OT - Economy and jobs data

[MrSandman]

Being the oldest employee at 57, my health insurance the most expensive, not to mention my pay, it was a no brainer I was the first to be let go, even after glowing reviews.

Oh come on man - you know they can't let you go first for those reasons YEAH RIGHT . I had my wife watch the movie SICKO last night and one thing that I found interesting was the idea that if we need our jobs to have heath insurance unlike other countries than we don't dare make any "waves" for fear of not having our job anymore. The whole idea that we are kept in certain circumstances to make us fear the government and our employer was very interesting.

[JeffH]

Big business used to be American business. It is now Global business and could care less about American workers. They will do anything to cut cost i.e. try to avoid paying American taxes and pay American workers.

What's really sad about this is these are the guys that mainly the republicans have been working for the last 30 years.


JeffH

Jeff, If you think the Democrats represent poor little ole you, you are sadly mistaken.

I'm just SURE that the republicans DON'T.

Income disparity - to use the class warrior's favourite term - is greatest among the districts of lawmakers that lead each party's campaign arm. Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen chairs the Democratic congressional campaign committee. With more than 36,000 prosperous households and a median income of nearly $70,000, his suburban Washington district even out-sparkles Ms Pelosi's. In contrast, fewer than 5,000 such wealthy households are found in the largely rural district of his Republican counterpart, Tom Cole from Oklahoma. The median income there is only $35,500.

I live in this a$$holes district. Talk about doing NOTHING for the average Oklahoman. I have said for a long time if every newspaper would print the voting record of every congressman every week, this country would be in much better shape.

Of course, this article is a perfect explanation of what the repubs did to themselves....you can't be a party that only represents old, white, southern males and expect to have a diverse population to represent.


The article is 18 months old and the only thing that has changed is the Democrats are more slanted to the rich. However. the solution isn't the Republican party. As DS said, they are two sides of the same coin. They both talk populist and act on their best financial interests not yours.

We have a great Constitution. Support it with all your might.

You finally said something I agree with. Of course, you can't have supported bush and actually said you supported the Constitution with a straight face.

[JeffH]

Here's a graph that shows just how scary this one is...

[mindy]

[quote="JeffH"]Here's a graph that shows just how scary this one is...

hmmm - funny thing about graphs ... imho they can show things as very scary or somewhat scary depending on the scales you use and the comparison point(s). I'll admit the constant reports of layoffs are very scary but I'd really like to see a comparison with 1974!

When all we ever hear about is negative news (and when isn't it), we will look at the most pessimistic outcomes (one of Murphy's corollaries). I do realize that for anyone who has been laid off, it truly is the worst outcome.

Mindy

[tyropita]

I'll admit the constant reports of layoffs are very scary but I'd really like to see a comparison with 1974!

Good call, Mindy. 1974 was worse, with quarterly job losses about twice that of the most recent report.

http://www.economist.com/theworldin/dis ... 168&d=2009

1980 and 1982 were also worse. Doesn't lessen the pain for those just laid off, though.

[mindy]

1980 and 1982 were also worse. Doesn't lessen the pain for those just laid off, though.

Very true!

m

[Goofproof]

Can anyone else see a result from $4.50 a gallon gas prices damaging our economy, and the fear it caused, and over night gas pricing went down to under $2.00 a Gallon. One would think that cutting the throat of the U.S. Cash Cow, would have worldwide effects, it did and still does. Bleeding others to make a profit, is the normal way to get ahead in the world, but if you bleed out your market completely everyone looses. Jim

[roster]

Another way to save money in a recession: don't check into the hospital.

More Signs That Hospital Admissions Are Plummeting
By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
Published: February 06, 2009


CLEVELAND, Feb. 6 -- A sharp decline in ordering supplies by hospital managers compared with a year ago, seen in a January survey, is another sign that the slumping economy is taking a toll on admissions.

Nearly 37% of managers said they had ordered fewer supplies in January than a year earlier, while only 20% reported increases. So found a poll of 30 private acute-care hospitals by David Bachman, an analyst at the investment firm of Longbow Research here.


In contrast, a similar survey conducted by Bachman last July found that 48% of managers were ordering more supplies than a year earlier, while less than 9% were decreasing their orders.


"Our Acute Care Hospital Supply Survey results indicate that admissions are down, reflected in volume and price of nearly every supply category we examined," he wrote in a report to clients.


Bachman polls managers at 30 corporate and not-for-profit hospitals of more than 150 beds every three months. The hospitals are located in 11 states, with special focus on Florida, Texas, and California.


The January results also showed that price increases in supplies may be moderating.


Last July, nearly 80% of respondents said average supply prices had increased from a year earlier.


In the most recent poll, however, only 48% reported price increases, whereas 13% said they had seen decreases in average prices.


A different survey by Bachman last month found that 47% of hospitals reported fewer admissions in December than a year earlier, with 40% saying admissions were flat.