:usacry (US Economy is f@#ked thread)

[Rman]

Major layoffs are being announced by all kinds of corporations, the auto industry is about to die, states and municipalities are in the verge of bankruptcy.  I'm usually level headed, but is anyone starting to worry now?

[Brehvolution]

Just wait til after xmas when all the sales forecasts come up short.

[CajoleJuice]

I tried, I bought an HDTV.

[MrAngryFace]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/12/mark-haines-thinks-treasu_n_143315.html -- haha thats about right.

Ill keep buying for America, but i'll probably shove a bit into savings for the first time. FEAR is the great motivator, my friends.

[Van Cruncheon]

this is just the unwinding after the bank failures. who thought it was gonna be pretty? next two quarters will be rough, and then we'll see the uptick, hopefully.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

...

[Rman]

this is just the unwinding after the bank failures. who thought it was gonna be pretty? next two quarters will be rough, and then we'll see the uptick, hopefully.

Yeah, I know it would not be pretty, but actually living through this is strange.  Most of us were to young to care about the S&L crisis or even the crash of '87, but most of us our now gainfully employed or looking be after college so the sense of panic may be magnified.

[Human Snorenado]

Most of my freelance work has dried up, it's a good thing I have few expenses and close to 30k in the bank.  I plan on coasting for the next year or so and hopefully getting a new govt. job, since I'm convinced that that will be the only way to get the economy moving again.

I also think we should start a "2 Great 2 Depressing Blog" where we write up stuff about how to survive the coming disastrophe. 

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

In terms of personal anecdotes, my sister is having trouble finding any kind of work.  In the town she lives in, the economy boomed (thanks to casino monies) and now, most of the businesses there are just barely hanging on.  That means hiring freezes, and one employer told her that even though they haven't even opened up their doors yet, they're not sure how they're going to make it.  Her husband's employer cut all overtime so now they're depending on the same hourly wage I make as an intern.

That is the worst case so far but it isn't exactly dire for them.

As for me personally, I got a job I was hired for but haven't started yet.  It sounds pretty recession proof but who knows.  I'm looking for a second job in the area to work weekends to make sure I have extra cash on hand if I ever need it.  I don't think things will ever get that bad but I won't be taking that risk either.

[Human Snorenado]

Let's have some awesome flashbacks, shall we?





All of those people other than Peter Schiff should be dragged out into the street and beaten to death with limp sausages.

[Bocsius]

US Economy? Pfft. We'll bring the world down with us.

 

[Eric P]

thank god my company is built to be solvent from the bottom up.  we're good, we're as we are continuing to sign new businesses.

i'm concerned because having plotted out my expenses (just got my first paycheck today) vs my income, i will be living a very monkish life for a while having killed a few of my extravagances.

thankfully this will motivate me to go through my back log of books and games.

[Robo]

My employers seem to be optimistic about our future.  I feel relatively safe, but if it comes down to cutting, the fact that I'm browsing the internet right now instead of working probably makes me considerably more expendable than I would like to believe.

Not having much of a problem with expenses either.  I'm still going all out for Christmas. 

[CajoleJuice]

My employers seem to be optimistic about our future.  I feel relatively safe, but if it comes down to cutting, the fact that I'm browsing the internet right now instead of working probably makes me considerably more expendable than I would like to believe.

Not having much of a problem with expenses either.  I'm still going all out for Christmas. 

I'm in almost exactly the same situation.

[Brehvolution]

The company I work for makes software for large companies that shows them how to mind and expand the bottom line. I feel pretty safe.
My wife is a teacher, I don't think she has anything to worry about.
Shit is still tight though. Anytime we close to being able to save some money, something pops up and takes it away. We would be really fucked if something major broke in our house.

[BlackMage]

Since i work in the medical field, i think im alright. I feel bad for my sister, though. she is a hairstylist and used to make a hell of a lot of money. now her customers are much fewer and she and her husband are going through a rough time.

[CajoleJuice]

I also think we should start a "2 Great 2 Depressing Blog" where we write up stuff about how to survive the coming disastrophe. 

I wonder if it would last longer than Year of PS3.

[Robo]

Houses are more trouble than they're worth.  The Money Pit taught me so.

[Eric P]

Shit is still tight though. Anytime we close to being able to save some money, something pops up and takes it away. We would be really fucked if something major broke in our house.

that kept happening with my car

pain in the ass.  put over 2k into it in 6 months

[Phoenix Dark]

Accounting

[cloudwalking]

i'll be spending my precious swiss tourist money on your filthy american soil come christmas. but not even tourism can breathe life back into the weak, hollow shell of the US economy

[CajoleJuice]

Accounting

Actuarial Science

(if anyone knows what the fuck that is)

[Tauntaun]

i'll be spending my precious swiss tourist money on your filthy american soil come christmas. but not even tourism can breathe life back into the weak, hollow shell of the US economy

   I would call you homo or queer but....women are gay already.   :'(   When you visit do you maybe want to go to a store and lick the carpet?  We could be pals, then we can spank Jarosh with my special Tauntaun Paddle ^TM. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I need to save some more

I've decided to get more aggressive about using Netflix

[CajoleJuice]

I need to save some more

I've decided to get more aggressive about using Netflix

do you have an exit strategy

[Tauntaun]

I need to save some more

I've decided to get more aggressive about using Netflix

do you have an exit strategy

It's called pulling out and letting loose on your face/chest. 

[Oblivion]

I work at a publisher that thrives on Wii's and DS's success, so seems I'm pretty safe for now. Plus I got a promotion recently.

Nintendo

[duckman2000]

I really wish they'd just let the auto industry die. As things are right now, there won't be any new car companies, and no industry can function and progress under those nearly monopolistic circumstances. So let GM and Ford die, something new, and probably better, will appear.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

my job is okay

[drew]

if the auto industry dies we will likely go into a depression

[duckman2000]

if the auto industry dies we will likely go into a depression

So? Sometimes you have to let shit burn in order to renew the soil. Let them crash, the nation will survive, and will probably rise up many times stronger. These temporary bail-outs and mergers certainly haven't helped to halt the momentum towards ruin, so let it go this time.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I really wish they'd just let the auto industry die. As things are right now, there won't be any new car companies, and no industry can function and progress under those nearly monopolistic circumstances. So let GM and Ford die, something new, and probably better, will appear.

There are a lot of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue are tied to those industries.  Letting them go would pretty much cause a significant amount of unemployment.  That would definitely end any chance Detroit had at improving itself.

I'm not a fan of letting heavy industry collapse.  I'd rather the government or stockholders try to drive out the current leadership and start anew.  I'm sure there are some Board members or senior executives that have the right idea.

[drew]

my dad works for Merrill Lynch

hence my bias

[duckman2000]

I really wish they'd just let the auto industry die. As things are right now, there won't be any new car companies, and no industry can function and progress under those nearly monopolistic circumstances. So let GM and Ford die, something new, and probably better, will appear.

There are a lot of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue are tied to those industries.  Letting them go would pretty much cause a significant amount of unemployment.  That would definitely end any chance Detroit had at improving itself.

I'm not a fan of letting heavy industry collapse.  I'd rather the government or stockholders try to drive out the current leadership and start anew.  I'm sure there are some Board members or senior executives that have the right idea.

Detroit will never improve. The auto industry can either die a slow death, and hinder any progress and block any plans for future growth while it takes its time to merge, collapse, merge some more, all in some effort to help the people with a stake in the company land comfortably. The alternative is a quick, decidedly traumatic event, but one that would release more talent and more investment money faster, likely then fast enough for new opportunities to form in the wake. It's not as if the auto industry will die, it will just be a very different one. If that requires the sacrifice of the Detroit area, then so be it.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

IMO, if Black Friday falls short of reasonable expectations, we're fucked.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

moreso than what we thought is what I meant

[Fresh Prince]

I have a graduate position it should be fairly safe but I get worried that it'll be made redundant or I'll get sacked within the first 90 days etc. Moving out of home to somehwhere more expensive also adds to my trepediation. Thank god I didn't apply to any banks.

The auto inductry is not only GM, Ford, Chrysler but the many smaller and medium businesses that are linked in the supply chain as well.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

my dad works for Merrill Lynch

ah, he's a a g-man

[drew]

haha

[Fragamemnon]

awful 4th quarter contraction, more malaise-but not drastic contraction- in the 1Q next year, then up and down for the next six months or so. This is all conditioned on the notion that government does the right thing and spends what is has to keep things from getting too much worse, and then after this is all blown over simply assfucks via taxes the segment of the population who got us into this mess in the first place.

[Van Cruncheon]

awful 4th quarter contraction, more malaise-but not drastic contraction- in the 1Q next year, then up and down for the next six months or so. This is all conditioned on the notion that government does the right thing and spends what is has to keep things from getting too much worse, and then after this is all blown over simply assfucks via taxes the segment of the population who got us into this mess in the first place.

yup. libor and t-spread are loosening, credit is slowly moving, banks are refactoring the accounting process. we're back on the shoal, and now the victims of all this bank and investment mismanagement -- the retailers who couldn't get credit for the last three months -- are unwinding and shaking out the dead pool. consumer confidence index is starting to climb again now that the bank run panic has largely passed, and we're moving into the last phase -- 2-3 quarters of raised unemployment thanks to first the bank failures and then the asphyxiated retailers. the death of the big 3 will be not be that quick -- even if they declare bankruptcy, they will remain operational in some capacity for at least a couple years, and while they will make the employment marketplace more toxic with their wheezing, they'll only protract and augment the pain of recovery, but they ultimately won't drag us down. well, the midwest might go into a weak depression. lol midwest.

[Van Cruncheon]

hey, they can add PLEASE GIVE US MONEY to their laundry list of things jesus needs to do for them, including STOP THOSE HORRIBLE GAYS FROM MARRIAGE-ING and END THE MURDER OF FETUSES BY LIBRULZ

[Van Cruncheon]

the dow is no guidance right now -- you could run on the floor screaming BOB FROM GOLDMAN HAS THE SYPH!!!! and it'll tank by 200. turn around and shout PONIES IN THE STREETS FOR EVERYONE and it'll go up 300 more.

[Van Cruncheon]

sorry, fa, but you guys depend on blue state money, and we hafta look after our own! also, your industry verticals are sooo narrow and your supply chains so undiversified :'(

[MrAngryFace]

http://www.physorg.com/news145892750.html

[MrAngryFace]

Lets just say im gonna put some money into savings right now

[Oblivion]

Thank god no one here works in tech...heh... ...:'(

Fortunately the vidya games industry is recession proof.




...right?

[Eric P]

we'll just start up Evilbore Consultancy.

[CajoleJuice]

Lets just say im gonna put some money into savings right now

i believe this is the fifth sign of the apocalypse

spoiler (click to show/hide)

how many signs are there anyway?

[close]

[MrAngryFace]

Well I still have money to spend, but this time ill have money in my savings account too :p

[Robo]

Lets just say im gonna put some money into savings right now

i believe this is the fifth sign of the apocalypse

spoiler (click to show/hide)

how many signs are there anyway?

[close]

we can all sleep peacefully knowing that until you get some sex, there will always be at least one more

[MrAngryFace]

Since I started paying on my student loans I've only been able to save a couple hundred a month.  And, well, "save" is a bit of a misnomer. 

oh shit I need to pay my student loan

[CajoleJuice]

Lets just say im gonna put some money into savings right now

i believe this is the fifth sign of the apocalypse

spoiler (click to show/hide)

how many signs are there anyway?

[close]

we can all sleep peacefully knowing that until you get some sex, there will always be at least one more

good show

[Don Flamenco]

if the auto industry dies we will likely go into a depression

So? Sometimes you have to let shit burn in order to renew the soil. Let them crash, the nation will survive, and will probably rise up many times stronger. These temporary bail-outs and mergers certainly haven't helped to halt the momentum towards ruin, so let it go this time.

smh.  gotta love the "let them die" internet tough guys.  That doesn't solve anything.  Also the bail out wasn't an instant thing.   Companies don't get magically bailed out and back to normal when Nancy Pelosi waves her magic tits.

[demi]

we'll all shack up in a house and have wacky adventures like Spaced

muckhole as mike :wub

[Rman]

I'm down to only one student loan left.  Can't wait to pay that bitch off.  I'm aiming for next year.  

[MrAngryFace]

ah student loans cool, isnt due for 2 more days, ill pay it next paycheck. I did pay my phone and internet bill tho boom

[Rman]

Buy threads are going to becoming very sparse.

[Robo]

Lets just say im gonna put some money into savings right now

i believe this is the fifth sign of the apocalypse

spoiler (click to show/hide)

how many signs are there anyway?

[close]

we can all sleep peacefully knowing that until you get some sex, there will always be at least one more

good show

[MrAngryFace]

Buy threads are going to becoming very sparse.

I will not let that happen! Sure, I had a dry spell recently but I had to pay for new glasses!