The New Normal

[icenine]

The lead off story in the LA times:

pretty good summation of the structural changes to America after 2008:

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...#axzz2qy3s5H4d

[mpholland]

I pretty much tend to agree with that summation. The rich are still getting richer. My home is now worth what I paid for it, but should be at about 25% more than I paid for it. I have had a couple raises since the recession started, but they didn't even cover the COL adjustment, so I am still essentially making less than I was in '08. The only thin that has been really positive is that my 401k has gone up higher than it was before.

[icenine]

I make more money than I did in the 90s but feel poorer.
Plus I really do not buy new stuff...it is all second hand. Except for gas, food, and new cd music releases everything I buy is used, except things for my daughter like phones,laptop, etc.

I see tons of people at thrifts and dollar stores, and of course walmart.

I think the danger is that Wallstreet stock prices are becoming a false indicator of how healthy our economy is.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by icenine

I make more money than I did in the 90s but feel poorer.
Plus I really do not buy new stuff...it is all second hand. Except for gas, food, and new cd music releases everything I buy is used, except things for my daughter like phones,laptop, etc.

I see tons of people at thrifts and dollar stores, and of course walmart.

I think the danger is that Wallstreet stock prices are becoming a false indicator of how healthy our economy is.

Same here...

...except that I don't personally know about the WalMart thing. Not one thin & worn out dime will I add to their coffers as long as they are subsidized by the taxpayers. Phuck 'em.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by icenine

I make more money than I did in the 90s but feel poorer.
Plus I really do not buy new stuff...it is all second hand. Except for gas, food, and new cd music releases everything I buy is used, except things for my daughter like phones,laptop, etc.

I see tons of people at thrifts and dollar stores, and of course walmart.

I think the danger is that Wallstreet stock prices are becoming a false indicator of how healthy our economy is.

Wall Street has not been an indicator of the health of the economy ever since they turned it into a casino.

As Sandy G said the day we stopped using money to make things and started using money to make money was the day it hit the fan.

[Ike Bana]

What turned Wall St. into a casino is the same medium that we use to complain about it. Computers and the internet.

Electronic trading and computer driven program electronic trading has made equities a trader's market rather than the investor's market that it was designed to be.

When I'm king, if you want to buy or sell stock, somebody down on the trading floor will have to scribble it down on a piece of paper and walk it over to the other side of the floor to complete a stock transaction.

That said...we, and millions of retirees like us use the money we have to make more money. That, in and of itself, does not make us bad people.

[BlueStreak]

I knew something was up when I turned on my T.V. and some idiot talking heads on one of those morning talk shows said;

"So....America is becoming a renter nation? Great! Well, we have some tips on how to shop for rental homes this morning..........................."

"Great"? How is it "Great" that America is turning into a "renter nation".

I swear, if you want to know what an Idiocracy this country it becoming just turn on the television. Good Lord........

Dave

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Wall Street has not been an indicator of the health of the economy ever since they turned it into a casino.

As Sandy G said the day we stopped using money to make things and started using money to make money was the day it hit the fan.

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

That said...we, and millions of retirees like us use the money we have to make more money. That, in and of itself, does not make us bad people.

Unfortunately, there is truth in both of these statements. And, Ike, it's not just those who are retired. Anyone who will retire some day, (And they will whether they like it or not.), had better be saving to prepare for retirement or they will end up homeless or living with their kids.

And, trust me, very few of them a saving adequately.

Even bigger trouble ahead.

Dave

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Unfortunately, there is truth in both of these statements. And, Ike, it's not just those who are retired. Anyone who will retire some day, (And they will whether they like it or not.), had better be saving to prepare for retirement or they will end up homeless or living with their kids.

And, trust me, very few of them a saving adequately.

Even bigger trouble ahead.

Dave

I'm gonna say that one of the reasons we're probably pretty financially secure is that we never stopped shopping at the thrift shops. Started when we were first married and just stuck with it. Clothing is about the only stuff we buy new...and not all of that either. I havent bought a new piece of audio gear in 40 years...its all (the entire big pile of it) from thrift shops or eBay.

[icenine]

Wall Street was booming in the late 20s....but
the rest of America, especially agriculture,
was already in the depression. It caught on to Wall Street in 1929.