[quote]rainjack wrote:
I can’t speak for everywhere - but the cities I have been to - new housing starts are off the damn charts. New businesses are going in all over the place, and the want ads are chock full of people looking for help. [/quote]
People are running inland precisely because they can no longer afford to live in the coastal areas.
And before you start blaming that on coastal politics, remember: the people that are fleeing the coasts will likely not change their political orientation and you might start seeing political changes in your neighborhood that you might not like…
[quote]rainjack wrote:
BTW - the stock market should hit an all time high today if it rebounds from the opening slump. [/quote]
Ooops, sorry, wrong again. As they say in the old country, “if my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a scooter”.
Some of the headlines today:
“Investors fear hard landing – Economic data from the Fed’s Philadelphia region raise recession prospect.”
“Stocks retrenched decisively into negative territory as investors took in news of the Philadelphia Fed’s negative reading”
“[…] So this is a wake-up call.”
“Philip Roth, chief technical market analyst at Miller Tabak & Co., said that he remains cautious over the near-term outlook for the major averages, noting that the number of new highs for individual stocks is well below earlier peaks. In addition, volume is on the light side.”
“Also on the data front, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose in the latest week by 7,000 to stand at 318,000, the Labor Department said.”
“The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2% in August for the second straight month.”
““cooling” seen in the housing market, said Ken Goldstein, labor economist for the group.”
“The U.S. dollar fell further against its major counterparts, after the Philadelphia Fed survey showed regional manufacturing to be unexpectedly weak. The dollar late in the day fell 0.9% against the yen to 116.28, while the Euro rose 0.8% to $1.2793.”
Once again, you show very clearly that you don’t know the first thing about Macroeconomics – fortunately for you, you earn money the old fashioned way. And hopefully this little lesson today might make you realize that the fact that I spent the better part of the last 20 years of my life studying Macroeconomics and know most everybody in the “business” does give me some edge…
Look, I respect you. Maybe I’m biased, but not like you think: my grandfather was a CPA during the last 20 years of his life, and, guess who were his customers? Farmers. 95% of Portuguese descendents over here in California are farmers, in the Central Valley – there was a need for somebody they could trust to help them with accounting, and he – even without the benefit of ever having finished High School – stepped up to the plate, studied hard and managed to find a way to help himself, his family AND his community all at the same time. My family back in Portugal? Farmers, fishermen and teachers. We’ve been farmers, fishermen and teachers forever. So trust me when I say I don’t think you or doogie are stupid – if anything, I have a positive bias towards you.
You are, however, trying to see what you want to see. Many people in this country are – and to, some extent, that’s good: being optimistic is needed, especially in times of recession. We need optimists, people who believe in America and what Americans can do. People like you and my late grandfather. However, when it comes to making political decisions, optimism is simply another name for… irresponsibility. So, don’t stop being an optimist – that’s good – but please do realize that at this point, any politician that promises lower taxes – or even making the tax cuts permanent – IS being irresponsible.