Does this mean the economy is better?

[Roger Hicks]

I graduated as a part 2 architect last year into the worst slump the industry has known, out of the 55 graduates 5 have jobs, the rest have the massive debts accumulated by putting yourself through university, some even offer to work for nothing taking second jobs to gain the 3 years industry training you have to have after the 6 years education. Hair stylists make more per hour, no offence intended to those that cut hair. Difficult not to feel sorry for yourself in the current financial climate.

My earliest ambition was to be an architect, but I'm very glad I dropped it. Far too many people chasing far too few jobs -- and I think I spotted that in the 1960s, with the help of the (very good) architect who orginally spurred my desire to follow in his footsteps.

Cheers,

R.

 

[marcr1230]

Money has value because people have confidence that they will be able to useit to buy goods and store wealth. Gold has the same charateristics, although it has some inherent worth as a good itself. You could also say we should be on the corn standard.
The economy is weak in the USA because we don't want real solutions, we want easy solutions. If we invested in education and a free but well regulated market, long term we would be fine. If we borrow to pay for government pensions, social security and health care - borrow as opposed to pay as you go, then we just kick the can down the road for the next generation.

I have to confess to being confused whenever I hear people complaining about the government 'printing money'. You do realize, don't you, that the US is NOT on the gold standard and that no other basis exists for our money? It is ALL printed out of thin air. Every red cent, every dollar. Fake. Funny Money. Not real.

People accept it as worth something however, and the only reason is that the government requires them to. It is a federal offense to refuse to accept US currency as payment for goods, services, and debts in the United States.

Because our money is basically made up by the government and not based on something that exists in limited amount (like Gold), there truly is no excuse for poverty in this country. Monetary policy can be directed toward ensuring a decent life for everyone, or it can, as it does now, encourage the growth of an ultrarich aristocracy while leaving the mass of the people licking up the crumbs they let fall to the ground (how sweet of them!).

 

[Roger Hicks]

Right, I chose to live elsewhere supporting YOUR military. I'm American and just because I live overseas doesn't mean I don't get a say in what goes on. I last lived less than 1 hour south of you...

Taxes have always been repressively high in Europe when compared with the US, but corporate taxes here are debilitating. I guess you just don't comprehend how the government having less of our money is a bad thing. The more money I take home the more I will spend. Generally also the more I will save. One of many reasons for me living where I do is because I get out of the oppressive US taxes by making my money elsewhere. I still have to pay 7% for FICA, but if I were back in Indiana I'd easily be paying triple that.

'Repressively high'?

Funny how Europe is doing quite well, with good social services, pensions, medical care, etc.

But then, as it says on the IRS Headquarters at 1111 Constitution Avenue, quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society."

Cheers,

R.

 

[dave lackey]

Ummmm...try being in MY shoes.

 

[dave lackey]

Mark,

As a graduate architect from 1971, I can assure you that architecture is only for a chosen few. Wages are low, expectations and licensure is unbelievably strict, and the profession is subject to devastation every 10 years or so with a recession. Unemployment in my area is running around 21%. The Wonder Bread truck driver makes waaaay more than most architects around here who even have a job. AIA speakers have told graduates and young architects to simply get out of the business and do something else for the next 5 years.

Obama is not to blame for the recession. It is cyclical. He is however to blame for spending 3 trillion dollars in his first year and has done nothing for small business. I will not argue about the role of Obama. I already live it and it is not good. He can take his Nobel prize and....

I have sold every single possession I have with the exception of the Nikon D2X (any takers at $850?) and the M3 which is staying. And I am still struggling every single day. Bill knows what it is like and so do many others. Yet we are still able to help three other families in need so I feel like I am not a total waste. Most of the time...

 

[Spoks]

Times are bad for alot of people here in the USA. I expected the economy would tank but did not expect the high unemployment levels. We'll get back on our feet, but will take another few years:-(

This whole disaster started with the banks and the hedge funds 4-5 years ago and snowballed from there.

This simply can't be true. Just think about the huge national debt that rests on the shoulders of ordinary Americans! Link here: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

That USA is so rich is a myth based much on GDP/capita which tends to be so high in USA, much due to that Wall Street and particularly the sales volume of the stock exchanges that blows up this figure. Today, a range of European countries have higher GDP/capita than USA based on far sounder business than Wall Street paper shuffling or high frequency trading.

Just a look on the map and it is obvious that Russia must be the richest country in the world, taken all the rich natural resources considered. Put up a balance sheet the way it is done for businesses and compare USA to Russia, and you will see. US might lead in having a lot of high value companies, like Microsoft or IBM, tied to US Copyright laws that is disputed by a range of other nations. And as such, frail paper values. When it comes to hard values like oil, timber and minerals, Russia must be far richer.

Americans owe the Russians close to 120 billion US dollars only in Treasury Bonds. No mystery that these rockets in Polen was removed. You have to be nice to creditors. Link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

You owe tiny nations like Norway and Singapore with populations half that of Ohio, 28,9 billion and 42,4 million dollars respectively. Serving this debt is more than 30% of your Federal Tax.

Your country has been run by gangsters! You have been fooled!

 

[Spoks]

Here in the midwestern USA it has been very bad for many years, long before the talking heads on TV proclaimed a 'recession'. I remember a few years ago a steel mill opened up in northeast Indiana close to the city I live in. They were going to hire 100 people at $25 an hour. They stopped talking applications after 30,000 people applied!

You live on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

I am unemployed. Have been so since early November. I get 'unemployment compensation' from the government. I have to apply for jobs, attend courses and show general interest in getting a new job. As long as I do that I will get this compensation for 'up to 104 weeks/two years. How much? 296.250 NOK per year. That is 63,000 US$ per year.... Oh, I have right to 5 weeks paid holiday, which is included. Unemployment here in Norway is 6,9% which is tripple of what it used to be.

 

[Spoks]

To the contrary, lower taxes have always stimulated growth. The problem is that the time between cause and effect averages about 6 years. Normally by the time the effect begins to be felt, a new administration comes in and changes the rules. Those new rules run the same 6 year course before their effects begin to be felt.

How much of every dollar earned in America is absorbed in taxation? Federal income tax, state income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, taxes on earned interest, gasoline tax, heating oil tax, electricity and phone taxes and surcharges, and these are just the ones that individuals most pay, and are chicken feed compared to what businesses must pay. Add to that the various kinds of insurance which we are in many cases required by law or necessity. How much do individuals have left to spend on themselves? How much do businesses have left to spend on growth, payroll, or benefits?

If the government were responsible stewards of our money, using it sensibly, I wouldn't grudge them their tax money. But, it seems for every dollar the government collects in taxes, it spends 5.

The basis of our current problem lies with our tax system, and it's manipulation by our elected officials. Have you ever wondered by the US tax code is as large as it is? It is so large that few people can even hazard a guess at how many pages or regulations in contains. The number varies between 60,000 and 80,000, depending on which politician you ask.

Do you know why the tax code is so long and so complicated? It is because it is the tool used by elected officials to exercise their power. It is through tax breaks that politicians reward large donors. Countless loopholes exist in the tax code for this purpose, and parties on both sides are equally responsible. It is by manipulating the tax code that our "leaders" keep themselves in office.

The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates artificially low for decades, in order to make credit more affordable, and thereby increase growth. As a result of this cheap credit, companies (and consumers) got into the habit of borrowing as a regular habit.

The Federal Government also introduced an Equal Lending Practices act, which made it easier for people with marginal or poor credit history to receive credit. I was amazed to see people who couldn't qualify for a Target store credit card getting approved for 6 figure mortgages.

Large mortgage lenders spent lots of money supporting the campaigns of politicians, and changes in banking rules allowed for the selling of mortgages (regardless of their relative amounts of risk) as securities on the open market. With real estate values appreciating at many times the rate of inflation, it was a recipe for disaster.

Who is to blame for all this mess? People deserve some of the blame, if you are earning only $2000 a month, you shouldn't be buying a house with an ARM which will increase your payment to $1500-a-month after 4 years, and carrying $10k or more in credit card debt is no one's definition of wise. The banks deserve some of the blame, they were the ones who were handing out the money, with few questions asked. But the ones who deserve the most blame are the politicians in Washington, the ones who manipulated the rules enough to make this disaster possible.

The sad thing is that people in America don't really seem to see past their own noses. They don't care about which direction their country is heading until their own noses hit the wall. They keep electing the same politicians every 4 or 6 years without bothering to actually see what these prostitutes are actually doing with the power given to them. Doesn't anyone wonder why a politician will spend millions of dollars on a political campaign for a job which pays $200k per year? Come on people! This isn't rocket science!

Has anyone here bothered to look and see who in government is responsible for what? We are all upset about the problems with our banking system, but can anyone here name the chairs of the house and senate banking committees? Anyone?

Can anyone here name both their state senators and the various congressmen from the districts where they live? Let alone read what legislation these "lawmakers" have passed? Anyone?

If you don't know the complete answers to these questions, then you, personally, are partially responsible for the problems which you and America are experiencing right now.

The midterm elections are less than a year away. If you want to do something about where the country is going instead of complaining about it here, then register to vote, if you haven't already. And then exercise your vote. It is the only voice you really have.

Frontman,

Don't listen to politicians telling you that they will promise you 'lower taxes'. They are fooling you! They have fooled a whole nation of 300 million people into a desperate financial situation. I urge you; go for the politicians that will increase the taxes and pay down your debt. If you start now, most it will be under control in about 15 - 20 years. With the guys running your country today, several generations of Americans will have to pay a hefty tax for 'nothing', for a party they did not attend themselves.

Good luck, to you....

 

[Olsen]

You live on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

I am unemployed. Have been so since early November. I get 'unemployment compensation' from the government. I have to apply for jobs, attend courses and show general interest in getting a new job. As long as I do that I will get this compensation for 'up to 104 weeks/two years. How much? 296.250 NOK per year. That is 63,000 US$ per year.... Oh, I have right to 5 weeks paid holiday, which is included. Unemployment here in Norway is 6,9% which is tripple of what it used to be.

Spoks,

Unemployment in Norway right now is, according to SSB (Norwegian Bureau of Statistics, link here: http://www.ssb.no/english/ ) is 3,1%. I don't know where you get the 6,9% from.

 

[dfoo]

Frontman,

Don't listen to politicians telling you that they will promise you 'lower taxes'. They are fooling you! They have fooled a whole nation of 300 million people into a desperate financial situation. I urge you; go for the politicians that will increase the taxes and pay down your debt. If you start now, most it will be under control in about 15 - 20 years. With the guys running your country today, several generations of Americans will have to pay a hefty tax for 'nothing', for a party they did not attend themselves.

Good luck, to you....

Giving politicians more money is NOT the answer. It gets wasted on whatever the pet project of the day is. Bush lowering taxes in the US was not the genesis of the current economic problems.

 

[Spoks]

Giving politicians more money is NOT the answer. It gets wasted on whatever the pet project of the day is. Bush lowering taxes in the US was not the genesis of the current economic problems.

I don't agree with you.

While Europeans have voted for politicians that promised 'performance' (more jobs, more resources to public services, higher pensions etc.) Americans have voted for the guys promissing 'lower taxes'. It has lead the USA into a disaster. Now it will be like this that Americans will have to pay far higher taxes than Europeans for, say, three or four generations into the future. Regardless of what you vote: We want our money back....

 

[Olsen]

Spoks,

This debt clock is better: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Which provides far better statistics.

What I can't understand is that of the total population of 308 million people in USA, only 108 million Americans pay taxes. Only 35% of the population pay taxes? Can this be right? How come?

Norway has a population of 4,8 million people. Of this, the workforce is about 2,7 million, of which all pay taxes. Then add some 0,6 million pensionairs that are also obliged to pay taxes. And so on. That means that soome 3,4 million Norwegians must pay taxes (68,8%).

 

[Spoks]

Well, there is hope for USA...

With the passing of the Health Care Bill in the Senate, the ordinary future Americans can 'afford the country they have inherited', as one senator put it. If Obama leads this struggle to victory, which now seems possible, it is a very important building stone to a better American society - and a far more competitive America. - Not the least will this be a great victory for Obama, that will be heard far and wide.

 

[rover]

Spoks,


What I can't understand is that of the total population of 308 million people in USA, only 108 million Americans pay taxes. Only 35% of the population pay taxes? Can this be right? How come?

Interesting statistic.

Of this @308m citizens the workforce is considered to be roughly 155m, or @half. I saw a count of roughly 130m taxpayers, but I suspect this # also counts corporate payers.

@74m citizens are 18yo or under, therefore largely unemployed and not payers call it near 25% of the population.....

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Interesting statistic.

Of this @308m citizens the workforce is considered to be roughly 155m, or @half. I saw a count of roughly 130m taxpayers, but I suspect this # also counts corporate payers.

@74m citizens are 18yo or under, therefore largely unemployed and not payers call it near 25% of the population.....

Olsen did the breakdown in his country, showing that only part of the population is part of the workforce. Wonder why he forgot to do so for the US. Nonetheless, his question has some merit, as a large part of the US workforce is exempt from taxes due to poverty. I think that is what he was trying to say. Norway hasn't got the crushing poverty that so many Americans suffer from, so everyone makes enough to pay taxes.

 

[dfoo]

I don't agree with you.

While Europeans have voted for politicians that promised 'performance' (more jobs, more resources to public services, higher pensions etc.) Americans have voted for the guys promissing 'lower taxes'. It has lead the USA into a disaster. Now it will be like this that Americans will have to pay far higher taxes than Europeans for, say, three or four generations into the future. Regardless of what you vote: We want our money back....

You are making a mistake of correlating lower taxes with economic problems. After all, take your argument to the logical extreme. 100% taxes will lead to prosperity for all. Plainly nonsense. Yes, there are a whole variety of reasons for the issues in the US, but taxes are not one of them.

I would also point out that the European countries are not exactly in such a great economic position themselves. Looked at the UK lately? How about Spain?

 

[Roger Hicks]

You are making a mistake of correlating lower taxes with economic problems. After all, take your argument to the logical extreme. 100% taxes will lead to prosperity for all. Plainly nonsense. Yes, there are a whole variety of reasons for the issues in the US, but taxes are not one of them.

I would also point out that the European countries are not exactly in such a great economic position themselves. Looked at the UK lately? How about Spain?

Much like zero taxes, really. A reductio ad absurdum is not a logical extreme.

No, the UK and Spain are not in as good shape as they have been. Then again, nor is the United States. I know where I'd rather be poor or sick.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

You are making a mistake of correlating lower taxes with economic problems. After all, take your argument to the logical extreme. 100% taxes will lead to prosperity for all. Plainly nonsense. Yes, there are a whole variety of reasons for the issues in the US, but taxes are not one of them.

I would also point out that the European countries are not exactly in such a great economic position themselves. Looked at the UK lately? How about Spain?

You're making the mistake of not reading. He isn't saying high taxes = prosperity. He's saying that our gigantic national debt is going to bankrupt the USA unless we get it paid off, which will require higher taxes. Of course, our politicians would probably raise taxes and give the money to corporate interests rather than paying down the national debt....but if they ever do decide to pay it off, its going to require tax increases.

 

[Olsen]

You are making a mistake of correlating lower taxes with economic problems. After all, take your argument to the logical extreme. 100% taxes will lead to prosperity for all. Plainly nonsense. Yes, there are a whole variety of reasons for the issues in the US, but taxes are not one of them.

I would also point out that the European countries are not exactly in such a great economic position themselves. Looked at the UK lately? How about Spain?

It is with the 'Laffer's Curve' crap that the US elite have swindled a whole nation of more than 300 million people. Believe in that crap and you go bust. - As you have.

Money does not disappear. It shifts hands. If the private sector does not spend the money, the public sector does. Here in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) the public sector is roughly 50% of the total economy. And we are fine, thank you. Far better than USA!

'Taxes' is indeed the heart of the problem of US national well being. Read my lips; you have been paying all too little in taxes since - Ronald Reagan's days. That is 30 years.

- Now comes the bill: Who's gonna pay..? (I am glad it is not me).

Link to Laffer's theory here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Much like zero taxes, really. A reductio ad absurdum is not a logical extreme.

No, the UK and Spain are not in as good shape as they have been. Then again, nor is the United States. I know where I'd rather be poor or sick.

Cheers,

R.

Exactly. One of the professors I had this semester is an American who teaches part of the year in a university in France and part in the school I go to in Indiana. He has been doing this for 30 years, and a long time ago he married a woman he met in France. He says his wife refuses to see any doctor in the USA anymore, and if she gets sick, she gets on a plane for France. They have good health insurance from the university here too so its not that they can't afford healthcare here. Its just better in France. Doctors here falsely diagnosed her with uterine cancer and wanted to do a hysterectomy in order to make more money. She wanted a second opinion because she did not want to lose her uterus. Flew back home, Dr.s said she had a benign cyst and removed it, leaving her uterus intact. That was yrs ago and she's been healthy ever since.