US - Economy in Recovery or just smoke and mirrors?, page 4

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US - Economy in Recovery or just smoke and mirrors? << 1 2 3 4 >>

reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:27 PM by SLAYER69
Originally posted by ugie1028 this economy is watered down with fake numbers, and massive govt spending. This is the case world wide. The US isnt the only country trying to prime the pump with Government spending. For example Fiscal Stimulus Isn't Forever In China It's getting harder for the naysayers to doubt China's economic recovery. It's also going to be a challenge for Beijing to rely on stimulus spending to keep growth going. For sure, the $585 billion fiscal stimulus enacted last autumn has been a success, in terms of getting China's GDP growth rate back above the magic 8% level: it reached 8.9% on-year in the third quarter. The stimulus, and the accompanying expansion in bank lending seen in China this year, have underpinned growth through the global downturn. Nor is the fiscal stimulus over. It was always designed to be a two-year program at least. The central government--responsible for about a third of the total extra spending--will have disbursed only half of its $173 billion allocation by the end of this year. [edit on 29-10-2009 by SLAYER69]
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:30 PM by jam321
reply to post by ugie1028 this is just plain manipulation, plain and simple, they play some good news to keep peoples hopes up instead of telling the truth. There might be some manipulation going on. But is there any proof of that? Is the obama administration using different formulas to estimate than the previous administration? As far as I can tell, they aren't. Job loss is happening still. But aren't jobs the last part of a recovering economy? And don't people lose their houses more when unemployment is higher?
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:40 PM by SLAYER69
reply to post by jam321 The deal is everybody states that it's been the "Stimulus" spending that has kept the US afloat. But only about 1/4 of the stimulus package money earmarked has been spent. The rest will come next year. The bulk of this growth has come from the Consumer. Meltdown 101: Why did GDP rise _ and will it last? CONSUMER SPENDING HOW MUCH IT GREW: 3.4 percent rate in third quarter, best showing since early 2007. CONTRIBUTION TO OVERALL GDP: 2.36 percentage points of the 3.5 percent third-quarter growth in GDP came from consumer spending. Car sales alone represented 1 percentage point of total growth, reflecting the success of the government's Cash for Clunkers program. PROSPECTS: This is the biggest question facing the fledgling recovery, given that consumer spending represents 70 percent of total economic activity. Can consumers keep spending with unemployment at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent and expected to keep rising until next summer?
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:52 PM by jam321
reply to post by SLAYER69 I agree with you about the stimulus. Word has it that consumers will spend less this year during the holidays. How do you think that will effect the recovery? Currently, Americans estimate they will spend an average of $801 on Christmas gifts this year, down from $909 reported in October of last year. www.gallup.com... On the positive side, Tax refunds are right around the corner. Can't wait to spend mine.
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:52 PM by SLAYER69
I'm trying to find the source I read the other day about the exact figure of the stimulus that has spent already. The news sites are flooded with the "Growth" stories this is the closest I could find at the moment. US economy grows 3.5 percent in third quarter Only about half of the stimulus money has been spent so far. Congress is currently debating extending some of its measures, including longer unemployment benefits and tax credits for home buyers.
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:56 PM by SLAYER69
Originally posted by jam321 reply to post by SLAYER69 I agree with you about the stimulus. Word has it that consumers will spend less this year during the holidays. How do you think that will effect the recovery? I'm not going to be overly optimistic. Let's just consider the present situation and think for a second. Right now we have a whole lot of nothing going. If they want to look at ghosts of Christmas past spending spree then yes it will be down but if we consider that a little bit of something is better than a lot of nothing and we see sales increase that is always a good sign Especially since the American Card holders have paid down their personal debt.
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 04:56 PM by jam321
reply to post by SLAYER69 Here you go as of Sept. 9. Might want to post that graph they got on there. We updated our Stimulus Progress Bar [1], which shows total stimulus spending thus far as $63 billion in tax cuts plus $89 billion in direct spending from federal agencies. That’s a total of $152 billion—just shy of 20 percent of the $792 billion authorized by Congress under the Recovery Act. However, as we noted last week [2], that spending continues to be spread unevenly among different federal agencies. As our Progress Bar shows, 14 agencies have spent less than 5 percent of the total funding available to them. A handful, including the departments of Energy, Defense and the Interior, have each spent less than 2 percent. www.propublica.org... Especially since the American Card holders have paid down their personal debt. This gives me hope that consumers will be out spending more than the estimate. Savings [edit on 29-10-2009 by jam321]
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 05:12 PM by SLAYER69
Originally posted by jam321 This gives me hope that consumers will be out spending more than the estimate. Savings I don't know. Several surveys out there show conflicting reports U.S. consumers optimistic ahead of holidays: survey NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bruised U.S. retailers might find some solace in Deloitte's most recent survey that showed American consumers were more optimistic about the economy as the holiday shopping season kicks off. The annual holiday survey released on Wednesday showed fears about the recession slowly subsiding, with about 54 percent of the participants expecting the economy to improve in 2010. This compared with just 28 percent responding favorably last year. The optimism is also trickling into Americans' shopping plans for the holiday. More than half of consumers -- about 51 percent of those surveyed -- hope to spend more or the same on the holidays, an improvement from last-year's 41 percent, Deloitte said. U.S. holiday spending could again be cut: survey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) Two-thirds of U.S. adults plan to spend less this holiday season and 6 percent say they still are carrying debt from last year's holiday purchases, according a new Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll released on Thursday. As recession lingers on Main Street and job losses mount, 65 percent of Americans say they plan to cut overall holiday expenses such as gifts, travel and entertaining.
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 05:39 PM by SLAYER69
Originally posted by jam321 reply to post by SLAYER69 Here you go as of Sept. 9. Might want to post that graph they got on there. Here you go.
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 06:14 PM by RobinB022
The bulk of this growth has come from the Consumer reply to post by SLAYER69 This is SO true,and this is-I feel-why they are putting out so many 'feel good' reports (real or imagined)about economic growth and recovery. Feel good,gain confidence,and the people will loosen the hold on their wallets and purse strings-spend more,stimulate the economy,and tada,they have moved the pawn exactly as planned. After the holidays when the bills come rolling in and we are no better off financially than we were before....but the 1st quarter will look good,gov't will be happy,throw more happy words around--most people are scratching their heads again,wondering who these people are that are doing so well,but believe it MUST be true because the numbers say so We must learn to change our habits and trust our own instincts,otherwise this cycle just continues.Live within our means,as hard as that is,and put a little back each month-even if it's only 5 bucks--it's 5 bucks more in your pocket than not. --- ...and to whoever that was who mentioned Obama not doing anything that Bush didn't do or some such thing...who cares? We're living IN the moment.I mean,Bush was a jerk,is that what you wanted to hear,but he can't hurt or help us at this point,so... who cares?
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reply posted on 29-10-2009 @ 06:42 PM by Eurisko2012
reply to post by SLAYER69 Now we just need to find a way to not create a double dip W recession. Another cash for clunkers for 2010? [edit on 29-10-2009 by Eurisko2012]
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reply posted on 23-11-2009 @ 03:40 PM by SLAYER69
Here's a interesting news story just released and it's after the fact. Home sales rise to highest level in 2.5 years WASHINGTON - Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit. Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 36 percent from their bottom in January, data Monday showed, though they are still 16 percent below the peak in autumn 2005. At the current sales pace, there is only a 7-month supply of homes on the market and in some areas there are bidding wars.
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