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U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

bloomberg.com

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Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#461

Post by stcredzero »

nimbius wrote: post #98

This is anecdotal and it might come across as bitter and tonedeaf as someone who is not in a STEM job and cant see the bigger picture very well. Im a diesel engine tech who repairs those big trucks carrying food and shit tickets to grocery stores. the fact that ANY market is completely detached from whats actually happening to Americans is frustrating. My job just cut benefits and hours but we're "essential." Remembe…

This is anecdotal and it might come across as bitter and tonedeaf as someone who is not in a STEM job and cant see the bigger picture very well. Im a diesel engine tech who repairs those big trucks carrying food and shit tickets to grocery stores. the fact that ANY market is completely detached from whats actually happening to Americans is frustrating

This is something I see from coverage of "lock-down protesters." There's a concentration of imagery, so bad associations can be made, pandering to those with left-leaning viewpoints. The underlying message is, "see, we don't have to pay any attention to the ravings of these crazy deplorables."

Such patterns were also at play in the media coverage of minorities in the 1900's and early 20th century. They're just being used by a different set of people with different directional vectors.

What you have to remember, is that a lot of people have been given this "deal:"

How about you have a period of unplanned, involuntary unemployment with little prospect of finding alternative employment in your areas of expertise? Okay, thanks, bye!

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#462

Post by vasillevski »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #438
thescriptkiddie wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only 52% of americans own any stock whatsoever [0], and the richest 10% of americans own 84% of all stock. [0] https://news.gallup.com/poll/190883/half-americans-own-stock... [1] https://www.nber.org/papers/w24085

> and the richest 10% of americans own 84% of all stock. The top 20% of earners also handle close to 90% of the tax burden, while close to 50% of the population pay nothing in taxes.

You say this like it’s a good thing? This is reflective of an economic system that isn’t functioning well. All this points to is the fact that income is highly concentrated in the hands of a few, and that opportunity is very limited and unequally distributed. I’m sure that went right over your head when you proudly decided to trumpet that nugget of information. Alas, I’m sure I’m just shouting into a void of ignorance though.

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#463

Post by OrangeMango »

godtoldmetodoit wrote: post #412
OldHand2018 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, if it gets taken away it gets given to me as the senior lien holder. For best legal protection, I should loan her money with some nominal interest rate. A distant family member did this on the house of one of their kids, and it saved them from losing it in a foreclosure. The other lender was so angry with them for refusing to release their lien; but they couldn't legally force them to do it.

How does this work with an asset the size of a house? Does having as little as say $5,000 in the house when the the other lender has $200,000 in give you this power to stop foreclosure?

Maybe not stop it, but make it a really big pain. They'll need you to sign off on court filings, etc. If you're obstinate, you can certainly encourage them to "deal with this house later".

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#464

Post by at-fates-hands »

eppp wrote: post #268
OldHand2018 wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lenders and banks were supposed to start going easy on loans but ive had two emails and a phone call about the loan for my Silverado this month and wouldnt you know, the caller was excited to mention my stimulus check. Don't settle for this. My niece had her car repossessed 3 weeks ago. They said for $18k cash she could have it. We told them to pound sand. She's borrowing cars and getting rides, but next week she'l…

The used car market has been inflated for years. 100k+ mile vehicles selling for over half their new price makes no sense to me.

I'm guessing this had largely to do with the recession?

People weren't buying new cars and so the supply for used cars dropped (I remember dealers calling me begging me to sell my Ford Edge) but the demand increased exponentially because it made more sense to buy a used car, then to get a new one.

This is turn increased the price to many models and in some cases, a lot. Hybrids and electrics shot through the roof because people were trying to save money on gas. More reliable models from Honda, Toyota and Subaru also went way up in value.

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#465

Post by forgot_my_pwd »

nimbius wrote: post #98

This is anecdotal and it might come across as bitter and tonedeaf as someone who is not in a STEM job and cant see the bigger picture very well. Im a diesel engine tech who repairs those big trucks carrying food and shit tickets to grocery stores. the fact that ANY market is completely detached from whats actually happening to Americans is frustrating. My job just cut benefits and hours but we're "essential." Remembe…

And all that because of a virus that has a fatality rate about between .2 and .5% which mainly targets people who are already on the verge of death to begin with.

We need to begin opening our country back up and implementing more targeted lockdowns and isolations for the most vulnerable.

Not only will this bring us to herd immunity faster, we will have a huge pool of recovered people available to donate plasma antibodies to those suffering from the virus.

Taking the recent deluge of antibody test data that's been released in the last few weeks from around the world indicating infection rates are far higher than official numbers indicate and the growing threat of economic misery for tens of millions, this is the best way forward.

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#467

Post by ardy42 »

nimbius wrote: post #98

This is anecdotal and it might come across as bitter and tonedeaf as someone who is not in a STEM job and cant see the bigger picture very well. Im a diesel engine tech who repairs those big trucks carrying food and shit tickets to grocery stores. the fact that ANY market is completely detached from whats actually happening to Americans is frustrating. My job just cut benefits and hours but we're "essential." Remembe…

> His mother is getting evicted from an assisted living center in a few days and his girlfriend is sick.

That's awful. I know some localities have "paused" evictions and payment "holidays," but there's been a lot of unevenness. Frankly, I think there should have been a national to that effect, so there'd have been uniformity and no gaps.

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#468

Post by standardUser »

CydeWeys wrote: post #436
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does what you have in your 401k matter if your house and car are being repossessed? I suppose you could pull it all out at penalties and with a bunch of taxes, but that's going to be work, and assumes you have enough in there to make it worthwhile.

Penalties are waived for certain exigent circumstances, which I believe this would qualify as.

There is in fact a special exemption this year to the 10% tax penalty for taking money out of retirement accounts for COVID-19 related purposes. But make sure your specific account offers that exemption before withdrawing anything.

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#469

Post by karatestomp »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #438
thescriptkiddie wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only 52% of americans own any stock whatsoever [0], and the richest 10% of americans own 84% of all stock. [0] https://news.gallup.com/poll/190883/half-americans-own-stock... [1] https://www.nber.org/papers/w24085

> and the richest 10% of americans own 84% of all stock. The top 20% of earners also handle close to 90% of the tax burden, while close to 50% of the population pay nothing in taxes.

> 50% of the population pay nothing in taxes.

Sales tax is almost 11% here. And I'm in a red-leaning purple state, not "Taxachusetts" or anything. Property tax on vehicles. FICA ("it's not a tax!" yeah OK, but it is really)

Re: U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

#470

Post by thebruce87m »

ChrisRR wrote: post #386
nimbius wrote: post #98

This is anecdotal and it might come across as bitter and tonedeaf as someone who is not in a STEM job and cant see the bigger picture very well. Im a diesel engine tech who repairs those big trucks carrying food and shit tickets to grocery stores. the fact that ANY market is completely detached from whats actually happening to Americans is frustrating. My job just cut benefits and hours but we're "essential." Remembe…

It still surprises me that America has such a culture of leasing cars they can't afford for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a month. Here in the UK if you said you were going to buy a car, most people would instantly assume you mean second hand. There's not much of a culture of buying or leasing new cars here, and even less of leasing cars that you really can't afford (outside of petrolheads anyway)

“82% of new cars in Britain are bought using relatively new "PCP" loans, which let drivers pay less than the full value of the car.” - https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-car-finance-pcp-mortgage-...

So while I agree if someone says they are buying a “new car” it just could mean “new to them” I do think a lot of people do lease. I see a lot of young people with new BMWs etc, probably paying with money that they will regret not having put into their pension in years to come. Or maybe I should have lived a little bit more at their age.

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