Nothing like watching the slow burn of our way of life

Discussion in 'Financial Cents' started by gunbunny, Apr 7, 2013.


  1. gunbunny

    gunbunny Never Trust A Bunny

    I'm sorry if I can't really bring more to the conversation than this article: These Charts Better Not Reflect The True State Of The US Economy | Zero Hedge

    I really feel the need to post this, as it finally shows what we've all been feeling, as we pay for gas and try to get back and forth between the places we MUST travel to for food, work, loved ones, shelter, etc. Public transport may work for a SELECT few, who happen to live close to where they (luckily for now) are working.

    The big question is, can this be attributed to the overall effeciency of our vehicles? First, graphs 1 and two only deal with gasoline products- so that leaves out diesel commercial fleets and such- ups, fed ex, etc. But graph 3 shows the millions of miles driven, and although it is going down, we are still driving A LOT of miles.

    Unlike Europe, our citys, towns, and industries are spread out, with a great potential for long commute times between where we work (if you are lucky enough) and where we live. This graph (#3) shows that we still drive quite a bit. Has efficiency gone up? Yes, it has but only shifted the paradyme somewhat- what happens to that damn prius when the battery packs performance degrade to where they start to become as efficient as my Jeep 18-20 MPG? It's going to happen, it is just a matter of time. Wanna pay $10K to replace them?

    Anyway, graph #4 shows a more telling story. Did the Lehman failure spur a sizeable increase in effeciency? Did the debt ceiling/AAA+ to AAA rating debacle spur another sizeable efficiency increase? I think not.

    Just why do I feel compelled to write this post? I think someone finally found some numbers that aren't artificially manipulated or hoperized.

    I'm just a dumb construction worker (electrician) now going to college for nursing. I'm sure there are a few of you out there that are closer to the industry and have an insight into what is actually going on in a much better way than I can express. What do you all think about it?
     
  2. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    One of the bigger issue's that could be the cause, is the amount of people participating in the labor force. The labor force continues to shrink due to lack of employment and the baby boomer work force aging into retirement. The unemployment numbers have been so manipulated that you can not accurately use that data for reference to the economies health. Everyone keeps saying the unemployment numbers are falling and it is a great sign, but the reality is people are coming off of the unemployment roles and giving up looking for a job.

    Bottom line is there are less people on the road and working than there has been in 34 years. The only difference is the fact we are all driving more miles to get where there is work, which reduces your paycheck by the extra cost in fuel, to earn a living.

    Discouraged job seekers behind shrinking labor force - Yahoo! News
     
    tulianr and Silversnake like this.
  3. Harbin

    Harbin Monkey+

    The company i work for is only adding to the problem, and has been for a few years. The layoffs have been non stop, moving all the jobs to the Philippines and other places where employees are literally making less than 1/10th the pay. My employer is massive, last i heard we had over 160k employees, I'm site we aren't the only ones doing it. I learned Friday this is how they keep us looking profitable. If money in doesn't go up, decease the money out.

    My understanding is this is how many companies so things, and it could also be part of why the stock market is so high.
     
  4. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    The stock market is so pumped with artificial fed dollars and speculators. Another big crash is on the horizon..... [siren]
     
    Moatengator, gunbunny and Silversnake like this.
  5. Cruisin Sloth

    Cruisin Sloth Special & Slow

    Here is some real info that is happening In Canukland .
    RBC is Canada's largest bank (pos in my eyes) Getting India to take over

    And now Chinese miners are here !
    & the Bimbo dictator is in an election this year , These elected scum need to get paid for ????
    There are lines of guys wanting to work in the canadian mines , but they imported Chinese ..
    I feel also for the Chinese worker also , they are in a nightmare of being yelled @ ,,& they are in a totally Georgian world.

    Our farm workers are from Jamaica , trying to get local labour for 10/hr is training new hires every week , equipment is damaged from the weekly type.

    I have no answers , just what I'm seeing

    Sloth
     
  6. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    Gunnbunny,
    First,I flatly and unequivocally reject your comment about being a "dumb construction worker". A "dumb" any kind of worker would not even be looking at this kind of website, let alone grasping the implications that something is wrong here as compared to what we've been told by the so called economy experts. A quality I certainly treasure in a nurse, especially when in the presence of an arrogant doctor.

    I'm an engineer very close to engines. Have things gotten more efficient? Yes, but by only a few percent per year and those improvements don't make all the vehicles from previous years magically more efficient. Charts 3 and 4 don't seem congruent and make me wonder about the accuracy of the data. No way gas consumption would drop 25% in 12 months but the miles traveled remain about the same. I am most suspicious of the miles charts since that probably requires more surveys and guesswork than aggregating sales records.

    Regardless, I concur with your notion that things are not roses and are being hyped. The other piece not getting enough attention is disability. It has become the new lifetime unemployment benefit and sadly tends to trap people there with fewer than 1% of recipients escaping it in any year. And just like those who quit looking for a job, those on the disability roles are not considered unemployed for those stats. Another reason the percentage of the total population in the work force is down even more.

    And so it goes, but this is not sustainable forever.

    AT
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7