Recovery? What Recovery?

Small business owners must remain positive and optimistic. By cutting costs where possible, small business owners can redirect funds towards marketing and customer loyalty programs. It's difficult to accurately project how long things will be this way, but the economy will recover, so holding on is a must. The Discount Business Association provides free support for small businesses to include free marketing materials, free business resources and a business success blog. http://discountbusinessassociation.com Don't quit, use social marketing and low cost methods to grow your business.

There is a great truthful article in Today's NY Times by Paul Krugman, Mission Not Accomplished, a superb piece. Thanks to him for pulling the cover off such buzz phrases as "many shoots." Shoots and sprouts with 52 percent unemployment, among youth,Fresno California farm owners and workers facing unemployment at the 40 percent level do not make a recovery and fail to support a mission accomplished, and irrational braggadocio that is incomprehensible to understand.

The data summaries Krugman presented is the true reality. It contrasts with the various spins being placed upon a dying national economic performance. Two trillion in lost production, employment and growth may be just the beginning. The soothsayers remind me of President Hoover's comment in 1932 that "hobos are eating well, in fact one had ten meals in a single day, or people are giving up their jobs preferring to make more selling apples."

The complacency he refers to can be found everywhere. I recently read about a Republican potential candidate for the presidency in 2012. The thrust of the article included his assembly of a strong team of technology, major players and big party officials. I searched this candidate's profile for a simple action statement to address the under and unemployed without income in this nation. He could have at least thought out of the box and made a few suggestions like;

* Elimination or reduction of state corporate taxes through increase of jobs in states, thus providing payroll tax growth, which has been unavailable this past year, through new jobs,

* Establishment of a strong jobs now, task force composed of corporate CEO''s, economists, bankers, workers, state officials and other designated individuals, which exists solely for the express purpose of job creation-restoration,

* Establishment of a strategic plan for growth in American jobs, including recent high school/college graduates, over the next three years, with measurable targets and objectives.

* Development of a reporting system to the American people listing the number of jobs created, their location, their occupational emphasis, and a list of companies hiring. on a monthly basis.

The time is long overdue for this administration, the congress, and the nation to focus on the main problem, the true elephant in the room. We need jobs in America now, the nation's economy is at risk of being destroyed, let us make this priority one ahead of, Olympics, cap and trade, healthcare reform. let's fix this dying economy with its massive job losses. It still is the economy, we need these jobs now more than ever but a complacency which has promoted a lack of rationality is preventing a solution. I agree with Krugman, The Mission is not accomplished.

Dr. Phillips
Bloomington, IL

Posted by: Dr. Alan Phillips | October 02, 2009 at 08:22 AM

Although things appear deem, we most approach the present and future with a positive attitude. I am 54 and have lived through some rather challenging times. Change is so rapid. The computer has changed my world and contacts. We sleep while others work. There are huge cultural differences but I learned that business is a form of war. We must simply push forward; rain or snow. PUSH NOW!

You get up close to entrepreneurs, it is easy to understand why they are not optimistic about the recovery. One retailer whose business of 35 years has been completely cut off from credit still have an home equity line of credit. He has taken $100,000 and put it into his business to keep it going through the upcoming holidays. If he does not have a great selling season, he closes his doors January 1, 2010. How can you be optimistic in times like these?

Ron D

http://www.start-a-business-faq.com

True entrepreneurs know where to look to find opportunity when times get tough. We started a company in Thailand five years ago and are always adding new business divisions. Two years ago we started a residential security division and are now selling off branch offices to people looking to invest in Thailand. We also have the distributorship for an environmentally friendly insecticide and are selling Exclusive Master Distributorships in the south of Thailand. Just giving up because things are getting a little more difficult is not something a real entrepreneur does.

On May 20, the Fed revised its optimistic forcast downword with murky words about the future purchase of more toxic assets from unspecified financial institutions. The government greatfully accepted the return of bailout money from several major banks while Geithner reacted sharply to contradict a senator's assertion that returned funds couldn't be used again. Could it be that "some Federal Reserve/Treasury," needs that repaid money badly to continue bailing. Since the Fed won't disclose the identity of banks getting bailout money, we really don't know the full extent of the meltdown in terms of its effect on finanacial institutions. Could it be much worse than we know? Marco M Polo

THERE IS NO RECOVERY !

GOVERNMENT LIES WON'T CHANGE REALITY.

PRICES ON FOOD PRODUCTS ARE RISING MORE AND MORE; YET, THE GOVERNMENT SAID THEY WERE DECREASING.

PRICES ON HOME FUEL WHICH WERE SKY ROCKETING THIS PAST WINTER HAVE DECLINED ; YET, THEY ARE STILL WAY ABOVE WHERE THEY WERE A YEAR AGO.

HOME PRICES HAVE DECLINED NATIONALLY ABOUT 20 % ? THEN WHY DO REAL ESTATE TAXES SHOW A 1% DECREASE AT THE SAME TIME MUNICIPLE GOVERNMENTS ARE RAISING LAND VALUES ABOUT 4 % ?

HOME TAXES ARE GOING UP.

IF I SOLD APPLES LAST YEAR FOR .25 CENTS EACH AND THEN RAISED THE PRICE TO FOUR DOLLARS EACH THIS PAST WINTER; THEN I REDUCE THE PRICE TO TWO DOLLARS EACH IN APRIL ---------- DO YOU FEEL BETTER ?

THE GOVERNMENT WANTS YOU TO SEE UNTRUTH AS TRUTH.

IF PEOPLE ARE STILL LOSING JOBS BUT THE NUMBERS ARE SLOWING A LITTLE; THERE STILL IS A PROBLEM.

TO THOSE WHO LOST THEIR JOBS OR HAVE LEARNED THEY WILL LOSE THEIR JOBS ---------- YOUR PROBLEMS ARE REAL.

Because is no Recovery and will be no Recovery we just are been wash our brains, and our National Debt will be triple next year and we are no longer eligible in near future for receive retirement benefits because they will be bery exhaust untill all will be broke 401 K , is at risk we are no longer a Nation to produce and sell because no body buy from us any more we don't have any revenue we only make rich other's, like China who make the deal to export only from china and most of the US factory's are at the other side of our border !. if most people know about this why we let this happen is obvious this administration are no competent for this kind of situation my concern is our family's what is going to happen and some people will find they selfs in a desperate situation honest I don't see any samall light at this tunnel and the only solutions from this administration will take months suppose to be work ? I don't think so nice speeches but no action !........

We are not the end of history, and this current incarnation of capitalism is not the best of possible systems. There will always be some type of market-based system, but the system as we know it has some fundamental flaws. But we must question some of our assumptions if we're going to shift over to a more sustainable system.

Firstly, the trickle-down theory of capitalism is a myth. Wealth instead trickles up, with those with the least skills, education, or resources being forced to beg for scraps. The top 10% of the population now owns about 90% of the wealth, while the bottom half owns less that ones percent. The only time that this gap has been this extreme was right before the great depression. Every society needs some kind of public works programs to utilize the those who remain unemployed by the private sector.

Secondly, the wealth that's created in this system is often "Phantom Wealth", or just an inflation bubble, where the price of assets increase without any creation of additional value. During the housing bubble for instance, the price of homes rose by a staggering amount. While this may have been good for a single homeowner, across the entire system it just made affording a home that much more expensive for everyone else.

The excessive amount of credit in the system is largely to blame for asset bubbles. If too many people can take on debt too easily, it just drives up prices across the board, and it ultimately gives too much power to the banks since we become indebted to them. Debt will eventually suck all the wealth out of the lower and middle class. Fed interest rates need to be driven back up to levels that will discourage borrowing and encourage savings.

When the credit bubble popped, the market wanted to devalue any highly leveraged assets. Deflation never works as smoothly as inflation though, and inherently is associated with layoffs, foreclosures, and bankruptcies. Once this cycle begins, it's too easy for it to slip into a systematic collapse. A common response to this problem is to try re-inflating the credit bubble, but this over-leveraging of debt is what got us into this mess in the first place. A better approach is to inject money into the system that not based on credit, in the form of Keynesian stimulus. If the money supply increases at the same rate that credit decreases, there isn't any problem of inflation or deflation, and society can shift off of it's over-reliance upon credit.

During this period of a recovery, there is a lag effect of companies who tried to hold on, but needed an ever bigger upturn to survive (sort of like retailers hoping to hold on through x-mas). This is normal.
You do not speak for all small businesses whatsoever. I think many are seeing good signs of recovery. Recovery means improved retail, followed by improved pull through distribution, and finally pull through manufacturers (who see a big time lag). Employment also tends to lag, as most companies will not hire (back) people until they are sure they are back on solid ground. Likewise expendable expenses such as marketing firms and ads and new equipment and so on.

The last few weeks when I have driven by the local McDonald's at breakfast and lunch times, they have had no more than 2-3 cars on the premises and those could be employees vehicles? Anyone who doesn't believe the U.S. is in an economic depression is in for one Helluva surprise.

Are you a economist? i guess you must be . What can theories do facing such a depressed situation? If they can, we will never encounter such peoblems at all . But unfortunedly, people are always assaulted by unexpected misfortunes. Theories, theories, can theories keep abreast with the abrupt changes of the world? Impossible!

The current business downturn warns that market economy could bring severe and disastrous consequences to enterprises , and to the country if it goes out of control. Of course, i don't mean, Planned economy is more powerful but the reasonable combination and prompt coordination of the two is indispensable for the heathly development of a country. This is a world-wide problem, so only one or two countries which take the combination seriously are not encough. Globalisation connects all the countries as a unit, therefore, i recommed stronly that a powerful and reliable organisation should be set up to help coodinate all the countries to get rid of the crisis. Wait? Wait? Wait passively?