REAMOND
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posted on July 22, 2003 08:49:03 AM new
.... so will Dr. Dean be our next President under the repeated banner of "It's the economy stupid" ?
IBM explores shift of white-collar jobs overseas
http://news.com.com/2100-1022_3-5051028.html?tag=fd_top
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5051575.html?tag=fd_top
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REAMOND
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posted on July 22, 2003 10:38:56 AM new
Stores like Big Lots scoop up excess goods and sell them to consumers at deep markdowns. If you've never visited one, I commend the experience to you -- you'll walk out muttering, "Only in America."
That is, you'll see first-hand that our economy produces to the point that it overproduces, to the point that three successful retail chains do a brisk business selling nothing but the overproduced products in thousands of storefronts nationwide. "Consumerism run amuck," and all that.
And should you decide to stroll through a nearby Big Lots (or a similar "liquidator" , remember that the excess all around you has come during a period when
The trend in factory orders has been heading downward since 1995
Wholesale inventories have been heading lower since 1999
The average workweek has been shrinking since 1997
Capacity utilization has been falling since 1994.
In other words, the economy has continued to overproduce even as its productive capacity has declined! Yet, when reports come out like today's weak 0.1% increase in the leading economic indicators, the news stories report "reassurance that a pickup will occur."
Mr. Greenspan himself last week spoke of the economy gaining speed in "coming quarters." He also promised to lower the price of money -- after 13 times in a row with little effect -- to "assure" that gain in speed.
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gravid
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posted on July 22, 2003 10:50:03 AM new
It's a problem. How do you make a rational economy when things can be made so cheap that the prices have to be based on induced demand instead of scarcity or necessity and many have no work to even buy the basics?
How do you deal with a population that is not needed as workers?
I see a day coming where everyone who is not a productive worker has an entitlement of income not to help them - but as a support for the services they buy.
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REAMOND
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posted on July 22, 2003 11:37:48 AM new
It's hard to tell what we'll end up with if we have two catastrophic capitalism failures in 75 years.
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blairwitch
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posted on July 22, 2003 02:14:07 PM new
Factories are dropping like flies here in PA moving to Mexico and China. It has gotten so bad they want to legalize slots in the racetracks to control property tax. Counties are hurting big time from the loss of tax revenue those factories paid. Looks like a downward spiral to me.
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REAMOND
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posted on July 22, 2003 02:52:13 PM new
There is no way anyone would invest in a factory in the US with the floodgates wide open for products from Mexico, China, and the rest of Asia.
Now the "white collar" jobs are going to India.
What are all of these countries going to sell to us when we have no jobs ?
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kraftdinner
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posted on July 22, 2003 03:15:54 PM new
Overproducing is still a money-maker though. If I make toothpicks for $1.00 a box and sell them for $10.00 a box to the high end and $2.00 a box at liquidation prices, I'm still making money. These costs are figured in to mass produced items.
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blairwitch
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posted on July 24, 2003 03:03:35 PM new
REAMOND, it looks like we are heading for deflation that has come up lately in the news. People are losing their jobs, and are working for minimum wages. Less money in their pockets means less money to spend. Companies, doctors, etc. will be forced to lower the price of products and services. The malls are empty, and the dollar stores/surplus stores are full.
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neroter12
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posted on July 24, 2003 08:21:29 PM new
I really dislike the dollar store.
"AND IM NOT EATING THOSE RAMEN NOODLES" no matter how poor or hungry I am. (hahaha)
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replaymedia
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posted on July 26, 2003 07:53:08 AM new
Some of us LOVE those ramen noodles!
Especially the chili-flavored ones. SLURP!
-------------------
Replay Media
Games of all kinds!
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blairwitch
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posted on July 26, 2003 02:20:11 PM new
Some of them are quite tasty for a dime. 
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