A lot of these numbers are quite dubious and I trust them no more than the numbers coming out of China. I can also tel you from reliable sources, S&P doesnt buy these numbers, either. Karen Fall Harsin The only one I am not sure about is GDP, but unemployment is correct according to the news and so is the dow jones as of today and consumer confidence is also high according to the news.I am not sure if it is 94.5 but I know for sure it is a lot higher than in past years. Scott Houston according to the news, exactly my point. But (for example) Unemployment doesnt take into account how many have given up looking, or havent filed a claim - among other things. From what I hear, theres still a BIG problem with either unemployment, or underemployment. According to the numbers, its as good as it was in the 90s - do you really observe that to be true? Then here is something that may come as a shock to you - the news lies, or intentionally misrepresents the truth - thats why its called propaganda, or just entertainment (which is how Fox news got out of a law-suit about journalistic integrity). Then the government agencies also intentionally manipulate the numbers to give a false impression. Thats called spin. Karen Fall Harsin Its much better than it was a couple of years ago, some parts of the country is slower than others, like it always has been, but there are more jobs available at least here in the northeast, housing starts are up, manufacturing also. Most people I know who were unemployed have now got full time jobs, as before they were working 2 part time jobs, like my son for instance. his fellow college grads are now mostly full time employees as well. Scott Houston A couple of years ago the US was on the verge of entering another great depression - almost anything would be better than that. Then Im glad in your world all is well, but that does not represent everyone. Then the reason the numbers are intentionally manipulated is so that housing and manufacturing, and especially consumer confidence numbers; etc. will go up. Karen Fall Harsin Maybe so, but I am just telling you what I am seeing and what people I know are experiencing. My son is in Texas in the pan handle and they are having trouble finding enough people to fill positions. California is doing much better according to some friends I have there and of course the northeast where I reside is doing better, but by no means a boom if thats what your getting at. Still the wages have not gone up kinda stagnant. No ones complaining though I really think people are just happy to have a full time job. Scott Houston A key factor in determining the health of an economy is volume of trade. And by Keynesian economics, if the people think all is well, then the economy really does perform better because volume of trade remains healthy. So if you use the media to tell people all is well, most - like you, apparently, believe it and keep spending. This for sure is done and its not necessarily a bad thing - as a negative attitude also can unduly affect the overall economy is a bad way and make it even worse than it really is - thats what happened in 09. Then yeah, I know about your son, you mention him a lot. And good for him, and his company, but he is not the entire country in micro-cosm. If California was doing so well, why wouldnt our friend Peter be trying to go back? Youre the first person to say its doing well. I know housing prices have gone back up, but again, as I tried to explain, thats a false indicator. Basically, youre quoting economic data to get an overall view, and youre not an economist who can really analyze the data accurately.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 06:02:33 +0000