The Economy...has the world changed?

[tenni]

I'm involved in this group that has been looking at the economy , workers and artists for over a year now. When we started there was a lot of job loss happening and all of the banking issues, North American auto industry collapse and so forth. One of the people who got this group going held the belief that the economy had made a major shift and things would not be the same. In the sense that certain industries and means of making a living had shifted.

When I read the headlines these days, I wonder just where are we collectively but more so where are people in their lives? How has this shift impacted people's lives? It is still too early to tell though. We have countries like Greece who are in a dire situation. Some of these economists write warnings that things are not ok again. Be careful etc.

Some people may have lost their job. Some people may be finding it difficult to survive. Each of our countries may have different ways of helping their people adapt. Some people may have taken the loss of their job and started their own business. It may be the idea of every cloud has a silver lining approach while other's may not see that silver lining at all...or maybe just yet.

Has your world changed for you or was that just a usual type of recession? Has your life changed due to the economy in the past two years? Do you see a silver lining ...yet? Do you see any hope for one?

[TwylaTwobits]

Personally, I have to be hopeful that the job situation around here will change soon. I have been impacted by the recession and watch the events unfolding around the world and wonder what more of an impact things will have on the future.

People are starting to horde what little money they can "just in case". There is no room for the standard emergency fund and people who once had that years salary plus for savings are using it to just get by as prices rise with the least little problem elsewhere in the world. Take grocieries for example, prices on gasoline eventually forced prices on food up. Gas prices come down, food prices didn't. What is the world to do? Starve? No, so they tighten their belts and plan budgeted meals and they pray that they can have a thriving garden this year if they live in an area conducive to planting one. We have to be hopeful that there is a silver lining cause hope is what keeps humanity going.

[Long Duck Dong]

over here in nz.... we are being told that things are looking up again... but people are not believing it any more...

there was a time where one partner could work and provide for the family....now you often get both parents working and barely able to provide for the family...

increasing prices and taxes is often counter balanced by wage increases, but we are watching more and more businesses outsource to places like manila etc, in the eternal chase of the almighty dollar....
we have also had a number of big finance companies go belly up... and many family / retiree investors have lost their nest egg that would have gone to a lil extra when they retire.....

now with 1/3 of nz'ers below the poverty level things are not looking good, and with the government admitting that it could be 2025 before nz has recovered from the recession...and more and more funding cuts to essential services.... most of nz is no longer looking forward to nz regaining a better economy, but instead waiting for nz to go belly up......

there was a issue recently with a local nz business that nearly went under.... they made white ware appliances.... and made them so well, that the appliances were lasting for years, so there was not much of a need for replacements.......so the company nearly died out..... unfortunately, we now are flooded with junk products that last a year and die.... causing people to have to go and buy new junk all the time.....

when I look at the car industry I see a industry that is not build around reliable cars, I see a industry that is constantly focused on the next car for people to buy.... yet, dammed near went under cos people were lacking the money to buy the new cars.....

same with the banks in nz, they were so desperate to sell their mortgages to people that they offered 100% mortgages, instead of you save a 20% deposit and they will lend you the other 80%.....
but the real problem was house prices went thru the roof.... from a average $180,000 to $300,000..... and now we are seeing more and more people with mortgage sales......

so yeah in nz, we are not watching the economy recover, we are waiting until it implodes.....

when the shit finally hits the fan, people will realise just how stupid we have been.... money has not helped us, its made us lazy and stupid..... greedy and deceitful.... and made us blind to the fact that we have created a society where money may not make the world go around, but those that have it own the world and live of the backs of the people that live in the world

[12voltman59]

The way this current economic situation has been--most people have been hit pretty hard-----but then there are pockets of people who hardly got hit at all---with the most perverse thing----many of those who caused this whole meltdown----like the folks at Goldman Sachs and other big financial houses----they have made out like bandits---with just their bonuses for each of the past couple of years being being more than most people will make in a few decades!!!!

Being in Ohio----this state was pretty much down even before the current meltdown----we have certainly lost most of our manufacturing base here in Ohio--with many towns, cities and regions of this state---having an unemployment rate of well over ten percent---in some cases approaching 20 percent which is depression numbers.

We do have some bright spots with our state undertaking a program called "The Third Frontier" that has provided---by the state taking out bonds for the first phase of the program----to encourage the creation of high tech jobs and it has been a big succes---but now--to contnue the program----we have on our state ballot a measure that if passed would allow the state to purchase more bonds to expand the program.

What the money does---it sets up a combination public-private fund for entreprenuers and others to create both programs to train people for this sort of work and to fund research and start up money for deveolpment of high tech products.

It has been a great success right here in my town---the money was used to create a coalition of one local state university, a local private Catholic university and the US Air Force through the Air Force Institute of Technology which is located here to set up a joint program and there are entreprenurial "incubators" that have set up that have led to the creation of a number of now growing and viable companies that have created at least several thousand, high tech, well paying jobs in this town alone and many more across Ohio in different technical areas--jobs that are sure needed---with more jobs slated to come in the future as this program expands even more.

Never fail though---- many of those who are members of our state Republican Party are on record as being against it since they feel its just one more "government growth program" and that the state has no business in doing this sort of thing, even though intially the program was started by the governor at the time--a Republican and most Republican lawmakers at that time were for it. They also feel its just too much money for our cash strapped state goverment to borrow at this time, which is a valid point.

The thing is--for the residents of Ohio---the way the purchase of the bonds has been done---it doesn't cost taxpayers any direct increase in taxes--and even if it did---that the program is trying to develop new industries, create new jobs and such to replace all the "old school manufacturing" that we have lost never to return--that is the sort of thing government sure as hell should be doing as far as I am concerned--this program is basically the "seed money" that has attracted private, venture capital funds to put up their money that along with the goverment funds--help make this program work.
It might be an expensive program--but as the old saying goes--"it takes money to make money" and thanks to Third Frontier, the programs, research and companies it has helped fund are among the only bright economic news in this state---without the continuation and growth of Third Frontier--it might really be a case of "will the last one out of Ohio shut out the lights!"

http://www.ohiothirdfrontier.com/

A general story about the program and the move to go for more bond money:

http://www.wksu.org/news/story/25127

As far as your title question is concerned--Yes the World Does change---its just like it was a huge industry to make horse carriages or steam powered locomotives---but time and technology moved on---so the companies that made them either moved into making new things----or they went out of businesses. We are seeing a transition from making certain kinds of products--and we do need to move on to creating new sorts of things. What is disconcerting---is that we don't seem to be as adept these days of moving on to new industries and creating new sorts of jobs. Its like energy----we are so tied into using the dying forms of energy--and we have such entrenched interests to protect those old energy forms----we are not moving fast enough into new forms of energy.

[FalconAngel]

Down here in Florida, there have been some improvement, but unless one is looking for work, you don't notice it.

Instead of having to compete with 100 people for a single position, you only have to compete with 90. Admittedly, an improvement, but not enough.

But beyond that, the economy is part of our society, which is a part of our planet.

Change is the constant state of all things.

[darkeyes]

Am lucky.. the downturn hasnt made us any the poorer..in fact we are now about 20% better off than we were when everything went belly up, and have had our share of good fortune in this recession.. we are not especially well off... we are not poor... we both have decent jobs with decent pay.. bank accounts with a few quid in them.. and a few investments (not stocks and shares.. anathema to us!!!) which have helped us no end..or will when we can cash 'em in.. but for so many..most..even those who have a similar income to ourselves, they have not been so lucky.. many have lost jobs..they draw dole, or struggle along on savings... they tell us things are getting better.. jeez.. for us they are fine..but not for everyone by a long chalk.. for most..they have lost out... getting better? Sorry but the jury will be out for a long tiome before pronouncing their verdict..

[guynice]

If you want to understand whats going on read Howard Ruffs old book How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years or the updated copy at his web site. The world will either have another 1930s great depression if the bankers can't stop it or a 1920s german style hyper inflation. His book explains it & how to prepare for it. I read his book 25 years ago an have been able to prosper & understand how to deal sucessfully with the deteriorating economy.

[Gay2Bi]

I was laid off from my job in January 2009 - there were no other positions in the company to which I could transfer - just two weeks before my father passed away. I haven't been able to find a job since. Partly it's because there haven't been a lot of job openings, but it's also due to the fact that I have over 22 years of experience in my field while the jobs that are available are all entry level, minimum wage, no benefits. On the few interviews I've had - despite sending out a couple hundred résumés (literally) - I was told repeatedly that I was overqualified for the positions available; I can only guess the lack of response to the other submissions was due in part to the same issue.

I've been trying for nearly 18 months to launch my independent filmmaking career, but that takes money (only about $200k), and money doesn't exist in my world, alas. (The last time I'd raised money for this film, Hurricane Katrina blew into the Gulf Coast and caused my investors to abandon ship in the wake of all of the personal and financial hardships that followed. I'm starting to wonder if I'm not meant to be a filmmaker...) So yes, I would have to say, my world has changed dramatically, and definitely not in the direction I'd been hoping. I've got to get something going soon, because I turn 40 in a few weeks. That'll make job hunting even more fun...

[Gay2Bi]

Take grocieries for example, prices on gasoline eventually forced prices on food up. Gas prices come down, food prices didn't. What is the world to do? Starve? No, so they tighten their belts and plan budgeted meals and they pray that they can have a thriving garden this year if they live in an area conducive to planting one. We have to be hopeful that there is a silver lining cause hope is what keeps humanity going.

I've been gardening for the last 4 years - "just in case" - and fortunately I've gotten pretty good at it. As for budgeted meals, I can afford exactly $50 per week in food expenses (I have to charge gas for my car). Everything else comes from living at home (not exactly fun at my age).

As for hope, I keep getting reminded of the myth of Pandora. When she opened the box and released all the evils into the world, she managed to close the lid before Hope got loose. Why was Hope at the bottom of a chest of evils? Well, people say it's because hope is what gets us through the bad times. I personally, am starting to think that it's because Hope is the greatest evil of all (and me being an optimist!). After all, hope ain't putting food on my plate and money in my production account - it's just making me despair of ever achieving my goals because I can see the gap between where I am and where I want to be and have no idea how to bridge it; and Hope keeps me looking at the other side, which just exaggerates the distance I have to go. And, yes, I did say I was an optimist; could you imagine what I'd be like if I were a pessimist?:rolleyes:

[JP1986UM]

I am sorry for those of you struggling.

My spouse and I have struggled for about 6 yrs now, but mostly that's due to me changing careers long before I saw this crap coming.

We'll survive. Always have.

It makes the struggles in dealing with one's sexuality pale in comparison to finding enough to subsist on some times.

Being from Chicago area (as a transplant) I see such a wealth of innovation, design, and stuff like that, then I've been in Manila for medical training the past 4 months and I've seen poverty that would break your eyeballs.

I don't have it so bad.

[BiBedBud]

SUGGESTED READING (I saw an interview with the author, and he spoke a lot of sense)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-End-of-the-Free-Market/Ian-Bremmer/e/9781591843016/

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?
By Ian Bremmer

Pub. Date: May 2010
240pp
ISBN-13: 9781591843016
ISBN: 1591843014

Synopsis
Understanding the rise of state capitalism and its threat to global free markets

The End of the Free Market details the growing phenomenon of state capitalism, a system in which governments drive local economies through ownership of market-dominant companies and large pools of excess capital, using them for political gain. This trend threatens America's competitive edge and the conduct of free markets everywhere.

An expert on the intersection of economics and politics, Ian Bremmer has followed the rise of state-owned firms in China, Russia, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Iran, Venezuela, and elsewhere. He demonstrates the growing challenge that state capitalism will pose for the entire global economy.

Among the questions addressed: Are we on the brink of a new kind of Cold War, one that pits competing economic systems in a battle for dominance? Can free market countries compete with state capitalist powerhouses over relations with countries that have elements of both systems-like India, Brazil, and Mexico? Does state capitalism have staying power?

This guide to the next big global economic trend includes useful insights for investors, business leaders, policymakers, and anyone who wants to understand important emerging changes in international politics and the global economy.

Publishers Weekly
“The power of the state is back,” announces Bremmer (The Fat Tail), president of the Eurasia Group, in this sobering examination of the threat the emerging powers of China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia pose to the free market. The book presents a whirlwind history of capitalism from mercantilism through the end of the cold war to the ascendancy of “state capitalism,” a political and economic arrangement in which states exert their influence over markets and big business to serve their own interests. Bremmer provides informative case studies of economies with varying degrees of state control: Algeria's authoritarian regime, Mexico's relatively open and democratic system, and China, the “leading practitioner of state capitalism,” in which Beijing has assumed only more economic power in the wake of the financial crisis. He weighs how free market economies can compete and concludes on a hopeful note, laying out a powerful case for the superiority of regulated free markets above state capitalism and a clear prescription for how the U.S. can defend its competitive advantage in the future. (May 2010)