WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer spending plunged 7.5% in March, reflecting the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic as Americans complied with stay-at-home orders.
Problem is, they’re not counting the right things.
If they’d adjust the metrics and just focus on the markets for PPE, disinfecants, nonperishable foodstuffs and toilet paper, they’d see it… Winning!
" Sharpest Drop On Record: Consumer Spending Plummets 7.5% In March"
" U.S. Economy Shrank at 4.8% Pace in First Quarter"
" Trump Refuses To Believe Polls Showing Him Losing To Biden: ‘Made Up Nonsense’"
" Unemployment Claims Top 30 Million in U.S"
BELIEVE !
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. I think the jobs report next week will make a lot of jaws drop though. I would expect that we’ll have lost at least one million jobs in April, if not two million. Also, the drop in second quarter GDP will probably eclipse any other reported GDP drop in the last hundred years, including any single quarter during the Great Depression.
We’ll see.
Compute the UE rate any way you choose. People without pay don’t buy as much stuff. People sheltering from pandemics don’t hang out at the mall. When you can’t make money selling Chevy trucks in Texas, there just might be a problem.
Consumer Spending Plummets 7.5% In March"
That’s a big number and obviously has a ripple effect on every industry. It’s what we do - consume!
Hopefully manufacturing will return to America when we get closer to waking up from this nightmare.
Which, of course, puts paid to the lie that we need to “reopen business” ASAP.
saw a good discussion on MSMBC. When retail opens back up someone goes in a store and tries on a T-shirt, decides not to buy it. What do you do with that shirt?
Also, the drop in second quarter GDP will probably eclipse any other reported GDP drop in the last hundred years
Yes indeed, but where do economists and investment people come up with the idea of a ‘rebound’ in the 2nd half of the year? So much BS and grifting going on. Self-interest rules the day. Fuck 'em! You too Musk, calling Stay at Home policies “fascist.” We’re not here for to prop up hedge fund managers either. Let them fail.
Anyway, 3rd qtr is most likely going negative as well. And the 4th qtr, which bails out so many industries, might go negative as well. Probably not but why not?
And the stock market was UP by $600 yesterday. WTF?
Because the DOW is made up of a few banks, medical companies, credit card companies, and big stuff like walmart that are either relatively immune to the crisis or even have some advantages during it.
The business of America is… buoying stock prices. Most “economists” on TV are so focused on stock prices that they appear to have no idea that any other aspect of the economy even exists, let alone matters, other than how it affects stock prices.
Yet Amazon continues to ship merchandise left and right. 
Which, of course, puts paid to the lie that we need to “reopen business” ASAP.
The very nature of capitalism, chasing profits even if it means eating its own.
And Lardass will eat us all if we don’t stop him.
I’m waiting for them to actually pay me to take a new truck. If they reopen the Arlington plant, it won’t be long.
I may be able to go out to a theater, or restaurant, or a mall beginning tomorrow - but I’m not suicidal.
Well, I did my part by spending more than $2k on a new fridge last weekend.
Man, I’m just so tired of winning.
I may be able to go out to a theater, or restaurant, or a mall beginning tomorrow - but I’m not suicidal.
Neither am I. Thanks for that.
You forgot
" Impeached"
" 60,000 Dead and Rising"
" Susy Collins Very Concerned"
“The Trump administration is hoping this downturn will be V-shaped, with a sharp fall followed by a rapid increase as stay-at-home orders expire and Americans go back to work and resume normal activities such as shopping and eating in restaurants.”
Also:
That’s pretty much what I was going to say. People with no pay don’t buy anything. People with reduced pay (our household income went down about 30% this month, and will stay down at least 20% for the foreseeable future) don’t buy discretionary items, such as restaurant meals, movie tickets, new TVs, cars or guns (well, some may buy guns, but I’m not one of them)… Opening up stuff won’t heal anything in itself (and may actually hurt if not done carefully). People aren’t going anywhere until they feel reasonably certain that the risk is minimal. Most people aren’t feeling that yet.
