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I agree 100% with your farmers market theory. I see those getting REALLY big in the coming years. I think mom and pop shops are going to make a come back too
People are simply going to have to get back to saving more and having less. That's the way it was and that's the way it's going to have to be again. We have been partying like there's no tomorrow, but now tomorrow's here and the hangover is horrible and going to get worse. But I don't think government bailouts and taking interest rates to near-zero is any kind of cure.
It seems like a lower standard of living is ahead for all but the very rich, but it's really more or less what it would have been if greed and easy money hadn't taken things to unsustainable heights. People were living an unrealistic dream and now it's time to wake up. The markets-- real estate, stock and financial-- would return to reality a lot faster if the government would realize that if you can't fix it, it's best to just get out of the way!
It's not going to be quick or painless, so let's just get it over with. Then everybody can pick up the pieces and rebuild. And those who didn't make greedy, selfish, stupid decisions can stop having to listen to those who did whine, moan, make excuses and pass the blame. It is what it is, we did what we did, so let's buck up and get past it so we can stop being the pin in the bubble of the global economy.
I agree 100% with your farmers market theory. I see those getting REALLY big in the coming years. I think mom and pop shops are going to make a come back too
Actually the farmers markets are seeing bigger crowds today. I have to get there much earlier in the morning if I want to get bacon/hamburger meat from a local farm that sells there. Price is secondary though; a survey of visitors showed that more are buying local because of all the food scares.
When supermarket food is much higher than farmers market food, then you will see lots and lots more people there.
Actually the farmers markets are seeing bigger crowds today. I have to get there much earlier in the morning if I want to get bacon/hamburger meat from a local farm that sells there. Price is secondary though; a survey of visitors showed that more are buying local because of all the food scares.
When supermarket food is much higher than farmers market food, then you will see lots and lots more people there.
You get no argument from me on that one man. I have seen the number of Farmers Markets here in south florida grow pretty quickly. NYC is also starting to see a lot of them pop up, and urban farming seems to be the big push. I have also seen farmers markets in Nashville really evolve so I agree with you on this! It is good that we are going back to this form of society though, I am a firm believer of supporting local businesses and promoting local economic growth via patronizing local businesses.
Agree 100%! I was raised with the philosophy that debt is bad and that saving ("for a rainy day" as my mom used to put it) is good. But those of us who have and do save, and who prudently invest, are getting HAMMERED by the slashing of interest rates -- We, who are financially prudent, are being sacrificed in order to bail out the easy-credit, living beyond their means crowd. And am I angry about that? YOU BET I AM! Those of us who have been financially responsible are being punished for being so. And I'm not talking about "the rich"... I'm talking about middle-class retirees like myself who now live on interest income, dividend income, and retirement accounts and do not have extravagant spend-y lifestyles. But I hear no talk about this factor in the media. Are there so few of us practicing fiscal responsibility that we don't matter at all?!
I'm with you. I would save an even greater portion of my income if I didn't see it being eroded by sub-inflation rates of interest on savings instruments and bonds. I also don't like the idea of having to ride the tide of the stocks moving up and down as they're manipulated by fund managers chasing too few stocks with too much money funneled into managed accounts by 401ks and 403bs.
There is no reason why a globally-successful company like General Electric that has shown double-digit growth rates for 9 out of 10 business sectors repeatedly moves no where over the past 5 or 6 years or Microsoft with continued strong revenue and growth lies stagnant while Crocs and other faddish products move up and down exponentially and find their places in many fund manager's portfolios in pursuit of "growth" opportunities.
Too many of today's fund managers are too young to have witnessed the true cycle of markets. Many are more driven by the huge salaries they can realize and are out to maximize their short-term income gains much akin to a professional athlete who knows that their career is good for 8 to 12 years of prime earnings.
It is also too easy to bring a company to market these days. Traditionally one-product companies would not be brought public until they had demonstrated several years of success privately capitalized. Then they would be brought public to grow their business into a successful long-term company.
Today, many of the companies being brought public are bid up by their investment bankers on hype or current success while their sponsors just cross their fingers and hope to be able to ride it out long enough to recoup their investment and bang out a nice premium on the IPO.
This is unsustainable for the long-term health of the market and is likely not to return the same type of average market rate of return for investors over the long run IMHO.
People are simply going to have to get back to saving more and having less. That's the way it was and that's the way it's going to have to be again. We have been partying like there's no tomorrow, but now tomorrow's here and the hangover is horrible and going to get worse. But I don't think government bailouts and taking interest rates to near-zero is any kind of cure.
It seems like a lower standard of living is ahead for all but the very rich, but it's really more or less what it would have been if greed and easy money hadn't taken things to unsustainable heights. People were living an unrealistic dream and now it's time to wake up. The markets-- real estate, stock and financial-- would return to reality a lot faster if the government would realize that if you can't fix it, it's best to just get out of the way!
It's not going to be quick or painless, so let's just get it over with. Then everybody can pick up the pieces and rebuild. And those who didn't make greedy, selfish, stupid decisions can stop having to listen to those who did whine, moan, make excuses and pass the blame. It is what it is, we did what we did, so let's buck up and get past it so we can stop being the pin in the bubble of the global economy.
The poor were living an unrealistic dream and now it's time to wake up?
I am not sure why this forum seems to attract the lunatic, political fringe. There is a separate forum for Politics. I avoid it at all costs but it is the right place for many people who post here.
I agree 100% with your farmers market theory. I see those getting REALLY big in the coming years. I think mom and pop shops are going to make a come back too
Just found this thread, reading through the posts….it's interesting to see how some of the statements in these posts were proven true (or not) through the years.
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Spooky accuracy
