HEY!!!....I thought the economy is the worse in years???

Question

Why is Yahoo of all sights writting of how GOOD it is??

Fewer People Sign Up for Jobless Benefits, Good Sign Labor Market Remains Strong
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071121/economy.html


Layoffs Dip, Good Sign for Labor Market

Answer 1

I own a dog grooming business -- it falls into the category of Luxury Expense, if people don't have money, they're not going to be overly consumed and concerned about whether FiFi is looking so pretty. I opened shop three years ago next month. Our first year in business we averaged five dogs a day. Last year we averaged out at ten a day. This year is fifteen to twenty. I was in the red the first year, and the black last year and this. My only REAL complaint are the taxes, the more I make the more I pay out -- and it's more of an exponential scale. The better I do, the more I'm penalized.

I'd venture a guess that the only ones truly doing bad are those who didn't think things through and plan well.

As for me and mine, I will be completely debt free (save the mortgage) by September next year. And, due to great planning, I have health AND life insurance!



KR, you are correct, it IS just normal growth. But think about it. My qualifier was that this is an expendable income based business. If the economy were doing as poorly as some would have us believe, I would have to close my doors and fire my employees. I service an economically poor community, I have to base my prices on their ability to pay. I submit that those who are now losing their homes are those who did not exercise good judgement. The lenders suckered them in with incredibly low interest rates which was a risk on the part of the lender. Suddenly, the so-called bubble burst (not here) and they got caught holding the bag. These are the same folks who, during the Clinton years, lobbied the republican congress to amend the interest rate laws and then during the early Bush years lobbied the republican congress to amend the laws governing bankruptcy. You could easily then, point a finger at the republicans. But the democrats were on that same bandwagon AND each of those presidents had to bottom line the changes making them law.

I bought land at $4K an acre. It's now selling at just over $20K an acre. They are building new homes fast and furious here. Glad I have my ten acres. Room to breathe.

Answer 2

If you are a Republican you will say the apples are up and not look at the oranges.. If Dem, you will say the oranges are down and not look at the apples.. Simply put it's all in the reading of the results...

Doc.. I'm happy your business seems to be doing well but your numbers are that of normal new business growth.. The first couple years your customer numbers will be down and you will see an increase every year for a few years because you are becoming established in business and customers return and bring others if you are doing a good job. You can not judge a little growth in the FIRST few years and say the country's economy had anything what so ever to do with it. It's simply normal growth.

Answer 3

from your link

The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits, however, rose by 7,000 to 2.57 million for the week ending Nov. 10, the most recent period for which that information is available. A year ago, continuing claims stood at 2.43 million.



So far, decent job creation and wage growth have helped to offset some of the negative forces hitting some people, problems ranging from weaker home values to hard-to-get credit.



The national civilian unemployment rate -- now at 4.7 percent of the labor force -- is considered low by historical standards. The jobless rate is expected to slowly climb in the coming months as the economy loses steam.





which just goes to show, once again you people do not understand these figures and cannot read.

Answer 4

People do not have a lot of confidence in the economy right now. Some signs are good, others not so good. The weaker the $ becomes, the more everything costs. I find it difficult to believe, as reports suggest, that inflation is low. It takes noticeably more to live now than it did a year ago.

Answer 5

Could it be because their unemployment insurance ran out and therefore are no longer counted? Bush & company would like you to think the econmy is OK, this way they can blame the democrats when they take over next term. But we know better. Thousands of jobs have been impacted by the downturn in housing. Not just realtors...but builders, contractors, construction workers, laborers, architects, engineers, banks, mortgage companies, lumber companies, home improvements, cement companies, roofers, ma & pa shops, etc...and don't even get me started with the auto industries. I have seen with my own eyes what this economy has done to friends & neighbors that have had to sell their homes & move, or simply abandoned them. It's a sad, sad situation. I can't believe anyone falls for that "economy is alright" garbage!

Answer 6

The truth will prevail! Eventually, everyone has to admit the truth. But, any observant person can look at the adds and tell if the economy is good or bad. In a bad economy, prices will drop, because people don't have money to spend, restaurants won't be full, with waiting lines on Friday and Saturday night. The high school parking lot won't be filled to capacity with students cars.

Answer 7

You are so right and we have gone from 341,000 claims to just 330,000 claims for the week ending 11-21-07 .

So in the last 4 weeks over 1.2 million people have filed claims in just the last month .



You are so right in pointing out how great things are going .



Did you also happen to notice that the number for those filing for bankruptcy has increased steadily over the last two years .

Answer 8

I think liberals should change their mascot to something along the lines of Chicken Little. They've been screaming about the next crisis and catastrophe since Bill Clinton. And yet, oddly and amazingly, things seem to keep steaming along.



As to those screaming about gas prices, I seem to recall a year or so back when the price was close to $4. And guess what? Nothing happened. It came down and there wasn't even a blimp in the economy.



Chicken Little. That's all they are. And have you noticed? Just like Chicken Little, they also have no answers. But boy are they good at running around screaming. I wish more of them smoked dope and left the rest of us alone.



DOC: I hear ya! I'm in exactly the same boat. And the thing is, you not only pay your taxes, you pay your business taxes too, which is double taxation. Sux the big one.

Answer 9

Some parts of the economy are okay. It's a fairly complex issue and not the same everywhere depending on the kind of business you're talking about. Just because people have jobs doesn't mean they are making enough to live or thrive on. Aside from that, put any two economists in the same room and you will have two completely contradictory opinions on the state of the economy. My "economic indicators" are my wallet and bank account...

Answer 10

Easy to have good economy when you borrow lots of money...since the national debt is about 9 trillion dollars.



Basically my bank account would look great if I borrowed a million dollars every month...but eventually I gotta pay off the loans and how do I do that? Simple...(and just like those in power are doing) I make my children pay it off somehow...how? I don't care since I will dead by then

Answer 11

Forest <> Trees.



You simply cannot -- cannot -- engage in deficit spending without expecting that Americans will have to pony up at some point. That point is almost here.



It is estimated that, at current debt levels, the average American family owes > $16,000.



Edit: Those who still BLAME Clinton are incredibly transparent and ignorant. NAFTA was begun and embraced by the Bush Sr. administration, and it is ABSOLUTELY not the entire root of the problem.

Answer 12

Its the time of year.

fewer sign ups is because there is an availability of part time work for Christmas. Layoffs would have to dip, last month almost thirty thousand layoffs were announced by Chrysler and other companies, just the ones I heard of. If this month there were twenty thousand layoffs, thats a dip of ten thousand. Of course its still twenty thousand more laid off, and not eligilbe for benefits for the first two weeks.

Love those numbers.

Answer 13

Good or bad depends on who you are and what you want. For me it is just fine as I can easily get more money if I need it. I can live quite well on what i have and do not have to work a job.



For those that can't think or never been taught to think and have no one to guide them then most likely it is really bad.

.....I think this would be most of you in the USA and EU.

You want but do not want do earn it.

Answer 14

depends what you look at



the dollar is at its lowest since Carter was president



it has dropped 80% in value against the Euro since bush took office



so, if youre a european investor in the US you would say the US economy is great!

Answer 15

There always pockets of good news in bad times and pockets of bad news in good times. The economy is headed downward. It has to go bad before profits at companies fall, then the companies react by cutting costs which means finally cutting jobs. So youll see it takes a while before people lose jobs and then when it it picking up steam it takes them a while before they are hiring.

Answer 16

all due to...drumroll please...NAFTA...In the past decade, which has seen a steady expansion in international trade thanks to NAFTA, CAFTA and other trade agreements, has coincided with a steady increase in U.S. economic growth and job creation. September was the 49th consecutive month for job growth, setting a record for uninterrupted expansion of the U.S. labor market.



To be sure, in a dynamic economy there are temporary dislocations that can occur as a result of trade. The country lost 3.3 million manufacturing jobs during the past decade (about 3 percent of those as a result of international trade), but added a net 11.6 million jobs in service and other sectors.



International trade takes advantage of comparative advantages that different countries have in producing goods and services, delivering lower prices for U.S. consumers and prodding U.S. companies to be more efficient and competitive. Free trade bolsters investment, innovation and the efficient allocation of resources, which increases prosperity for all.



Thank you Bill Clinton

Answer 17

Yes, these things are hard to understand. Try it this way.



Yahoo! is not "writting" anything here. They are posting what the Associated Press (AP) is reporting.



The AP is reporting what the US Labor Department is saying.



The US Labor Department is under the control of the current administration.



OK?

Answer 18

Depends on who is doing the surveys, who interprets the data, who decides the results and who decides what lies to tell the public.



The first thing you have to understand is that TRUTH is the scarcest commodity in our lives today. Very little reported to us (by newsmedia, government, etc) should be believed.



Examples:



Global Warming: Yes? Or No? Depends on who you listen to. And impossible to know who to believe.



Hillary Clinton: Woman of the Hour? Or Man of the Hour? Depends on who you listen to. And impossible to know the truth.

Answer 19

Wait until the sub prime mortgage issues bites into the economy...you havent seen anything yet!

Answer 20

When a republican is president everything is bigger (the negative stuff). All of the deaths in the war on terror are bigger than all of the deaths during war war II. Any bad news in Bush's economy are worse than those in Clinton's economy.

Answer 21

Tell that to all the people that are losing their homes.

Answer 22

From all the doom and gloom coming from liberals these days you would think the world is going to end tomorrow PEOPLE get a hold on yourselves the US is not that bad off calm down!

Answer 23

Yeah, but how many are still unemployed and out of benefits?

Answer 24

benefits and unemployment are not comprised of the same numbers . . .

Answer 25

It is...this is just Yahoo's spin on things.



Just like FOX has theirs...MSNBC theirs...etc etc etc...

Answer 26

The only people who say the economy is bad are the Democrats.



And they say the Republicans are using scare tactics...

Answer 27

We are headed for a recession when gas hits $4/gallon. Get over it.

Answer 28

Once in a while, a nugget of truth slips through the liberal media, who have their own agendas.



The facts to point to a surging economy for the end of 2007 and into 2008.

Answer 29

i thought so too bro.