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Originally Posted by filtherton
Crime, arguably a relevant economic indicator, is going up. In my area this is due to the "starve the beast" policies of our supply side minded governer. Police funding is such that the police don't even really patrol anymore. They just move from one call to the next. Libraries are closing down. The costs of a higher education are constantly increasing, also due to funding cuts indirectly related to supply side philosophy. Nationally wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Locally, the largest decreases in unemployment come from people deciding that they aren't going to seek employment anymore. I hear about the "good news" and it doesn't really seem all that significant to me.
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Police funding is mostly local
Library funding is mostly local
Higher Education is mostly State funded, costs are increasing due to waste and ineffeciency.
Employment statistics don't take into account people who choose to work in the underground economy, and the statistics are inadequate in measuring people choosing business ownership or becoming independent contractors.
Crime is generally down, it depends on time periods measured. Crime rates are more closely connected to the illegal drug culture not the economy.
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Originally Posted by ASU2003
I wouldn't say everything is great yet.
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Nor would I.
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The savings rate is negative, and most Americans have some credit card debt. But this isn't the governments fault, it is people want to keep up with people around them.
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Savings statistics often fail to account for home equity and the value of pensions. I generally agree Americans need to save more.
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... but we never hear about how many people lose their jobs and have to foreclose on their homes (or get bought out at 50% before it goes to the bank).
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We don't hear about it much because it doesn't happen much. I read some where a while ago the forclosure rate was less than 1%. Even if today its 2%, that is nothing to worry about, unless you are in that 2%.
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There are a lot of people who have lost money in their homes now. Some people bought them at the high, and would owe tens of thousands of dollars if they couldn't sell it at the same price. And people can't easily buy and sell houses they need to live in.
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There is a long post on the housing bubble that argues the point above.
I don't agree that a lot of people have lost money on their homes. In my view loss or gain is only measured when you sell. If a person has negative equity in a home they will live in for a long time, the short-term negative equity is meaningless.
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Our government might not be running as big of deficits, but our national debt isn't getting any smaller. And that accounts for 15% of the taxes we pay.
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I agree. We need to reduce spending. However, the national debt as a percentage of GDP is in-line with historical averages.
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What other type of economic theory is there that doesn't work?
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I used to think Keynesian Economics was the best way to manage national economies. I don't think it works longterm. In the end you have big government and a lot of inefficiencies.
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There is some need for government regulations. Look at Mexico and India as examples of what happens when there is little regulation. People might say, car manufactures will ensure that they sell the safest car, because consumers won't buy one that isn't safe. But why would any car maker add in safety features, if the Wal-Mart of the auto industry came out with a $4,000 car that was unsafe, but had extremely high sales. If the big auto makers thought that is what the market wanted, would they produce that car and save a ton of money? Or would government regulations protect the consumer from it's own stupidity?
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I generally agree. There is a fine line between the correct amount of regulation and over-regulation.
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Why do any of the fast food restaurants need to switch cooking oils in the US like they have in other countries? The consumer wants food at the lowest price, regardless if it will result in gaining weight and having massive health bills later in life. I have very few choices if I want to get healthy fast food right now. But, the government can step in and say raise the prices .25 cents, but use the better cooking oil.
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The best fries are cooked in lard. Healthy minded people should eat baked potatoes. Government need to stay out of the kitchen.