<p>ebeeeee - I see the same indifference to financial consequences around here. I live in a very small, affluent area (well, at least it appears to be affluent). Time after time, I have seen people lose their expensive homes to foreclosure and rent an equally expensive house down the street. Their kids are still driving expensive cars, wearing $500 prom dresses and the Moms are posting pictures of lavish vacations on Facebook. </p>
<p>My 13yo daughter asked my the other day if she could get some expensive designer shorts like XXXX. I told her XXXX parent’s names have been in the paper for the last month because their house was being foreclosed. So, no, she could not get the designer shorts.</p>
<p>I can’t predict all the consequences if the Euro collapses but it cannot be good. More banks could close and we could see another stock market crash. </p>
<p>Anecdotally, houses around here are not selling even at prices not seen since the 90s. I recently traveled to what I thought was a high-end destination, Santa Fe. The downtown looked like a ghost town. Stores closing and going out of business sales. Restaurants with no customers. </p>
<p>None of this makes me feel optimistic at all.</p>
<p>" Don’t blame the economy on Atlantic City Casino problems " </p>
<p>I didn’t , and don’t blame the economy on the AC casinos and their problems for the bad economy
I’m simply stating that many people in our area are or were employed by the casinos and many of them have lost their jobs…it’s a fact</p>
<p>Casinos and tourism are the largest employers in my area and both are suffering and have been in the last few years</p>
<p>Many jobs have been lost and those are a big source of income for the small business owners in our community…businesses that range from retail , restaurant, construction service trades and beyond</p>
<p>It all trickles down and those of us who have to make their own paycheck are feeling it
We are not living in a commuting area to a major city where we have the luxury of relying on endless stream of diamond dripping , Mercedes driving folks with Platinum Amex status people who don’t see it from the point of view of those who struggle in tough times</p>
<p>I’m guessing that in the burbs of Philadelphia , where traffic is always jammed in the areas of strip malls filled with Whole Foods , REI and other retailers who cater to people with expendable income , the impact isn’t felt as much as it is in areas such as mine , but that doesn’t mean that all is well in the general population outside of Utopia</p>
<p>qdog, I can name dozens of Doctors, Lawyers and long established business owners who have foreclosed. And the names keep coming. I live on a resort island that had a CRAZY run up in real estate prices and people kept pulling out equity and/or buying additional real estate thinking that the gravy train would never stop. Add to that the large amount of people who own second homes in my area who have decided to just walk away, it’s a recipe for disaster.</p>
<p>Without going into too many details about affluence or lack of, believe me, we have affluence AND affluenza.</p>
<p>Some foreclosures are not because of ability to pay but in reality a decision to rid yourself of an asset that you feel is a long term loser. By not paying the mortgage and delaying the foreclosure some people may be in the home at no cost for several years. It makes that under water home a little more tolerable.</p>
<p>Were living in a brave new world( as the wealth inequality rises most of us will find ourselves in the “slave” class while the “ruling” class aka 1% will continue to prosper like never before).</p>
<p>Lje62, the casinos themselves are too blame for the economic stresses you are seeing…They were blind to the possible competition from adjacent states…And when they did realize it, it was too late…what may save them is sports book gambling,though how long before adjacent states try to do likewise? Sporst gambling will bring gamblers into town for the many significant sporting events, which will trickle down to all levels of the economy in the AC area…i hope so, as i have family working in the casino industry in AC</p>
<p>Deega,i lived until recently where 700k homes are in need of major rehab and million dollar homes were only decent,and knew nobody overextended or losing there homes…those at you describe likley deserve the fate that happened to them,…</p>
<p>When people started thinking of their homes as retirement vehicles instead of a place to live,the days of homes value increasing were numbered</p>
<p>“Were living in a brave new world( as the wealth inequality rises most of us will find ourselves in the “slave” class while the “ruling” class aka 1% will continue to prosper like never before).”</p>
<p>Sure, that’s right. If only we could take all the income and assets from the evil people who dare to fall into that category (many of them doctors and business owners), and gave it away to everyone else, making them work at slave wages while living in the streets like they deserve…all would be so much better for everyone else.</p>
<p>^^ you could use the publicity of the so-called winners of a recent Powerball lottery in CT…people are so up in arms about it. I personally don’t think the people who appeared on camera are the actual winners , but front men for the real ticket holder</p>
<p>And so be it if they are…there are no rules about who can or cannot buy tickets or win them</p>
<p>I think the simultaneous news of starving children living in bread trucks with no where to bathe , or food stamp recipients who shop at 12:01 in the am , as soon as their funds become available to buy the food to feed theor families…and extreme wealth and waste of it as displayed by the Kardashians and like are too much</p>
<p>I do not see the economy getting better. I live in the Detroit area, and we saw the downturn before most of the country. We are not feeling the upswing yet. While there are many new jobs in our area, they pay so much less than the old jobs. Frankly, the new jobs pay so little that the workers will struggle even though employed. My neighborhood still has foreclosures on a somewhat regular basis … mostly folks who lost jobs and just can’t make it anymore. I know quite a few people who have had to move out of the area to find jobs, and if they can sell their homes it is at a loss.</p>
<p>^^But one does not cause the other. As disgusting as the Kardashian thing is, they are not the cause of starving children living in bread trucks. They are filthy rich because they have no shame and will market anything they have. I have no understanding for any interest whatsoever in that family. But the only people they might be causing to live in cars would be the salivating press.</p>
<p>Agreed on the Kardashians. They are obviously getting paid for something people want, otherwise no one would buy their tv shows, products, etc. I like to think that if I were in their shoes, I would squander less & donate more … but I am not in their shoes, and it is their money to do with as they wish.</p>
<p>If you listen to Bloomberg radio enough, it sure sounds like everything is hunky-dory. Maybe there’s an idea we can "spin"our way back to a better economy. I swear they said no European banks will fail.</p>
<p>This statement is not meant to be political just factual with a reference point.</p>
<p>Unemployment is now down to 8.6% and there is a significant reduction in the number of government jobs in comparison to when the President took office. If there were the same number of government jobs the unemployment rate would be below 8%. The majority of government jobs cut were at the State and local level.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the headline numbers and you have to read about the details.</p>
<p>Factory payrolls increased by 2,000, less than the survey forecast of a 9,000 increase and following a 6,000 gain in the previous month. </p>
<p>Employment at service-providers increased 126,000, including a 50,000 gain in retail trade at companies hired for the holiday shopping season. The number of temporary workers increased 22,300. </p>
<p>Construction companies shed 12,000 workers. Government payrolls decreased by 20,000. State and local governments employment dropped by 16,000, while the federal government trimmed 4,000 positions. </p>
<p>Average hourly earnings fell 0.1 percent to $23.18, today’s report showed. The average work week for all workers held at 34.3 hours. </p>
<p>The report also showed an increase in long-term unemployed Americans. The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more increased as a percentage of all jobless, to 43 percent from 42.4 percent. </p>
<p>You also have people that fell off the list of looking for work as they are too discouraged to do so.</p>
<p>It would be nice to be able to get a visual of all of the different indicators in one picture. That might make for a nice research project in data visualization.</p>