US economy may be stuck in slow lane for long run

[dmcowen674]

2-10-2014

http://news.yahoo.com/us-economy-may-stuck-slow-151732277.html

US economy may be stuck in slow lane for long run

In the 4½ years since the Great Recession ended, millions of Americans who have gone without jobs or raises have found themselves wondering something about the economic recovery:

Is this as good as it gets?


It increasingly looks that way.


The global economy is showing signs of slowing — again. Manufacturing has slumped. Fewer people are signing contracts to buy homes. Global stock markets have sunk as anxiety has gripped developing nations.
Some long-term trends are equally dispiriting.


Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman have suggested that the economy might be in a semi-permanent funk. In November, Summers warned in a speech that the economy is trapped by "secular stagnation." By that, he meant a prolonged period of weak demand and slow growth.


There are no documented examples of an economy that had to emerge from a financial crisis while simultaneously absorbing the effects of an aging population, noted Harvard University economist Carmen Reinhart, who has researched eight centuries of crises with her colleague Ken Rogoff.


"These things are new," she said.

 

[dmcowen674]

From the No Shit Sherlock Dept

The numbers are manipulated anyway by both Repubs and Dems.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

USA is not a major player in the Bible prophecy as stated in Revelations.

 

[dmcowen674]

USA is not a major player in the Bible prophecy as stated in Revelations.

That's because already into One World Government which is what we have now.

The Corporations are the Government and they own the world.

It's already here.

 

[Doppel]

This is the new normal. There are plenty of people to blame. The economy is undeniably improving, but we're still quite far from the excess of a decade ago and further still from the old idea about a simple high school degree, for most people, resulting in the money required to raise a family in a modest home with a car or two, the occasional vacation, and retire at a decent age. Those days in particular are behind us. Competition is too fierce from within and without to make it feasible.

 

[Engineer]

Ship out good paying middle class jobs and replace with McService McJobs and this is what you get.

Ross Perot says 'enjoy'!

 

[Newell Steamer]

The US is just fine, for the people this country belongs to; the rich.

Everyone else is fucked and rightly so, for putting up with this bullshit for the past 3 decades.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

That's because already into One World Government which is what we have now.

The Corporations are the Government and they own the world.

It's already here.

No, we're not at that stage yet.

The world is building up to it.

 

[KB]

We are becoming more like Japan, with an aging population and huge deficits we can never pay off. The hope would be that emerging and frontier markets would take the lead and be the drivers of growth, but they just can't do it either.

 

[Texashiker]

Is this as good as it gets?

The factory jobs that supported the middle class have gone to china.

The only way it can go is downhill.

 

[Mai72]

I just saw a documentary titled "Death by China."

http://deathbychina.com/

I thought a lot of fear mongering was going on in the documentary, but you do start to question where we are heading as a country.

 

[Engineer]

I just saw a documentary titled "Death by China."

http://deathbychina.com/

I thought a lot of fear mongering was going on in the documentary, but you do start to question where we are heading as a country.

Not much question about it....downhill.

 

[BUnit1701]

It was decided long ago, that it was simply not practical to bring the rest of the world up to the US standard, so the only way to bring about a global economy leading to a global government was to bring the US down. We are in that process now.

 

[Mai72]

We can still talk wwoth our pocketbooks and wallets. Americans need to stick together and pledge that we will never buy another product from China or anywhere in SE Asia!

You would see a dramatic shift back to US manufacturing!

 

[Mai72]

Plus, we are faced with an aging population who will be getting their entitlements soon. People aren't dying like they used to. If someone retires at 65, they can expect to be on the government dole for 15-20 years! That's a very long time, and we as young taxpayers will take the brunt of it. Add a few million retires and you can see that we are in for a very difficult time.

It's going to be an interesting 10-20 years.

 

[unokitty]

The Obama Legacy

“Opportunity created by affordable, quality health insurance allows families in America to make a decision about how they will work, or if they will work,” Jay Carney said. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi applauded the law for freeing people from “job-lock.”

... leading Democrats view fewer workers and more dependency as a good thing. That attitude largely explains slow economic growth, record-low labor rates and the explosion of handouts over the last five years.

This anti-job, pro-dependency tilt is the crux of the nation’s polarization. In essence, it pits those who believe in the sanctity of work against those who believe in penalizing wealth and redistributing its fruits...

The stigma attached to getting something for nothing is being replaced by an endless demand for more free stuff. One party is stoking that demand as it moves from being the working-class party to the entitlement party.

That revelation counts as the silver lining of ObamaCare. We now have it straight from the White House and Congress that creating jobs is not really their goal. Instead, the president’s singular piece of legislation is a success because it helps people get healthcare while avoiding work.

That is the Obama legacy.

Seems like the Democrats want to have it both ways.

That is, we have to give citizenship to all the millions of immigrants because, you know, they come here for jobs...

Then again, we have to give benefits to all of these people that aren't working because, you know, there are no jobs...

Seems to me that many of these government programs are less about doing what needs to be done. And more about ensuring that the Democrats get reelected.

Uno

 

[Vic]

It was decided long ago, that it was simply not practical to bring the rest of the world up to the US standard, so the only way to bring about a global economy leading to a global government was to bring the US down. We are in that process now.

Conspiracy nonsense.

 

[theeedude]

We have seen Reaganomics play out for last 30 years, and now we are seeing the results. Supply Side doesn't work. You can just give a trillion dollars to the rich, as the Fed has done, and it will do jack for the economy, because there is no underlying demand from the middle and working class. The money has to be in the hands of people who will spend it for the economy to grow, otherwise all it will do is chase assets and blow bubbles. We have seen this unfold again and again, never ending asset bubbles in times of underlying economic weakness. You cannot grow the economy from the top down.

 

[Mai72]

We have seen Reaganomics play out for last 30 years, and now we are seeing the results. Supply Side doesn't work. You can just give a trillion dollars to the rich, as the Fed has done, and it will do jack for the economy, because there is no underlying demand from the middle and working class. The money has to be in the hands of people who will spend it for the economy to grow, otherwise all it will do is chase assets and blow bubbles. We have seen this unfold again and again, never ending asset bubbles in times of underlying economic weakness. You cannot grow the economy from the top down.

That is the truth. I live in a resort town. During the summer the people who own the businesses do extremely well. Once the season is over they leave for Florida, Israel, and even India. They don't give back. They just take, take, and take.

 

[Matt1970]

That is not the truth. It doesn't take 30 years to see the results of Reaganomics. The middle class began losing it's share of the wealth in the 70's. It's just easier to blame Reaganomics or Corporations than it is to look in the mirror. Do you people ever get tired of thinking the rich stuff money in mattresses?

 

[Mai72]

That is not the truth. It doesn't take 30 years to see the results of Reaganomics. The middle class began losing it's share of the wealth in the 70's. It's just easier to blame Reaganomics or Corporations than it is to look in the mirror. Do you people ever get tired of thinking the rich stuff money in mattresses?

Listen buddy. The rich do owe us. They avoid paying taxes, and they buy things like jets, mansions, islands, furs, and caviar. The average folk are eating noodles!

I bet Bill Gates is sitting in his hot tub drinking $2,000 champagne right now! Where is my jet? I can't buy $6,000 fur coats! Is that fair?

 

[theeedude]

The simple reality is that the poor and middle class spend most if not all of their income, and the rich save a lot of it. Savings creates supply, spending creates demand.
Demand is what determines the size of the economy. You can't produce more than you can sell in the long run.
If you concentrate money at the top, you will have that money that money chasing investment returns in the face of an economy limited by lack of demand. All you are going to get are never ending asset bubbles in a stagnant economy, which is exactly what we are getting. Companies and wealthy are sitting on record cash, and the fed is pumping record cash into the upper strata of the economy, but without increased demand from the middle class, working class, the poor, and/or the government, the economy cannot meaningfully grow, all that money does is drive up asset prices. Supply side economics has failed, miserably, and it will continue to fail miserably, because aggregate demand is what drives the economy, and supply simply responds to it.
Until we purge ourselves of the supply side disease, the economy will remain sick, indefinitely.

 

[BoberFett]

So you believe that the average American needs to consume even more than they do now? More cars? Bigger houses? More stuff?

 

[theeedude]

So you believe that the average American needs to consume even more than they do now? More cars? Bigger houses? More stuff?

Median household income is $52,000 in the US. Do tell us how big of a house, how many cars, and how much stuff that gets a family of 4 without getting into unsustainable debt. But I agree with your broader point, that we should not concentrate more wealth in the hands of people who already have all the house, cars, and stuff they could ever need.

 

[QuantumPion]

But I agree with your broader point, that we should not concentrate more wealth in the hands of people who already have all the house, cars, and stuff they could ever need.

--posted with my apple iphone using my verizon internet with my intel computer powered by PG&E electricity in my house heated by SoCo Gas which I picked up in my GM car filled with Exxon gasoline that I bought from the Giant grocery store.

FTFY.