Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Momentum building in U.S. for new economy-boosting package

World Oct. 21, 2008 - 04:00AM JST ( 12 )

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12 Comments

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adaydreamOct. 21, 2008 - 08:17AM JST

I'd rather see unemployment extended instead of another economic stimules package that just sends out checks to everybody.

No more give aways across the board.

There are a lot of people who have lost this jobs due to the economy of the states, jobs that went overseas and no jobs opening up. < :-)
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sdmsecOct. 21, 2008 - 11:36AM JST

I've personally moved a fair amount of my investments into gold and commodities which will benefit in the long run from this insane printing and distribution of paper money.

However, as an American citizen it makes me sick to see them do it. I just know they will continue to crank the printing presses despite the fact that I wish they wouldn't. I think it's inevitable that serious inflation is going to occur - possibly hyper-inflation. Heaven help us if we get recession and inflation simultaneously.

Keynesian economics has proven itself a disaster, yet these central planners continue to believe they can control the markets.
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skipthesongOct. 21, 2008 - 11:54AM JST

US government - hands off. none of you are business people. Let the market run naturally. People will lose their jobs, I say they should have saved and invested instead of using credit cards or buying houses they couldn't afford.

I've personally moved a fair amount of my investments into gold and commodities which will benefit in the long run" Yes, they will. Now, why didn't many more people do the same?

The government created this mess, we should bar them from putting their hands into it forever. central planners continue to believe they can control the markets."Worse than that is common folk actually believe they can and are demanding that they do.
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sdmsecOct. 21, 2008 - 11:57AM JST

Skip,

Agreed, my friend. Hope your weathering this mess OK.
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SezWho2Oct. 21, 2008 - 12:10PM JST

Of course central planners cannot control markets. Neither can free markets generate financial security for a society. A mix is required to achieve even an imperfect solution.

In regard to rushing to authorize a new tranche of spending to address the "crisis", I'd be in favor of waiting to see what the first dose actually has accomplished. Nonetheless, I'd be willing to allow that Bernanke probably has a better idea of how things work than I do.

Even so, if Bernanke is saying that the market has already completely discounted the first piece of legislation and this is where we still are, I feel like I'm watching an episode of House. I don't expect him to get it right the first time, or the second, or the third. And I can only hope that he has a sarcasm-inspired inspiration before all the poking and prodding does in fact kill the patient.
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SezWho2Oct. 21, 2008 - 12:16PM JST

skipthesong,

A lot of other people did not move their investments into gold and commodities because they had no investments. People who cannot afford health insurance are not exactly swimming in investment capital. People who are trying to create a college fund for their children from a meager income have very little choice but to invest what little they have in more risky investments.
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BetzeeOct. 21, 2008 - 01:36PM JST

While I've taken a beating in the stock market, I feel I'm in much better shape that those who owe twice as much on a house than it will fetch in today's market. The real estate market has yet to bottom out where as most people feel the stock market has (knock on wood).

We've got to figure out how to pay for these stimuli packages. It won't be easy.
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adaydreamOct. 21, 2008 - 01:58PM JST

Isn't it interesting to hear the haves talking down at the have not so much.

I moved my investments into gold.

They should have saved more.

They might have saved more if they still had jobs, but they went to China.

Their CEOs stole from their companies and they went under, but the CEO still got a parachute package.

They lost their jobs and can't afford house payments, since being off work for a year.

Most people don't know how it feels to have 2 months in savings, let alone a year. < :-)
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skipthesongOct. 21, 2008 - 03:50PM JST

aday" Most people don't know how it feels to have 2 months in savings, let alone a year." Why do you say most?

sez: A lot of other people did not move their investments into gold and commodities because they had no investments." But, I am willing to bet, and I don't mean to come down hard on anyone, they have a nice car, got playstations, xboxes, ipods, wall to wall TVs, a car stereo you can hear from miles away, jewelry, high end clothes, etc..... and used their credit cards like water.

People who cannot afford health insurance are not exactly swimming in investment capital." No, if they aren't buying into insurances then they hve the cash to invest. I bypassed insurance for years before I got my own plan through my own business. " People who are trying to create a college fund for their children from a meager income have very little choice but to invest what little they have in more risky investments." Ok, now there is an area where I find myself getting angry. First of all, there are lots of free clinics in almost all states. Illegal aliens have no problem finding them. For college,
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skipthesongOct. 21, 2008 - 05:38PM JST

For college,look, if you can't afford to go to Harvard, then don't just sit it out. Some community colleges go for as low as $15 per unit. Now, granted, it has become harder for college kids to find part time work as most restaurants, warehouses, etc.. have been preferring to hire illegals.
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SezWho2Oct. 21, 2008 - 07:34PM JST

skipthesong,

In my town back in the states there is a large tract of land east of the divided state highway and north of town. The land is subdivided into tiny little lots on which sit small houses which can only be adequately described as crackerboxes. The cars are not nice. Most of the residents do not have credit cards. When they do their Christmas shopping at Walmart they bring their pay in $20 bills and try to cobble together a Christmas for their children with nice but cheap clothing, inexpensive electronics and what have you. They have no money to invest in insurance of any kind except perhaps a burial policy.

The women tend to the heavy or the rail thin, as do the men. There are no fitness centers or training programs on their horizons. Women and men alike are largely a hardscrabble lot that are proud and hardworking. They display the flag in their front lawns. They do not want to accept charity but they would like to take advantage of a tax system that recognizes their contributions to society. They are not stupid. They are aware of health care but they are also aware that the care they receive is second-rate at best, that it is offered with no joy and that it always comes with the calculation of whether they can spare the time to receive it without losing their income.

Get angry as much as you like. If I were inclined to get angry I would probably get angry at the stereotype of the working poor that you seem to be suggesting. In my town there is no community college that is easily accessible to many of the children of these families. There is a community college branch at which they may obtain an associates degree in two years if they study full time, can afford $3,000 a year and can find transportation to a destinationa about 25 miles one way. There is a state university that costs state residents about $7,000 a year--exclusive of room, board, books, fees and transportation as required.

My little town is a former industrial town with high unemployment. Meaningful jobs are few and far between and those who used to stamp metal, make gears and manufacture glass are lucky to find jobs in the service sector. They are happy to take the jobs that college students take elsewhere. Anyone working will need transportation.

I have been relatively fortunate. Our society really greased my skids and was forthcoming with second and even third chances for me. Nonetheless, in describing these folks to you, what I would most like you to know is that by and large these are people who work, most of them harder than me, and they are people who are not afraid of work. Even so, they really do not have anything approaching equality of opportunity. That's not the America I want for myself, for my child or for any future grandchildren. And I don't think that Americans who work hard should have to hang their heads in the presence of folks that drive Buicks.
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adaydreamOct. 21, 2008 - 09:57PM JST

skipthesong - Why do you say most?

Almost a million people have lost their jobs this year. That's almost 1 million lost jobs in one year.

Look at the number of home foreclosures.

Look at the companies going under.

The institutions for helping people are running out of food and services. They are going out for more money and food to place at their donation spots.

Then there is the daily news that tells us daily how people are suffering.

I haven't seen a single story or article about people having money to carry them on to their next job. I see plenty of stories about people who don't have a pot to pee in.

That's where I come from skipthesong.

I'm lucky that I retired last year. I have savings and a pension coming in and I still needed to get a part-time job to give me the extra money I need/want to get a few extras. < :-)