[KHarvey16]

The price increase of gold is indicative of a weak dollar, which is inflated through defecit spending and printing money.

Lol, what? Since when?

[Izayoi]

A Car and a Phone are not must have

If you want a job they are!

Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car

[Dave Inc.]

If you want a job they are! Buy this car to drive to work Drive to work to pay for this car

Driiiiiiiive to woooooooooork

Sorry, was just listening to that last night.

[ezrarh]

The sooner people realize that a business's goal is not to directly create jobs the better. In addition with most of the world striving for a 1st world standard of living, I think the standard of living for most people will actually decrease as we get more constrained by natural resources. I know it's weird but the increased competition will result in some winners but many more losers. That is of course on top of the consolidation of capital and wealth by the very few.

[demon]

A Car and a Phone are not must have

This is a lie.

[I H8 Memes]

I thought this was us transitioning to a service economy? Now we call it the new normal. Well I dont think it's the new normal. I'm pretty sure the new normal will probably end up being worse.

[speculawyer]

I completely disagree. You have a great, science-oriented approach that I respect but you lack imagination on this matter. So does most of the Western political class to be fair ;) . Governments - particularly the incredibly powerful USA government - lack the ambition and imagination to fix their countries. They hide from problems, allow infrastructure to crumble, delay and fail to bring their countries forward. In the post war years many countries had this ambition - look at the NHS being established by a ruined UK or at the amazing efforts of the space race. Now they tweak interest rates, and they aren't even the elected officials. Rubbish.

Well I hope you are right and that we can turn this economy around. I tend to have a pessimistic view that shades my economic forecasting. I hope I'm wrong.

[B-Dubs]

A Car and a Phone are not must have

If you live anywhere in the US (other than NYC) then you NEED a car to get around. Public transit in most of the US is a joke.

[mackattk]

Sorry top say but it going to be this bad for a long still still it only just the start we just happen to be the unlucky ones A Car and a Phone are not must have

Most people need a car to get around. If we had decent public transportation options in the USA, I would agree with you on that one. I hate having to have a car, it is just so expensive - insurance, gas, repairs, etc. Phones are pretty much a necessity as well ( NOT smart phones). They don't have to be expensive, get a pay as you go phone for cheap and use it for minimal business/work related calls.

I would venture to say that internet is pretty much a necessity as well, but you can get on a computer at the library if you need to. To get to the library though, you probably need a car.

[eznark]

If you live anywhere in the US (other than NYC) then you NEED a car to get around. Public transit in most of the US is a joke.

lol

[speculawyer]

Bullshit. It's because gold is a commodity like any other and you can scare people into buying it up, creating an enormous bubble.

This. Gold is just a market driven commodity fueled by very volatile speculation. Unlike other things like real estate that you can farm on or rent to someone else, gold has little practical value. It has some commercial utility but not much considering its high price. Its price is reflection of current market fads and fear.


Some people point to the higher price of gold and scream inflation. Inflation? Yeah, check the value of your home. And your stagnant wages.

[Izayoi]

Driiiiiiiive to woooooooooork Sorry, was just listening to that last night.

Good taste.

[Pixel_boy]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

[Muffdraul]

If I invented a machine that could create vast amounts of quality products at the price of peanuts, would I be a hero or a villain?

I don't know. How many people's lives would it ruin?

Functionally off-shoring and the above scenario are barely different in result. Just because manufacturing jobs move overseas (and to be quite honest US manufacturing is growing again) doesn't mean a perpetual loss of economic vitality. I doubt Bengalis undercutting the textile industry has injured the West severely.

Many in the West who lost their jobs simply to pad the bottom line on some CEO's spreadsheet might have stronger feelings about it.

As for derivatives they are overwhelmingly used as risk management tools, having been developed centuries ago by farmers. CDSs are new but fundamentally were designed to repackage the risk in a company to allow it to borrow and expand more freely. I firmly believe more stringent disclosure of CDSs are required but the idea behind them need not be destructive. Financial firm CDSs created contagion but were not the root cause of the crisis, poor lending standards and monitoring were.

Like anything else, there's no problem with derivatives until they become something that has a negative effect on people's lives. That's always been where regulations come in. "Protecting the economy" is about protecting the average person, the little guy. The fat cats are always going to be able to weather the storm. They don't give a flying fuck if the economy collapses and crushes everyone beneath them. The use of default swap derivatives that led to the 2008 meltdown had nothing to do with mitigating risk. It had everything to do with Wall Street manipulating the system to increase profits. They're running out of ways to increase profits, and they'll blindly do literally anything that will achieve that. They have no filter.

[Rash]

If you live anywhere in the US (other than NYC) then you NEED a car to get around. Public transit in most of the US is a joke.

That's too much of a generalization. NYC is the best example of good public transportation, obviously, but there's good PT in other places as well.

I live in the Boston area and it's pretty good here. Went to school in Boston, and now I'm lucky enough to work in my city via a relatively quick bus and train trip. Never owned a car. If anything, taking PT all my life probably improved my overall patience greatly over the years. Other people seem too "hustle and bustle" because of quick-travel and instant gratification.

People relying on cars so much is what makes me not want to own a car. The expenses are ridiculous, and then you add high volume traffic to the whole thing as well as shitty drivers. Awful. The days when driving is "convenient" are slipping away.

That said, of course a car is a must-have for A LOT of people. The US is a big country.

[mackattk]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

Try walking/biking 25 miles one way to work 5 days a week.

[Neo C.]

It sucks, and there's literally nothing we can do about it. If the republicans don't destroy the country, corporate greed will.

Then stop the corporations. Putting higher taxes on them would be the first step.

The only thing I'm sure about is: The economy (and employment) won't get back to the better by just waiting for better times. You have to push the rich to invest their money, otherwise new jobs won't happen. It's ridiculous how much money is sitting in the bank, because everyone is afraid of investing.

[demon]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

Try it some time. In the US. Most people do not live within walking distance of many destinations (including work) and public transit including bus systems ranges from mediocre to abysmal in most of the US.

[Lord Error]

If you live anywhere in the US (other than NYC) then you NEED a car to get around. Public transit in most of the US is a joke.

This becomes true if you have a little kid. Otherwise I have yet to see a city in US where it's too difficult to move around with some public transport, biking and walking involved. It's inconvenient - far more inconvenient than anywhere in Europe - but still doable.

[Dave Inc.]

Then stop the corporations. Putting higher taxes on them would be the first step. The only thing I'm sure about is: The economy (and employment) won't get back to the better by just waiting for better times. You have to push the rich to invest their money, otherwise new jobs won't happen. It's ridiculous how much money is sitting in the bank, because everyone is afraid of investing.

Companies don't invest unless people are spending money. Nobody starts a company up to make a product unless they know they'll make their money back in a defined amount of time, that's what the government is for.

[Fisticuffs]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

ok buddy. try living in the greater Los Angeles area and see how you do.

[speculawyer]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

If you live in a dense big city, you can get away w/o having a car. Outside of that, it is very difficult.

We fucked ourselves by building our nation and economy on the assumption of cheap gasoline. When we were paying a $1/gallon Europeans were paying $4/gallon. So we built lots of roads, spaced things far apart, built little public transport, etc.

Now with $4/gallon gasoline, it is just difficult to get the economy to work well. There just is not as much extra spending money as there once was.

[Fisticuffs]

This becomes true if you have a little kid. Otherwise I have yet to see a city in US where it's too difficult to move around with some public transport, biking and walking involved. It's inconvenient - far more inconvenient than anywhere in Europe - but still doable.

ridiculous and ignorant

[SolKane]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

You surely realize this is not an option for most Americans? US metro areas are notorious for having been built up in the suburban/autocentric boom following WW2, making people dependent on cars for transportation. Decades of decentralized planning and lack of investment in transit infrastructure has created a system where the average American will need a car to reliably get places they need to be.

[HylianTom]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

I'm finding that one often has to make a conscientious, deliberate effort to go car-free or car-light in the USA. You have to choose where you live, work, etc. very carefully.

The whole "you-must-drive-to-go-absolutely-anywhere/everywhere" paradigm is an urban design decision that we will come to very heavily regret someday.

[Hari Seldon]

The big change coming in the tech sector is 3D printing, not robots. Robots serving you at McDonald's is a long way off. 3D Printing is starting to gear up now. This is going to hurt the 3rd world big time, since it will be far cheaper to print up the less complicated components than buying them from overseas.

[mackattk]

I'm finding that one often has to make a conscientious, deliberate effort to go car-free or car-light in the USA. You have to choose where you live, work, etc. very carefully. The whole "you-must-drive-to-go-absolutely-anywhere/everywhere" paradigm is an urban design decision that we will come to very heavily regret someday.

That all falls to pieces when a company someone planned around outsources their job, or any of the other variables that may and probably will change the living conditions.

Not to mention a lot of jobs make it a requirement to have reliable transportation (car) to be employed there.

[demon]

yeah if you want to live car-free in the US you have very limited options in terms of where to live. I might eventually end up in a place like Portland because of it. I'd love to be car-free.....on top of rising gas prices, maintaining a car is a pain in the ass.

[dead souls]

USA really have a thing for cars do you guys ever walk? or take a bus it can't be that hard

Lol, you have no idea what you're talking about. Public transportation is literally a joke in most of the United States.

[Woody Invincible]

This becomes true if you have a little kid. Otherwise I have yet to see a city in US where it's too difficult to move around with some public transport, biking and walking involved. It's inconvenient - far more inconvenient than anywhere in Europe - but still doable.

How about my city which has no public transportation?

[Pixel_boy]

If you relay on cars to much in USA you guys are really in for a hard time good luck

[Karakand]

Read up on Theodor Adorno.

Haha, that poor poster is gonna end up in an aesthetics quagmire now.

[Buddha Beam]

Probably the smartest thing we can do about now is lower the retirement age to around 55. Get all those older folks out of the work force, thus making way for all the unemployed young people and giving raises to the mid-level people; then slowly raise it back up to 62 or so over the next ~15 years.

But instead we only get talk about raising retirement to 67. Because somehow "work 'til you're dead' makes more sense in America today.

[Fisticuffs]

If you relay on cars to much in USA you guys are really in for a hard time good luck

you acting all preachy about it, but really there's nothing we can do about it so..

[Dave Inc.]

Probably the smartest thing we can do about now is lower the retirement age to around 55. Get all those older folks out of the work force, thus making way for all the unemployed young people and giving raises to the mid-level people, and then slowly raise it back up to 62 or so. But instead we only get talk about raising retirement to 67. Because somehow "work 'til you're dead' makes more sense in America today.

My favorite part about people wanting to raise the retirement age is that, for people who will rely on social security in retirement, the average lifespan isn't getting any higher. It's only for people who are a little more well off where the lifespan is higher and SS is only going to supplement the income they have from their personal retirement plans.

[speculawyer]

The whole "you-must-drive-to-go-absolutely-anywhere/everywhere" paradigm is an urban design decision that we will come to very heavily regret someday.

We should be regretting it and doing something about it right now. Barring another financial collapse, gasoline is just never going to be $2/gallon again. We need walkable cities. We need ways for people to live their lives w/o needing a car every day. The car, insurance, gasoline, maintenance/repairs, parking . . . it is a huge expense.


Hopefully we can wean ourselves off the system with tele-commuting, car-sharing systems, and better public transport.

[HylianTom]

If you relay on cars to much in USA you guys are really in for a hard time good luck

Yup. That's putting it mildly, haha..

What's notable is that we're seeing a migration of wealthier/middle-class people back into urban cores where an automobile is less necessary. If the trend continues, we'll see lower-class people pushed/priced out into the suburbs, where a car is absolutely necessary. The very people who can least afford the "drive-everywhere" program might be the ones most forced into it, which may produce some very dramatic and creative results.

[Furio53]

Considering our country seemingly learned nothing from what happened to Japan, I'd say we're on the same track as them. In just about everything, it's eery.

[Lonely1]

If we have artificial intelligence yes, we won't have work, but then again we won't need to.

We?

[LosDaddie]

Try walking/biking 25 miles one way to work 5 days a week.

...and not be soaked in sweat by the time you get to work. But hey, just make sure your job has a shower, right?

[speculawyer]

you acting all preachy about it, but really there's nothing we can do about it so..

Oh there are things we could do. We just don't want to do them. We could do what they did in Europe . . . tax gasoline heavily. That encourages more efficient cars, it encourages more logical living situations that don't require long commutes, it causes the populace to demand better public transportation options, etc. But raising gasoline taxes is political suicide in the USA.

[zero_suit]

Considering our country seemingly learned nothing from what happened to Japan, I'd say we're on the same track as them. In just about everything, it's eery.

The scary part is we have a worse social safety net.

[Wazzim]

Ecological problems will limit economic growth, the pie wont get bigger but will rather be shared more evenly.
Technological improvements will eventually limit job creation and thus we will need a better structured income system to provide enough for everybody in this world.



The future is co-operation, the future is socialist. Deal with it liberals.


Unless you want a world with giant inequalities, poverty and rampant corruption of course.

[Sanky Panky]

Considering our country seemingly learned nothing from what happened to Japan, I'd say we're on the same track as them. In just about everything, it's eery.

Yup, including the comming 20 years of stagflation.

[T Ghost]

This becomes true if you have a little kid. Otherwise I have yet to see a city in US where it's too difficult to move around with some public transport, biking and walking involved. It's inconvenient - far more inconvenient than anywhere in Europe - but still doable.

I guess you are not familiar with most cities in Florida, Tampa Bay in special...

[Dave Inc.]

Oh there are things we could do. We just don't want to do them. We could do what they did in Europe . . . tax gasoline heavily. That encourages more efficient cars, it encourages more logical living situations that don't require long commutes, it causes the populace to demand better public transportation options, etc. But raising gasoline taxes is political suicide in the USA.

Can't do it because raising gasoline taxes will fuck a country when its shipping depends on big ass trucks driving millions of miles a day. Let's raise gas prices! Okay now food costs 15% more because it all gets somewhere in a truck.

If it were to happen it would have to be during an absolute boom time.

[ssolitare]

Oh there are things we could do. We just don't want to do them. We could do what they did in Europe . . . tax gasoline heavily. That encourages more efficient cars, it encourages more logical living situations that don't require long commutes, it causes the populace to demand better public transportation options, etc. But raising gasoline taxes is political suicide in the USA.

Honestly in the short-run that'll fuck me over so much. Maybe other people won't be, but I'll be in big trouble. What do I do about the short-term? I don't have any options. If I needed a more efficient car (which i'd love to have), well I couldn't unless i'm basically given something that I "don't deserve".

[ameratsu]

Is there a good book that covers what happened in Japan regarding their housing/banking sector? People keep referring to it and it sounds like it would be interesting to learn more about.

[jb1234]

Honestly in the short-run that'll fuck me over so much. Maybe other people won't be, but I'll be in big trouble. What do I do about the short-term? I don't have any options. If I needed a more efficient car (which i'd love to have), well I couldn't unless i'm basically given something that I "don't deserve".

Anyone who doesn't live in a major city would be screwed. And a good chunk of people don't live inside city limits because they can't afford to. So what do they do? Starve out in the suburbs because they can't afford gas or starve in the city because they can't afford rent? It's really not a viable plan.

[.GqueB.]

I've been saying the bolded for a couple of years now. I noticed at my company the highers up found they can make more money by doing the same amount of work with less people. If you don't like it, think you're doing the job of two people, too bad. You're fired, there's plenty of other job applicants out there.

Pretty much. There's really isn't much incentive to create jobs right now. Not at any rapid rate that would make a difference.