For the state of our economy and the US and its troubles..
Us - Its our responsibility right?
Government - They run everything dont they?
Who can You Blame?
For the state of our economy and the US and its troubles..
Us - Its our responsibility right?
Government - They run everything dont they?
SHUT UP
Originally Posted by Slowwrx
I blame china for only paying thier workers like 3 apples and hour and us for taking advantage of it. There isn't really a short answer for this question.
anybody know that the designer of the Toyota Prius has died from overwork?
i thought that was relevant.
I think the war in Iraq is primarily to blame along with unsafe lending practices by banks. The war has killed America's approval by the international community which has weakened the value of our dollar, driving prices on everything including oil up faster than the rate of inflation. Also, the banks are to blame as far as the housing marking by providing ARM loans to people who couldn't otherwise afford houses, which has effectively halted the housing market which has a domino effect on thousands of jobs.
But I also feel that American citizens themselves are to blame. Its ok to be skeptical but constantly whining along with the bad omen on the economy that the press portrays has further driven American confidence through the floor.
A lot of people are to blame, a lot of people are going to suffer and very few will actually learn anything. It's a cycle, the economy goes up and down and we had good times and bad. It's FAR from the end of the world. It takes a catalyst to make change and this is just one of them. I assure you, it will happen again and then again and again.
If everyone would just make slight changes to adjust to rising prices and stop freaking out like a bunch of idiots, we'd be in much better shape.
People are living so far above their means, did everyone really think it could last for ever? It will stop for a little while and then people will do it again and the cycle will start over.
Did people really think stocks could go up and up and never stop? That's simply not possible. Everything cannot gain constantly.
Make some adjustments to your spending if you are not comfortable, take advantage of all the great sales going on, if you're young and have good credit.. buy a house! It's a great time to get deals. But don't sit around hiding your money and thinking that will help. Don't freak out, it really isn't that bad. The only people that should be worried are people who can't afford their houses and that's their own fault and people who are working in industries that are going through drastic changes. They will have to adjust more than the rest of us but that's how life goes, it's not stagnant, it changes and we have to change along with it.
And remember for every person you see losing their home, their are countless others making their payments on time and doing just fine. For every failed bank there are hundreds that are okay and will still be open for years to come. For every person you see crying about gas prices, there are plenty more who are driving just a little less or changing what they drive to make up the difference and doing just fine.
It's not all gloom and doom. So, I spend $10-15 more a week on gas.. o... k. Can't say that's going to break my budget. So people are looking more into public transportation... and this is bad how? So lending policies are being changed... again, how is this bad? Companies are trying to be more efficient, people are finally starting to think about alternative energy, how is all of this bad? Be glad for change and adjust. It's that simple... to me at least.
Last edited by JennB; 07-15-2008 at 11:41 AM.
2005 Mazdaspeed MX-5 -1.8L Turbo
Captain Planet.
Most intelligent post i've seen in a long time.
And no the majority of it is not in the hands of the government, the majority of what the government does is regulating certain business practices and setting things like the interest rates and taxes, thats about it for the most part.
The private sector and consumers are to blame and you can't blame any one group, the point isn't why it happened, its to fix it. Like you said make adjustments on how you live, take advantage of the deals if you are young and have good credit.
Panicing and hiding away your money will do nothing but make it worse, if we can learn anything from 1929 stock market crash it is that
If the increase in gas prices is honestly going to break your budget then you have other issues then the state of the economy or the current people in charge at Washington. Stop panicing and adjust. For every bad situation there is, another opportunity opens up, you just have to find them.
This is America, lets do the damn thing
2005 Ford F-150 FX4 Supercrew
^^ Thank you. I've said it many times about the gas prices... if $10, $30 or even $40 a week breaks your budget, you need a new budget. If you drive a ton, you should be driving something fuel efficient and if you don't drive much, it should barely effect you.
We have so may things in this country that are so cheap compared to people in Europe, it was bound to happen one day. They pay the equivalent of $9+ per gallon and they aren't all on the streets.
I think we need to work on confidence and bringing the dollar back up in value.
2005 Mazdaspeed MX-5 -1.8L Turbo
consumer confidance is the biggest issue with the economy right now.
The occupation in Iraq is nothing more than political banter as far as the economy goes.
Housing market is starting to level off, if congress can keep their nose out of it for a while longer then things will improve. If they start meddling in private industy again they will do nothing more than prolong the issues at hand.
A mortgage is a very important document and a vast majority of those that are ebing foreclosed on didnt read and understand that document. That is their fault and no one elses. As soon as this passes we will see liquidity come back to the banks and stocks will recover.
There is no such thing as a short term solution to gas prices. Any inductry that requires several years worth of lead time must have accurate means of predicting the future of the market and the congressional legislation has barred US based companies from doing that. If congress does what is right and opens up the continental shelf we will start to see immediate relief at the pumps. The price drops will also increase as milestones are reached in the drilling process.
I think both. But mainly it's on ourselves. We have a good bit of influence on the market and people were just laying down and taking what was given to them. I see this more now that I'm in the car business but people are fighting more and more with banks and have begun to get smarter on loans they are taking on by asking questions like "Whats the intrest rate? What's the term etc.". A lot of people weren't doing this and this is part of why the housing cituation is where it is. This is where I believe the government is partially responsible. I believe the government should have had laws in place to prevent predatory lending practices. BUT at the end of the day we all go home by ourselves. Nobody pays our bills but us. That said we do operate on a free market ecconomy and this is a free country. If you are putting hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line and don't take the time to read your contract than you are simply an idiot. Also that being said I believe that the blame for the housing market cituation must be split 60%-40% with the 60% going to the consumers. Nobody put a gun to someone's head and forced them into their ARM's.
The gas cituation is really a mix of things nothing that really has to do with us other than the fact that we create demand. If we had done what we should have done years ago and been drilling more domestically we wouldn't be nearly as "bad" off as we are now. We do need to do more research into alternative forms of fuel but we need to deal with the problem at hand. Also I don't think any amount of government research will come up with a solution. I believe whole heartedly that the "solution" will come out of the private sector.
Epic Foxbody Thread Crew Member #10
I love reading how people think!
I blame:
$12 billion a month in Iraq.
China's economy doubling in the past 5 years.
Greedy soulless buisness men
Paris Hilton
reruns of crappy 80s tv shows
just be glad you dont live in Mumbai, they have a population density of 21,000 people per a square kilometer.
I don't see how the government doesn't hold some of the blame when the value of the American dollar has tanked, citizens typically do not control the supply of U.S dollars but surely government spending does.
When the dollar loses the value like it has American companies like Anheiser-Busch become steals for countries that deal in strong currencies like the Euro, again.. not the fault of the people when $9-12 Billion a month is going toward our "Freedom" across the globe. Not only that but the price of a Barrel of oil has to rise to offset the lower valued dollar since oil reserves are based in dollars.
The greed of the people needs to shelter the blame as well, individuals on a fixed income or making say $40k a year know damn good and well they cannot afford a $500k house.. hell from what I've seen of my neighbors they can barely pull a $170k mortgage. A lot of people need to understand that the government is not going to read the fine print for them and good judgment needs to be the responsibility of YOU.
Gas prices, I agree with others here. If an extra $35 a week is killing you but you got the new iPhone, 6 Billion cable channels, PS3, XBOX.. etc then all this is for you is a wake up call. BUT at the same time good leadership in Washington helps alleviate that in the future with more choices for energy and transportation.
As Jenn said it is a natural cycle but leadership in Washington determines how long that cycle last, and that applies to both ends.. an economic expansion can be cut short due to bad leadership or an economic recession and be prolonged for the same reasons.
dont forgot that the more money the government prints, the more worthless it becomes. prices increase and job wages are slow to catch up
i am 23 gots me a house a great job and i am still able to afford to put money in my car....... mainly bc i only put gas in my car for weekend driving i gots me a company car str8 pimpin
NO NWS
how do you run an exterminating service out of a beetle?
i do apartments and all my equipment and chemicals fit in the hatch hell active has smart carsi kinda feel sorry for the tech
NO NWS
i blame people like you who believe everything that they see on tv!
did u notice that the market is up by 100+ as of yesterday and oil has dropped everyday since Bush announced that he is removing the executive order against drilling?
and now the democrats are talking about another stimulis package!!!!!!!?????? if that happens our economy will go down again. Send money to poor people that pay no taxes???? I do not see how that can help the economy. BUT, sending money to the RICH people that will actually spend the money instead of pay down debt would boost the economy.
That had absolutely nothing to do with the executive order on drilling and its commical that you would even apply that in an attempt to pass your conservative views as valid. Amazing..
this is 100% without a doubt false! you can only get older and not younger.
i know i know that has absolutely nothing to do with anything being discussed in here, but still.
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