A couple of stories about are economy.
First, the job news and economic recovery is not so good. Jobless claims are up again and the economy grew at a very anemic rate of 1.8% last quarter.
Second, the foreclosures are a HUGE drag on the economy. Some cities are seeing home values depressed as much as 50% due to the amount of foreclosures and short sales on the market. Until this issue has been fixed, our economic grow will be muted.
Don't forget food and commodity prices. I just went to the feed store today to buy scratch for our chickens. $17.20/80 lbs. It is up $2.50 in less than 4 months, and this is not processed, just cracked corn and wheat for animals. Corn is going to skyrocket because it is more important to create bio fuel than to feed our selves or our livestock, which in turn feed us.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the mortgage crisis, don't forget that counties are imposing more and higher taxes on property. And all over my state of WA, school bonds are being shot down all over the place. Like in my city where they wanted 49.4 million for a new middle school. The average 250,000 home would have to cough up $49 more a month for 15 years, and the previous bond is still not paid for, so it really is costly.
By May 15th, numerous teachers received RIF notices due to budget cuts. I know many teachers that will apply for unemployment benefits come June.
It cost me over $50 to fill my Subaru Outback, and with 3 people to get to school and work ( DH commutes 55 miles each way), it is costing us dearly. So any rumors of a recovery with jobs and the economy are a great stretch of the imagination.