Recession is here...Now what?

Discussion in 'Politics & Religion' started by guru-seo, Jan 4, 2008.

  1. #1
    guru-seo, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  2. tesla

    tesla Notable Member

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    #2
    I was reading about this earlier today. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to save money, purchase precious metals, and move into a house if you're still renting an apartment. I would also pay off any debts, and terminate some unnecessary bills. Teaming up with friends or family could also help you shoulder the rough times. Now is also a great time to own your own business, preferably something Internet based. I would advise people to get out of the rat race and avoid living paycheck to paycheck at all costs.

    Guru seo, in all honesty, I feel a great deal of confidence for the future. I'm not concerned about the recession on a personal level, because I knew it was coming, and begin making preparations for it. However, I'm concerned on a national level, because the country itself can head in an adverse direction.
     
    tesla, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  3. bogart

    bogart Notable Member

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    #3
    We're not in a recession yet. But it sure will get ugly once it all plays out. The same guys pushing for the subprime bailout are calling for more handouts.

    Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said the employment figures "should be a wake-up call that a public policy response is needed to help the economy recover more quickly."

    "If there were ever a shot across the bow to this administration to get off its laissez-faire boat and start helping the economy, this is it," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
     
    bogart, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  4. Codythebest

    Codythebest Notable Member

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    #4
    It's a recession when your last month pay check is smaller then this month pay check. Is it?
     
    Codythebest, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  5. bogart

    bogart Notable Member

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    #5
    It's a recession when the other guy looses his job and a depression when you lose yours :D
     
    bogart, Jan 4, 2008 IP
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  6. Mia

    Mia R.I.P. STEVE JOBS

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    #6
    So which is it? Are we on the verge of one, or is it here? Make up your mind.. :rolleyes:
     
    Mia, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  7. smatts9

    smatts9 Active Member

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    #7
    Everyone keeps talking about recessions, and it's just making it worst than it should be.
     
    smatts9, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  8. wisdomtool

    wisdomtool Moderator Staff

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    #8
    Recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline. Recession is not here yet at this moment. Fed and the rest are trying their best to prevent one. But I think what goes up must come down. The economy has been growing at record levels and record periods. It is healthy for a recession (though hopefully it will be a correction instead). Hopefully the policy makers do not make a blunder and cause a full blown hard landing recession instead. But you can trust those guys........
     
    wisdomtool, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  9. Mia

    Mia R.I.P. STEVE JOBS

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    #9
    But isn't that the point? It's much easier to bitch. Iraq war, bad... Things going good? No longer an issue.. Economy good? Must be bad... Some people are just hell bent on doom and gloom..
     
    Mia, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  10. guerilla

    guerilla Notable Member

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    #10
    Who butters Barney's bread?

    http://opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?CID=N00000275&cycle=2008

    And who is buying Chuck Schumer this year?

    http://opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?CID=N00001093&cycle=2008

    Ain't nothing wrong with laissez-faire. Let the market collapse, and don't burden the taxpayer with the consequences. Make the banks pay. The market will rebound quickly as long as it is not interfered with.

    These guys simply don't understand that pumping more credit into the system isn't going to solve this problem. The only way to save it is to tax everyone directly or through deficit/inflation. Why should we pay for these f**kups?
     
    guerilla, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  11. Mia

    Mia R.I.P. STEVE JOBS

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    #11
    No society has ever taxed its way to prosperity...
     
    Mia, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  12. bogart

    bogart Notable Member

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    #12
    Internet business is untested in a recession. Adsense did not start until 2003 and the web as we know it did not start until 1993 with the netscape browser.

    On the plus side -- As the economy slows businesses will go into panic mode and spending on ppc will increase. Additional web spending will come from unemployed people looking for training, jobs and 'how to' type info.

    On the negatve -- Slower economy will mean less dollars for online shopping. Laid off white collar workers will start internet businesses and become competitors for scarce internet dollars.
     
    bogart, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  13. guerilla

    guerilla Notable Member

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    #13
    Exactly. I am dead set against paying out of your or my pockets to save the banks and financial sector. We don't end up with shares in these companies after saving their privately owned asses do we?

    But if they don't tax us direct, they will just print more money to finance deficit spending. So we'll pay through inflation (aka devaluation of our savings).

    One way or another, we're going to pay for it if the government intervenes. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

    Per the other thread where you asked about RP's predictions. He's not a wizard obviously, even if he looks like Gandalf. The Austrian School understands and encompasses economic circumstances like these, and he's an expert on that, which is why he consistently makes accurate forecasts.

    There are predictable consequences to economic intervention in the market. That's why Von Mises wrote, "Human Action".
     
    guerilla, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  14. guerilla

    guerilla Notable Member

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    #14
    I don't think internet dollars will be scarce. Americans will start to compete and drive foreign PPC markets. They will earn Yen and Euros, and convert those into dollars, at a favorable rate.

    After all, how many of us receive exclusive US traffic?
     
    guerilla, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  15. guerilla

    guerilla Notable Member

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    #15
    FED Chairman Ben Bernanke's Breakfast Cereal!

    [​IMG]

    To get the helicopter joke, you have to understand Milton Friedman's theory on the creation of new money and metaphor about how a helicopter flies over the people, dropping the money into the economy. Bernanke's nickname is, "Helicopter Bernanke" because he loves to print more money!
     
    guerilla, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  16. sixfigureblogger

    sixfigureblogger Banned

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    #16
    Blame it all on the liberals... their undermining has finally worked!
     
    sixfigureblogger, Jan 4, 2008 IP
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  17. wisdomtool

    wisdomtool Moderator Staff

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    #17
    If Milton had his way, Federal Reserve will be non existent and Poor Bernanke would lose his job.

     
    wisdomtool, Jan 4, 2008 IP
  18. tesla

    tesla Notable Member

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    #18
    I think the Internet can survive. Has it been tested? No, but you know what, the very fact that only about 15% of the U.S. population is running online companies tells me that the Internet is the place to be. Better to have an online business than be working 9 t0 5 for someone else. I mean, I know that doesn't work during a recession.

    I actually think the Internet will win. While the offline economy is starting to slow down, I see no sign that the Internet is slowing, in fact, the Internet is only accelerating. The Internet also drives down the costs of goods and services, a good thing during a recession.

    For instance, Instead of paying $60 per month on a cell phone bill with a two year contract, like so many people do, I actually have no phone, and rely on Skype. I only pay $34 per year for unlimited long distance to the U.S. and Canada. What large phone company is going to give you a deal like that? AT&T, Verizon.......please, only a small Internet company like Skype can give you that type of deal.

    The way I see it, by using Skype instead of one of the oligopoly phone companies, I save $686 per year, money that can be put towards my business, food, or a bunch of other stuff. Bogart, another thing you have to think about is the fact that with the Internet, anyone who has a large holding of money can act as an employer of others, and you don't need a lot.

    I can hire a bunch of people here at DP if I needed to, which would create jobs and money for them. The Internet is an economy which is only lightly connected to the physical one. The only weakness of the Internet that I see is the fact that we are using dollars to pay for things, and if the dollar goes, there goes our currency. But if we switched to silver or gold, or some other currency, this problem could be easily avoided.

    Bogart, it is pretty obvious to me that the net will withstand this. Anyone who is making money off the Internet right now is probably going to survive and prosper during the recession. While I never advocate relying exclusively on Google Adsense, I don't see Adsense slowing down anytime soon, simply because Google owns that particular niche, and advertising in itself is pretty universal.

    The number one reason why I think the Internet will continue to explode during a recession is because it is a free market, unlike the offline business world. As me and Guerilla have stated so many times, the reason why we're headed into a recession is because we have an economy which is "managed", managed by a group of people who are only looking to dominate the rest of us.

    The Internet is managed by "no one" yet, and we need to keep it that way. As long at the net is a free market, it can survive any type of economic recession, even a depression. In all honesty, if anyone needed food to eat, and was starving, I could hire them to do work for me, or they could get work from someone else here at DP, and they could do it quick.


    With the Internet, there is no reason why anyone should not have a job, period. If you are a programmer, writer, artist, or musician, there is somebody somewhere on the web who will hire you if you give them the right price. This is the benefits of a free market economy. And if you don't have the skills in a particular area, there are plenty of free online courses where you can learn certain skills without having to dig into your pockets.
     
    tesla, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  19. demosfen

    demosfen Peon

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    #19
    "Public policy response" is the code word for screwing people even more. They never talk about going back to free market as a solution, it's always more goberment intervention
     
    demosfen, Jan 5, 2008 IP
  20. Codythebest

    Codythebest Notable Member

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    #20
    I agree. If all news were good, there will be a recession for news peole :D
    Or, a good news channel will compete, but maybe people are not interested about good news. They want blood and crashes...It's more entertaining...
     
    Codythebest, Jan 5, 2008 IP