Economy Stays Stuck As Consumers Lock Their Wallets

The nation's economy failed to pick up speed in August and the final days of July, as rising prices and a weak job market prompted consumers to reduce spending and shop at discount stores to try to conserve cash.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[gcallaghan]

There, I unlocked my wallet but it's empty. Are you happy now?

[dadw5boys]

ROLL BACK THE BANKRUPTIZE LAWS TO 1998 AND THEN ECOMONY WILL GET BETTER FAST.

GIVE EVERYONE THE SAME RIGHTS TO BANKRUPTIZE AS THE WEALTHY ENJOY WITHOUT THE TRUST THAT PROTECT THEIR PROPERTIES AND PEOPLE WILL START BUYING AGAIN.

TREAT PEOPLE LIKE TRASH AND THEY WILL STOP BUYING PUT YOUR BUSINESSES OUT OF BUSINESS AND SHOW YOU WHO IS TRASH!!!!!!!

[Enid]

We import toilet paper we do not make jack _ _ _ t.

JOB'S, JOB 'S and JOB'S always works with respectful wages even better.

[FatherWolf]

The official unemployment rate has broken the 6% barrier. And the stock market tanked badly yesterday over general malaise.

But the economy is going great for the Republican establishment.

[JBS]

Which means the REAL unemployment rate is probably closer to 20%

[111]

The economy is not getting any help from me.

Tax rebate paid bills and I've cut way back on my spending. There are a many websites that help.
One of the ways I've been able to save is by rediscovering alternatives for household cleaning - white vinegar is a disinfectant and cheap, effective and "green". Lemons, salt, borax, rubbing alcohol, peroxide and baking soda are also big items on my list.

Did the corporations really think we would continue to spend in the same way we did before our jobs went to India, China, Mexico, etc. ?

[JBS]

"Tax rebate paid bills and I've cut way back on my spending." - 111

Oddly enough that's where my rebate "check" went as well.

The National Guard sent me to the VA because I have hearing problems after my Iraq deployment; tinnitus so loud it sometimes drowns out other sound. VA doctor found a heart murmur during my screening physical and decided I had to have an echo-cardiogram, "just to make sure".

The VA turned around and decided I wasn't entitled to that treatment because it wasn't service related, (although I'd never had a heart murmur BEFORE going to Iraq) and billed me for it. The National Guard Tri-Care insurance I was paying for didn't cover it either.

When the rebates came, the VA collected my "debt to the government".

But, they did leave me enough for a burger & coffee at Mickey D's, so I figure I've done my part to stimulate the economy.

VA didn't do anything about the hearing problems though.

[ceasenake]

Saving money is the right move now anyway!

[Chavez08]

Great article about Milton Friedman and the economic snake-oil he sold to the establishment:

"The University of Chicago's plans to establish a research institute commemorating economist Milton Friedman, whose increasingly discredited influence shaped our world, are inappropriate. Opposition can help expose his market fundamentalism as a device that rationalizes exploitation of the many by a few the world over. More than money matters."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JI05Dj03.html

[JBS]

Please wait, your request is processed...

"Economy Stays Stuck As Consumers Lock Their Wallets"

I'm getting strange messages every time I try to post a comment now, such as the "please wait" above???

But the headline has echos of "locking barn doors after the horses are gone".

[50centsaday]

A Lasting Obama Legacy?
Obama AWOL in Fighting for Illinois Citizens in US Senate?

According to the most recent unemployment statistics released by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois has the 6th highest unemployment rate in the nation " 7.3% unemployed.

[Chavez08]

Gee! Loss of jobs means loss of spending? Really? Is that the knowledge you get when you spend $200k in an ivy-league college?

[swift goat pet for truth]

For the right wing MBA's, we need to make more stuff for the people to buy. That is why we need tax cuts for the rich.

Supply side.
It will trickle down.

[davesideas]

It's about time that people started saving more and spending less. Rather than calling it "stagflation", perhaps we should be calling it "responsible".

[LemonMeringue]

Food prices have doubled where I live - about 4 years. Utilities, fuel, taxes, prescriptions, health care costs... everything is going up. Wages are not.

When my neighbor worked for Boeing in the 80s her health insurance and her husband's were 100% paid for by the company.

[sandiegoconservative]

Where do you live? Food prices in my area have increased over the last 4 years, but nowhere near double, for staple items or other items.

[Chavez08]

It's good to hear from the "I've got mine, f*** you!" crowd. That point of view is never heard in corporate mainstream dialogue. It's really quite refreshing!...

[JBS]

They are two separate things, although "stagflation" as you call it, does make it a lot more difficult to be "responsible". You have to have an income that pays for basics before you are able to save part of that income.

We live in a corporate society. Our entire economy is shaped by corporate irresponsibility. The very foundation of the concept of the "LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION" is about shirking responsibility.