Thread: The real shame of the election.

The closest, decent, half-stable jobs to me now are 30+ miles away just about. By the time I go to work, hold out enough money to pay bills, buy my gas, etc. etc. I'll have hardly anything left over. No jobs are stable here anymore, I lost my job I did have due to the economy. We may not be in a Great Depression, and the economy isn't buried into the ground yet, but anyone in their right mind wouldn't say that our economy is doing good right now. It's bad, it's been bad for a while. Unemployment is ridiculous around here, we're not Canada, I don't care how good Canada is doing, I don't live there. U.S.A.'s economy is sucking bad.

Originally Posted by nitsuJ

The closest, decent, half-stable jobs to me now are 30+ miles away just about. By the time I go to work, hold out enough money to pay bills, buy my gas, etc. etc. I'll have hardly anything left over. No jobs are stable here anymore, I lost my job I did have due to the economy. We may not be in a Great Depression, and the economy isn't buried into the ground yet, but anyone in their right mind wouldn't say that our economy is doing good right now. It's bad, it's been bad for a while. Unemployment is ridiculous around here, we're not Canada, I don't care how good Canada is doing, I don't live there. U.S.A.'s economy is sucking bad.

You being a bum is not indicative of the overall state of the economy.

How am I being a bum? A bum is someone that doesn't want to work, and will not work. I've just stated there's no stable jobs around due to the economy now, and that there's none that'd pay good enough to keep me building up my bank account.

Originally Posted by nitsuJ

I'll tell you what's a real shame, some American's don't think the economy is bad. They told what percentage of American's think the economy is bad, and it wasn't 100%.

Those who don't see any change in the economy are the ones who are used to living paycheck to paycheck, and having very little in their bank accounts after bills are paid.

In fact, with gas prices going down they are likely to think that the economy is doing better.

It is the very rich (and some slightly rich) who had their money tied up in these silly games that the financial industry cooked up who are now suffering the most; they are reaping the consequences of financial irresponsibility. And by "suffering", I mean they are losing all of that imaginary money they thought was theirs in the first place.

Originally Posted by nitsuJ

and that there's none that'd pay good enough to keep me building up my bank account.

So there are jobs, you just don't want them.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

So there are jobs, you just don't want them.

Lol. If I took those jobs I'd be spending more than I'm making. What's the point in that? Why would a person work to lose money?

Originally Posted by nitsuJ

Lol. If I took those jobs I'd be spending more than I'm making. What's the point in that? Why would a person work to lose money?

So cut your spending, bum.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

So cut your spending, bum.

That'd be hard to do, unless I got rid of my cellphone, truck insurance, and somehow formed a way that I didn't need food and all during the week.

You'll figure something out. Or you'll starve in this huge depression we're in.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

You'll figure something out. Or you'll starve in this huge depression we're in.

Yeah, because the economy is only bad when we're in a depression, we can't have a bad economy right now. I guess one wouldn't understand that the economy is bad right now if they still live off of mommy and daddy's money, not to mention someone not looking for a decent job.

Originally Posted by nitsuJ

Yeah, because the economy is only bad when we're in a depression, we can't have a bad economy right now. I guess one wouldn't understand that the economy is bad right now if they still live off of mommy and daddy's money, not to mention someone not looking for a decent job.

If you call this situation bad, then what do you call it when the economy actually does enter a real recession? Really really bad?

What area do you work in, drew?

Originally Posted by Xei

What area do you work in, drew?

I'm a student in southern Ontario.

To be honest it doesn't really surprise me that you don't work whilst me and nitsu do... :\

I'm a student too but I still work. I know this isn't another great depression but in Britain the catering industry has been heavily hit and work is drying up.

Originally Posted by Xei

To be honest it doesn't really surprise me that you don't work whilst me and nitsu do... :\

I'm a student too but I still work. I know this isn't another great depression but in Britain the catering industry has been heavily hit and work is drying up.

Do I smell an ad hominem?

I'm sort of glad the economy is taking a dive. These idiots living on credit and overspending needed to learn their lesson. Sadly, this is the only way for it to happen.

You can tell someone all you want, "Don't drive yourself around in that 8 seater SUV, you're wasting gas and money." Until gas hits $4.50 a gallon, they won't listen to you. Then suddenly they are crying about big oil running the world. Who do you think gave them all that power to begin with?

Same thing with the mortgage "crisis." If you were dumb enough to buy into an adjustable rate or interest only ballooning mortgage to get into a house you couldn't afford, why should I cry when your gamble doesn't pay off and you face forclosure? I believe in cause and effect, karma, and that you make your own bed.

The only tragedy is that people, like me, who live responsibly end up slightly inconvenienced for everyones idiocy. But it would be selfish and pouty for me to worry too much about that. I would rather be optimistic about the future good that will come from these hard lessons learned.

Do I smell an ad hominem?

Do I smell a bum?

Originally Posted by Xei

Do I smell a bum?

I thought so. Come back when you want to talk intelligently.

Come back when you're employed. :\

The economy isn't bad right now, it's booming. I'll go ahead and agree with you Drew. Even though a lot of things in the U.S. are hurting because of the economy, the economy is booming. It makes sense.

The nation's jobless ranks zoomed past 10 million last month, the most in a quarter-century, as piles of pink slips shut factory gates and office doors to 240,000 more Americans with the holidays nearing. Politicians and economists agreed on a painful bottom line: It's only going to get worse.

The unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent, the government said Friday, up from 6.1 percent just a month earlier. And there was more grim news from U.S. automakers: Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., American giants struggling to survive, each reported big losses and figured to be announcing even more job cuts before long.

Barack Obama, in his first news conference as president-elect, said the nation was facing the economic challenge of a lifetime but expressed confidence he could deal with it.

"Immediately after I become president, I'm going to confront this economic crisis head on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity," he said after meeting with economic advisers in Chicago. "I'm confident a new president can have an enormous impact."

Wall Street revived somewhat after two days of big losses. The Dow Jones industrials rose 248 points.

Still, the Labor Department's unemployment report provided stark evidence that the economy's health was deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace. The jobless rate was 4.8 percent just one year ago.

About 10.1 million people were unemployed in October, the most since the fall of 1983. More people have jobs now, since the population has grown, but it's still a staggering jobless figure. With employers slashing jobs every month so far this year, some 1.2 million positions have disappeared, over half in the past three months alone.

Like Obama, President Bush expressed confidence that things would get better: "Our economy has overcome great challenges before, and we can be confident that it will do so again."

But economists were much less upbeat than politicians.

"There is no light at the end of the tunnel, and the outlook is pitch black," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.

And Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, said the report "depicts an economy still in free fall and without a safety net anywhere in sight."

All the economy's woes — a housing collapse, mounting foreclosures, hard-to-get credit and financial market upheaval — will confront Obama when he assumes office in January. Unemployment is expected to keep rising during his first year in office, while record budget deficits will crimp his domestic agenda.

October's jobless rate was the highest since March 1994 and now has surpassed the 6.3 percent 2003 high after the most recent recession. The government also said job losses were worse than first reported for the preceding two months, 284,000 rather than 159,000 in September and 127,000 rather than 73,000 in August.

Many economists believe the unemployment rate will climb to 8 percent or 8.5 percent by the end of next year before slowly drifting downward. Some think unemployment could even hit 10 or 11 percent — if an auto company should fail.

In any case, the rate is likely to move higher even if the economy is on somewhat stronger footing by the middle of next year as some hope. That's because companies won't be inclined to ramp up hiring until they feel certain that a recovery has staying power.

Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at consulting firm MFR Inc., said another reason the unemployment rate can keep climbing — even after a recession is over — is because people tend to flock back to the labor market when they sense their job prospects might be better. "It takes (people) awhile to figure out, 'Hey, there's jobs out there,'" Shapiro said.

In the 1980-1982 recession — considered the worst since the Great Depression in terms of unemployment — the jobless rate rose as high as 10.8 percent in late 1982 just as the recession ended, before inching down.

Friday's report was worse than analysts had expected. They had been forecasting a jobless rate of 6.3 percent with payrolls falling about 200,000.

Factories, including auto makers, construction companies, especially home builders, retailers, mortgage bankers, securities firms, hotels and motels and educational services, all cut jobs. As did temporary help firms — a barometer of future hiring. All those losses more than swamped the few gains elsewhere, including in the government, health care and in accounting and bookkeeping.

Private companies cut 263,000 jobs, the most since the country was beginning to emerge from the 2001 recession. It marked the 11th straight month of such reductions.

The grim numbers spurred calls from Democrats on Capitol Hill to provide fresh relief. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats, in a lame-duck session later this month, will push to enact another economic stimulus package of around $100 billion, possibly including provisions to create jobs through big public works projects.

Obama said if the session doesn't bring passage, the measure will be his first priority as president in January.

He has called for about $175 billion in new stimulus spending, including money for roads, bridges and aid to hard-pressed states. He wants a rebate of $500 for individuals, $1,000 for families and a new $3,000 tax credit for businesses for each new job created.

Workers with jobs saw only modest wages gains in October. Average hourly earnings rose to $18.21, a 0.2 percent increase from the previous month. Over the past year, wages have grown 3.5 percent, but paychecks aren't stretching far because high food, energy and other prices have propelled overall inflation at a faster pace.

The economy has lost its footing in just a few months. It contracted at a 0.3 percent pace in the July-September quarter, signaling the onset of a likely recession. It was the worst showing since the 2001 recession, and reflected a massive pullback by consumers.

As consumers watch jobs disappear, they'll probably retrench even further, spelling more trouble. Analysts say the economy is still shrinking in the current October-December quarter and will contract further in the first quarter of next year. All that more than fulfills a classic definition of a recession: two straight quarters of contracting economic activity.

"The U.S. recession is deepening," said Michael Gregory, economist at BMO Capital Markets Economics. The final quarter of this year is getting off to a "particularly ugly" start.

Lol, I've no idea what the politicians and economists are talking about, because economist Drew says the economy isn't in a bad situation, so they're obviously wrong.

I never said the economy wasn't in a slump; I said it wasn't as bad as you make it out to be.

-This is to the topic-

For those who say they don't want to vote just because they don't like the person is a stupid excuse. Think about it people! This person is going to be president of the United States. The president could end up as a nutcase, and if you start complaining about him, why didn't you at least look, study what his plan was, and vote who sounds right for the country. What a lazy person. Geeze people! America has a lot of complainers these days. I'm a minor so I cannot vote, but if I could, I would.

Also, I think it is really sad for people to point fingers at each other. You know, "I won you lost.Hahahaha, In your face!" on that prop,etc. It is really sad how people were booing at each other. This isn't a game. We're not suppose to be a crowd. We shouldn't be yelling at each other just because of our different views on topics. You're suppose to do something to make up for it. If you lost on a prop, try to find a way that would help things out. Not sit there and complain and complain and complain, and be lazy, etc. Or if you lost on a prop,etc, it just means that other people just liked the other choice. There is no right or wrong choice.

I can't even pity these people. That's how sad it is. They're just babies. Yeah, I could understand if you lose and feel a little down about it. Though, I'm talking about the ones who just keep at the complaining.

I voted, and I feel like it was a complete waste of time. Barack has had this shit in the bag for 2 years.

Regardless of who I voted for, Mccain or obama would be president. This is unnacceptable. Neither of these candidates are worth voting for. If you have to have a robot call my house 5 times the week before the election to tell how great you are then fuck voting for you.

I'm not voting unless a candidate worth voting for has a chance next election.

Regardless of who I voted for, Mccain or obama would be president. This is unnacceptable.

A totalitarian state with stonedape in charge... fantastic.