Your Local Economy

[the_pet]

Despite whatever the economists are saying.....what's your local economy like. I paid $3.41 a gallon for gas today. It seems like everyone i talk to is struggling with lack of business or shrinking budgets, getting laid off or having to get a second job. One of SO clients said he was told by his broker that if he had any sizeable amounts of money in small banks to move it now. Around here it seems like the economy is in the toilet

Where did all the money go

pet

 

[Xelebes]

Market is still very strong here. Not having as strong in-migration as we had in 2006 or 2007 but they are still coming in. We just need to build more houses for all the oil workers and workers in the derivative industries.

 

[graceanne]

My husband is in construction. After 9/11 he got laid off because no one was having work done on their houses. We were making nearly 40,000 a year off his income. Now we're at a bit over 20,000. K's going to school because, at least in our area, construction is down. I can't say what it's like for others, but I know we've never recovered from 9/11.

Oh, and gas is about 3.40ish around here, too. I used to be able to feed my family on 50 to 80 dollars a week, now I'm lucky if I can keep it at 100 dollars a week. Rent is up, too. We paid 650 a month for a three bedroom house when we first got together, now we're paying 660 for a two bedroom apartment.

 

[Yang4yin]

Charlotte, NC is just starting to feel some of the effects other cities have been dealing with... mainly because of its being a banking center. The new housing boom is just now beginning to slow down.

Gas prices are "higher" due to taxes levied by the state. The nearby BP is selling regular unleaded for $3.21 a gallon, but I can get across the border into SC in a fewer number of miles and get regular unleaded for $3.05.

I've been buying almost all of my groceries at ALDI, a low price, no frills store and saving a lot of money versus the chain stores, and in some instances, it's even less than Walmart and the warehouse clubs.

 

[popcorn2721]

I worry every day that Im going to get laid off. The economy is terrible here... there hasn't really been any new businesses open up in a good while and the few manufacturing jobs that were around have dried up leaving several hundred folks out of work. We have seen alot of new businesses open up since maytag was bought out by whirlpool and the factory in my home town was shut down. That is a great thing except you have to consider who is actually making money in the Midwest. You have professional practices (lawyers, doctors and such) who still have plenty of clients and insurance isn't going anywhere either. Then we have all the other jobs that most people in the Midwest work (gas stations, fast food, and other services). These jobs don't pay much to begin with and when the price of everything in the open market has jumped it makes folks desperate. The companies that provide jobs here (for the most part) are franchise owned, and drain more money out of the Midwest than you can shake a stick at. Now I mentioned the new "small" businesses that have opened up around town, in the current economic balance I'm betting that less than `1 in ten will be around 2 years from now. Things are looking pretty grim in the Midwest...the funny thing is that I see allot of folks saying that the country is in sad economic shape, yet we still have people that are poor as fuck (you know, don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of) and at the same time cant get enough of the GOPs bullshit. The ignorant moves that this country has made in the last 8 years has nearly stalled the economy. We've outsourced good technical jobs and created a mountain of dept to China... we are just waiting to get a good fucking now.
Ive already made plans to move if I get downsized.

 

[BiBunny]

This is the South. Has the economy ever been decent?

My hometown has been in a recession since the textile industry was outsourced to South America some 10 or 15 years ago. No new industries have come in to really take its place. Most everybody who didn't already have money suffered because of all the lay-offs. Now the rich retired people from other places have come in to take advantage of our rock-bottom real estate prices. They're loaded, but they don't use any of it to stimulate the local economy at all. Fucking carpetbaggers. (I'm sorry, do I sound like a reverse classist? Because I am. I have a real chip on my shoulder about having grown up half a step above white trash in a rural area and never being allowed to live it down.)

My family came out on the good side of the equation when Daddy lost his job at the cotton mill. He went back to truck driving, where he makes way more money than he did at the mill. The only thing is, he drives long-distance, and I hardly ever see him. Mother's managed to hang onto her secretary job thus far.

In the town where I go to school, there are a zillion people all fighting over the three jobs that are published in the paper every week. I'm over-educated for a lot of jobs (and, no, McDonald's won't hire you if you have a degree), and I'm under-educated for the rest. It's an employer's market, and workers keep getting screwed left and right. I know tons of college graduates who can't get jobs of any sort anywhere. And let's not even talk about the lack of health insurance. If I get sick or hurt, I'm just gonna have to die.

So, yeah, don't try to tell me we aren't in the middle of a recession. Ain't buyin' it. Sorry.

 

[Homburg]

and insurance isn't going anywhere either.

Insurance sucks. Trust me on this.

I'm not likely to be laid off, but it's because they don't really care enough to do so. Volume is crap right now, but I get paid per assignment, so what do they care?

And I think I paid $3.27/gallon

 

[Bi_Kitty]

This is the South. Has the economy ever been decent?

My hometown has been in a recession since the textile industry was outsourced to South America some 10 or 15 years ago. No new industries have come in to really take its place. Most everybody who didn't already have money suffered because of all the lay-offs. Now the rich retired people from other places have come in to take advantage of our rock-bottom real estate prices. They're loaded, but they don't use any of it to stimulate the local economy at all. Fucking carpetbaggers. (I'm sorry, do I sound like a reverse classist? Because I am. I have a real chip on my shoulder about having grown up half a step above white trash in a rural area and never being allowed to live it down.)

My family came out on the good side of the equation when Daddy lost his job at the cotton mill. He went back to truck driving, where he makes way more money than he did at the mill. The only thing is, he drives long-distance, and I hardly ever see him. Mother's managed to hang onto her secretary job thus far.

In the town where I go to school, there are a zillion people all fighting over the three jobs that are published in the paper every week. I'm over-educated for a lot of jobs (and, no, McDonald's won't hire you if you have a degree), and I'm under-educated for the rest. It's an employer's market, and workers keep getting screwed left and right. I know tons of college graduates who can't get jobs of any sort anywhere. And let's not even talk about the lack of health insurance. If I get sick or hurt, I'm just gonna have to die.

So, yeah, don't try to tell me we aren't in the middle of a recession. Ain't buyin' it. Sorry.

Ditto.


As far as gas around our neck of the woods, it is about $3.15 per gallon.

 

[Netzach]

It's the food thing that I'm noticing, 'cause I am She Who Buys The Groceries

it's pretty insane, I rarely walk out of there less than 80 bucks lighter and I'm not doing anything THAT weird.

 

[EmpressFi]

I'm with Net on that. we're constantly searching for the best buys around town. Gas is about $2.97 here in Jersey, $3.40 in Philly.

 

[YourCaptor]

We got a shit load of Katrina victims, yet no construction… how that works I don’t know.

I paid $3.50 yesterday at the cheep pump, everywhere else it was $3.70

My economy savvy professor said to buy gold a few weeks ago. Yea, like I am going to buy the $50 of gold I can afford.

Anyway, the only jobs around here are service jobs. I usually find work at the university. I use to do drafting to fix some roads way up in northern California, so much for that.

Honestly though, I haven’t seen a change, its always been like this.

I am tempted to dub this place an American favela.

 

[catalina_francisco]

I've been buying almost all of my groceries at ALDI, a low price, no frills store and saving a lot of money versus the chain stores, and in some instances, it's even less than Walmart and the warehouse clubs.

With the amount of people I know who are shopping at ALDI (outside of NL), I am thinking that alone should be good for the Dutch economy.

Here the price of fuel has risen to a point we are grateful we don't have to pay for it, and the grocery bill has risen significantly, though quality hasn't. I have begun suggesting things we might do financially incase it does come to a crunch here and we are affected, but still need to see what his thinking about it comes out as before I can take action.

My daughter in Oz has been caught in the changing conditions. She is presently homeless and staying with friends, sharing a bedroom with her daughter and the small apartment with 5 cats. She is also having problems keeping up with the payments on the storage shed where all her furniture and belongings are stored as the impact of relocating and having to maintain her daughter's going to school at the same school (huge fuel cost as well as energy due to driving the distance twice a day), trying to keep working, and the stress of trying to find a rental in a market where they are just not renting to single parents with one child, and can't provide enough housing for even larger families. Due to the increased economical pressure including a rise in mortgage interest rates, people are selling their houses and joining the queue of potential renters who cannot get rentals. In my mother's street alone, 6 houses she knows of have been sold in the last month with those rental families all being given short notice to move out of their rental with nowhere to go. Of course given the rental market is so difficult, landlords are also charging through the nose and if anyone complains about anything (my daughter asked that the shower floor that leaked through to the garage be fixed, as well as all the doors (front door etc.) be made lockable for safety and security and was told to leave a couple of days later), they find themselves without a house/apartment.

Of course, governments being run by super intelligent politicians, the premier of the state is inviting people from other states who have been thrown out of work due to industry closures, to move their families to the state and start afresh...she doesn't want to know about the thousands of families who cannot get a house or apartment to rent, nor how she is adding numbers to that by inviting others to move there.

Catalina

 

[RawHumor]

If you go for a walk in my town right now, you'll be lucky to find a single street that doesn't have at least one house for sale.

I've heard of a guy selling a $200+ lakeside house for around half of its value just to get rid of it.

 

[WriterDom]

I the funny thing is that I see allot of folks saying that the country is in sad economic shape, yet we still have people that are poor as fuck (you know, don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of) and at the same time cant get enough of the GOPs bullshit. QUOTE]

The defeatocraps control 2/3 of the federal government. Can you name one fucking thing they've done to make things better? They were elected to reduce troops in Iraq and what happened? More troops.

Good luck with Hope and Change. More taxation and bigger government isn't the answer.

 

[kushielstoy]

Things are not good here in the Midwest. Lots of houses for sale, 4 on my block alone and I rent in an area where houses used to sell in 1-2 DAYS!

I have stopped shopping at the co-ops and I am waiting for the snow to melt so that I can start riding my bike to the office. Gas was at $3.19 last night.

In the past 6 months I have seen my business decline to the point that I have let go of all my Independent Contractors. I was planning on buying a condo this spring, but we will see what first quarter numbers have to say…

I saw my accountant this week and I owe $11,000 to the feds.
(5-25% interest will accrue plus penalty charges!)

Hmmmmm don’t have the money wonder if I could pay them in trade?

Like many people it would be easier to pay taxes if I thought the government was using the moneys for the good of the people. Not to pay for a war that doing so much harm to ALL parties involved.

I am just so grateful that my daughter is grown and I don’t have little ones to feed.

My heart goes out to the families.

 

[Mazuri]

I'm in one of those odd places where things aren't looking too bad. While gas is $3.15 a gallon and milk is $4 if you know where to shop and $6 everywhere else, construction is booming and there are more jobs than people (not just employable people) in our city. Add to the new construction the repair work on 800+ houses and 50+ businesses hit by the tornado a month ago and that industry is overworked. I work at a Walgreens and our sales are up, fueled by flu season and ad flyers with folks looking to save money. Hubby is miilitary so his job is pretty secure as he only has 2 years until retirement.

However, rentals are astronomical here (a 3 bedroom house in a subdivision can cost up to $1300 per month), and the cost of living is so low that the prices going up is really hurting folks.

 

[naxalite0906]

The "credit crunch" here is slowly starting to kick in and screw people over here. The government used to have no problem lending money, whether it was a loan or mortgage (i know some people with 103% mortgages). Due to that, the economy has suffered and now they are cutting back on lending in a big way. So much that they might not offer a mortgage to anyone unless they have 25% deposit already! For many people my age, this makes it hard to get on the property ladder as how many 24 year olds have £25k to put towards a house. Energy prices are also going up, and living on my own I notice the difference a lot. It gets even more frustrating when the cost of living increase each year (3% of your wage) is not enough to meet the cost everything else has gone up (council tax 5%, gas/electricity over 10% etc).

Oh and petrol - its over £1 a litre now.. so to convert that to US prices, 8 bucks a gallon!

 

[midwestyankee]

I the funny thing is that I see allot of folks saying that the country is in sad economic shape, yet we still have people that are poor as fuck (you know, don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of) and at the same time cant get enough of the GOPs bullshit.

The defeatocraps control 2/3 of the federal government. Can you name one fucking thing they've done to make things better? They were elected to reduce troops in Iraq and what happened? More troops.

Good luck with Hope and Change. More taxation and bigger government isn't the answer.

To say that the Democrats (that's still the official name for the party, isn't it?) "control 2/3 of the government" is a gross overstatement. Let's take a roll call:

Executive: Republican
Judicial: Conservative-leaning by 5 to 4 (not directly responsible for legislation)
Congress: Mixed

House of Representatives:
Democrats: 232
Republicans: 199
Independents: 0
Vacant Seats: 4
Total: 435​

Senate:
Democrats: 49
Republicans: 49
Independent Democrat: 1* (Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut)
Independents: 1 (Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont)
Vacant Seats: 0
Total: 100​

The House of Representatives is the only one of the four houses of governance that can legitimately be termed "controlled by Democrats" and in order for their work to make a difference, it has to be ratified by the Senate. The Senate has blocked virtually every progressive bill because of its arcane rules regarding fillibusters. It takes 60 votes to get a bill through the Senate, not a simple majority. Until the same party has control of the House and a 60-vote bloc in the Senate, we will have legislative stagnation.

All this is just to point out the general unfairness of blaming one party for the state of affairs - unless you put your finger on the party that actually does still control the government - and it's not the Democrats right now.

 

[Netzach]

We got a shit load of Katrina victims, yet no construction… how that works I don’t know.

I paid $3.50 yesterday at the cheep pump, everywhere else it was $3.70

My economy savvy professor said to buy gold a few weeks ago. Yea, like I am going to buy the $50 of gold I can afford.

Anyway, the only jobs around here are service jobs. I usually find work at the university. I use to do drafting to fix some roads way up in northern California, so much for that.

Honestly though, I haven’t seen a change, its always been like this.

I am tempted to dub this place an American favela.

Gold is going to even out. You'd be a moron to buy it now at 1000 an oz. This does happen cyclically.

ETA: I do feel like overall things could be a lot worse here. Construction is still constructing, because people are remodeling like mad either because they're stuck with what they have or they want to sell it. We're in a little bread basket bubble, - it never booms and busts here quits AS much as everywhere else.

 

[WriterDom]

progressive bill? Like pouring 26% of our corn into our gas tanks? That has fueled inflation more than the increase in oil.

With China and India sucking up oil like Linda Lovelace in a biker bar I doubt that much can be done. Other than the high prices reducing demand. Clinton's legacy is the fucking Hummer.

 

[midwestyankee]

progressive bill? Like pouring 26% of our corn into our gas tanks? That has fueled inflation more than the increase in oil.

With China and India sucking up oil like Linda Lovelace in a biker bar I doubt that much can be done. Other than the high prices reducing demand. Clinton's legacy is the fucking Hummer.

Last I heard, it was General Motors that sells the Hummer. How a commercial venture can be blamed on a President is beyond me.

I read a very interesting article the other day on the nature of the price of oil. In the 1930s the cost to extract oil was 1/100 of the going market price on a crude oil per barrel basis. Today that ratio is closer to 1/30 so it now costs about three times as much to extract oil from the ground as it did 70 years ago. There is a major field of oil sand somewhere in Canada where the major oil corporations are presently bidding for rights. The cost to extract oil from oil sand fields is about 1 to 3 or about ten times as high as the current cost. What does that tell you about where the price of oil is going according to the people who know best: the ones whose livelihood depends on extracting and selling it?

 

[LittleJade]

Gas here is about $1.20 per Litre. That's about $4.80 per gallon, roughly.

Because of the stronger Canadian dollar/weaker American dollar (however you want to phrase it), a local company that was outsourced from the US, recently closed, causing 450 people to lose their jobs... most of which were college students. It's a shame, because it was actually a pretty decent paying job, compared to what else is out there right now.

The government says that inflation is going down, and they insist that prices for many things should be falling a bit, in the supermarkets, etc... but we have seen no evidence of this yet.

 

[DVS]

The main thing is not to panic. If people panic in mass, the market will slip to one side and won't be able to recover. Sure, be watchful of what's yours, but don't panic.

Different areas of the U.S. have different costs of living. The coasts have always had higher costs of living than the midwest. What that means is the same job pays more as well as the same house costs more and the same food costs more.

Gas will always go up at this time of year. You can't really use that as a measure of resession. Sure, it's eating into your pocketbook more than in the past, but that's because of OPEC.

There are a few businesses that the government will bail out when they are in crissis and one of them is the housing market. There is a trickle down process that happens in these situations that affects the locals in areas that new housing is in a downfall.

And it is mostly very local, at first. Kansas City has been affected, but until recently, a smaller market to the south east, Springfield, MO wasn't affected. I have a friend who is a new home contractor there. He said he was still quite busy working to finish houses, because they were still selling.

What's the trickle down, when the housing industry slows? It first affects the loan industry, then the construction people, because they can't get a job. The more construction in a local area, the more that area is affected.

The services that construction requires to build a house comes next. The basic things like lumber and insulation down to trucking that halls the lumber and insulation and the stores that sell it. Then, the contractors that work in the house like the electricians, the plumbers, landscaping...they feel the crunch, too. And, then it's their materials that are affected and those who sell them.

The after market companies are affected, next. Furniture, kitchen appliances and anything else you might need to get a house the way you want it. Trucking is affected here, too. The local trucking, because they aren't needed to move the items from store to home, and the national trucking, because if the stock isn't sold, there's no need to replenish it, from the factory.

Then the factory workers are affected. The people who make everything we buy. As long as we keep buying them, they have a job. But, if we stop buying becuase we don't think we can afford it, their job is in danger.

The things we need to survive will just get more expensive, because everything else is not being trucked, the trucking charges go up for whatever is still being trucked. That's part of why food goes up, but not the only reason. Another reason is because the people who produce these products are also affected by the same things that we are.

Gas is up, so trucking charges are up to counter it. That's the most noticable increase. But, there are others, that we don't see, but each and every one of them will increase our costs by a little, because we are the final consumers.

Just don't panic. The Internet is a good means of communication, but it is also a good means of fanning flames. We hear how bad it is all over and we think the world is coming to an end. Trust me, it won't. I'm not saying it won't beome difficult, but we are not yet in a resession. But, the way we are all talking about it, somebody will start a panic, and once that happens, it won't be easy to stop.

Personally, I just got a big raise and a new position. I'm expecting to be able to pay the bills AND get some things fixed. I might even be able to refinance my house, now that the rates are going to be going down. You've got to think positive. Doom and gloom is no fun.

 

[Netzach]

Last I heard, it was General Motors that sells the Hummer. How a commercial venture can be blamed on a President is beyond me.

I read a very interesting article the other day on the nature of the price of oil. In the 1930s the cost to extract oil was 1/100 of the going market price on a crude oil per barrel basis. Today that ratio is closer to 1/30 so it now costs about three times as much to extract oil from the ground as it did 70 years ago. There is a major field of oil sand somewhere in Canada where the major oil corporations are presently bidding for rights. The cost to extract oil from oil sand fields is about 1 to 3 or about ten times as high as the current cost. What does that tell you about where the price of oil is going according to the people who know best: the ones whose livelihood depends on extracting and selling it?

SUV's have "makers depreciation" - it takes 6 years to write off a Hummer, 10-12 years for cars and trucks.

Hm.

I guess when I buy for the biz I *will* be driving a Ford Brontosaur, whether I want to or not.

 

[midwestyankee]

SUV's have "makers depreciation" - it takes 6 years to write off a Hummer, 10-12 years for cars and trucks.

Hm.

I guess when I buy for the biz I *will* be driving a Ford Brontosaur, whether I want to or not.

I wonder if the math works out such that one would be almost equally ahead by buying a Prius and getting the hybrid writeoff? I don't know the details so I'm just positing a more earth-friendly alternative.