus any action they take to that end is justified. I've owned my own companies, I've had employees. I need no lecture about that. One of the goals of the companies I have had (and currently have) was to make a profit. But to say those companies "exist to make a profit" is again a convenient over-simplification.

What a person makes who runs a company is none of our business.

Again, a sound byte over-simplification that doesn't really tell the whole truth. This statement may be true of the guy who runs the pharmacy downtown, but the management of public corporations have legal fiscal responsibilities.

...and until Government is made a whole bunch smaller, and people get elected that have a clue, the economy isn't going to get any better.

More true statements - that tell tell a partial story. The people who need to get a clue are the ones who elect the politicians - that would be *us*, collectively. But the voters suffer from their own version of greed. We have the best system in the word for putting the right people in power, we just don't use it very well.

Yes, corporate taxes are too high and government is too big. But if shrinking those is the only tools we have in the utility belt, well.. carry on with the fantasy....

 

[ultrarunner]

Just a few anecdotal observations...

We have had a hiring and capital expenditure freeze for several years at the Hospital...

Recently, we had no choice but to replace/update equipment... either to comply with new regulations or replace worn out equipment.

The expenditures were large and were driven by necessity.

Know quite a few on unemployment... after the initial shock and hoops to jump through to get checks... the urgency to find work diminishes... several are even expecting babies...

None of these folks would give-up unemployment for a job, maybe temporary at that for less than $15 to $18 an hour.

There is one exception... a very talented wood worker that does beautiful kitchen work... he worked for a high end firm and was laid off.

He decided to quit looking for work and open his own business, had most of the equipment needed on a hobby scale at home...

He has been shot down at every turn... customers want insurance certificate, insurers want business license, city says no business license because residential is not zoned for business... can't hire a helper because he needs worker's comp insurance.

Found two sites after months of looking and shot down again... at one, city requires the unit to be sprinklered for workshop... the other, even though business zoned required a variance for noise because wood working involves saws and planers... after applying for a variance and going through the process, it was denied... neighbors didn't want more Trucks/Traffic on narrow ally or noise.

He could have just kept working from home till he got caught if it wasn't for the insurance/license aspect... 3 phase power was also an issue.

The cards are definitely stacked against anyone trying to legitimately start a business... at least a dozen different agency approvals for a cabinet shop... almost like signing a blank check with no guarantee...

The odd part is much of the red-tape didn't even exist 25 years ago...

 

[EddieWalker]

.. carry on with the fantasy....

I agreed with everything you said until you got to the "fantasy" part.

Eddie

 

[Baby Grand]

Nobody really needs to make tens of millions of dollars in personal income. Nobody.

 

[dcyrilc]

Nobody really needs to make tens of millions of dollars in personal income. Nobody.

Speak for yourself.

I really do need to make that kind of money... At least once.

 

[300UGUY]

I think the economy, as measured by GDP & wall street, is getting better. That is good for folks who have money invested, and for pension funds. It isn't doing much for unemployment, because a lot of employment is with our multinationals, and they aren't adding many employees here. A lot of noise is made about small business, but the reality is that small business jobs usually aren't very good jobs. Low pay, few benefits and little chance of advancement are the norm. I grew up in a small business, and currently help my wife with her biz. There is a lot of myth and fantasy about small business, but IMHO, they are never going to provide the middle class jobs that folks need.

 

[BeeferMan]

I agreed with everything you said until you got to the "fantasy" part.

Understand that by "fantasy" I meant the impression I got from your post (as well as a bunch of others) that all we have to do is reduce taxes and move a shrunken government aside, then businesses will flock back to our shores, our economy and quality of life will soar, the rising tide will raise all boats equally, and America will dominate the world economically for another century. I consider that fantasy.

If I read your post incorrectly, then my bad, and we do agree on everything...