When will our leaders wake up? (premium, companies, dollars, high school)

[brokensky]

Originally Posted by jrod2828

I have an Economics degree from Indiana University w/ a 3.7 gpa.

Free markets always work best. Of course they have problems. We need a safety net for the people who fall through the facts. But life is about incentives. Free markets create incentives to create jobs, create products, create services and create ideas. Controlled economies and socialism in general take away incentives for people to work hard. It's all about incentives and free markets allow incentives to drive ideas.

Free market as historically described is NOT the same as the global market, wh/ we now have, w/ China being the # 1 exporter and depending on near slave labor to produce their products.

[fiksi]

Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD

So fiksi, as a senior economist, I am curious to hear your take on the exchange I linked earlier in the thread. (#10 I believe)

Thanks.

It's true.

What oil producers do is sell oil for a price determined by global market.

IF the value of currency falls, that means that they loose.

However, everything they have sold before the point of falling dollar- that is inevitable loss. What they can do is UP the prices, so they don't loose anymore.

However, dollar can go down again. Again they loose.

Angry, they want a currency they can trust... that's Euro. So, they want, more and more, to switch to Euro.

There is another point here... China and India are BOOMING. As the needs for oil rise, SO will the price.

However, dollar is the main problem right now.

OPEC is a legalised cartel. They like high prices, because it makes them very rich.

I doubt there will really be cheap oil again...

Do you want to discuss why dollar is so low?

[ParkTwain]

Our national political leaders are awake, they just don't listen to the people anymore. So the people need to start speaking more LOUDLY to them.

[MamaBee]

The dollar is low because the government keeps borrowing money, there are record trade deficits, and the Fed keeps lowering rates.

[Senator Palpatein]

I think the leaders know what's going on. It appears to me that the ultimately the leadership of both the Democrats and Republicans believe the same thing. They're globalists -NOT Americans. They see America only as an economic zone.

Think about it, every election cycle leaders also promise big bucks to schools and some kind of special plan to improve schools. And the money is spent and the plans implemented. And yet people in America are becomming dumber! Kids can't compete with even children in some third world nations. I think this is all by design.

[fiksi]

Originally Posted by MamaBee

The dollar is low because the government keeps borrowing money, there are record trade deficits, and the Fed keeps lowering rates.

Only part of the story...

MONEY is USED to back up some real-value production, services etc.

US economy is more and more based on speculation.
Meaning... prices of houses go up/down etc.

In fact, many smaller nations, like Germany, are industrial superpowers.

How so? Germany makes and EXPORTS more goods than entire USA.
In fact, it IS the number ONE world exporter of goods.

Switzerland exports more than 20 000$ of goods per head of population.

US? Maybe 2000-3000$ per head.

US has almost entirely lost the BASIS to back up this economy.

It may be, that the previous economic "gains" were just a MIRAGE in the desert.

Also, WORRYSOME is the fact that US household savings rate is zeroing.

In early 70s, US economy had relatively equal distribution of income. At that time, US was a NET exporter and NET lender. There WERE savings.

The tables have now completely turned.

[AnesthesiaMD]

Isn't globalization responsible for this?

How has Europe avoided having their companies outsource it's manufacturing to the lowest bidder nation?

Can we turn the tables back? If so, how?

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by ParkTwain

Our national political leaders are awake, they just don't listen to the people anymore. So the people need to start speaking more LOUDLY to them.

They listen to the Corporations, not the people.

[paullySC]

Originally Posted by AnesthesiaMD

He should get whatever the market dictates, but the market is being unfairly skewed down due to our government's intentional policy of looking the other way on illegal immigration issues. The more illegal immigrants they permit in the country, the lower the wages will be for unskilled workers.

Yeah the illegal immigrant issue is out of hand, I couldn't agree more.

[paullySC]

Originally Posted by fiksi

Let me rephrase it... do you think that rise in poverty, AND inequality in the long term, won't endanger economy and society in general-in USA?

Someone will ALWAYS have to do the job. Unlike here, everywhere else in western world, that person will have at least minimum needed to go on living. By that, i mean at least HI.

As i said, NOT everyone can be a CEO. And that comes from someone who earned good money here.

I repeat again, middle class is struggling HARD to make ends meet, it's worse every year.

As I stated in another thread it's all about choice. We're responsible for our situations. Yes some people have really bad luck and have really bad things happen but that isn't the norm. The focus is all wrong, to an extent it's not how much someone makes, it's how they spend it. Last month CNN featured a man that never made more than 11 dollars an hour and had enough money to donate 2 million dollars to a school. All on 11 dollars an hour.