"Aint pretty" really goes to perception. From where I sit, despite what the markets are doing, business looks good. My orders are through the roof, I can't keep up. My peers and vendors are in the same position. Deliveries and promised-by dates are slipping. This has been underway for months now. The fundamentals of this economy are improving, strongly, imho. I think the jobs are going to follow, but it's really hard to see that at the moment because of, well, psychology and panic behavior.
Don't tell that to the 60 million americans on food stamps. Or the 30% of african americans who are unemployed. Or the 6 million people age 25 to 34 that are moving back in with their parents. Or the 25% of all children in this country that have no food. Oh yes, everything is really looking peachy! Can you pour me a drink of whatever you are having?
I'm not making it up, I'm not drinking anything. The facts are right in front of me. My customers, big utility companies, and these are not stupid people, are placing orders. Lots of orders. Clearly they see something a lot of other folks do not see, and that is that recovery is coming. Furthermore, my cancellations are unremarkable. To be honest, I'm surprised, given the markets' behavior, that I haven't seen more cancellations. But the data is right here. Bookings. Confirmations. Drafting and engineering resource loading. Production bays and scheduling. And I'm not alone, this is manufacturing wide. My vendors are reporting they're fully booked for a year. I know it's not translating into jobs yet, but it can't be denied it's happening. Headhunting and hiring around here are aggressive. We're getting poached by a dozen small (soon to be dead, hahaha) competitors. I honestly do not believe the markets are reflecting what's happening at the foundation level. Edit: I think history shows that this kind of activity precedes hiring expansion.
Yeah, and the overwhelming perception is that Obama's economy sucks. Do you really think this is a good economy? Can you really make that argument?
Record unemployment, record poverty. Isn't it ironic that the people who are suffering the most are blacks? Lets not even bring up Obama's record as a politician, considering the fact that dems are getting spanked in election afer election. Do you leftists actually think Obama has done good?
Quote from Ricter: I'm not making it up, I'm not drinking anything. The facts are right in front of me. My customers, big utility companies, and these are not stupid people, are placing orders. Lots of orders. Clearly they see something a lot of other folks do not see, and that is that recovery is coming. . Somebody tell Rictor what they see is the EPA reg this going to shut a bunch of coal plants causing a shortage of electricity and other plants ramping up to capacity and beyond to take up the slack. (if that's possible) Word is that regular rolling blackouts are coming, thanks to Obama and the EPA.