5 ms·

Not when we're in a great worldwide depression. When the US baby boomers, the world's biggest/baddest consumers, are retiring or being too expensive to be hire

Not when we're in a great worldwide depression. When the US baby boomers, the world's biggest/baddest consumers, are retiring or being too expensive to be hired. When automation/free software have permanently reduced human worker needs. When the developed countries - the ones with trillions of debt and aging population - have willingly given up their factories to the emerging countries, and are desperately searching for other ways to pay back their debt besides financial engineering.

jacquesm 16y ago
I get sick & tired of all this doom talk about a worldwide depression. It's depressing. If you play it smart then this 'depression' is an opportunity in disguise, more of a correction than a true depression. The 1929 stock market crash set the stage for World War II, and it took until well after World War II before the world had finally recovered from it. That was a depression. The current situation is, compared to that, a mere bump in the road. As long as we're not seeing hyper-inflation, the general population still has food on the table and you can actually think about where you're going to take your holiday this year we're not even close. The really bad effects of what is going on in the market are still limited to a number of markets, mostly financing and the more expensive consumer items. There are knock on effects that hurt other industries but so far without the nightmare scenarios coming true. One thing is for sure, the time of 'easy money' from stocks or real estate investments is going to be over for a while.
- startuprules 16y ago
  "all this doom talk about a worldwide depression." Pretty sure I'm one of the only few posters here that would say the words 'great depression'. and 'voldemort'. "It's depressing" I know it is. But we as a population have to realize we are in a depression, not just a run of the mill recession like the mass media would have you believe, so we can react accordingly and not doom our future offsprings to even greater suffering. "As long as we're not seeing hyper-inflation, the general population still has food on the table and you can actually think about where you're going to take your holiday this year we're not even close." Hyperinflation, not yet. 25% unemployed in the last depression, but they had soup lines to not go hungry. US has ~20% unemployment, and we have food stamps/unemployment benefits mailed to our house. As for the holiday..well you and I, we're in the lucky 80%.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    It's not as if the normal conditions are 0% unemployment. Also, society as a whole is so much richer now than it was in the last 'great depression' that even those that are down on their luck have it comparatively easy compared with 80 years ago. It's a world of a difference. That doesn't mean there aren't individuals that are on really hard times, but there are only more of them, it's not like the phenomenon is unique to 2010.
    - jbooth 16y ago
      No, it's not, but the current situation smacks of systemic job loss rather than cyclical job loss. It's a problem. What happens when people absolutely can't find new jobs? Self-feeding demand destruction?
      - roel_v 16y ago
        "No, it's not, but the current situation smacks of systemic job loss rather than cyclical job loss." Sounds like we're back in the 80's - 'the Japanese are taking our jobs! The robots did it!' and then we went into the 20 most prosperous years humankind has ever known. I hear people cry left and right that today's job loss is systemic, but I hardly see any factual arguments to support that position. Jobs were cut over the last two years, this quarter profits are back up, and if those improved profits repeat themselves for a few quarters the confidence will come back and more people will be hired. A regular business cycle, even if the nature of the drivers is changing. Now I'm not saying it doesn't suck for those without a job, and I'm sure some people have it really rough, but come on like Jacques says - today's poor (in the West) live lives 10 times better than the kings of 500 years ago. I'm sure that's no consolation for a welfare mom who has to put her children to bed some nights crying because they're hungry, but overall, these are still great times to live in. Let's keep some perspective, put problems in the right context and fix the comparatively small deficiencies rather than cry wolf, pack cans of beans and ammo and head for the mountains.
        startuprules 16y ago
- tomjen3 16y ago
  During the depression people lived in shacks made of cardboard, did have any money for clothing or even toilet paper and where in many cases starving. And you are telling me we are in a depression now?
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    No, but I think you replied to the wrong entry.
  - ahoyhere 16y ago
    Google "tent cities": http://www.google.com/search?q=tent%20cities http://www.google.com/search?q=tent%20cities And the reason you don't see it every day? The criminalization of homelessness: http://www.google.com/search?q=criminalization%20homelessness http://www.google.com/search?q=criminalization%20homelessnes... The cushion is slightly greater because the lifestyles before this depression were higher than in the Great Depression (e.g. people have tents), there are more laws to protect lessees from landlords, and, of course, many people have credit. But those are just cushioning. Cushioning slows the fall, it doesn't stop it. It seems like about 25% of all children live in poverty - and the US' lines for poverty are lower than in many other countries: http://www.google.com/search?q=US%20percentage%20of%20children%20in%20poverty http://www.google.com/search?q=US%20percentage%20of%20childr...

jacquesm 16y ago

I get sick & tired of all this doom talk about a worldwide depression. It's depressing. If you play it smart then this 'depression' is an opportunity in disguise, more of a correction than a true depression. The 1929 stock market crash set the stage for World War II, and it took until well after World War II before the world had finally recovered from it. That was a depression. The current situation is, compared to that, a mere bump in the road. As long as we're not seeing hyper-inflation, the general population still has food on the table and you can actually think about where you're going to take your holiday this year we're not even close. The really bad effects of what is going on in the market are still limited to a number of markets, mostly financing and the more expensive consumer items. There are knock on effects that hurt other industries but so far without the nightmare scenarios coming true. One thing is for sure, the time of 'easy money' from stocks or real estate investments is going to be over for a while.

startuprules 16y ago
"all this doom talk about a worldwide depression." Pretty sure I'm one of the only few posters here that would say the words 'great depression'. and 'voldemort'. "It's depressing" I know it is. But we as a population have to realize we are in a depression, not just a run of the mill recession like the mass media would have you believe, so we can react accordingly and not doom our future offsprings to even greater suffering. "As long as we're not seeing hyper-inflation, the general population still has food on the table and you can actually think about where you're going to take your holiday this year we're not even close." Hyperinflation, not yet. 25% unemployed in the last depression, but they had soup lines to not go hungry. US has ~20% unemployment, and we have food stamps/unemployment benefits mailed to our house. As for the holiday..well you and I, we're in the lucky 80%.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  It's not as if the normal conditions are 0% unemployment. Also, society as a whole is so much richer now than it was in the last 'great depression' that even those that are down on their luck have it comparatively easy compared with 80 years ago. It's a world of a difference. That doesn't mean there aren't individuals that are on really hard times, but there are only more of them, it's not like the phenomenon is unique to 2010.
  - jbooth 16y ago
    No, it's not, but the current situation smacks of systemic job loss rather than cyclical job loss. It's a problem. What happens when people absolutely can't find new jobs? Self-feeding demand destruction?
    - roel_v 16y ago
      "No, it's not, but the current situation smacks of systemic job loss rather than cyclical job loss." Sounds like we're back in the 80's - 'the Japanese are taking our jobs! The robots did it!' and then we went into the 20 most prosperous years humankind has ever known. I hear people cry left and right that today's job loss is systemic, but I hardly see any factual arguments to support that position. Jobs were cut over the last two years, this quarter profits are back up, and if those improved profits repeat themselves for a few quarters the confidence will come back and more people will be hired. A regular business cycle, even if the nature of the drivers is changing. Now I'm not saying it doesn't suck for those without a job, and I'm sure some people have it really rough, but come on like Jacques says - today's poor (in the West) live lives 10 times better than the kings of 500 years ago. I'm sure that's no consolation for a welfare mom who has to put her children to bed some nights crying because they're hungry, but overall, these are still great times to live in. Let's keep some perspective, put problems in the right context and fix the comparatively small deficiencies rather than cry wolf, pack cans of beans and ammo and head for the mountains.
      - startuprules 16y ago
tomjen3 16y ago
During the depression people lived in shacks made of cardboard, did have any money for clothing or even toilet paper and where in many cases starving. And you are telling me we are in a depression now?
- jacquesm 16y ago
  No, but I think you replied to the wrong entry.
- ahoyhere 16y ago
  Google "tent cities": http://www.google.com/search?q=tent%20cities http://www.google.com/search?q=tent%20cities And the reason you don't see it every day? The criminalization of homelessness: http://www.google.com/search?q=criminalization%20homelessness http://www.google.com/search?q=criminalization%20homelessnes... The cushion is slightly greater because the lifestyles before this depression were higher than in the Great Depression (e.g. people have tents), there are more laws to protect lessees from landlords, and, of course, many people have credit. But those are just cushioning. Cushioning slows the fall, it doesn't stop it. It seems like about 25% of all children live in poverty - and the US' lines for poverty are lower than in many other countries: http://www.google.com/search?q=US%20percentage%20of%20children%20in%20poverty http://www.google.com/search?q=US%20percentage%20of%20childr...