[BotByte]

Maybe this thread should be merged with the 9/11 thread?
 
Conspiracy theories rot the brain, ya know? Well, I guess that's all what a audiophile is about....
 
How the economy has effected me: Or I'm just cheap:
 
I went to Goodwill to get some LP's. Saw 5/$1 sale on certain colored tags.
 
I picked ten out for $2 and went to the check out. Btw: Found Holst the Planets!!!
 
Then I had a argument with the girl that the difference of tags that were on a sleeve. One was larger and red, the other was the goodwill tag and blue (on sale)
 
The manager was called and was sorted out. I paid in pennies.
 
EDIT: I saved $0.25

 

[Happy Camper]

This thread is about how the economy has impacted persons of Head Fi. Please let this be brought back on track. The beliefs of individuals on the details of 9/11 will be inconclusive and eventually locked because of juvenile name calling and accusations that can't be proven, including those of the hired "experts" from both sides.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Er, let's try to get this thread back to the economy. Conspiracy theories tend to fall into the political range of discussion.

I don't believe in conspiracies. Mostly because the financial shenanigans happen openly these days.

What I found completely horrifying was when FASB was gamed to change the mark-to-market rule.

For those who don't know, FASB sets the accounting rules and mark-to-market required accountants to value things at what their market value is. Makes sense, doesn't it?

The new rule is best phrased as "just make up whatever value you want." In other words, a bank can take a 50¢ ballpoint pen and list it as a $1,000,000 asset on their books. That's legal under the new rule.

Banks have a lending ratio, where they cannot lend out more than a certain multiple of the assets they have on the books. If a bank has insufficient assets, it is insolvent and gets taken over by the Fed.

You can see where this is going.

The banks needed to get rid of mark-to-market, otherwise, all of them would be insolvent. They have all kinds of loans outstanding based on the "value" of bubble-inflated real estate. So now they give pulled-out-of-the-backside fantasy valuations to worthless property. Legally.

There are no shadowy figures or secret cabals. They did this in the open. You can read the new FASB rule.

It's just that no one pays attention and even fewer care.

Like I said before, this isn't going to end well.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Well here in Kelowna Canada we have no shortage of jobs and everywhere seems to be hiring. Makes me feel like we are not in a recession which we undoubtedly are.

 

[Todd R]

Want to know how the economy has affected me? 

Went back to school in 07 to retrain for a new career in a supposedly "hot" career field (CAD Design & Drafting). Got hired right out of school in 08. 
Worked until March 2010 when they gave me the boot.
Looked for work for AN ENTIRE YEAR!
Never in my life have I been off that long.
Finally got something a few weeks before benefits ran out.
 
Now I have to do 2 jobs at this company for next to no money. 
 
They are taking from what's left of the middle class, the poor & retired in order to give these so called "job creators" another tax break????? What!
They haven't brought any jobs. It's time to quit tossing money down that hole. 
(I'm from Michigan, check out the unbelievable crap our new Fascist governor is pulling) 
 
What we need to do:
Eliminate the cap on social security. The people who earn over $106,800 need to pay the same rate as those who earn under that amount. (Link) No reason for a break at that income level. 
SS Problem solved!
 
Eliminate the Bush Tax cuts and other loopholes. We need to raise revenue. You wouldn't run your household this way. If you got rid of most every expense and still were short, you'd get another job, right? Some way to bring some more money in, right?
 
Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq ASAP. Wars be VERY expensive (and we didn't get our free oil). 
 
 

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Well here in Kelowna Canada we have no shortage of jobs and everywhere seems to be hiring. Makes me feel like we are not in a recession which we undoubtedly are.

That's it. I'm moving to Canada.
 
America, it's been fun.

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Eliminate the cap on social security. The people who earn over $106,800 need to pay the same rate as those who earn under that amount. (Link) No reason for a break at that income level. 
SS Problem solved!
 
Eliminate the Bush Tax cuts and other loopholes. We need to raise revenue. You wouldn't run your household this way. If you got rid of most every expense and still were short, you'd get another job, right? Some way to bring some more money in, right?
 
Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq ASAP. Wars be VERY expensive (and we didn't get our free oil). 
 
 

Are you a handsome devil? Because I would like to elect you as our next figurehead.
 
Yes, I voted for Obama because he is good looking.
 
But seriously, it's like roughly 60-75% of our money is going to the war(S). And the citizens blame everyone for the war and not pulling out. We need to just squat and high tale it out of there.
 
Sorry, there isn't any "official" graph showing my figures. You can ask why there isn't.
 

 

[Currawong]

Grow your own food. Don't depend on anyone. As soon as you do then you are setting yourself up for a big fall. 
 
As for myself, the crash in 2008 ended up wiping out most of my work. It is only now that I've managed to recover. I've been lucky in that I don't have debts and had enough spare cash I could survive. 
 
Japanese people are clever in this way. It is normal for a 30 year old salaryman to have saved up the equivalent of $100k already.

 

[Happy Camper]

War has the biggest profit and will continue for as long as money can be made. We pay for it by having our economy stripped of value by creative lawmakers, directed by the profiteers.

 

[Elysian]

The economy's been absolutely brutal on people who work in design and art (minus front-end software developers and technical UI designers).  I know some people who work in art outsourcing and have worked with a number of grads from the for-profit art schools.  It's really stunning how many people getting a 4-year degree in video game art and design can't even land a blackbox QA/tester position, and end up getting a retail/service job to begin paying off the $50k+ in loans they've left school with.  I think student loans are the only kind of loan you can't even default on, so it's an albatross students are stuck wearing for the rest of their lives.  I know there are plenty of new grads leaving undergrad programs with liberal arts degrees they're unemployable with, but I think it's even worse with for-profit schools.  Those guys have curriculum with less transferable credits than a low-end community college.
 
To expand a bit off of Currawong's point, how do people manage their savings outside of the US?  In the US, it seems that common wisdom is to put your money in a 401k, but my 401k's gotten hammered this year.  If I didn't bet against the US, I'd be even worse off for the year.  If I take the tax deductions into account, I think I'm still net positive for my 401k this year, but there doesn't seem to be a safe place anywhere for your money, other than treasury bonds.
 
The self-sufficiency thing seems to be getting more and more popular with people I speak with, especially military vets.  Get a nice plot of land up in the Pacific northwest, be able to live partially off the land, and stock up as much survival supplies and rations, ammunition, and be as off-grid as possible when it comes to electricity and water (adopting a lot of the green building ideas and technologies).

 

[Happy Camper]

The economy's been absolutely brutal on people who work in design and art (minus front-end software developers and technical UI designers).  I know some people who work in art outsourcing and have worked with a number of grads from the for-profit art schools.  It's really stunning how many people getting a 4-year degree in video game art and design can't even land a blackbox QA/tester position, and end up getting a retail/service job to begin paying off the $50k+ in loans they've left school with.  I think student loans are the only kind of loan you can't even default on, so it's an albatross students are stuck wearing for the rest of their lives.  I know there are plenty of new grads leaving undergrad programs with liberal arts degrees they're unemployable with, but I think it's even worse with for-profit schools.  Those guys have curriculum with less transferable credits than a low-end community college.
 
To expand a bit off of Currawong's point, how do people manage their savings outside of the US?  In the US, it seems that common wisdom is to put your money in a 401k, but my 401k's gotten hammered this year.  If I didn't bet against the US, I'd be even worse off for the year.  If I take the tax deductions into account, I think I'm still net positive for my 401k this year, but there doesn't seem to be a safe place anywhere for your money, other than treasury bonds.
 
The self-sufficiency thing seems to be getting more and more popular with people I speak with, especially military vets.  Get a nice plot of land up in the Pacific northwest, be able to live partially off the land, and stock up as much survival supplies and rations, ammunition, and be as off-grid as possible when it comes to electricity and water (adopting a lot of the green building ideas and technologies).

Indeed. For me, that includes not putting my money in investments that can be taken by the shell game, including banks.

 

[KneelJung]

 
Quote:

War has the biggest profit and will continue for as long as money can be made. We pay for it by having our economy stripped of value by creative lawmakers, directed by the profiteers.

Yeah war is a racket, at least that's what Gen. Smedley Butler once said; and for those of you who dont believe in conspiracies per se look up the General and his role in circumventing a conspiracy.
 
Eric makes a great point about the level of impunity, and the lack of accountability that goes on, A point Elysian made the other day too, with that article he linked
 
Paul Craig Roberts, the former asst Treasury Secretary for Ronal Reagan commented on this a while back too:
 
Truth Has Fallen and Taken Liberty With It
 
 

 

[alphaphoenix]

For me, well, I don't spend foolishly as much as I use to.  I stopped buying my daily coffee at Starbucks and now make coffee at home and take it with me.  I would love to buy a new car, but holding out.  I don't eat out as much, which is a good thing because family dinners at a set dining table seems to be more of a rarity now a days.  Job wise, like other members working for large software companies, it has been a padded industry, which we should all feel very fortunate about.  Sadly, I don't remember the last time I worked a 40 hr week even though that's all I'm getting paid to do.
 
Oh, and I stopped contributing to my 401K for now.  

 

[Audio-Omega]

What area of CAD / drafting are you in ?  Some employers in Australia couldn't find people to work in that area.  

 

[Todd R]

Quote:

What area of CAD / drafting are you in ?  Some employers in Australia couldn't find people to work in that area.  

Mechanical things.