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It doesn't mean that America will become a third world country, there are a whole lot of levels between our standard of living and a shack in Timbuktu.
What it does mean is that we will no longer be 100 times richer than everyone else with the disposable, consumerist lifestyle to match.
The consensus seems to be that we are too consumerist anyway and could use some return to a slower paced, less stuff oriented way of life - do people really NEED $400 Manalo Blahniks, a TV in every room and in-ground swimming pools for all?. That doesn't mean that the road ahead won't be uncomfortable though, even painful for many and I include myself in that number.
i have never wanted a single one of those things.... would just like to pay the mortgage on my modest house AND the bills each month without having to figure out HOW......
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyrano
People will muddle through, or most of them will. Mom and dad won't want to take their unemployed children back into the house, but they probably will. Lots of people will couch surf, interspersed with living in their cars and renting a motel room when they scrape together a few bucks. The stock market will continue to rise, but unemployment will stay about where it is now, because when the government has to choose between pleasing those whom they truly represent and the people at large, they'll choose the Wall Streeters every time-- and why not? as people descend into poverty, they'll stop voting. Prisons will continue to be a good way to keep a rotating population of young minorities, busted for petty drug crimes, "housed" and "fed," all at a profit for the private prison companies. The politicians and the media will keep whipping up anger at illegal aliens, which is not to say that it's ok to just let them in, but anyone who can't see that the moneyed interests in this country WANT the illegals here isn't paying attention. Good luck trying to find many American citizens working in most of the meat packing plants in the midwest-- it's just a MIRACLE that so many Mexicans managed to find their way to Iowa and Nebraska, isn't it?
Doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals will see their standards of living decrease as our "American" corporations and hospitals find ways to hire foreigners in their place, either by outsourcing the work electronically or in the case of the doctors, simply bringing them here. No profession will be safe, except politicians and coupon clippers.
I'm glad I am on the verge of old age. It's ugly now but the ugliness is hidden behind the curtain. I don't think there will be a revolution because Americans are still mollified by illusory hope and their anger is deliberately misdirected so they won't pay attention to how their lives, and their country, have been sold. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. If we had a smart government, it would change laws to allow unrelated people to live in single-family houses, so we could have rooming houses like we had 100 years ago. It would put people to work on infrastructure construction and repair, which should have been a no-brainer for the most recent financial crisis, instead of simply opening up the discount window to every pseudo-bank in the country, not to mention lots of non-bank companies, to take free money to do stuff like expand their businesses in Chindia and buy back their own stock, neither of which does a thing to help the American economy. I hope I can last-- my job is pretty good now and is pretty bulletproof from foreign competition, but it is subject to government whim.
Anyone who's waiting for the market to correct itself and then for jobs to return is delusional.
Cyrano I agree with your post. Sadly I think anybody who thinks the jobs are coming back is delusional. Even the very educated engineers accountants IT will see major drop in their wages. You paint a picture that I think will come to pass. Mostly likely it will happen in the next 20 to 25 years.
Oh, I rep'd Cyrano on that one a couple of days ago. He is right on. Delusional pretty much describes the current Administration, as well, in their current pronouncements. Although, Obama is pretty smart. I'm guessing he sees the handwriting on the wall and is just kicking the can down the road.
Thanks, folks. I think the entire governmental system, Democratic and Republican, is responsible for the godawful mess (and I had another word in mind, one that starts with cluster), by whoring themselves out for easy money. Instead of making well-engineered things that people want and need, we "make" derivatives and collateralized debt obligations and employ mathematicians who think they found the way to spin flax into gold, by tranching subprime mortgages that should never have been made and pawning the sliced-and-diced "investments" as being as safe as Treasury bonds.
They'd have to do the same thing as any alcoholic or drug addict has to do if they really want to get sober-- admit their addiction to Wall Street money. And since the Supreme Court held that legalized bribery of politicians is "free speech" and must be cherished at the Constitutional level, that will never happen. They're not buying speech, they're buying propaganda, relentless, mindless "messages."
As for Obama, I knew the fix was in when I saw who his primary financial people are-- Summers, Geithner, Orszag...except that Orszag didn't even have the shred of decency to wait just a little bit before moving directly from the White House into a multimillion dollar job at Citibank. I know that this is an employment board and not a politics board, but my God, politics are driving this whole thing-- NOT illegal aliens, NOT China's refusal to let the renminbi (sp?) rise, NOT tax cut measures.
I have to stop-- there are still things to be thankful for on the verge of this wonderful holiday, so I have to push this bile out of my mind.
Love you post the whole Republican vs Democratic thing is a side show. They are paid for and owned by K street and Wall Street. It kills me when people we do not need a manufacturing sector. Sure junk bonds CDOs derivatives that is the way to go. Do not export anything forget making anything cars tvs shoes. Sell worthless paper no one understands not even the people who made it. Now that is a winner.
Love you post the whole Republican vs Democratic thing is a side show. They are paid for and owned by K street and Wall Street. It kills me when people we do not need a manufacturing sector. Sure junk bonds CDOs derivatives that is the way to go. Do not export anything forget making anything cars tvs shoes. Sell worthless paper no one understands not even the people who made it. Now that is a winner.
Exactly. "Watch me pull a rabbit ot of my hat...."
You also hit the nail on the head with derivatives!
Do you know these people? Did you get to VOTE for them????
Quote:
None of the three clearinghouses would divulge the members of their risk committees when asked by a reporter. But two people with direct knowledge of ICE’s committee said the bank members are: Thomas J. Benison of JPMorgan Chase & Company; James J. Hill of Morgan Stanley; Athanassios Diplas of Deutsche Bank; Paul Hamill of UBS; Paul Mitrokostas of Barclays; Andy Hubbard of Credit Suisse; Oliver Frankel of Goldman Sachs; Ali Balali of Bank of America; and Biswarup Chatterjee of Citigroup.
Yet, your fate, and the fate of our country, may be in their hands.
Globalism= Like it or not, every standard of living equalling out sooner or later.. With the USA being on top, of course it hurts us, it helps the poorer countries also though who knows if they will actually improve.
It does not help the fact we have an extremely corrupt government now too
Interesting, I'm a neutral who would blame neither of your political parties for the loss of jobs.
Management in companies tend to be fixed minded, in how can we raise the share price/dividend.They forget one small detail, lose an employee often lose a customer who no longer has the income from flipping burgers to use their goods or services.
Are Germans brighter than American management.. ? why is it that they are flat out with their export market ?
True the German political and union scene is different, set up by the American army after WW2 with union members on the boards of companies.
I realise a lot of people boast that they do not belong to unions, but when they asked who got those working conditions they enjoy they often do not know
so you want to hire people to do nothing? the person who use to work at blockbuster now has a new job. it could be computer repairman, internet website owner, dog walker.
Renting from blockbuster used to cost $4 a movie. We now pay $8 a month for Netflix or $1 a movie at Redbox.
I was thinking very similar thoughts to yours. This is what has always been known as progress. Young people have to think in terms of tech and or the service industries for their future. They can also consentrate on the hospitality industry.
There was a time (only about a century ago) when most of our country was totally rural. Now, few people make a living off the land unless they are huge companies owning the land or those working for the companies. How many people still make a living doing nothing but farming for example?
Rather than cry, we need to re-train our young people. Or we need to teach them to choose occupations that, hopefully will exist in 30 years.
Nita
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