<p>Just reality. </p>
<p>Taxes were raised on the top 1 percent. Cap gains taxes were raised.
The payroll tax was raised.</p>
<p>And the stock market</p>
<p>Went up. Not supposed to happen. Real estate is going thru the roof in many areas. I was talking to a real estate
Professional yesterday. Prices are up 50 percent from the lows in many areas. I heard homes in Toledo are selling me crazy although, prices are way off there highs there. </p>
<p>A discount retailer in Phoenix told me retail on the low end sucks. </p>
<p>So? What do u see?</p>
<p>[Rising</a> Mortgage Interest Rates Reveal Economic Improvement | LoanSafe](<a href=“http://www.loansafe.org/rising-mortgage-interest-rates-reveal-economic-improvement]Rising”>http://www.loansafe.org/rising-mortgage-interest-rates-reveal-economic-improvement)</p>
<p>Michigan’s population increased for the first time in a decade.</p>
<p>I think the economy as a whole is in a lot better shape then it was 4 years ago.</p>
<p>Sorry, stupid phone posted on me too soon. More grads are staying in state. Locally, restaurants are opening up and doing well. Houses aren’t sitting empty as long. Factories have reopened-something I never thought I’d see.</p>
<p>The uptick began this fall so I hope folks don’t automatically assume that things are improving because of the tax hike. Some say our economy needed time to work through the recession and that we would have seen an earlier improvement had we not tried to tinker with things. Others say say differently. We will never know.</p>
<p>Real estate definitely taking off in my neck of the woods. Retail is still slow. We still have some empty storefronts.
People with money are investing. Banks are beginning to loan.
Those at the bottom though- I don’t know if there’s been much improvement for them yet.</p>
<p>I don’t know. This is what I see:</p>
<p>Last 2 years our family business suffered quite a bit, but we were still profitable. However, January and February have been awful. March is no better. We are using reserves now to pay the bills. The last time it was that bad was 8 years ago when we took over failing business from its previous owner. I don’t think it is just us. Our suppliers complain that their business is way down too. So, it is across the industry we are in.</p>
<p>There will be no wage increases this year at my (large) employer. However, if the economy improves we might get an increase some time down road (October or November).</p>
<p>On the other hand the restaurants in affluent suburbs are full. Not so much in less expensive suburbs. </p>
<p>I don’t know. I am not feeling that the economy is improving, although my 401K looks great.</p>
<p>Restaurant I designed three years ago is doubling in size. They signed the lease last Friday for the space next door, and I’ll get to do the expansion plans. Another restaurant town moved to bigger quarters last year, and another one is moving this spring. Three restaurants are applying for cabaret licenses so they can have live music. Still waiting for better stores to move into town though! Still the restaurant boomlet is encouraging.</p>
<p>Fair number of calls for new work (all additions). Way too many calls for people getting work legalized.</p>
<p>BC… I liked your link. </p>
<p>Romano… I heard that Detroit residential real estate is picking up.</p>
<p>An acquaintance is selling his manufacturing company located in Michigan. He benefitted because many of his competitors went out of business. So he is doing well financially as the economy picks up, but he will never be well. He is such a sour guy with a sour wife.</p>
<p>Lerkin, can u be more specific about the business without giving too much away?</p>
<p>It is nice to read the positive stories. If there are negative stories, well… That is ok too.</p>
<p>^ Select neighborhoods in Detroit are hot right now with young professionals (and have been for a few years). The problem is that they move away when they have kids. No one with a few dollars to their name wants to raise kids in Detroit.</p>
<p>The legal field is still suffering, and probably will never return to where it was before 2008. I still see lots of unemployment, long job searches, and questionable prospects for new grads.</p>
<p>In my field of educational counseling, business is booming. It seems to be counter-cyclical: the more parents are worried about their children’s prospects, and the higher tuition costs go in relation to parents’ savings, the more families are willing to spend on tutoring and advice.</p>
<p>Hanna, the parents actions make sense to me.
If the law profession isn’t what it was and being a doctor isn’t what it was… Are there any professions anymore that a person can do well in for decades once she has the education?</p>
<p>Romani… Even in the nicer cities, people leave when they have kids.</p>
<p>Dstark,</p>
<p>We run auto repair shop. We are independent (nationally recognizable name) dealer, meaning even though we have our own name, we also have a huge sign with that recognizable name on our building. When people write us checks, they sometimes mistakenly write that name instead of our business name on the checks. What I am trying to say, that even though we are small business, people usually associate us with this big recognizable name that has good reputation. We offer great nation-wide warranty on our work too.</p>
<p>I thought it was bad when US government had cash for clunkers program combined with easy access to credit, but this winter it’s been awful. I also noticed that people are using financing for even small jobs (like $80-$100). And I am not talking about credit card offered by that recognizable name company, which comes with perks and rebates. I am talking about third party financing we have available with not so good terms. </p>
<p>We are located in suburbs, which are not affluent, but also are not working poor suburbs. I guess middle class.</p>
<p>P.S. If you like positive, in addition to my 401K looking great, all my rentals are at 100% occupancy and everyone pays on time. And even though there will be no raises this year at my employer, we were told that there will be no lay-offs and we have open positions.</p>
<p>Why would you leave a nice city because of kids? Or are you referring to big cities?</p>
<p>I’m in the legal field, also, and it is a mess. Lots of people with one or more part-time jobs because there are so few full time. I personally know a bunch of people who have dropped out of the labor pool.</p>
<p>Real estate in my area can’t be given away. Of course, the area was hit very, very hard by Sandy, so that doesn’t help.</p>
<p>“Even in the nicer cities, people leave when they have kids.”</p>
<p>This is less and less true in my generation (and romani’s, for the early bloomers). There are far more middle- and upper-middle class families with kids staying in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc. than there were 30 years ago.</p>
<p>Romani… Because the public education system isn’t great…</p>
<p>Edit… what I see in SF.</p>
<p>So Hanna? The public schools are getting better in the cities?</p>