Your questions... On our economy
Have you ever wondered what the economy has to do with you? Wondered why it mattered that Bear Stearns went bankrupt? Wondered why your food, gas, and clothes cost more than they used to while your house is worth less?
With home sales falling, foreclosures rising and a subprime meltdown hitting everyone from Main Street to Wall Street, the United States is in the midst of a financial emergency…
The U.S. is shedding jobs as oil prices and the cost of living continue to surge…
Money, housing and that nasty "r" word, recession, are on the minds of America’s voters. The economy is the top topic in the presidential election. Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain all have ideas of how to fix things, but who is right?
How did this happen? How COULD this happen? Who is to blame? Who has the answers?
Many questions – and we'll explore them in an upcoming AC360° special on our nation’s economy; unearthing the roots of the growing U.S. financial crisis.
We’ll tackle the big-picture questions, but we want to hear your questions... on our economy.
It’s your gas tank, your job, your home, your wallet...
Please post your questions... on our economy.
– David Reisner, AC360° Digital Producer
Comments to the 360° blog are moderated. What does that mean?
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Filed under: Economy |
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Anyone who has taken economics remembers that what our societial majority believes is the way our economy goes. Our society has produced the leader who can lead us into this century to rise above connected moments of mere survival, as we recognize our birthright instilled in us long ago. We unite in a common purpose as a nation and human race; we lift the entire world as we act with our highest and best for our planet/ourselves. It is our destiny to evolve and our children will look back on this moment as the unstoppable turning point in the shift for forward thinking. Barack Obama is the man that our nation has produced to lead us and build the bridge to quantum leap into the world that acts responsibly not only to ourselves but to the world. He has answered the call. We choose Barack!
If we are in a recession then why is every store filled with people every day? Along the same line why do Americans (who claim to be outraged by outsourcing) continue to buy Chinese and other overseas products? In a related comment about China – if Americans (including Hilliary Clinton) wants to protest Chinese policy why don't they stop buying Chinese products rather than not allowing athletes to fully enjoy the Olympic Games. We are such a hypocritical society!!!
The economy is worsening and no candidate will be able to take the brunt of the Bush era!
When taking away your belief: how much is a dollar bill worth the ink, OSD, security tape, printing costs, paper?
What are your believing in?
Do you work for the money? or do you work to provide a better place for your children?
How can we get our country back to what it has been in the last 50 years? Always before the middle class was at work establishing buying power to boost our economy, You sold our jobs out to foreign countries. Millions have found themselves displaced from the work force. Slavery which ended on US soil in the mid-1800s has been recreated on foreign soil where people once again are toiling, living in shacks, and struggling to survive while CEOs bank millions and billions. Displaced workers only find part time jobs in the job market which offer no benefits, Inferior goods, dangerous toys, contaminated foods come into the country from countrys with no regulations of superiority. Bring our jobs back. Build back our economy before foriegn countries own us. America has never been in the mess we are in today since THE GREAT DEPRESSION. Vote O'Bama and bring change back through his administrations. End War. Good Jobs. That is what needs to be done.
1. Do you think that legalizing immigration will boost the economy?
2. The upper-middle class has suffered a direct hit from the recession and how will this affect the lower working class?
I heard we are unable to outsource jobs because we cannot afford the overseas rates as our dollar is so weak.
i know we are going into a depression. As the days go buy, rates increase and corporations keep tumbling. Why is it being denied by the administration? If they are honest, perhaps we can be better prepared for it if it does get bad.
I will say one thing, I could care less about anything in this election other than the economy. I am the little person feeling it in my pocket daily. If the economy gets addressed all other things will fall in place because it will be discovered that we cannot afford to ousource work, to keep the military overseas and not regulate and protect our own borders.
Having lived through the end of the VIetnam war, the rationing of gasoline and the recession of the 70s, I can't help but wonder how a democratic president pulling us out of Iraq will affect the Military-Industrial complex and add to our already faltering economy?
The United States doesn't invest in nuclear power in this country. They play on the fears of the nuclear bomb and it is not the same. This does affect our wallets. Does the US not invest in nuclear power because of energy lobbyist power in Washington?
Isn't out-sourcing jobs bad? So why do we still do it? Does this not raise the unemployment rate?
During this time of our economy is it safer to have one savings account, or multiple savings accounts spread across multiple banks?
And we thought global warming was so interconnected. Well, so is the economy. The war, raw material prices, outsourcing, jobs, trade agreements, cash flow, interest rates, housing, value of the currencies, etc. all interrelate in one way or another.
Economics was never my favorite course in college but I feel the economy today is so connected to what is going on globally around the world. Even more so now than let's say 10-15 years ago. So my question is can we really solve our economic issues domestically or is this more of a global issue? Thanks.
Jolene, St. Joseph, MI
The economy is not the problem. The economy, crime, school dropout rates, racism and gender bias and yes the war in Iraq are problem situations. The real problem, apart from the problem situations, is America's inability to commit to the tenets of its national Creed set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Dr. King pointed this fault out in his "I have A Dream" speech. He said, "I have a Dream that one day America will rise up and live out the true meaning of its Creed. Not one who spoke at the fortieth Memphis commemoration of Dr. King's assassination mentioned this statement. Dr. King also pointed out that African Americans would not get anywhere in this country unless we squeeze the slave out of ourselves and he was right, evidenced by Barack Obama who has done better than most with creating his character. The kind of character Dr. King wanted to see rewarded.
Maia Ajanaku-Locke
of Memphis TN
Is there any chance of some of the high paying technical jobs that have gone off shore coming back? Why do we send all the good jobs overseas and not look after our own citizens – if the citizens can't find good paying jobs tax revenue on many levels will go down – that doesn't seem to be good for anyone. So why is the government letting big business do this?
Annie Kate
Birmingham AL
The government keeps three sets of books which one concerns me? The checks (rebates)that are coming from the government are actually coming from loans from China I want to know how long and for how much are we going to be in debt to China?
For every forclosed abandoned home theres that much less property taxes going to schools what can be done to save our schools and our teachers so our children can go to school?
Your special called Mortgage Bust, I believe that was the title that aired last week for three nights straight that featured the Willis woman among others, was just awful. It had contributors sitting around a casino table or such discussing the economy and was so simple minded it was an insult to our intellegence. Instead of all the talking heads, which were boring, why wasn't there more in the field reporting on actual foreclosures and not this"roll of the dice" attitude that prevailed? Please don't rebroad cast this nonsense again. Aim for something a bit higher and assume that the intellect of those watching know "a little something."
Why do some Presidential candidates think that raising taxes will help our economy?
1) Where is the safest place to invest our money? Should we reallocate our 401K?
2) How do we solve the mortgage crisis?
3) How do we solve the unemployment problem?
I'd like to know more about the effect the war in Iraq has had upon our economy. Is it true that the Chinese hold a large part of our debt? Will the next president be able to reduce the deficit in any meaningful way?
I was watching Your $$$$ and a guest explained that oil is traded in dollars and because the value of the dollar has gone down compared to other currency, that the price of oil in dollars is raised to compete with the rest. That is why the price of oil in this country is so high and we are paying more for food. I wanted to know what needs to be done to raise the value of the dollar? Also will the government ever start reissuing the M3 report again?
I had lunch with some of the financial guys from a major bank yesterday and they were talking like we are heading for a global depression. They said to watch the eyes of the talking heads on TV when they comment on the economy and you can see real fear even though they are trying to give a hopeful message to try to stave off panic.
My question is where is the dividing line between a depression and a recession and how long will it be before we reach the worst of it?
What is being done seriously to bring down the cost of medical care and gas for this country? I seem to hear a lot about the profits of the drug companies and oil industry. What is the government going to do?
During this recession, how should one protect their small savings? If you don't have any debt, what should the average American do...continue to keep the money in a savings account or invest?