I live in an American tropical temperate climate Gulf Coast tourist area, and I'll be the first to tell you while tourism has befallen some 40% here, commerical building is up 70% from 5 years ago. We get the weather of every hurricane. Either a boom is priced in, or subconsciously we're making it easier for affluent opportunists to spin out meager entrepreneurs or staunch looters. Either way, existing homes sales is on the rise in every niche across America; which is undeniably the first step out of a business cycle slowdown. After another Katrina, slowdowns I forecast will be near obsolete for the next century and a half. Accounting for and accommodating trade and debt imbalances in concern to other countries is an altogether different matter.
Unfortunately, one day of black friday door buster sales will not turn the economy around - there are too many structural problems still.
when were there never too many structural problems? The economy has been bad since 1776. When was the last time a President ran on the platform, "Things have been really great! Vote for me and you'll get four more years of the same."? Some of us out here think a failure of Black Friday to turn things around would be a good thing. It's amazing to me how brittle and almost to the point of breaking the old fogies have become in their desperate attempt to hold on to the past and resist change. The only constant in life is change.
On another note those pictures were taken from the worst part of the depression. This has not happened yet. It will. ---------------------------------------------------- Morgan..... It will in parts of this country. There are parts, just like during the Great Depression, that will not have bread lines nor super high unemployment. You have to look at the current situation state by state. From example. I am in Austin Tx. Super trendy city now, ranked #1 in all kinds of magazines. Prices in Housing are higher now than 5 years ago, commercial RE is booming....(UT beat A&M PRICES OF UT TSHIRTS ARE UP lol). Also look at other cities like San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. Unemployment numbers are not as high as the East and West or Midwest. Prices of houses have appreciated in most of those cities. TEXAS overall is running a huge deficit but yet, the Largest Oil Field in the history of the US was discovered but a few years ago and most recently, just started to be mined. This Eagle Ford Shale will put TEXAS back in the Black in a few years from the Tax Rev. generated by the Oil/Gas Fields. Jobs are all over TEXAS. A lot of blue collar jobs starting at 100k. White Collar jobs have been lost but over all, still better than most of the country. Even with the worst drought in 100 years, Texas is booming. Cost of living, for the most part is far better than the rest of the Country. Even in Austin, Houston and San Antonio...cost of living is far better than East and West Coast. This is just one State. There are at least 12 states that are going to weather this Depression very well. Plenty of money will be made. Private Equity Projects in Oil and Gas, Infrastructure, REITS and Shipping/Transportation are on fire here in Texas. The ECONOMY is Local....PERIOD.
without Laredo, El Passo and Del Rio, Texas would be a lost cause. You couldn't exist without Mexico.
Once again Old Timer, your Ignorance is beyond explanation. What do you know about the Boarder Towns OldTimer? What, you watch True TV? What, Cheap Labor? I don't think so...as many Illegals have left TEXAS by the 1000s since 07. Unskilled labor is not used much since the Construction bust. Even though TEXAS is far better off than most of the country, building for Residential has slowed so has the building of commercial compared to the boom...when all the illegals poured in for construction jobs.. Prices have increased but projects are not as abunded...as 01-06. Sure, a lot of stuff is moved in and out in those areas. But Port Of HOUSTON and Port Of San Antonio move 1000x more cargo than through that of the highways of the boarder. In fact, due to the violence, more cargo is now passing through Port of Houston By Ship into Veracruz than via the Brownsville corridor. Mexico is a trading partner but the WEALTHY MEXICANS are fleeing into TEXAS, relocation family and business to cities like San Antonio. Learn about shit before you sound off.
When I graduated high school my guidance counsellor said only a fool would study engineering because those jobs were gone forever. There's always a reason to be glum. Just like there's always a reason to say fuck it, roll up the sleeves, and try.
I think it is obvious for the US with trillions in debt, and a federal reserve having to buy our debt, is a complete different realm than the carter carnage days. The structural problems of present will most likely never be solved without a complete transformation of the current government practices. Does anyone see that happening anytime soon? I don't and only a fool would.