can't we just extort or take over some other country if shit really gets THAT bad? I mean, we have 800+ bases worldwide. I'd have to think we'd do something cool like straight up rob France or Belgium before we'd just slip into a depression, right?
Dude, I talk to business owners all day every day, clients, deadbeats, banks, bankruptcy attorneys, creditors, lenders, etc etc.
I knew a long time ago that we were heading for the cliff, long before it was being reported in the news.
This was based on the fact that I have my ears to the street, main street and wall street. I am telling you that things are going to get way worse before they get better. Here is why:
1. Commercial RE is in the toilet. Vacancies are up huge and many of the Commercial landlords were not operating on large margins. In fact, many anchor stores are closing in malls and retail outlets. C City, Fortunoff, etc. How do you think that is going to effect the landlords' ability to make the payment to the bank each month?
2. Unemployment. I am literally 15 minutes drive from Wall Street. A few hundred thousand people just got laid off. White collar jobs, people who were making big money. They are not going to get similar jobs again. Wall Street as it was is over and not coming back. These people have big mortgages, spent a lot of money and paid a lot of taxes to loca governments. This is what the stimilus is all about. Its not about stimulating you, its about propping up the government agencies.
Across the country we have increasing unemployment. Who is going to hire all these people?
3. Energy Prices. Gas is already going up in price again. The Cap and Trade schemwe they are proposing will drive up energy costs for everyone.
4. Taxes - local taxes are going through the roof and govts are nickle an diming people. That extra money paid to the local govts is money not being put into the private sector.
5. Inflation - to be or not to be?
? That is the question.
6. Politics - believe me or not, most business owners I know are scaling back their spending an operations because they are fearful of the govt at all levels. The lack of trust and confidence is dictating actions and choices.
7. R/E prices - the lowering of prices is great for people with cash, but people who own homes whose value is dropping makes them less likely to spend money on discreationary consumer goods.
I have a lot more, but sad to say, this is not going to change any time soon.
