The economy, is it good or bad. (Page 66/181)
84Bill OCT 07, 09:54 PM
oops

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 10-07-2007).]

Pyrthian OCT 08, 10:06 AM
is it a "trap"? hard to say it is....most of the lessons here are as old as Aesops Fables. It sucks that so many people think the lessons from old Aesop are trite, and no longer apply. That the modern man and his TV have made it beyond such things.

like every other BAD BAD habit - its gets tougher & tougher to get out of "the trap" the longer you stay "in it".
DONT use credit
DONT smoke
DONT drink
DONT skip school
DONT do drugs
DONT gamble

I'm sure theres more. but, you can see the company it is in. like all the others - if you got self control - it can be fun. but - know going in - it is DANGEROUSLY addictive. and - it will take you down - if you let it. and, just like the others - I DONT want laws against it. and - just thiunk how much worse this wopuld be if drug dealers accepted VISA/MC?
JazzMan OCT 09, 02:00 PM
.

[This message has been edited by JazzMan (edited 12-04-2008).]

Phranc OCT 09, 04:54 PM
DOW up over 100 points today.

Run for the hills the end is near!
fierobear OCT 09, 05:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by JazzMan:


PMI only protects the bank, not the homeowner, and even at that it's regular insurance which means that everyone paying PMI will start paying more in order to cover the losses incurred by the banks. Luckily, I had enough to make a 20% down payment though I had to close out all my retirement savings and most of my cash to do it, so I won't have to bite the PMI bullet. I never saw any sense in paying for insurance that only protected someone else.

JazzMan



What is the status on the house you are fixing up?
84fiero123 OCT 09, 11:59 PM
Funny thing about the unemployment rate in the USA is that is only people who have applied for or are eligible and receiving unemployment.

What about those who have used up those benefits? They are not counted.

Or the homeless, they are not all just drunken drug addicts.

Layoff led to homelessness
All it took was a layoff to push Robert Garner over the edge. About a month ago, the 40-year-old was laid off from his job at a packing plant and could no longer afford the $475 rent for his mobile home in Lima, Ohio. So he packed a backpack with whatever he could carry — clothes, a razor and sleeping bag — and hitchhiked 122 miles to Cincinnati, where he wound up sleeping under a bridge. He sold his car because he couldn't keep up with the payments.
He went to soup kitchens for meals or worked odd jobs to pay for food. Drop-in homeless shelters provided a place for him to shower. In late July, he got a $9.50-an-hour job driving a forklift for the Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, which also provided him with housing.
"The economy has really taken a toll on manufacturing," Garner says. "It was hard. I don't like to take things from people. I like to help myself. In a way, you get a sense of hopelessness. But I tried to keep a nice, clean appearance."
Other factors putting more families and workers at risk:

http://www.usatoday.com/mon...08-11-homeless_x.htm
Yet everyone has said nothing of these people who are living day to day on the streets. More families than ever.

Yet the economy is doing great ya right.

Some have lost jobs and then their unemployment so they are no longer in those statistics.

Yet you say we are doing great, ya right.

You know what, believe what you want but these are facts. People that are homeless are not on the unemployed rates.

They are factory workers who lost there jobs, not high paying job, unless you consider. Nonunion factory workers wages high.

No one has even mentioned these people in this thread.

OK now what do you have to say.


edited to fix link
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Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 10-10-2007).]

84fiero123 OCT 10, 12:02 AM
People who live paycheck to paycheck are in the millions in this country, say what you want but they are just a couple of paycheck away from being homeless themselves. Without an address you are not eligible for any kind of unemployment benefits.

Now what do you have to say?

These are numbers from 02 but then we have just gone from bad to worse.

•Soaring housing costs. The median price for existing homes is projected to rise 6% in 2003 to $167,800, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"The economy has been in a down phase before, but this time housing prices have really continued to skyrocket. It's been a huge factor in the explosion in homelessness among families," says Mitchell Netburn, director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which coordinates homeless programs in the city and county. The median home price in the Los Angeles area for the first quarter of 2003 was $307,900. That's up 16.2% from the first quarter of 2002.
As prices go up, it becomes harder for the poor to purchase a home or even afford rent.
Nearly 28 million households — one in four — reported spending more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the Millennial Housing Commission. That amount is more than the government deems affordable, the commission reports. Median monthly gross rent in the nation climbed to $602 in 2000 from $481 a month in 1980, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.


More from the same link.

Mounting debt. Consumer debt is growing, and more homeowners are taking out loans to pay credit card debts. Foreclosures are up. Last year, there were 1.5 million bankruptcy filings by individuals — the highest on record — up from 289,000 non-business filings in 1980, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Though about 20% of the homeless live in the suburbs, the rise in homelessness is mostly manifesting itself in major urban areas.
In Boston, the number of homeless women increased by 10% in 2002 compared with 2001, according to a city census. In San Francisco, the city reports that the homeless population in 2002 was 8,640, an 18% rise over 2001.


But we are in great shape.

BS

------------------
Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

84fiero123 OCT 10, 08:04 AM
United States Homeless Statistics
The average age of a homeless person living in the US is nine years-old.
3.5 million people (1.35 million of which are children) will experience homelessness in a given year.
Children under the age of 18 account for 39% of the homeless population. 42% of these are under the age of 5.
43% of the homeless population are women; 40% of these women are unaccompanied. 22% of homeless women claim domestic abuse as reason for homelessness. 25% of these claim to have been abused within the past year.
Families with children comprise 33% of the homeless population.
Vets constitute 40% of the homeless population.
1 in every 5 homeless persons has a severe or persistent mental illness.
25% of the homeless nationwide are employed.

http://lahsc.org/wordpress/...homeless-statistics/

I know I put my other posts and links on late last night but this is just one more to get my posts to the general readers who still say we are in great shape.

We are not talking about drunks and drug addicts, we are talking about families who have lost homes, vets who have fallen threw the cracks.

Yet the economy is doing just great.

------------------
Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

Pyrthian OCT 10, 10:05 AM
I think much of the problem here is the fact that "good" & "bad" is subjective. and, to some - it does not even apply. to some - the economy is what it is - they will thrive & advance no matter what. as you have heard from many - their mutual funds are doing GREAT. yes, they are investing in foriegners & letting americans dwindle. "the economy" is fine. it is always fine. even thru "the great depression" - it was fine. there is ALWAYS money to be made.

I suppose a "fixed price" economy would be what you are looking for? where, no matter what - this item costs this much, forever. I do beleive this is kinda what china has been attempting.

anyways - dont do credit.

and - next - the "living paycheck to paycheck"
this is a lifestyle issue. the people who live like this do so because thats how they want it. they want to feel like "big boys & girls". they want to "make it on their own" - even tho - they obviously cant. any immigrant could show them exactly how to live. with more family. cut down on the rent/mortage. pride. they just got to get out there on their own at 18, before they even are close to getting a "real" job - and then get themselves into the rut where they are endlessly chasing their tails. and then enter the credit cards/equity loans. now their fate is sealed. because I can say with certainty - that what was bought with the credit cards/equity loan was not any self improvement/schooling - it was a entertainment system, clothes, prepared meals - anything to "make life easier"....AKA - LAZY

there are plenty of immigrants who come in - make less money - and yet still manage get by, and still able to send money back home, enough to family eventually over here too.

its that inane rush to leave the family at 18 that ruins many young men's futures. get out there and start throwing money away with rent for an apartment. start digging the hole with credit. by the time they are 25 - they are screwed for the next 10 years. and still havent figured out that it dont get any easier. it only get easy if YOU make it easy. the only person who will move you forward is you. have more to offer than a highschooler.
madcurl OCT 10, 11:23 AM

quote
Originally posted by madcurl:


Geezs, LFC @ 94 and RIMM @ 114 and climbing...a 12% increase from last night closing.





quote
Originally posted by 84fiero123:

And that means so much to these people.

Boom, Bust in Area Beset by Foreclosures




Meanwhile, As the World Turns....LFC @ 96.02, RIMM @ 114.66 (unchanged), but GOOG up @ 621 from 584 from Fridays close. Will GOOG hit the $700 mark? One thing is for sure, during this period since this thread was started....ya coulda' been making some paper money.

[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 10-10-2007).]