Off Topic Question....

[Liftedup]

For those of you who live in other countries besides the USA, are they telling you in your news that the economy is collapsing here?

Its getting serious. So many empty storefronts and more.

[Rosemary]

yes we know lifted  and its the same here empty shops in towns and in malls .

[Liftedup]

Thanks Rosemary. Yeah this was the richer town and now things are closing up and we are seeing more empty houses.

[JennyWren]

The nastiest thing I am noticing in the UK is that as money gets thinner and thinner on the ground...as ever...it seems government save money on easy targets first. Disability benefits have become a contentious issue as a Bill to change the law has gone back and forth trying to ram through changes...while Bank executives continue to collect massive bonuses...and rich folks still employ accountants to help them "legally" avoid tax.

If you have money...it`s easy to swerve regulations and taxes...while folks at the bottom of the pile get walloped from every direction. Inflation, tax increases, unemployment blah-de-blah.

I don`t think this global economic crisis is going to go away anytime soon. The whole financial market was built on sand. Sinking sand.

[MoreMyself]

Here in Australia, we are told we have a two-speed economy.  In the outback mining towns, they can't get enough employees and there's a boom going on as we dig up the minerals and sell them to China.  In the cities, retail is suffering as people have cut back on spending.  House prices have dipped a bit but we don't see the same situation as in the US because you can't walk away from your house here and leave the keys in the mailbox, as I've heard people are doing.  The banks will go after other assets it you do that here. 

I think that people are cautious and that they are also nervous that things will get worse.  No country is isolated from this massive hangover from the spending binge of the nineties and noughties and the subsequent financial crisis.  I don't think things will ever go back to the way they were but I'm hopeful that a balance will be reached at some point so that people feel more hopeful about the future. I think overall there is more hope here than in the US or Europe.

[HealingDaughter]

I live in middle America and we are actually seeming to see a slight rebound in our economy. The real estate market seems to have slightly recovered and people are building again. There are parts of the city I live in (population 900,000 in metro area) that are showing fairly large growth. A year and a half ago was horrible though. We tried selling our house and it sat for 6 months with only 3 people even looking at it, no offers, before we pulled it back off the market. Jobs are ok here...not great, but ok. My husband's company (aerospace industry) actually had such an increase in business in the past year that he will be getting the most sizable bonus he's ever received before. I know things are still bad elsewhere in the U.S. we have friends all over and it's mostly bad news on the coasts and major cities.

[Liftedup]

The nastiest thing I am noticing in the UK is that as money gets thinner and thinner on the ground...as ever...it seems government save money on easy targets first. Disability benefits have become a contentious issue as a Bill to change the law has gone back and forth trying to ram through changes...while Bank executives continue to collect massive bonuses...and rich folks still employ accountants to help them "legally" avoid tax.

If you have money...it`s easy to swerve regulations and taxes...while folks at the bottom of the pile get walloped from every direction. Inflation, tax increases, unemployment blah-de-blah.

I don`t think this global economic crisis is going to go away anytime soon. The whole financial market was built on sand. Sinking sand.

I agree the little people are getting smacked down

and its interesting how they go after the disabled first instead of the trillions of dollars for war and banker bail-outs.

[Liftedup]

Here in Australia, we are told we have a two-speed economy.  In the outback mining towns, they can't get enough employees and there's a boom going on as we dig up the minerals and sell them to China.  In the cities, retail is suffering as people have cut back on spending.  House prices have dipped a bit but we don't see the same situation as in the US because you can't walk away from your house here and leave the keys in the mailbox, as I've heard people are doing.  The banks will go after other assets it you do that here. 

I think that people are cautious and that they are also nervous that things will get worse.  No country is isolated from this massive hangover from the spending binge of the nineties and noughties and the subsequent financial crisis.  I don't think things will ever go back to the way they were but I'm hopeful that a balance will be reached at some point so that people feel more hopeful about the future. I think overall there is more hope here than in the US or Europe.

Sounds like things are a bit more hopeful there. Oh they will go after your assets too here, if you have any left, and sue you into the ground. Some of us are worried about them bringing debtors prisons back.

[Liftedup]

I live in middle America and we are actually seeming to see a slight rebound in our economy. The real estate market seems to have slightly recovered and people are building again. There are parts of the city I live in (population 900,000 in metro area) that are showing fairly large growth. A year and a half ago was horrible though. We tried selling our house and it sat for 6 months with only 3 people even looking at it, no offers, before we pulled it back off the market. Jobs are ok here...not great, but ok. My husband's company (aerospace industry) actually had such an increase in business in the past year that he will be getting the most sizable bonus he's ever received before. I know things are still bad elsewhere in the U.S. we have friends all over and it's mostly bad news on the coasts and major cities.

Glad things are better where you are at. It's bad news around here. I am tired of husband's job problems which probably supercede the economy. Hope you can sell your house. A husband with a real job and career sounds like an incredible blessing. Are you all going to stay and not sell the house now?