Posted on 04/03/2012 7:18:54 PM PDT by blam
Something Strange: The Economy Is Behaving Badly In The Least Expected Way
Joe Weisenthal
April 3, 2012, 8:56 PM
Looking back over the latest few weeks of economy data, something stands out: Things are playing out almost 100% different than what people expected.
Think back to mid-to-late February. There were two competing trends. Housing appeared to be creaking back to life, construction was generally jumping, and car sales were surging month after month. Basically, all the "big" animal spirits stuff seemed to be happening.
But there was a counter-force in the form of gasoline prices. They were surging, and the big fear is that just as things were creaking back to life, gasoline prices would come in and slug the consumer.
As we pointed out, the fact that there was a duel between the big stuff (cars and houses on one side) and the day-to-day stuff (gasoline prices threatening the consumer) is what made the current environment very different form 2007-2008, the last time the economy went into recession.
We thought we'd be watching closely the high-frequency indicators, like same-store sales numbers and initial claims to get the first signs of problems, but that hasn't been how things have developed at all.
The weekly retail data has been great. Today's number was one of the best in a year. We had a few dicey weeks right when the gas surged, but everything's hunky dory on this front.
On the other hand, the big stuff has been not good.
Every single piece of recent housing data has been a miss.
And then today, it came out that the March auto sales numbers dipped sharply from February.
Also, construction numbers beyond housing have been poor.
So basically, the high-frequency consumer stuff has been fine, and the big money,
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I have certainly changed my own buying habits.
I think a lot of people have.
Your not alone... I do most of my shopping these days at Walmart and Dollar General. The problem is that many people do not have these choices. What do they do?
Almost all of these problems are caused by the government! Between the FED printing money and the Government spending like there is no tomorrow, well this is the result.
We are heading into Europland, Socialism, whatever you want to call it, but it is not good. The worst part is that the voters are too ignorant to recognize the path that is being taken or they want this - European Socialism.
Sometimes I think that people are just too stupid to govern themselves. Therefore, our Democratic Republic is doomed to fail. Seems that this is not a result that the founders thought was possible.
Bump....
Texas has NO personal income tax (thank God) so this data must be incorrect in regards to Texas. Your larger point may still be valid however.
Very good! This is why it is also nonsense when some movie breaks box office records. Nobody accounts for inflation. Of course, the government loves this, because that is how they intend to deal with the debt - inflate it away. What do they care if they also destroy savings and the dollar?
But on the bright side of things, I always wanted to smoke a $100 cigar!
God bless the Lone Star State!
That old adage: “If you got it, then somewhere along the way to you, it was on a truck.”
We're paying the price for our folly right now. Most of the last decade has been an illusion, folks. You can start by taking all the defaults in mortgages and other debts, subtracting those numbers from the original transactions and recalculating our GDP figures. It won't be pretty. If someone bought a home for $500,000 for no money down, later defaulted on the loan when the value of the home declined to $400,000, and the home now sits in a state of limbo because the bank hasn't foreclosed on it, then we should stop pretending that the $500,000 sale ever really took place.
What size it that?
That’s a good point. The world economy is still based on huge amounts of leverage thanks to Alan and Ben’s ridiculous theories. They are justifiably afraid it will all unravel if they stop. There have been very small increases in sustainable economic ventures where people commit their capital for the long run (e.g. people investing their own money in their own businesses) But for the most part the recent economic growth is a speculative charade. For example investing in Apple with the result of more Chinese factories and oversupply is not sustainable.
Net weight varies, one of them in the kitchen cabinet says 12 oz., tortilla chips. Not family size, which is a lot taller, not individual, which is a lot smaller. You know, regular size,
FReepers, lol.
“Perhaps retail sales are up because everything costs 20 percent more.”
That is certainly why the stock market is up (on some days); devalued dollars.
“Folks on a pension or limited income are suffering no doubt!”
They should be; they were the prime target of the devaluation of the dollar. The social security costs will be reduced by reducing the payments in real terms, while inflation is understated (or its existence outright denied) so the cost-of-living adjustments don’t make up for the inflation.
Anyone receiving SS in 2007 should be receiving checks for twice as much now (but they aren’t); apparently Obama wants old people to die.
I don’t even think Dollar General is a bargain; they have low prices for smaller quantities/packages.
Wal-Mart is a good deal; that is why it is becoming the “company store” to our “coal mine” economy. We are paid in mine company scrip, but it can only be spent in the company store (the only place it holds any value).
We’ve been reduced to Red Chinese peasants...
2. The military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan were largely financed through "off-budget" appropriations, and even at that the true cost of those wars has never been told to the American public. The U.S. government stopped publishing M3 money supply measure around 2006. The first big spike in energy prices and the collapse of the U.S. economy occurred not long after that. Do you think that was a coincidence? What do you think that was all about?
3. I've got three words for you: Medicare prescription drugs. There's no hiding the fact that this massive new Federal entitlement was driven entirely by the Bush administration and the Republican Congress. And the biggest costs of that entitlement don't even show up until long after Bush left office.
True, Texas has no personal income tax. But they DO collect the Federal income tax for the Feds (don't ask me why - probably helps their revenue stream somehow):
http://www.window.state.tx.us/finances/revenueWatch/
It's in the SECOND table (Revenue by Source). They're down -15.27% Year-To-Date in Federal Income Tax collection over last fiscal year.
My larger point is still valid.
Looks like you had figured out what would eventually happen further down thread.
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