General Economic Cantor

2nd Hand

2009-04-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Here is something I have not seen anyone cover is the supply and demand mechanics of second hand goods. I myself used to use ebay when it first started and then craigslist on the search for a good price on something that is used. What I have seen though is as these sites gained in popularity and use the price of second has goods went up as per usual but it does make it hard because trying to find a good deal is more difficult than it used to be but finding it is easier. It's simple economics but it certainly puts a damper on trying to live cheaper sometimes or when your parents tell you that oh you can find one used for a decent price. Sometimes you can find a good deal from someone who is just wanting to get rid of something but anymore your second hand price is pricier.

slow

2009-04-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah the economic news will be slow and gradual much like any recovery. Not much more to report but what we do see won't be horrible, a dip here and there but overall we won't know what is going on until probably September or so, nothing specific at this time.

The "uptick"

2009-03-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

As everyone waits for the economy to recover and all the big whigs are out there waiting for lending to pickup I have to say I have seen a few signs that banks are loosening up their credit belts, albeit just above a trickle but it's something I haven't seen in a year or more myself. One is the very mild uptick in junk mail credit card offers. I only see about one every two weeks but they had almost dropped off the face of the earth so someone is getting comfortable again. Window shopping, not the kind you see people do in the malls I am talking about the Sunday home shopping that take place when there are interests in properties and when there is hope to get a loan. It may not mean much but the number of u-turns and people stopping suddenly to grab the flyer from a for sale sign is moving up a bit. You really can't be angry at these drivers either because you know our economy depends on this movement. Our economy is moving and though these are the smallest of signs that something is happening it is a sign toward stabilization and normalcy. Hopefully this will make it into the general news in the next 30 to 60 days.

Working class TV

2008-11-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

I was reading this article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27931034/ on the need for working class television being needed versus the glitzy shows of which I do not watch. They have never interested me which does at times make me the black sheep as I do not know what everyone else is talking about but may that is a part of my upbringing. I did not grow up in a poor family, not rich but the lower part of middle class, ya know the lower-middle-class. My parents on the other hand grew up very poor with eight kid families. My fathers family built their house out of materials they obtained while taking on demolition jobs which probably is not allowed anymore and while constructing camped and lived in the neighbors old hen house. My mothers family, well they were hispanic migrant workers working between Washington and Texas during the summer when the kids were out of school to visit family in Mexico. They could cram themselves into those little shacks. At times my grandfather would rummage through the dumpster behind resturaunts foraging for food. This was the life of my parents so long as I had a roof over my head and fresh food in front of me I should be happy. I am always grateful for what I have; growing up where I did my friends always thought I had the biggest house nd it was fine by me 1400 square feet. These days 2500 square feet is small, it feels almost too much for me at times. You wonder where your time went people, maintaining the home or massive property you just had to have to show you made, you made it alright. While in high school I remember serval of my friends who lived out of luggage as they were tossed around from relative to relative to friends house. Other's got to stay at the same place every night with an uncle or something who you could tell did not really want them there. Then there were the friends whom were lost along the way, either their guardian got caught up in a gang related shoot out and had to move or they themselves were the victims of gang violence or almost more seemingly common drunk drivers. Well here's your chance for some material for the working class television. You can show the kid going door to door to sell magazines, candy, magazines or whatever only to get turned down at every home as no one can afford to buy anything. Then there's the man who was on top of it all forced to take a job at half of what he earned picking up odd jobs here and there on nights and weekends. Throw some parents who can't afford to live that move in with their son and you have a show for all ages spanning generations. Run with it people.

And the issues persist

2008-11-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well how does it feel to be in a global economic crisis? Does it feel bad? Are you able to keep a positive attitude? How did your parents do it? How did your grandparents do it? Certainly every generation gets to experience this cylical cycle of ups and downs in life. It is amazing that all the "money" that is somehow gone globally. How does it happen? Oddly enough it is more a perceived notion of wealth. Not in the sense of someone feeling emotionally, spritually, and mentally rich but whether others perceive you as being financially wealthy has more bearing on how much you are worth. What almost seems strange to me is if you consider all the formidable schools our there who teach business and teach economics over the last fifty years those very same graduates went out into the world and made the working man their bitch to say the least and squandered their education, squandered others decades of savings, security, and the global economic balance. It is as if in the last fifty or so years, though I know much of what has been taught in business school and economics schools are principles that were developed in the 1950's which did not include the complexities of free trade, fair wages, and quality of life principles, no one can seem to keep up with governments slow moving policies. I remember when my wife and I were looking for a home, we spend a year on this and we looked at new and old 100's of homes. I saw so many people walk into these new homes and logically it did not make sense the sheer volume of homes sold you think, "how are this many people that all of a sudden can buy a home" That's when I learned more about balloon mortgages and all the other mortgage type. I'm a research kind of person and I did take economics in college; though I argued with my professors from time to time but to any normal human how did this make sense. You know need a crack team of analyst to know something did not look right. Who wants to look at the number real quick c'mon just give me five hours. I guess everyone was making lots of money so who cares where it came from. I would assume these are the same people who are not socially aware either and did not know the wedding ring they purchased was used to fuel the blood shed in the Congo. In the U.S. we will see a new leader take over and can hopefully put on a better global face because really all the leaders have to work together to get out of this. This is not like "the old days" if you decide to have WWIII most of the parts are not made in the U.S. so that does not work anymore. We have to be diligent in our policies; we have to use our brains the very things that have let us survive as long as we have and not be dinner. Hey, humans aren't very fast or strong but we have brains and a pack mentality which can help drive a resolution to any problem with greater ease than anything else. Yeah I know, blowing shit up feels good but that's what video games are for. If you haven't tried it get into a good FPS and try it.

So what's my plan? Well I cannot do much but wait this out and keep a positive attitude. Why do I need to keep a positive attitude? A good question but it helps to be positive no matter what is happening, no matter what seems to be falling apart. The value of our own dollar is based in part of the attitude and optimism we carry as a country. In reality it is the will of the people that drive this country. This is a difficult concept to grasp but is a very important one. Remember to keep a positive attitude about the future, there are only six people that seperate you from anyone else so being positive can affect a lot of people. Ask anyone who has nearly died, economic disparity you ask? Have you tried dying, oh that's the worst.

Who need a title?

2008-04-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Oil:
Today the price of oil went down, how exciting. It is a wonderul rollercoaster ride. I think it is getting closer to topping out soon for a little while just as "the analysts say" just the sheer exhaustion of having to report on the cost of oil get is wearing me out, hehe. Sometimes you see those headlines in regards to $4 a gallon gas and you just want it to get here because it looks like it is almost here, why wait?

Food:
What a great thing to see when you have an 18 month old daugter, the cost of food is going up up up. What is troublesome is that it is not just limited to us, it's everyone. Food, cost of food, lack of food, will surely contribute to a good possibilty of political upheavel and other tensions. I know it is very stereo typical to say, "what kind of world am I bringing my kid into" but I have to believe that this is just a bump in the road.

The good? Well at least our politicians in the U.S. put forth the effort in the last fifteen years to really push for HDTV to be broadcast over the airwaves. I mean who ever thought global progress would put pressure on our energy resources and cause such an inflationary affect? I mean it is only the what the 3rd or 4th time? Well cheers!

First Post

2008-04-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well in times like these I cannot get the state of our current economic situation out of my mind. Hello I am another voice in the wide world or armchair economics.