GDP Jumps 7.2 Percent, Biggest Increase in Nearly 20 Years

"I and most of my friends did very well in the 90's, and I would take that economy over the current disaster any day."

I and most of my friends are doing just as well or better now.The value of the Dotcoms were highly inflated regardless of the fact that there were some good companies that were started. Even just internet companies like AOL's stock were also highly inflated. Between these, the accounting scandals, and 9/11 US companies took a trillion dollar mark down in their worth in 2001 and early 2002.

 

Considering the tech bust, the recession, and 9/11, that's no mean feat. However, I believe it puts you in the minority of Americans that can say that. Of course, the inevitable "Are you better off now than 4 years ago" polls in the upcoming election will provide a better indication.

 

I am not trying to say the economy is not down, but as for who I vote for President
I have to be honest to myself about that the economy started down at the end of Clinton and it went into a recession during what was still his budget in 2001(the economy cycles like this it is not Clinton's fault), then add the effects of 9-11, anthrax, the tech bust due to its over inflated worth in the 90's, and the accounting scandals which started in the late 90's before I can truly decide are we better off given all the other issues which were hard for any economy to swallow much less one in recession. I also need to look at current and predicted situations and economic numbers, which all are looking better. I get to travel around Texas, LA, and OK for work, and I honestly do not feel that I am not in the minority in these places. Yes it sucks to be in CA, but I cannot blame that on the President.
As far Houston I am biased I cannot stand it, so I always have the opinion that something is wrong there. I do have to go there a lot. I was even offered a job which would have been a promotion in the Houston area, but there was no way I was going to go there.

 

I agree with you that the President does not have a big effect on the economy. I don't give Clinton much credit for 90's boom, and I don't fully blame President Bush for the current situation. Although, as a Democrat, it's fun to blame him

But, I do think we have turned the corner on the economy. However, in Houston I have friends in petro-chemical, bio-tech, and hi-tech. They are all having tougher times than say 5 years ago.

As far as Houston goes, I can't stand it either. But, we are only 4 hours from Baton Rouge!!!

 

That does beat my 7 to 8 hours. It is a haul without much of anything to see or stop at.

 

Of course the values were inflated (little to do with corruption - just "irrational exuberance") - but even after the crash, the market was a lot, lot higher than in 1992. Poor money management killed portfolios, as well as crooks like enron (but, in reality, it was poor money management that those employees lost everything - no diversification, although the management wasn't the employees fault).
Stock prices were also inflated in 1987 although that crash had a lot more to do with corruption (junk bonds) and scamming (investment rules that screwed individual investors and that congress knew for years screwed investors - the brokers' campaign contributions couldn't overcome equity after the politicians' constituents lost so much in 1987 - they were forced to rewrite the laws). I mention this because those reform laws after the 1987 crash are another reason why the market soared in the 1990s - investor confidence brought about by finally getting a fair game (or reasonably fair) and not being able to be legally cheated by brokers. What is missing now is mom and pop confidence that the market is honest - and giving big government contracts to companies that scammed, dilly dallying around with prosecutions, is not a great way to re-instill confidence.

You may be doing fine - of course you have a job, you aren't part of the unemployed. And with the massive, and I mean massive goverment spending under this administration, GDP should be skyrocketing. The economy is not doing fine - yet. We'll see if it turns into domestic jobs and wages. I'm sure it will, but not like a 7% GDP increase would suggest it should.

And while I'm on my soapbox, this administration has made a few moves that are decidedly ANTI market economy. Steel quotas (what a disaster) copious numbers of cash subsidies and bailouts, which completely distort markets, pricing and supply. (there is a place for subsidies - but not for airlines, for goodness sakes - they can stand on their own - their TEMPORARY problems could have and should have been taken care of by short-term cash flow credits and loan guarantees). Those things do a lot more to mess up the economy than does a food stamp to a poor man.

 

JD, since you are on such a rant about the upturn in the economy I'm sorry to hear that you have become unemployed and are not "doing fine" If I am mistaken about your employment status and if your own net worth really hasn't taken a recent nosedive then I don't understand your beef. If you made money in the 90's economy and lost it in the recent economy you are a member of a very large club. Of course nobody was holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy or sell at any one time. Some people got out of the market in good time and consolidated their profits and most people continued to ride the winning streak until it became a losing proposition. The psychology is the same whether it is a compulsive gambler at a casino or a player in the market. The decision to take the house money and run or to keep rolling the dice are nobody's choices but your own. Some companies with good management make money in bad times and some companies with bad managment screw it up in good times or bad. A good example is the Picadilly Cafeterias, a Baton Rouge corporation. They were losing money in the 90's and I saw in the news today where they filed for bankruptcy and sold their physical assets. Their stockholders are left with worthless pieces of paper. I never owned any of their stock but as a former regular customer I could have told you that they were headed in that direction. While their prices got higher the quality of their food got much, much worse. Picadilly had a large and loyal customer base including myself but the last straw for me came over a year ago when I ate there and told myself "I know the food sucks now but I'll get the fried catfish filets. Nobody could screw up fried catfish" The fried catfish turned out to be as tough as shoe leather and I haven't been back. Picadilly didn't go belly up because of the economy. They went belly up because of years of bad management. If you are broke its not because of the economy. Its because you rode your winning streak too long. Bill Clinton didn't make you rich and George W. Bush didn't make you poor. You are either rich, poor or in the middle because of your own free will choices and decisions just like the rest of us.

 

This quarter was not really about govt spending like the past quarter was.

I do not agree with tariffs in general either, last I heard these (steel) were not going to be renewed.

The airline issues were pretty much a bipartisan effort after 09-11. I do think more should have been done to see who was failing before 09-11. Although a lot of it was govt guaranteed loans not a subsidy (at least not yet).

 

That's my problem with the republicans.
I know the democrats are going to do stuff like that - that's a wart I am well aware of.

It's when the republicans do stupid stuff like that, as they are doing more and more since the "neo-con"/Gingrich emergence, that makes me ill - to me, they already have enough warts, and now the one thing they used to be good at - some fiscal sanity - they aren't anymore.

BTW, to Bengal, I am not unemployed and am the happiest I have ever been in my professional life. I don't make the money I used to make, but that's because i CHOSE a low-paying job . As it is, I have a job that pays me 40% of what I used to make, with 10% of the stress and 1% of the boredom. However it is also 25 hours a week, 34 weeks a year. I supplement it with an additional gigs and I make about 2/3 of what I did, while still working about 45 weeks a year and 35 hours a week. The only downside is a 2 hour commute: I can't decide what would be worse - driving 2 hours a day or living in Baton Rouge -

Anyway, I'm doing fine, and am thrilled with my job.

I do know a lot of people who are underemployed, including recent graduates who are having a hard time finding decent work. (so they go to mba school like everyone else - mba's are better if you go after working for 5 years, imo). You won't see me pooh-poohing GDP growth - that will turn into jobs if it is consistent.

I wasn't on a rant - just tried to make a few points. I think bush has done some good things with the economy - tax cuts were needed (although they should have been an even percentage across the board, but he's a republican and will tilt them to the top - part of the game - but much better than the stuff armey/gingrich tried to ram through). I didn't blame the market crash on bush, didn't blame the economy on bush, (just pointed out a few things I disagree with him on) so you should reread my post.

That's a shame about Picadilly - I eat at the Esson location most Monday afternoons - food has gone downhill, so what do you expect. For me, it was the cod - that has gotten worse. We used to go there all the time as a kid, and my parents still take the grandkids there when they visit.
But, for some reason, cafeterias when out of fashion as well - most died in the 1980s (A&G, Wise Cafeteria -anyone remember that place in NO - it never went down, but they just shut it down one day). I don't know why they went out of fashion - awfully convenient in my book.

 

The Essen location is the one I was refering to when I said the fried catfish was as tough as shoe leather. What do I expect. I expect and understand that prices will rise over the years like everything else but I expect the food to be the same good quality that Picadilly had for years. One of my favorites was the chopped beef steaks that for most of my life was so good that I would eat every last morsel and wish there was more on my plate. Now they are obviously buying a lower quality meat. I had it at the Gonzales location about two years ago and it was inedible. I would sometimes get the shrimp cocktail. It went from 8 shrimp to 6 shrimp. Once at the Essen location the shrimp were still almost raw. The fried chicken was always pretty good but most of the time when I want fried chicken I go to Popeyes or Churches so that didn't affect me much if it is still good. Everybody has their favorites so if you still eat there maybe the things you like are still at least worth your continued patronage. Another thing about my last Picadilly visit: I am 48 and except for a woman who looked to be about 30 who was seated with an elderly man I was the youngest customer by 15 to 20 years. When Picadilly bought out Morrisons cafeterias a few years ago the first thing they did was to do away with the coupons that a lot of Morrison's older fixed income customers depended on so they killed off that market segment right off the bat. Its really a shame to see a Baton Rouge institution that I have eaten at since I was a small child go down the tubes but they have nobody to blame but themselves.