Bad economy?

Question

Ok, I'm sure this will sound really stupid and naive so I'm just warning you in advance. I'm just wondering what is so bad about the economy right now, other than gas being so expensive? I mean everyone complains about it, and blames Bush and all, but its not like one person can control it, right? And come on it cant be that bad, people talk about this like its the second Great Depression or something... Lol can someone please explain this to me

Answer 1

Well the economy isn't the best right now ........ but your right Bush isn't all to blame.  Just a few things to think about with the gas being so high (especially diesel for 18 wheelers) it cost them 2-3 times more per trip to travel back and forth to bring supplies to restaurants, groceries, and places of business.  So we do all pay for it in the long run, and the housing market is very bad right now b/c few years ago lenders were getting anyone in a house.  Many got adjustable loans and so now they can't pay b/c they didn't buy within their limits.  Those trying to sell right now are having a hard time b/c the housing market is so bad no one is buying much.  These few things have a trickle down effect in which many companies and businesses have had to let employers go or shut down totally.   Hope this explains things a little better  :)

Answer 2

The economy is not as bad as it seems, despite high gas prices. We Americans are very blessed to the point of being spoiled brats. In light of high gas prices, why are restuarants full and bars packed on the weekends?  We really have no clue what it is like to go through tough times. Not to mention, its always easier to complain and whine.

Answer 3

I have done extensive research of this subject. The reason for our bad economy is due to the Glass Steagall Act being lifted by the Clinton administration.  This allowed fraud in the mortgage industry and artificial increases in home prices to occur.  The corruption made it possible for the rich to get richer and the middle class to get hurt by the allowing the mortgage industry to get out of hand.

The reason for the increasing gas prices is because mortgages have run their coarse, as an investment and the speculators (the rich) had to go from Mortgage back securities to oil and  to commodities (basically food).  You are going to see prices continue to increase on these items.  And, you will see a major downturn in our economy and a huge decrease in the value of homes. An increase in food prices as well as the general cost of living. There is more to it, this is a basic explanation.

Answer 4

You have not been paying close enough attention. It is not just about high gas prices. High gas prices incidentally affect everything else including airlines, groceries, mail services, package delivery, truck drivers, etc. It causes prices to rise fast. Inflation is back with a vengenance but it is very difficult to track accurately. The numbers have been manipulated. We are also in a global economy that is affecting job creation. The U.S. economy continues to lose jobs. We did lose jobs because of increases in efficiency. But we have lost a lot of jobs to China and India because they can do the work cheaper. That erodes the purchasing power of Americans. The U.S. economy is 70% consumer spending.

Don't forget about the credit crisis (banks and other finance companies losing money, millions, billions) and the housing crisis. People bought homes that are worth less (a lot less in many cases) than they are today. That shouldn't even be possible. Homes are supposed to be long-term investment, not get rich quick schemes which they were turned into.

There is the Iraq war that is costing billions. The Big Dig in Boston is costing taxpayers billions. Boston is looking for a federal bailout. There are many things happening in the economy that are negative. It's not all bad news but there is a lot of bad news. It needs to be looked at and considered. It can't just be swept under the rug. It doesn't work that way.

Answer 5

The gas prices  affect pretty much everything, because the producers need to transport their goods around, and need gas to do so. I don't know much about what happens in America, but in the UK the government charges a huge amount of tax for fuel, plus extra value added tax (or VAT). The government is therefore blamed for much of the change to the economy, as if they reduced tax then the price of oil would not be rising as rapidly.

Answer 6

While I agree that the press is run by people who are biased and President Bush inherited a mess, I still think if you read up on it you will find a strong argument for a bad economy coming up in the near future.

It takes a bit of reading, and paying attention, but there is no arguing or justifying what is about to occur.

We are in for a major economic downturn.  I don't even want to admit it, but all the facts are there.

Answer 7

I agree greatly with this.

-The economy is not as bad as it seems, despite high gas prices. We Americans are very blessed to the point of being spoiled brats. In light of high gas prices, why are restuarants full and bars packed on the weekends? We really have no clue what it is like to go through tough times. Not to mention, its always easier to complain and whine.

Answer 8

It isn't bad at all. It just loads of media hype to desperately try to get Obama elected.

Answer 9

It is a serious issue.  Unemployment will be going up and that effects the economy.  Home prices are dropping, people do not have extra equity in there home to spend money to keep our economy propped up.

The banks are failing which means that jobs are being lost and those people have nowhere to go to get new jobs (think about it 600 Starbucks are closing.  And, that is as a result of lack of extra money to spend ie: no equity in homes, etc).

The government is bailing out banks, spending our money to do so.  The American public has to pay back that debt through higher taxes. (Again we will have less disposable income to spend).  Many people have lost a lot of their life savings in these broken banks.

There are already tent cities in some states, mimicking the Great Depression.  Foreclosure is way up. People lose their homes and lose their jobs - and have nowhere to go.

Answer 10

It's not; by historic standards, it is good.  The GNP is still growing so we are not even in a recession!  Every few years, even a healthy economy goes through a slow down but that is like the press whining that every time someone catches a cold they are on the throes of death.  People also forget just how bad it was when President Bush took office; still not bad, but much worse then it is currently.  In the Clinton stock crash, people lost their life savings in a day.  Traditionally, even though unfair, Presidents get blamed for all that happens under their administration but they also take credit unfairly for all the good stuff too.  

On has to remember that the press is run by people who have been feeding the biased character assassination vs President Bush and they are giving it their best effort to prevent another capitalist from becoming President thus terming a cold pneumonia (ie, comparing now and the Great Depression) is no more then an exaggeration to make the current administration look worse and imply that some sort of negative change is needed.  It is really a sad state of affairs allowing the US press to become little more then propaganda outlets for the Marxist radicals in this country.