Who Says There's No Recession

[Medusa]

That does seem very practical, but I don't know how good that might be.
Wouldn't you hate to be forced to pick a stranger to be a housemate?

I think that probably after having spent night after night in the parking lot, they probably get to know each other. Three or four women could join forces and combine incomes and get a place together, perhaps not in Santa Barbara but it's what I would do. It's certainly preferable to a 67 year old woman sleeping in her car w/two huge dogs. It's such an awful indictment of the U.S. and how our govt. promises to take care of its own but, in reality, it turns a blind eye to people like the ones on this video. It's so sad and scary. It could happen to any one of us. One spell of ill health and/or unemployment and we could be in that very predicament.

[Lady's Human]

Regardless of what the economy is doing, on any given day in any given city or town in the US you can find similar stories. Is it right? not neccesarily (I know of cases where people have frustrated everyone who has tried to help them, abused the help, and wound up on the street, hence the not neccesarily). I know of several similar cases personally from the "booming" economy of the '90s. They just didn't make CNN.

It's funny how they only seem to trot these stories out into the headlines when there's an election going on.

[RICHARD]

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_9316198

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The people who have caused the housing collapse are the same ones working in the industry.

I have a long and pompous rant about some of the shenanigans that went on.

I'll start another thread.

[Medusa]

[QUOTE=Lady's Human;2014808]Regardless of what the economy is doing, on any given day in any given city or town in the US you can find similar stories. Is it right? not neccesarily (I know of cases where people have frustrated everyone who has tried to help them, abused the help, and wound up on the street, hence the not neccesarily). I know of several similar cases personally from the "booming" economy of the '90s. They just didn't make CNN.QUOTE]

True, but this woman is 67 years old and she is still working. I do believe that there are people who slip through the cracks, regardless of the ones who refuse or abuse all help. I know how it feels to be a breath away from homeless and I was working two jobs at the time, so I'm sure that there are others who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in a similar situation. Yes, "you will always have the poor w/you" but that doesn't make it right. Not all, but some people are indeed worthy of compassion and our help.

[Lady's Human]

My point, very simply, is this. Stories like this happen all the time, and are not proof of a recession.

[Medusa]

My point, very simply, is this. Stories like this happen all the time, and are not proof of a recession.

Agreed.

[lizbud]

My point, very simply, is this. Stories like this happen all the time, and are not proof of a recession.

I disagree. It happens in much greater numbers than it ever has before.

I can't remember another time when prices on EVERYTHING has risen in
record numbers & personal income has stagnated or stopped altogether,
by layoffs or plant shutdowns. All these things plus the mortgage mess,
has led to this. Calling it a economic slowdown if it makes you feel better
but it sounds like full fledged recession to me.

[Medusa]

Calling it a economic slowdown if it makes you feel better but it sounds like full fledged recession to me.

I can't speak for others but I'm not disagreeing that we're in a recession. I am, however, agreeing that situations such as the one on the posted video, have existed regardless of the economic conditions.

[Lady's Human]

I can't remember another time when prices on EVERYTHING has risen in
record numbers & personal income has stagnated or stopped altogether,
by layoffs or plant shutdowns.

Try the late '70s to early 80s? That was made worse by a prime interest rate in the teens, combined with unemployment near 10%, as opposed to a prime rate now around 5% and unemployment around 4%.

Here's a graph of unemployment data:

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/j/jensena/sfp/us/US-UR-50.htm

inflation data:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:U..._Inflation.svg

and Prime interest rate data:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/PRIME.txt
(look at the prime rate for 1978-1982 and figure what your prime+10% charge account would be at those rates)