Posted on 01/27/2014 7:38:24 PM PST by kristinn
— President Obama will pronounce on the state of the union for the fifth time on Tuesday, and never during his time in office has the state of the economy been better — yet rarely has he gotten such low marks from the public for his handling of it.
Not only have economic indicators shown progress toward pre-recession health, but many forecasters are predicting what one called “a breakout year” for growth. A new study from a Federal Reserve economist even put a more benign spin on a negative trend, the shrinking labor force, by attributing the decline not to discouraged unemployed workers who have quit looking for jobs, but to the first baby-boomer retirements.
Demand for labor is up and the unemployment rate is below 7 percent for the first time since November 2008. Consumers, buoyed by rising home prices and stock values, are spending more; so are businesses. Exports are growing as Europe regains health. The fiscal drag from state and federal spending cuts has abated. And contrary to Republicans’ claims, many forecasters do not see the health care law as “a job-killer.”
Economically speaking, said Scott A. Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, “the state of the union is the best we have seen in years.”
Mr. Obama and his speechwriter could not phrase it better, or simpler. Yet taking credit is complicated, given the clear evidence in national polls that most Americans are not in a mood to give him any.
Mr. Obama’s ratings for his handling of the economy, never high since his first months in office, slipped throughout 2013 in national polls. As he began this year, nearly six in 10 Americans disapproved, nearly matching his lowest marks in 2011, a year of repeated and damaging fiscal fights with the new Republican...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
No growth in anything except costs and its all driven by regulation and bungled micro-management in service to an agenda.
With the extreme cold and the high price of propane, I expect commerce in the Northern Tier to shrink drastically in the next few weeks. Disposable income will go to paying off winter heating/electric bills. My friends in town w/natural gas are also reporting large heating bills for December and are dreading the January bills.
The basic costs to run a business are similarly high. My husband’s office is in a building with a pennywise, pound foolish landlord. He turned the heat down over a bitterly cold weekend and had to replace the toilets and repair the pipes. Everyone is balancing freezing and property damage against paying over 2x the prior price for heating in an environment where there is an increased need for the heat/electric use.
So exports are up? Maybe the politicians need to increase their votes from the EU.
Oh, wait.....
One of the owners of Trader Joe’s is starting a chain of groceries selling only past *best by* dated goods. So, the successful entrepreneurs are going to pressure that gray market business and make money doing it. In my area, the Mennonites have a similar store, with no perishables, just past dated and bent/dented shelf goods.
IIRC, the chain is named The Daily Table, if you need a link.
I bet unemployment is actually about 20%.
I am so sad to hear of your plight and the plight of all in the northern climes. Prayers up. I hope our people have awakened to send the fools who put us in this mess packing. Our country has abundant, cheap energy. Easily harnessed and ready to be used. Only the evil in DC prevents us from using it. When the libtards go our nation will prosper. I can’t wait.
From what I’m reading, especially from Minnesota, the blame is mostly on Obama ruling that a pipeline that supplies us be reversed so product could flow from Texas to Canada.
I also read industry representatives saying the same pipeline will cease functioning next year and high propane prices above $2.50/gallon will be with us for several years.
This sort of price increase has happened before. People respond by switching to electric heat. All is good for a few years, then electricity spikes and propane falls, again.
Right now, electricity is .13/kWh, here, with a $40 facility fee +taxes charge that is constant. So, the choice is double your electric bill or double your propane bill.
Good luck. Looks like they got you coming or going. Are they rebuilding the pipeline? Or, has the government directed the pipeline owners not to sell to you? Somewhere, somehow I suspect the Chi Coms are involved.
there is nothing puzzling about it
I don’t really know. I saw an article out of Minneapolis.
Some of it is just supply and demand. Some could easily be in pursuit of Agenda 21 and “never let a good crisis go to waste.” Some could be to benefit cronies who ship by rail.
But this will reverberate throughout the economy. It will impact agriculture and the ethanol market. Rural industry runs on propane, so manufacturing that uses propane will be affected. I suppose anyone who can ride it out will survive. Those on tight margins won’t.
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