Anyone else prospering during this "bad economy"?

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Nope. Everyone I know is doing worse and worse. More unemployed, more underemployed, no raises, higher costs on utilities, higher costs on insurance, higher costs on consumables, etc.

Ouch, sorry to hear. Any reason why your area is hit hard? I know only one person that has been fired in the last year, and she had an whacky job that her company never needed.

A few for instances:

Home Depot sales down 40% over last year. Cut 30% of employees. Closed stores across the nation.

Financial crunch restricting expansion of banks/credit unions, preventing a VP with immaculate 20 year resume from finding new position.

Closure of CompUSA.

Closures of many Circuit Citys.

High business costs driving out smaller businesses with under-capitalization.

Schools going to more and more .2 - .6 employees so they can avoid benefit costs and tenuring.

Less support for arts, shrinking season and special performances by symphonies.

This is across the nation, in Texas, Washington, Oregon, California, Louisiana, etc...so it's not just my area.

 

[illusion88]

I work as a server in a "high" class restaurant. Less people are coming in and tips are less. Management is cutting servers shifts because they can't afford to pay them (I only make $2.10 an hour lol). I haven't had a shift in the last 14 days because of this. I'm selling plasma and working a few odd jobs to get by but it's not enough. I'm hurting.

Looks like I get to go back to school!

 

[OCGuy]

Doing OK. Just moved into my new house in the hills, my rental property is still profitable, bought a pool table today, and getting a '09 YZ250 after work.

Although if they shut down fannie and/or freddie I would be screwed. I dont see that happening any time soon though.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Nope. Everyone I know is doing worse and worse. More unemployed, more underemployed, no raises, higher costs on utilities, higher costs on insurance, higher costs on consumables, etc.

Ouch, sorry to hear. Any reason why your area is hit hard? I know only one person that has been fired in the last year, and she had an whacky job that her company never needed.

Ok more on topic.

I work for a fortune 500 company and we've been on the decline for the past 5 years. This is a direct consequence from our inherently heavily regulated industry and market. We lose patents to the competition in constant and relentless legal battles. Their generic brands undercut our profits and growth in our profile. Our industry grosses around 15-20 billion every fiscal year. We employ over 40,000 world wide, and in our industry there is no such thing as cheap labor. We require the most skilled, educated, and motivated individuals in our work force. Our sales have been stronger than ever, but unfavorable government regulation in conjunction with unsuccessful and expensive lobbying, we continue to lose money from our investments in research.

The simple fix is a more favorable regulatory environment. However, with the domestic and global economy becoming weaker, regulators will only tighten the leash to less favorable conditions.

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: Regs

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Capitalism <> Paying a Competitive Salary

If that was the case, so many companies wouldn't be outsourcing or moving manufacturing overseas.

Competitive Salary = overseas.

Capitalism went global.

How much are they paying them over seas? Do you think someone sleeping in a factory in Korea making 5 dollars a day is going to afford a 30 thousand dollar car?

Holy crap how insightful! Dude you should like work for NASA or something.

 

[Jack Ryan]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/...ml?eref=rss_topstories

This is not an isolated incident. Almost daily there are stories like this. Even if 93% aren't affected, there is a lot of stress being added because people don't know if they are next.

Also, college students have every right to complain about the economy. There isn't much evidence that there will be tons of jobs for them when they graduate and they weren't the ones that f-ed it up.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Regs

I work for a fortune 500 company and we've been on the decline for the past 5 years.

This is a direct consequence from our inherently heavily regulated industry and market.

We lose patents to the competition in constant and relentless legal battles.

Their generic brands undercut our profits and growth in our profile.

Our industry grosses around 15-20 billion every fiscal year. We employ over 40,000 world wide, and in our industry there is no such thing as cheap labor. We require the most skilled, educated, and motivated individuals in our work force.

Our sales have been stronger than ever, but unfavorable government regulation in conjunction with unsuccessful and expensive lobbying, we continue to lose money from our investments in research.

The simple fix is a more favorable regulatory environment. However, with the domestic and global economy becoming weaker, regulators will only tighten the leash to less favorable conditions.

Your industry has become a disgusting dispicable montra of Profit over Life.

Your crying confirms it.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/...ml?eref=rss_topstories

This is not an isolated incident. Almost daily there are stories like this. Even if 93% aren't affected, there is a lot of stress being added because people don't know if they are next.

Also, college students have every right to complain about the economy. There isn't much evidence that there will be tons of jobs for them when they graduate and they weren't the ones that f-ed it up.

These job loses are going to lead to more home foreclosures, car repos, and credit card defaults. Restaurants near it will close down, small businesses in shopping strips will go under, and these people then will face their own home foreclosures, car repos, and credit card defaults. The cycle spreads as more businesses close and jobs are lost. 30s style depression is not out of possibility. We're highly leveraged society with low savings. Things can unravel quickly and without savings safety net to protect people, it can and will get extremely ugly. Get your financial house in order even if you're doing well right now and prepare for the worst case scenario.

 

[Bignate603]

Just got a bonus yesterday for my work on a project and I'll probably get a bonus for an invention disclosure in a month or two. I'd say things are going well.

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/...ml?eref=rss_topstories

This is not an isolated incident. Almost daily there are stories like this. Even if 93% aren't affected, there is a lot of stress being added because people don't know if they are next.

Also, college students have every right to complain about the economy. There isn't much evidence that there will be tons of jobs for them when they graduate and they weren't the ones that f-ed it up.

These job loses are going to lead to more home foreclosures, car repos, and credit card defaults. Restaurants near it will close down, small businesses in shopping strips will go under, and these people then will face their own home foreclosures, car repos, and credit card defaults. The cycle spreads as more businesses close and jobs are lost. 30s style depression is not out of possibility. We're highly leveraged society with low savings. Things can unravel quickly and without savings safety net to protect people, it can and will get extremely ugly. Get your financial house in order even if you're doing well right now and prepare for the worst case scenario.

This is the big picture view IMO that many here are not looking at...

 

[Jack Ryan]

Originally posted by: dartworth

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/...ml?eref=rss_topstories

This is not an isolated incident. Almost daily there are stories like this. Even if 93% aren't affected, there is a lot of stress being added because people don't know if they are next.

Also, college students have every right to complain about the economy. There isn't much evidence that there will be tons of jobs for them when they graduate and they weren't the ones that f-ed it up.

These job loses are going to lead to more home foreclosures, car repos, and credit card defaults. Restaurants near it will close down, small businesses in shopping strips will go under, and these people then will face their own home foreclosures, car repos, and credit card defaults. The cycle spreads as more businesses close and jobs are lost. 30s style depression is not out of possibility. We're highly leveraged society with low savings. Things can unravel quickly and without savings safety net to protect people, it can and will get extremely ugly. Get your financial house in order even if you're doing well right now and prepare for the worst case scenario.

This is the big picture view IMO that many here are not looking at...

Agreed. That is exactly what I was saying. One individual who still collects his paycheck twice a month is affected whether he wants to admit it or not.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Your industry has become a disgusting dispicable montra of Profit over Life.

Your crying confirms it.

That was completely uncalled for but I have come to a comfortable understanding on how the industry gets perceived by many. It is a natural human instinct to demonize a person or group to rationalize something their minds simply can't comprehend.

Originally posted by: Train

Holy crap how insightful! Dude you should like work for NASA or something.

Stop being naive and juvenile. Capital intensive industry always looked for a cheaper way out, I agree. If sales are down, it's because people simply don't have the buying power anymore to purchase their goods. Where does the money come from? America is the #1 consumer in the world for goods, and a lot of countries depend on us. If America stops consuming, empires will tumble (AIG, GM, and others) and after they pick up the pieces, they find a better way to enter the market. It's the balancing effect. Most don't want these guys to be bailed out because it will only stall the natural balancing effect of our economy. Sooner or later though, we all have to pay the price.


It's funny when people mention China as a wealthy country. They have all this money yet they don't use it. Their country is covered in smog, and any town outside the metropolitan areas have no roads, hospitals, running water, or other services we here in the states take for granted. This is what happens when America has a large trade deficit. Money goes out and never gets returned. It gets squandered on corrupted and unstable countries. Like any investment, you hope for a return.

 

[finite automaton]

It's kind of sad to say, but it's good for me. Just starting out, already have a job, will be buying a house soon...

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Regs

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Your industry has become a disgusting dispicable montra of Profit over Life.

Your crying confirms it.

That was completely uncalled for but I have come to a comfortable understanding on how the industry gets perceived by many.

It is a natural human instinct to demonize a person or group to rationalize something their minds simply can't comprehend.

I comprend there is no reason in the world for the blast of dumb commercials on TV.

I comprehend the fact that our Republican Government did not even negotiate prices for Medicare Prescription drugs because your industry owns the Government with the very lobbying you said was unsuccessful.

I could go on but it's not worth it. Enjoy your criminal job while you can.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Regs

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Your industry has become a disgusting dispicable montra of Profit over Life.

Your crying confirms it.

That was completely uncalled for but I have come to a comfortable understanding on how the industry gets perceived by many.

It is a natural human instinct to demonize a person or group to rationalize something their minds simply can't comprehend.

I comprend there is no reason in the world for the blast of dumb commercials on TV.

I comprehend the fact that our Republican Government did not even negotiate prices for Medicare Prescription drugs because your industry owns the Government with the very lobbying you said was unsuccessful.

I could go on but it's not worth it. Enjoy your criminal job while you can.

I know of a company that worked on a cure for the common cold. Billions of dollars were invested in this research, only to be turned down by the FDA time and again. The drug never even entered clinical trial testing. I reiterate, billions were wasted and countless years of research. The most it could do was to sell off the IP to a competitor which still to this day can't get the vaccine out of pre-clinical phase.

When you want to start your own pharmaceutical company, after raising that kind of capital, to risk thousands of people of their jobs and way of life, then to have a product turned down from a lawyer, regulator, or other legality, be sure to give me a call. Government is not in any way or form in anybodies pocket. This is rhetoric, pure and simple.

I'm sorry to have to admit this to you, but those donations that you make for cancer, infant death syndrome, and other illnesses are mostly going to lawyers and the debt these organizations accumulate trying to battle it out with regulators and their competition.

 

[TallBill]

On a different note, when we do bounce of this dip, will individuals and businesses become more fiscally responsible?

 

[sactoking]

Originally posted by: TallBill
On a different note, when we do bounce of this dip, will individuals and businesses become more fiscally responsible?

Will Americans learn from the past so that they don't repeat those same mistakes in the future? Not a chance! We Americans pride ourselves on our ability to hit our heads against a wall and, when it hurts the first time, come up with the ingenious idea of going back and doing it repeatedly until our domes are a bloody pulp and then blaming the Gov't for not padding the wall after the first hit and suing everyone and everything we can.

 

[jpeyton]

Anyone working in the very large retail sector of our economy is not too optimistic right now.

Sales for the highly profitable holiday season are looking very dim.

 

[Squisher]

The economy hasn't been bad outside of Michigan. I do know that the rest of the country is looking over the edge of a cliff of a bad economy and if something isn't done fast they will be free falling to where Michigan is now or worse. Michigan will become a game preserve.

 

[Throckmorton]

I'm doing good because I live in TX. The rest of you jackasses have been conned into thinking that "drill baby drill" somehow helps you, when in reality it only helps US. Bwahahahha.