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What disturbs me is that our savings rate even when people 'aren't spending' is only about 5%... We only had full employment when the savings rate was zero. People need to be saving about 15% to retire comfortably. a 15% personal savings rate is the minimum, on average, to fully fund 'the future'.
Obviously the model of trying to build an economy out of selling each other trinkets made overseas is not sustainable in the long-term.
Unless we fix some serious structural problems, the mantra of 'open up your wallets and spend' equates, roughly, with 'borrowing from the future', and it appears more each day that 'the future' is already grossly underfunded.
Posted by mangeek at February 7, 2010 12:57 PM
If you were a business decision-maker, whether large or small company, would you hire anyone given the current administration?
Barack Obama's drips disdain for the private sector -- the "stimulus bill" (that was merely a financial lifeline to state and local public sector employees); the (arguably unlawful) favoritism shown to the UAW with the government auto bailouts / takeovers; the attempt to socialize medicine (on top of banks, automakers); Fannie / Freddie. His call in his state of the union to forgive college loans for people who go to work for the government (and quasi-government like ACORN a/k/a "public service"?).
And "green jobs" as a cover for both "crony capitalism" (Chicago style) and a fascist-like industrial policy of taking over businesses through regulation and government coercion.
And of course higher taxes and regulations as far as the eye can see.
What would we expect from someone who has been suckled by Marxists since he was a child, and in adulthood has associated with same? He's been raised to loathe free market capitalism, and usurp it if he has the means.
Viewing this, any sane business decision-maker is going to hunker down and not make capital investments or hire anyone.
Obama's four years are going to make the Jimmy Carter years look like relative boom times.
Posted by Ragin' Rhode Islander at February 7, 2010 2:21 PM
I feel somewhat at a loss for predictions, I think this is the first sizable recession we have had since we became "post industrial".
When we once again begin purchasing "goods and services", most of those "goods" will be foreign. I think that is a first for us.
Posted by Warrington Faust at February 7, 2010 7:31 PM
What disturbs me is that our savings rate even when people 'aren't spending' is only about 5%... We only had full employment when the savings rate was zero. People need to be saving about 15% to retire comfortably. a 15% personal savings rate is the minimum, on average, to fully fund 'the future'.
Obviously the model of trying to build an economy out of selling each other trinkets made overseas is not sustainable in the long-term.
Unless we fix some serious structural problems, the mantra of 'open up your wallets and spend' equates, roughly, with 'borrowing from the future', and it appears more each day that 'the future' is already grossly underfunded.
Posted by mangeek at February 7, 2010 12:57 PMIf you were a business decision-maker, whether large or small company, would you hire anyone given the current administration?
Barack Obama's drips disdain for the private sector -- the "stimulus bill" (that was merely a financial lifeline to state and local public sector employees); the (arguably unlawful) favoritism shown to the UAW with the government auto bailouts / takeovers; the attempt to socialize medicine (on top of banks, automakers); Fannie / Freddie. His call in his state of the union to forgive college loans for people who go to work for the government (and quasi-government like ACORN a/k/a "public service"?).
And "green jobs" as a cover for both "crony capitalism" (Chicago style) and a fascist-like industrial policy of taking over businesses through regulation and government coercion.
And of course higher taxes and regulations as far as the eye can see.
What would we expect from someone who has been suckled by Marxists since he was a child, and in adulthood has associated with same? He's been raised to loathe free market capitalism, and usurp it if he has the means.
Viewing this, any sane business decision-maker is going to hunker down and not make capital investments or hire anyone.
Obama's four years are going to make the Jimmy Carter years look like relative boom times.
Posted by Ragin' Rhode Islander at February 7, 2010 2:21 PMI feel somewhat at a loss for predictions, I think this is the first sizable recession we have had since we became "post industrial".
When we once again begin purchasing "goods and services", most of those "goods" will be foreign. I think that is a first for us.
Posted by Warrington Faust at February 7, 2010 7:31 PM