Quote: (03-06-2013 07:05 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
Quote: (03-06-2013 04:30 AM)Hooligan Harry Wrote:
Quote: (03-05-2013 08:33 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
I agree with Kenny in that DC destroys other places except in the women category. All of my DC homies are doing well in terms of upward mobility. Can't say that about people in other US cities. The economies there just aren't as stable.
Which should concern the living shit out of you?
You are awash in tax payer money, not productivity.
Wrong. That notion is old right-wing conservative dogma. Where are the facts? This is the definitive post on why DC has gotten wealthy relative to the rest of the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonk...ezra-klein
The federal regulatory burden, measured by the number of regulators employed, hasn't gone up much, and has actually fallen since 1980. The total amount of government spending [of taxpayer money] is about the same since then. You might think privatisation of government functions could drive up wage premiums, but contrary to received wisdom, the share of federal spending going to private contractors has actually fallen substantially since 1980. The level of education relative to the rest of the country isn't changing much. The one factor that does look like it tracks the rise in Washington's wage premium is the amount spent on lobbying by businesses ["productivity money"].
So to answer your baseless question, no I am not concerned.
Baseless? Right wing conservative dogma? That same right wing conservative dogma on which the US built its prosperity in the first place?
The fact that DC is doing well while the rest of the country flounders is not a sign that DC is doing well.
Its a sign that government spending is out of whack while the ship goes down.
It means government has the champagne corks flying while the people drink muddy water. It should be a concern to you because its unsustainable. You are living off a credit card. The only thing that you are destroying is the wealth of your own people, and indirectly taking down half the western world at the moment.
This is what Washington DC has done.
Here, from Zero Hedge yesterday
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Then 14164.5; Now 14164.5
Regular Gas Price: Then $2.75; Now $3.73
GDP Growth: Then +2.5%; Now +1.6%
Americans Unemployed (in Labor Force): Then 6.7 million; Now 13.2 million
Americans On Food Stamps: Then 26.9 million; Now 47.69 million
Size of Fed's Balance Sheet: Then $0.89 trillion; Now $3.01 trillion
US Debt as a Percentage of GDP: Then ~38%; Now 74.2%
US Deficit (LTM): Then $97 billion; Now $975.6 billion
Total US Debt Oustanding: Then $9.008 trillion; Now $16.43 trillion
US Household Debt: Then $13.5 trillion; Now 12.87 trillion
Labor Force Particpation Rate: Then 65.8%; Now 63.6%
Consumer Confidence: Then 99.5; Now 69.6
S&P Rating of the US: Then AAA; Now AA+
VIX: Then 17.5%; Now 14%
10 Year Treasury Yield: Then 4.64%; Now 1.89%
USDJPY: Then 117; Now 93
EURUSD: Then 1.4145; Now 1.3050
Gold: Then $748; Now $1583
NYSE Average LTM Volume (per day): Then 1.3 billion shares; Now 545 million shares
Let them eat cake eh?
As I said in the post I made. We live in a cultural and economic sinking ship and the entire western world is attached to it now. Only resource rich countries are going to weather the storm, but even they are going to see substantial declines in standard of living that could last for a decade or two as we work this out of the system.
That life for you at the moment is ok does not mean that all is right with the world long term. Its an incredibly short sighted and simplistic view to take. With 16 trillion dollars debt and counting its no wonder your mates are seeing upward mobility.
In my dogmatic, right wing, conservative point of view of course.