Economy

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For those of you living in the US you know that our economy is bad, and is only going to get worse. The Bush admin claims our $300 per worker (or whatever) will fix the economy and it will all be back on track by summer. I think its just another BS Bush assessment, the value of the $ continues to fall, house prices are dropping, I know I owe more on my home then my home is even worth, thats bad, joblessness is increasing, wages are stagnent, we have a serious credit crisis and I just cant beleive that after 1929 we can allow that to happen again with such little oversight in the subprime morgage sector. I drive about 400 miles a week on my car and spend about $50, and my car is GOOD on gas. I am finding it more difficult to survive as I am now more then ever.

So my question is for you, how is the downturn in the US economy effecting ya?

For me I am working only part time and am beginning, for the first time ever, to fall behind on bills, I worry I will sink and not stay afloat, and may loose my somewhat worthless home tho I have a ways to go before that. I cant aford to take a vacation this summer, I cant aford to drive long distances (moreso then I already do daily for work), I cant aford to get air conditioning installed in my home, the one summer expence I really wanted to make, I cant aford healthcare, tho I am healthy I should be taking meds for an ulcer but cant shell out the about $200 for them, I have to borrow money from my parents if my car needs repair, and I am going to start selling my old CD's for gas money as my earnings continue to drop.

Here I am, 25 years old and want to do well so I can someday adopt a child and place them in the best home possible, and not have to worry about things many american familes worry about, I want security and stability, and now I see the next year at least as being difficult, perhapse even loosing equity especally if I end up loosing my job, or worse even loosing everything and starting over from scratch.

I have to say that I am in a very different situation than you are.

I have a decent full-time job that I work from home (although I do that, because I drive a distance for other events, I still feel the pinch of gas prices somewhat although since I budget high on gas initially, I am still not feeling the total effects). I have 25% equity in my home with a mortgage that keeps my total home costs within 25% of my "take-home" pay. Should I lose my job, I have a 2nd job I can fall back on if need be where there is always openings. I have no credit and in the 6 months, have put over $5000 toward paying off $30000 in student loans. I have no other credit card debt and in fact, cut up my only credit card and closed the account.

What is happening is that I think the US is finally hitting the breaking point of the credit cycle. This credit crisis may be the result of banks finally realizing that credit should not be given to those who cannot afford it (Duh!). In the meantime, the consumer is tapped out of all credit that they could get. Since home values are not rising, they cannot tap that anymore and many are maxed out on their credit cards. In other words, the pain we are experiencing is that we will finally have to live within our means.

As for regulation, there are 2 factors into why all this has happened. One is that the government has been deregulating banks though legislative actions and court cases which have weakened regulatory laws. The second is that an organization that wants to maximize profits will find a way around regulation because regulations limit profit. In this case, the system found a way to totally bypass regulation. Even so though, one should not depend on the government to protect them. If is up to you to learn what products are out there and when you are being screwed.

Which leads to my last point, rather than worrying what is going on in the White House, pay attention about what is going on in your house. What are you doing about your situation? If you are only working a part-time job, what are you doing to secure full-time work. Either that or are you looking for a 2nd part-time job. Do you have a house that you cannot afford? If so, then you probably need to sell it. You may have to do a short sale but that is alot better than a foreclosure. Are you living on more than you make? That can end only in one way and that is bankruptcy court. Before worrying about the national economy, lets worry about our own first. If we had done that after the tech bubble, we may not be in this mess right now.

I would be if I wasn't getting a research phd in a good enough field to basically let me get a good job anywhere in the world. There are plenty of other countries that have as good or higher standard of living, pay their scientists better and treat workers better in general.

My wife and I are fortunate in that we did really well during the tech boom and don't have much debt. The biggest effect on us right now are gas prices. We live 25 miles from town, so I churn a lot of gas going to and from work.

I agree that the biggest issues for the US economy revolve around imbalance - trade, consumption, budget, credit. With the new global economy, it seems logical that other, poorer countries will have an easier time raising their economies to match ours - rather than the US staying ahead.

For individuals, I think they'd do better working hard, creating a balanced budget for themselves, and sticking to it. A lot of people are convinced that they can get rich quickly via investment scenarios that turn out to be risky. No income tech stocks, flipping real-estate, etc. You have to be really smart or really lucky (or both) to get rich quick.

We're headed into a mild recession after 7 years of economic growth. Welcome to the normal business cycle.

Frankly, I'm shocked it didn't happen sooner. The U.S. has been hit by a ton of hammer blows over the last several years with the cost of terrorism, gas prices rising, losing a major port city (New Orleons), billions spent in Iraq, Democrats driving down consumer confidence, food bills rising, housing market crashing 2 years ago, the dollar falling steadily for some time, etc..

I find that we're doing as well as we are to be a marvel testiment to the stability of the U.S. economy.

Well, so far (knock on wood) my job not only seems to be secure, it is expanding. But I am concerned about the economy ahd high prices. And I don't think it will get any better no matter who is in the White House or the Governor's Mansion. We are in this shape for the reason that the people who have power over other people have made the decisions that they have and continue to make these decisions. We are all interconnected here, it is not just the White House or Governor's Mansion.

That said, what I have done, more or less consciously, is to recognize the fact that I live on a limited budget even though I have a good job, and that there are some things I just cannot do unless I want to go into debt. My number one rule for living is that whoever controls your income controls your life, so choose carefully. When I mean whoever controls your income, I mean not just whoever supplys your paycheck, but also your creditors. I made a misjudgment a few years ago regarding debt and I am paying for it now. My goal right now is to become as debt-free as possible and to avoid taking on unnecessary debt. As far as I am concerned, credit cards are the Mark of the Beast in Revelation; it is so easy to become enslaved to them.

Compared to many of my neighbors and peers I live pretty simply. I don't have the latest and greatest stuff. I buy things based on need and durability rather than want and fashion. And I am really, really good at saying no to sales pitches that don't quite sound right. There is a big difference between what I know I can afford and what the bank/realtor/salesman says I can afford. Because they don't have the whole picture to think of and I do. So while on paper, yes I could live a higher lifestyle, in the long run I can't sustain it.

I'm in bankruptcy. Officially declared chapter 7 this month and will be going to trustee meeting beginning of next month. I've surrendered my mobile home, though it will go on record as foreclosure, there was no way I could have sold it. Credit wise I'm in the crap hole, life wise I'm doing well. Readjusted my life to live within my means and I intend to keep it that way. Instead of getting loans I'll save up the money and buy something(Like a scooter or a three wheeler recumbent bike instead of a car) with cash and save money for maintenance and repairs. When I get credit cards(Starting and maybe sticking with secured) again I'll just use them instead of the money I have budgeted to spend on food and gas and use the money to pay off the card right away. I'm going to focus more on saving money, and hope that doesn't somehow get me screwed...

All in all I'm not to worried about the future, in fact I kind of think it will get better. I'm definitely not going to live with tons of debt over my head if I can help it.

You should really consider changing the title considering it is unclear if U.S. is in a recession presently. To be in a recession, we must have two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, so far we haven't had one quarter of negative growth (that is the official definition). The media and politicians like to hype it up and loosely use the word recession, but that does not make us in one just because they say we are.

As for the topic, business occur, have occurred, and will occur in the future. When they do, you just have to adapt or change your behavior for a few months. I have a decent full-time job, and this recession looks to be fairly mild, so I'm not worried at all.