Seriously, is it just me.....

[AVGWarhawk]

or is everyone else in the US getting the pinch on the wallet? Does Bush really think we are not heading into a recession? I guess he is turning off all the lights not in use at the White House, conserving water and Air Force One is grounded until historical high costs in oil stablize? The President's Limo is now replaced with a hybrid? Let the stimulus package and STUFF start working. Heck George, I think the STUFF you are sending out is called money and I think it will be available to me in September. That will be just about 7 months after everyone's homes are foreclosed. Enjoy your retirement George, shut out the lights and turn off the main water supply to the White House before you leave.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4359200

Come on Bush, get out in the real world for a change. :roll:

[geetrue]

You can vent on Bush ... everyone else does.

Oil is over $100 a barrel ... corn is over $10 a bushel due to it's new use for fuel.

Wheat has gone sky high with bread selling at almost $4.00 for a single quality loaf.

Doesn't take much sense to see that the real problem is OPEC controled by your know who ... that's right our enemy.

They don't get along with each other that's for sure, but they don't like all of our fighting men and machines being in their back yard either.

In effect they are saying don't bomb Iran or things will get worse.

EU dollar is now worth $1.50 US ... someone has figured out a way to manipulate what currency is worth.

You have to be smarter than me to figure out how that happened.

I do know that the populations overseas have been paying over $4 and $5 a gallon for fuel for a long time. No sympathy from overseas that's for sure.

President Bush retires in 10 months and we will know who his replacement is in just about 8 more months.

I wouldn't blame Mr Bush ... I would blame the sign of the times.

He didn't cause all of those people to purchase homes with a variable interest rate who coul not afford the time to read the small print.

(Your payments will increase as prime goes up)

If the country was doing great ... would you then say, "Oh we have such a good president"

I don't think so ...

I love my president ... I defend him and I respect him.

[AVGWarhawk]

The blame is not on Bush by me, it is the statements he is saying that the US is not headed into a recession. At the rate the goverment is dropping interest rates we should be at 0% by next week. Makes no difference as daily, credit reports of Americans are going into the crapper. Mostly their fault as America lives on the credit card and the revolving minimum charge. The housing industry is in the dumps and this credited to the banks who created the debacle. The banks are not going to hand out loans on homes to individuals on the edge of being able to afford a home. The lending industry is under the scope now. Aside the fact I made fun of Georges STUFF comment, I put no blame on George. Do I believe George was handed a crappy set of cards at the beginning of his second term? Sure do. So, please go over my post again and you will find I did not blame George. :up: What I'm saying is he is way out of touch. Besides, we have been going into a recession since Sept 2007. It is only getting worse by the day.

[geetrue]

I hear what your saying warhawk ...

I'm sorry I jumped on you ...

now it's my turn for someone to jump on me, probably, but you just couldn't do that when I was in the Navy ...

You know talk bad about the Commander in Chief.

I guess it stuck with me ... I even saw on television 10 years ago sailors giving Clinton the finger on an aircraft carrier for his views on gays in the military.

I couldn't believe they got away with it ...

Your forgiven

[ReallyDedPoet]

@geetrue

So is Democracy following your leader blindly or having the basic right to question his or her motives regarding various issues of the day. I'll take the latter ( and I am not talking as it relates to the military, rather as it relates to the governance of a population of people ).

To me that is not disrespecting your country, rather following the very principles it was founded on.


RDP

[AVGWarhawk]

I hear what your saying warhawk ...

I'm sorry I jumped on you ...

now it's my turn for someone to jump on me, probably, but you just couldn't do that when I was in the Navy ...

You know talk bad about the Commander in Chief.

I guess it stuck with me ... I even saw on television 10 years ago sailors giving Clinton the finger on an aircraft carrier for his views on gays in the military.

I couldn't believe they got away with it ...

Your forgiven

You can not forgive me for someting I did not do.:rotfl: I respect the guy. Let's face it, reading a book to kids and finding out the world trade centers were just destroyed by two hijacked commercial aircraft is a really really really bad day for the president. Personally, I think Clinton would have folded under such circumstances. Not many Presidents have faced what George did. And really, for all the things people do dump on George, have we seen another attack here in the States? Nope. That is a good thing and a job well done by George. No one will ever give George an atta'boy for that. But come on, does George not see the country is sliding deeper?

[geetrue]

@geetrue

So is Democracy following your leader blindly or having the basic right to question his or her motives regarding various issues of the day. I'll take the latter ( and I am not talking as it relates to the military, rather as it relates to the governance of a population of people ).

To me that is not disrespecting your country, rather following the very principles it was founded on.

RDP

As a civilian you have a right to question the leader of your country,
but in the military your service record gets marks in it.

Example: Everyone below President Johnson had to bomb what he said to bomb
and to stay clear of what he said not to bomb.

He was the Commander in Chief ... it took forty years before I realized he was wrong.

But back to the price of everything: gas = $3.42, bread is $3.69, chicken is $8.49 a bag up from $6.59 18 months ago.

Now that's something worth being angry about ... :yep:

[Tchocky]

I love hearing Americans giving out about high gas prices.

No offense guys, just...wow ;)

On the economy at present - I give credit to GWB for doing something about it, it would be easy to leave it for whoever gets in in November. However, the measures passed were very, very wrong. Do something, George, but don't do that :)

[AVGWarhawk]

I love hearing Americans giving out about high gas prices.

No offense guys, just...wow ;)

There is nothing wrong with high gas prices as long as the cost of living ratio can be met by the income ratio. Say for example, you are paying $4.50/gallon. Next day you are paying $5.75/gallon. You would feel the pinch. Income is not keeping pace with inflation. For example, electricity costs in the state of Maryland jumped 75%. This in one fell swoop. It was not gradual increase. Taxes in this state all went up and by a large margin. It is not the fact that gas is going up, it is the fact we see no end in sight of it stablizing. Also, other goods and services go up at the same time as a result of fuel prices rising. Normally, we absorb this and move on but adding in rising taxes on sales of goods, gas, cigarettes, alcohol, property and utility increases, the cost of living ratio has now tilted to the negative as salary has not increased along with inflation.


No offense taken. When somewhere in ruins of Europe were you live, gas goes up two fold. I think that would make you stand up and say what is going on here. It is only natural.

[Sea Demon]

I love hearing Americans giving out about high gas prices.

No offense guys, just...wow ;)


No offense taken. I agree. I scratch my head everytime I hear Americans whine and moan over high gas prices. Especially when our supply is continually less than what we consumers demand. We do have a solution to the problem. I know the enviro's don't like it, but we have to increase the supply. It's amazing what happens to the cost of any commodity once you meet demand with adequate supply. If you want to blame anyone for high gas prices, blame those who make policy on reducing our supply and those that block domestic production.

[AVGWarhawk]

Bush did attempt to get supply up with his trip a few weeks back to the suppliers. Geetru has a good point, OPEC don't like us playing in their backyard.

[Sea Demon]

Bush did attempt to get supply up with his trip a few weeks back to the suppliers. Geetru has a good point, OPEC don't like us playing in their backyard.

Yeah, I think we should produce more from our own backyard. That would boost supply from our own resources. And don't import more people into our nation than what our resources can supply. That's another problem altogether. Yet it's also a factor. The OPEC suppliers are unreliable, that's why I'm not talking about increasing our supply from those sources. We need to put those suppliers out to pasture IMO. Anyway, OPEC and oil aside, that's not the only reason we are there. But it does seem to be one of them.

[AVGWarhawk]

Sea Demon,

Does it seem to you that the oil we do generate here is hoarded? I know there are stategic reservse but just how much? Was it Katrina when they opened up the valve and let some out? Do we really need to depend on outside sources or are we just busy draining them dry? When done we laugh at them as we sit on a fat tank of oil?

[NEON DEON]

I just got this from a good source that the White has sold its big black limos and ordered 2 dozen armor plated Toyota Prius.

[gumbeau]

If gasoline is a major percentage of your monthly expenses, enough that this increase in prices is putting a crimp in your budget then you have bigger problems than worrying about a recession.

You need to get your personal house in order. Give up the internet and that should cover the difference in gas price. Or your cell phone. Or your hard wired phone. Or your cable TV/Sat TV subscription. Or about a dozen other things.

My stepson told me the other day that his step mother made him deliver food to 'poor' people as part of a church activities a few years ago when he was over there. The 'poor' had televisions worth thousands of dollars, yet were accepting church donated food.

He questioned the stepmother who responded 'they can't be held responsible for not knowing how to manage their money'.

Needless to say the boy is solidly Republican now.

BTW, a recession is two quarters back to back of negative growth. We probably just got OUT of one.

And yes, there are lots of foreclosures in my neighborhood too. They are all people who bought far too much house for their income. Bad decision making. Any house more than twice your annual salary is a bad idea.

[AVGWarhawk]

If gasoline is a major percentage of your monthly expenses, enough that this increase in prices is putting a crimp in your budget then you have bigger problems than worrying about a recession.


It is one expense for everyone. Gas prices going up go hand in hand with goods and services. Price of diesel rises as well. Getting your goods to the store rises. Processing the good rises. The Farmers who grow textiles expenses increase. It starts to snowball. So, it is a bit more then just one item on your list of expenses that increase. Not to mention utilites increase as well. Natural gas costs more. Getting coal to the burners that generate electricity increases as the diesel engines that pull it now experience an increase in the fuel costs. All is passed on to you, the consumer.


You need to get your personal house in order. Give up the internet and that should cover the difference in gas price. Or your cell phone. Or your hard wired phone. Or your cable TV/Sat TV subscription. Or about a dozen other things.


Not so easy in todays world that depends on these services to get through the day. Give up you hard wired phone. What, send smoke signals if you have a 911 emergency? Give up TV, no problem. I do not watch much of the mind sucker anyway.


My stepson told me the other day that his step mother made him deliver food to 'poor' people as part of a church activities a few years ago when he was over there. The 'poor' had televisions worth thousands of dollars, yet were accepting church donated food.

He questioned the stepmother who responded 'they can't be held responsible for not knowing how to manage their money'.

Needless to say the boy is solidly Republican now.


I don't blame him one bit. Nothing like watching a guy at the super market buying lobster tails for dinner on food stamps. But hey it is not his fault:roll:


BTW, a recession is two quarters back to back of negative growth. We probably just got OUT of one.

And yes, there are lots of foreclosures in my neighborhood too. They are all people who bought far too much house for their income. Bad decision making. Any house more than twice your annual salary is a bad idea.

The bad decision making is purely the banks poor decision to underwrite these loans to folks on the edge. They knew full well the monthy payment will go up in the form of rising interest rates. They always adjust up! Once those on the edge receive their new statement after the first 12 months into the mortgage, it has risen upwards of $200.00 more a month. For those on the edge from the start, lights out. Not to mention along with a fat house loan come easy credit card obtainment. Next thing they now, they are $25000.00 in debt from pure credit purchases. Nice big screen tv eh? They made it easy to get into a hole. Digging out is 10x harder.

I'm not a credit card holder. If I can not afford it I did not need it anyway:know:

[Blacklight]

Seriously, is it just me..... or is everyone else in the US getting the pinch on the wallet?

It's not just you. I got creamed last year and this year things are going further into the crapper. The cost of living has trippled for me and my wages have stayed precisely the same. :nope:
Things have gotten so bad that we're discussing moving.

[August]

Seriously, is it just me..... or is everyone else in the US getting the pinch on the wallet?
It's not just you. I got creamed last year and this year things are going further into the crapper. The cost of living has trippled for me and my wages have stayed precisely the same. :nope:
Things have gotten so bad that we're discussing moving.


Tripled? How far do you commute every day?

[Blacklight]

Okay.. I'm exagerating, but rent has been continually going up, my gas prices have been going up like mad and I have an hour and a half drive each day. Utilities have been increasing their rates like mad. And on top of all that, my medical costs just went WAY up. :nope:

[Tchocky]

<3 public transport :D

[bradclark1]

<3 public transport :D
Thats not that easy to do over here believe it or not. If I wanted to catch a bus I would have to walk three miles to catch a bus that only runs the route three times a day and it doesn't run in the evenings.

[August]

I walk to work and my gaz guzzling SUV stays in the garage.

[fredbass]

Boy where do I start. :hmm:

I first have to say that I sympothize with the younger generation. I don't know how they can afford to live on their own unless they've got a great paying job which most do not when they first start out.

Secondly, Americans have become spoiled rotten, being able to purchase and do about anything we want, and expect to have it all, getting themselves deep into debt. (damn those credit cards)

Gas prices are definitely a huge problem for some. Personally I have to drive 23 miles to and from work everyday getting about 19 miles per gallon. You do the math. So I guess I could trade in my nice little truck and find something more economic.

I do have a cell phone, but dropped the house phone. No need for both really.

Luckily I don't have a family to take care of or I'd probably have more financial difficulties.

And fortunately I bought a modest lakefront home in 1994 for $50,000 with an interest rate of 5.3% requiring me to pay no more than $325.00 a month on the mortgage. (lucky me, but it helps to have great credit which many do not)

By the way, having great credit helps in all sorts of ways. Too many people let things get out of hand using those damn credit cards again. :damn:

Oh and now us spoiled americans want that nice flat screen TV which costs $1000 and up, a new computer, a pool, new furniture and someone to mow the lawn for us and more kids than we can afford and then spoiling the kids with too much as well. Like I said, we expect to have everything and just charge it. Shame on us.

And don't forget the medical bills which are rediculous.

Well I could go on but that's enough for now. Just thought I'd throw in a few of my thoughts.

[Tchocky]

<3 public transport :D Thats not that easy to do over here believe it or not. If I wanted to catch a bus I would have to walk three miles to catch a bus that only runs the route three times a day and it doesn't run in the evenings. I know, brad. Last time I lived in the States I had the luck to be living in Boston, which has a brilliant public transport system.

What I meant about laughing when I hear Americans giving out about gas prices - Over here we're paying well over twice the US price.

[August]

What I meant about laughing when I hear Americans giving out about gas prices - Over here we're paying well over twice the US price.

Yeah but how much of that is artifically induced via taxes? I'll be a lot higher percentage than what we're paying.

[Tchocky]

What I meant about laughing when I hear Americans giving out about gas prices - Over here we're paying well over twice the US price.
Yeah but how much of that is artifically induced via taxes? I'll be a lot higher percentage than what we're paying.
Oh, very much so. I'd say almost all of it is tax.

[Jimbuna]

Petrol is approx £1.03p per litre in the UK (give or take a couple of pence, depending on geographical location).

There are 4.54 litres in a gallon and the petrol station makes less than 10 pence per gallon profit. http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9206/nofemaleqj9.gif

[AVGWarhawk]

Hey, here is more evidence a recession is NOT luming:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Economy/story?id=4364751&page=1

[bradclark1]

It's Bush's fault. He's responsible for spaghetti being up 18 percent. I'm thinking of getting into the spaghetti futures market. A lot of money to be made there. If spaghetti's going up you know sauce isn't far behind.

[TteFAboB]

<3 public transport :D

Can't beat self-sustaining vehicles. If only they made cars that ran on tax and other people's money and spitted coins out of the exhaust...

[AVGWarhawk]

It's Bush's fault. He's responsible for spaghetti being up 18 percent. I'm thinking of getting into the spaghetti futures market. A lot of money to be made there. If spaghetti's going up you know sauce isn't far behind.

Pork futures Brad, pork futures:rock: Does this mean BBQ sauce will go up?

[Biggles]

I have a hard time trust a president who waves to Stevie Wonder...;)

But seriously though, I'm not american, so I shouldn't be considered. But if your economy is going down, it sure as hell isn't good for us either.

oh, and you think petrol in the states are expensive?

Go to Sweden. I dare ya....

[AVGWarhawk]

And yet further proof we are headed into a hole. Bush says we are not in a recession? Wake up and smell the coffee.....that will $15.99 for that coffee if you want to smell it. :roll:

Read on!!!


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/wireStory?id=4366770

[gumbeau]

This smells like a Boosh bad thread.... Nothing more.

Da Prez is Stoopid. We've heard i already. Abraham Lincoln was an ignorant gorilla when he was in his last term. Yes, I am comparing the evil Boosh to Lincoln.

[Stealth Hunter]

@geetrue

So is Democracy following your leader blindly or having the basic right to question his or her motives regarding various issues of the day. I'll take the latter ( and I am not talking as it relates to the military, rather as it relates to the governance of a population of people ).

To me that is not disrespecting your country, rather following the very principles it was founded on.


RDP

It's called "Patriotism", and I have very few things that I hate worse than it.

[August]

It's called "Patriotism", and I have very few things that I hate worse than it.

I think your definition of Patriotism is somewhat flawed Stealth Hunter.

[Brag]

Bush?
Is that the guy who's been in charge of the US while that country changed from most popular to most hated around the world?

Ummm. My wallet is sufering, too.

[bradclark1]

@geetrue

So is Democracy following your leader blindly or having the basic right to question his or her motives regarding various issues of the day. I'll take the latter ( and I am not talking as it relates to the military, rather as it relates to the governance of a population of people ).

To me that is not disrespecting your country, rather following the very principles it was founded on.


RDP

It's called "Patriotism", and I have very few things that I hate worse than it.
I think you need to explain a little more. Is it before or after "or".

[Kapitan_Phillips]

I'm disgusted by the current tax on air travel. £222 of my £580 fare was tax. Subtract £50 for my travel insurance.

[AVGWarhawk]

Here is a good one for today. My wife does the grocery shopping every week. She is VERY conscience of prices/sales/specials, etc. because we keep a budget for groceries. Today she came home from the store and said she had to pay $2.00 for a dozen eggs. Normally the eggs run her .99 cents. She asked me if there is a shortage of chickens and if eggs are in great demand. I said no but costs to keep the coops going and fuel increases for the trucks to get them to the store certainly have gone up. Welcome to the snowball effect I mentioned a few posts back.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Here is a good one for today. My wife does the grocery shopping every week. She is VERY conscience of prices/sales/specials, etc. because we keep a budget for groceries. Today she came home from the store and said she had to pay $2.00 for a dozen eggs. Normally the eggs run her .99 cents. She asked me if there is a shortage of chickens and if eggs are in great demand. I said no but costs to keep the coops going and fuel increases for the trucks to get them to the store certainly have gone up. Welcome to the snowball effect I mentioned a few posts back.

Get your own chickens, then :know:

My father is a HGV driver here in Wales. He works for a logistics firm called TNT, who contracted some haulage jobs to his company, A & M Transport. This one day, they phoned him up saying he needed to take his truck to the filling station because the forecourt at the depot was completely out of diesel. Naturally, this would be paid for using the company cards, but it took them three hours to find one with money left on it.

With rising fuel prices and more and more people starting to blame trucks and haulage firms, where does that leave the driver?

[Rockin Robbins]

We're repeating history. Remember when diesel was 1/3 or 1/4 the price of gasonline because it was used commercially by truckers? Then the auto companies had a good idea: let's produce diesel autos to take advantage of the price disparity. The oil companies merely adjusted the price of diesel to gasoline levels.

What's about to happen. President O'Bama, under pressure to produce some of that change he's promising (when we need dollars:rotfl:) will push and possibly mandate plug-in hybrids. These hybrids will be plugged into your house electrical system to recharge batteries, the primary power source of these vehicles. Any guesses what will happen to your electrical bill?:doh: It's not goona be pretty.

[AVGWarhawk]

Get your own chickens, then :know:


Funny you say that because she said she would have her own chickens:rotfl:

[AVGWarhawk]

What's about to happen. President O'Bama, under pressure to produce some of that change he's promising (when we need dollars:rotfl:) will push and possibly mandate plug-in hybrids. These hybrids will be plugged into your house electrical system to recharge batteries, the primary power source of these vehicles. Any guesses what will happen to your electrical bill?:doh: It's not goona be pretty.

Electric cars are not the answer IMHO. Sure, you do reduce emissions from autos but you are cranking out emissions from the coal burning generators that now have to take up the extra load. The electic bill ain't pretty now:roll: We need a form of fuel for cars other than oil.

[AVGWarhawk]

Ok, last week Bush said the US is not in a recession. This week:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/wireStory?id=4377284


Was George attempting to wish away the problem?

[Tchocky]

Recession is a self-realising word.

You get enough people saying it, such as Buffett (who really should know better), and you'll get one. It's the moral hazard on economic punditry.
The US is not in a recession. It may be in one shortly, but there are measures that can be taken to avoid/ease the coming difficulties.
Buffett sayd that "economically speaking", the US is not in a recession. He should stop right there.

[AVGWarhawk]

You get enough people saying it

I agree here. The self fulfilling prophecy as it were.