Anecdotal economic field reports (Now Stickied)

An acquaintance of mine has been interviewing for seasonal work in retail for the holidays.

She applied for a position at Macy's, and the first sign that all was not well was that she walked into a huge room full of people (she had assumed she was getting a personal interview).

2nd: They were told that the position would pay only $8.10/hr, even for those with retail experience.

3rd: No one would be getting scheduled work time; the sales positions would be on-call only (I guess Macy's is expecting people to be sitting at home waiting for that special phone call to come into work).

So, it should be real interesting to see how this plays out! Either Macy's is trying to put the squeeze on desperate unemployed people, and/or they are expecting to make next to nothing during the holidays.

IM Chat from this morning:

(11:33:53 AM) Her: i dreamt i was in a mental institution and it wasnt scary but rahter calm like being in a church
(11:34:03 AM) Me: Odd
(11:34:12 AM) Me: Confinement really gets to me
(11:34:15 AM) Me: How was it for you?
(11:35:03 AM) Her: i like small spaces
(11:35:10 AM) Her: i freak out in the open
(11:36:40 AM) Me: interesting
(11:36:54 AM) Me: i'm fine anywhere...it's the idea of someone controlling me and telling me I can't leave that makes me crazy
(11:37:09 AM) Her: oh i like rules and stuff
(11:37:15 AM) Her: i dont question many things

My business here in Turkey has been very good the last 12 mths or so...

Here is one reason:

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Annualized economic growth rates exceeded 10 percent in each of the first two quarters this year and the ISE-100 stock index has risen more than 24 percent.

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From: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-0...k-changes.html

The turkish lira has strengthened the last 3 mths from 1.60 to the dollar to today 1.44, so at this point gold is cheaper in turkish lira terms, than when I sold 3 mths ago... So I will go and buy some gold today... :sun:

Stupid Bank Manager

The local credit union I do business with has a branch manager, he is a good guy, friendly, pleasant; he is the guy you go to for loans in that branch.

But he knew NOTHING about MERS, the foreclosure fraud / "show me the note" issues, the stopping of foreclosures in 23 states including PA, etc.

Stuff WE knew about 6 months or more ago, he never even heard of! He didn't even know what MERS was...

IF even the bank manager is clueless about this stuff, then my take is that preps, gold and silver, guns, etc. have a LOOOONNNGG way to run before people realize what is going on.

I use to work in a bank - in IT and I recently dated a personal banker.....

I can tell you that most everyone at a bank is just looking at screens and paper with numbers on it...only the execs, board and a few others even know anything about finance or watch the markets. Most of them too even get tripped up in the politics to make enough time to focus on the big picture.

We went out to dinner with the kids last week, a Saturday evening and there were barely any tables filled. In the past, even a few months ago we would have a short wait. Then Monday evening just me and the husband went out to dinner for my birthday. We just went for pizza and beer because we wanted to catch a movie. No one was there. Really odd. Lots of employees with nothing to do. The theater was practically empty too but that could be because it was a Monday.

Then yesterday I planned to take my son to a book store. It was closed. And the Fresh Market in the same strip mall that had moved out close to a year ago is still vacant. The outdoor shop next to it was also closed. I'm seeing more and more strip malls almost vacant.

One more thing I notice is during the day, early afternoon from noon until 3 or so, traffic is a nightmare. It's as if no one is working anymore and just out and about. Things are strange out there.

My Co- A fairly large international pipeline / petro engineering firm based in Houston just laid off 60 people - 10% of its staff.

Yesterday was a bad day.

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Originally Posted by TheNocturnalEgyptian

IM Chat from this morning:

(11:33:53 AM) Her: i dreamt i was in a mental institution and it wasnt scary but rahter calm like being in a church
(11:34:03 AM) Me: Odd
(11:34:12 AM) Me: Confinement really gets to me
(11:34:15 AM) Me: How was it for you?
(11:35:03 AM) Her: i like small spaces
(11:35:10 AM) Her: i freak out in the open
(11:36:40 AM) Me: interesting
(11:36:54 AM) Me: i'm fine anywhere...it's the idea of someone controlling me and telling me I can't leave that makes me crazy
(11:37:09 AM) Her: oh i like rules and stuff
(11:37:15 AM) Her: i dont question many things

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She's into light B&D. She wants a strong dominant man to control her and do little nasty things to her. I just mention this 'cause I thought you might profit from the knowledge. ;)

http://i.imgur.com/Kuna8.jpg


People out there are getting restless...and informed.

Idaho to cut $8 million in Medicaid services

by Associated Press - KTVB.COM

Updated yesterday at 9:24 PM

BOISE -- The state is poised to make $8 million worth of cuts to Medicaid programs and services that cater to low-income adults with severe mental illness or children with disabilities like Autism.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has drafted a new set of rules that would authorize cuts designed to save the agency about $1.6 million. The state cuts, however, would also trigger the loss of another $6.5 million in Medicaid matching money used to pay for those services.

Advocates for the mentally ill and disabled say the rules unfairly target a group that can ill afford rollbacks in services and programs.

Set to go in effect in January, the reductions or elimination of some services target programs for adults diagnosed with severe depression and schizophrenia, or children with Asperger's syndrome or other developmental challenges.

:o

Linky

In case you aren't familar, this brand prints "99 cents!" right on the can. This is the first time I've ever seen them marked up.

http://i.imgur.com/pP7V6.jpg

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Originally Posted by TheNocturnalEgyptian

In case you aren't familar, this brand prints "99 cents!" right on the can. This is the first time I've ever seen them marked up.

http://i.imgur.com/pP7V6.jpg

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ROFL! That's too funny... fool's gonna get home and take the price tag off and be all

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dcdi--LdAe...c/s400/wtf.jpg

the most expensive eggs in wholefoods are now 6 FRN/dozen. Used to be 4.50/dozen.
Grilled chicken went from 7.99 to 9.99.

local all you can eat sushi bar used to have a line outside now is 1/3 empty.

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Originally Posted by etc

the most expensive eggs in wholefoods are now 6 FRN/dozen. Used to be 4.50/dozen.
Grilled chicken went from 7.99 to 9.99.

local all you can eat sushi bar used to have a line outside now is 1/3 empty.

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$6 for eggs? wtf, are they from the golden goose or something?

$.50/egg! Is Whole Foods all organic? That MUST be the price of organic eggs.

bacon - 1 lb - $4.98

(It was $2.59 just 11 months ago in January).

Aldi's visit today, hadn't been there for a while.

Corned beef hash, was $1.29 - now $1.49
chicken broth in can, 39 cents - now 45 cents

Local bank has armed security guards out front - this is in a good neighborhood - rarely hear of any violent crimes. I've never seen any armed guards around banks in this area.

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Originally Posted by Rebel Yarr

Local bank has armed security guards out front - this is in a good neighborhood - rarely hear of any violent crimes. I've never seen any armed guards around banks in this area.

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I recall reading earlier (in the year?) that one of the busiest 'industries' was bullet-proof glass, and banks were the biggest customers. Not only replacing the exterior glass, but every teller window as well.

I just paid 6 bucks for deodorant. - WTF!!!!

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Originally Posted by Rebel Yarr

I just paid 6 bucks for deodorant. - WTF!!!!

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Showers are cheaper, when ya do the numbers... ;D

Picked up a 20oz bottle of coca cola recently. $1.89/ bottle = wtf.

Economy in my area seems to be holding fast jobs wise. We're heavily dependent on tourism and the military spending. Tourism has actually increased recently probably partially due to worldwide tourism. Military spending is holding fast.

Businesses are still holding on, many still losing money. No drastic increases of empty storefronts, although there is a lot of movement with businesses shutting down and others taking their places. Helps that the official unemployment rate is maybe 66% of the national unemployment rate. Lots of people I know are paycheck to paycheck though, as families are still coping with furloughs, layoffs, and wage freezes. Nothing new there though.

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Originally Posted by Rebel Yarr

I just paid 6 bucks for deodorant. - WTF!!!!

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Use colloidal silver solution instead of deodorant - it's safer and more effective.

Local massage parlor raised price for standard massage to $50 from $40! And a PM went up to $25. >:(

I walked about 2 miles today to a store and back. I passed by three sporting goods stores (none of them big names), and two of them were out of business. The closings looked recent - the signs were not faded, everything was clean, etc.

I got really excited when I saw that there was sushi restaurant within walking distance, until I saw the "Closed" sign. It looks like that restaurant was open yesterday.

sushi store probably doesn't open until 5 PM. It's a cultural thing, the good sush no open till 5 or 6, otherwise screw you. We have plenty customers.

NPR was running a story this morning about cotton prices raising 50%. The gist of the story was: buy your cotton goods NOW. For next week the prices will be higher. Stores are opting to either a:) raise prices or b:) not stock as many cotton products.

Got socks, jeans, linens, et al?

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Originally Posted by mamboni

Local massage parlor raised price for standard massage to $50 from $40!

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http://www.massagetherapistschools.n...admassage2.jpg

Your posts at GSUS in the afternoon are less grouchy. Must be the Happy Ending nooner.

:D

The local Lucky grocery store weekly ad cam out - it offered

"Buy one pack of Oscar Mayer Bacon (various weights) get One Free!"

"Woo-hoo" time to load up on salted pork products!

I get to the store and sure enough, there's the packages of lovely salted fat - oh, but the price -

$7.99 a pound! (oddly, about twice the current gouging rate here).

The bastards are offering "buy one, get one free" only after doubling the price!

Here is the $6 deodorant I use... http://www.greenbeaverus.com/body/de...eoodorant.html

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Originally Posted by mamboni

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rebel Yarr

I just paid 6 bucks for deodorant. - WTF!!!!

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Use colloidal silver solution instead of deodorant - it's safer and more effective.

Local massage parlor raised price for standard massage to $50 from $40! And a PM went up to $25. >:(

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Even better, take some zinc, preferably sublingual zinc gluconate tablets until you get a metallic taste in your mouth. Then take one or two every day to maintain tissue saturation.

One of the signs of a zinc deficiency is general b.o. coupled with stinky 'pits and paradoxically a reduced ability to smell.

I've gotten a couple of part-time jobs since dh is out of work again. One is with a major retailer, the other elderly care-giving with light duties.

At the store, one of the security guards is in his 50s-early 60s. He seemed a bit old and worldly for the job, and after becoming friends he told he he used to be the head of an international sales team making six figures until about five years ago.

One day he gets an email from corporate saying his contract won't be renewed for the following year. He tried to stay in the same field, but couldn't get another job despite looking for a year. The U.S. economy seems to be shaking people out who are middle-aged.

One of the elderly men I take care of is one of those salt-of-the-earth types who pulled himself up by his bootstraps from poverty in the last Depression to become a self-made man.

You'd never guess it from his home, car, or the way he dresses that he's a millionaire. He saves all his plastic baggies to re-use in trash cans and turns out the lights religiously when he leaves a room.

It really makes me angry, he has all this money he's saved up all his life, but doesn't know where to put it because there's basically no place that will give him a decent return.

He rails against the Fed and the fraud in the marketplace daily, but he's in the minority of my acquaintances. He, dh, and a couple of friends are pretty much the only ones who are on the same page when it comes to this topic.

Was in palm springs the other day. Since this place is crawling with high net worth retired people some might find my observations interesting. There is a lot of high net worth guys who have second homes, people who excape south for the winter. Driving through indian wells on a friday night you would not think there is any economic crisis looming. The restaruants where packed, people would buy #hit on a stick if it where served. Even the high end restaurants had a wait list (flemings). To my surprise PF changs :) had a one hour wait, and this for some glorified panda express! I did notice a lot of vacant comerical space. I overheard one of the conversations at dinner, the topic was real estate. The man and his wife where talking to a couple about being upside down on an investment, he could find leasees for a comercial building he owns.

Here is the interesting part. On the way home i sat next to a man who showed me pictures of his yacht and 4.2million$ house he was building. This is a man of means, i would estimate his net worth at about 50-100 million after talking with him, i only believe about 30% of what people say in general, but the man showed me pictures. We got to talking and he told me that he is retired and manages his portfolio full time. Part of managing that portfolio is building high end homes. He has been building about one every year or so. Beautiful place, the kind with a stream running through it. He sells them for a profit. He was very frank with me, told me how his money was invested. He said with his portfolio he has excess to very low interest rate loans. Recenetly, he told me, he took out a 3million$ loan at 2.72% interest. He then rolled it into a high yielding stock that paid him a 6% dividend. Smart i thought! There is one thing that i noticed, everything this man owened was in the form of paper, except his house speculation. He had little to know hard assests. Land ect..... He held bonds and securities. I expect this to be true for most of the extreamly wealthy class. This guy knew his economic cycles, he said he would invest with the times, if he couldnt find a play for his money he would pull it out and wait. I asked him what he thought of gold and silver, he said he owned some, i asked in what form. Of course paper. I told him that eventually all paper burns and that he should have a few 100oz bars laying around. He said, what if the hookers find them! lol! For him it is uncomfortable holding the real thing, it puts all the responsability into his hands. With a stock, bond, security, ownership is easyer, it takes a lot less effort to buy sell or trade. I think that is what it really comes down to, effort. BTW, on the day i met this guy he said his portfolio pulled in $60k, thats in one day. The rich are getting richer.

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Originally Posted by JFN111

Several more vacant houses in the neighborhood. It looks like a second round of foreclosures kicking in.
My next door neighbors must have 7 people living in the house to help them keep current with their mortgage. ::)

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http://scallywagandvagabond.com/wp-c...crackhouse.jpg

:oo-->

Okay, our Netflix is going up $3/month beginning in January! That is quite an increase from 16 to 19.

I use netflix and received the e-mail too. They are also offering a streaming only service which is $7.99/mo. now though - so that works better for me. I think the price increase is only for new subs as well.

I met a guy at the "Beer Garden" in the RV Park I am in. He is 40 and used to pour concrete in Las Vegas for which he received $8000 a month in wages. He said one day, it all just stopped, without warning. He has been unemployed, and looking for work since January, and just found a job doing maintenance for the National Parks Service, making $18/hour.

He is living in his parents 1970's trailer, but he has a nice SUV, two new looking Sea Doo's and a boat (I didn't see it), which are surely items purchased during the boom years.

We talked for about three beers. He seemed like he could be a GIM2 kind of person. (Hey, you have to admit, a GIM2er is still way better than the average person.)

The story of his 2010 made me very grateful for what I have. . . employment.

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Originally Posted by k-os

I met a guy at the "Beer Garden" in the RV Park I am in. He is 40 and used to pour concrete in Las Vegas for which he received $8000 a month in wages. He said one day, it all just stopped, without warning. He has been unemployed, and looking for work since January, and just found a job doing maintenance for the National Parks Service, making $18/hour.

He is living in his parents 1970's trailer, but he has a nice SUV, two new looking Sea Doo's and a boat (I didn't see it), which are surely items purchased during the boom years.

We talked for about three beers. He seemed like he could be a GIM2 kind of person. (Hey, you have to admit, a GIM2er is still way better than the average person.)

The story of his 2010 made me very grateful for what I have. . . employment.

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I'm surprised he was able to keep his concrete job for that long. Here all the concrete work is done by illegals. I'm sure they don't make 8K/month either:(.

Yeah - highest paid concrete work would be union carpentry doing forms - not making 100k a year doing that.... $20-30 and hour sounds more realistic. sounds like he was trying to impress someone :)

The major retailer I work for posted record profits for Black Friday.

BUT!

Newly-hired temporary workers were interviewed about a month ago, but didn't start work until a week ago, with their training ending on Black Friday itself.

One of my co-workers said there were six less employees in her department compared to last year. Also, until this year seasonal help was hired and started working more than a month before BF in order to be experienced enough to handle the volume of customers and tasks.

I was all alone in my department for hours, and all I could do was pick crap up off the floor. There were multiple calls to give people in other departments a break, and to help out the cashiers. We were painfully short-handed all day long and for the rest of the weekend.

I spoke with a former co-worker today, and she is hiring a new assistant. I worked at a sports organization which has members (customers).

I said "Wow, I am sure you will get someone great, because there are so many people out of work right now, eager to find a job."

She told me that no, she only had 4 applicants to choose from, because instead of posting the job with a recruiting firm, their new policy is to only offer the job to certain unemployed members (customers) of the organization. I thought that was interesting, though not horrible. Companies are getting more specific about hiring from a base that also helps support their business.

In addition, she told me that they have a "Diversity Initiative" that they are all doing at work. Everyone had to complete a questionnaire with ideas on how to diversify the organization. This means, essentially, how to get more women and non-white people involved.

One of the applicants is black, and she was told, in hush tones, to think hard about the Diversity Initiative while considering who to hire for the job. She feels (like I do) that the person best qualified for the job should get the job, regardless of race, gender, etc.

Fortunately, she liked the black applicant the best anyway, but if she had not, she would have felt pressured to hire him. Unfortunately, he is getting his masters degree and will likely grow out of the assistant position before he's even completely learned the necessary skills for the job. But, I imagine she's not even able to think like that (meaning logically) or voice her concern because of the Diversity Initiative.