NOW WHAT?
|| By FITSNEWS || In case you hadn’t noticed (or you ride a bicycle), gas is cheap. Like … really cheap. In fact it’s so cheap that billions of dollars worth of fuel savings were supposed to spark a consumer spending renaissance during the 2014 holiday shopping season.
Did that happen? Eh … no. Not really.
According to Gallup, average daily consumer spending (i.e. what Americans spent not counting home, auto and normal bills) was $98 in December. That’s good … but apparently not great. Also, Americans making below $90,000 a year spent $85 per day in December – which is up just $1 from December 2013.
“While strong relative to the recent recessionary period, it is similar to the $95 found in November, as well as the $96 in December 2013,” Gallup’s analysts note. “This indicates that even though spending is stronger than in the past, some U.S. consumers are still cautious amid positive economic news and growing consumer confidence.”
Well, yeah … or it could mean gas “savings” weren’t quite the stimulus some expected they might be (an issue we addressed in detail HERE).
There’s also this worrisome note regarding a holiday shopping season that got off to a disappointing start …
The lack of a more significant November-to-December increase, common in prior years, could be a sign that the Christmas retail season was less than robust.
Uh-oh …
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We love rainbows. And unicorns. And we wish the U.S. economy was nothing but rainbows and unicorns.
But until it actually is … we’re not going to feed the big lie.
***
62 comments
This cheap gas is going to increase spending eventually and then start to fan the flames of price increases from the years of monetary base expansion…and when they start roaring the Fed will raise rates, too late.
It’s going to be magnificent. The Keynesian dream will burn out in a ball of flame once the bank reserves start leaking out.
The 70’s stagflation will look like a tea party in comparison. I can’t wait.
“I told you so” won’t even be necessary and won’t touch the end of the Grand Experiment itself.
And some day the sky will fall with flaming meteors – hey – if you’re idea of fun is to sit around and wait for the end to come – maybe you should at least get off your butt and use some of that gas savings to buy a recliner – cause it’s going to be a really, really long time.
My first stop when the fun starts will be your house. I’ll trade you a can of beans and a bag of rice for your kids and use them as personal slaves.
In fact, I’ll buy your recliner too just as a reminder.
Well since we’ll both be dead in 2095 – excuse me if I don’t wait around for you. Like gold was going to take off last year, the price of a barrel of oil was forecast to go to $140 end of 2014, inflation would be 15% now and the economy would be collapsing. Ho hum, dum-dum, gotta run.
The great thing about doomsday scenarios is that eventually, yes, bad things will happen and things will drastically change. The doomsdayers love to tell us it’s just around the corner, maybe 1, 3, 5, 10 years from now, but it could be 20, 30, 50, 100, 200 years from now and they’d still be “proven right.”
And it all started with income tax / Federal Reserve / Social Security / Medicare / Medicaid / Food Stamps / Obamacare / USPS / Department of Education / EPA / labor unions / gay marriage / the Civil Rights Act / Pell grants / global warming / unemployment / FDIC / etc.
If only we had unbridled, unrestrained free markets. I hear being a tax collector in Somalia is one of the most dangerous jobs you can have there. Hong Kong has thousands living in what are called “dog cages.” Maybe that would save America, but Americans are too socialist for that.
Red Giant Sun!
It will prove the Libertarians were right for 7 billion years!
You and Smirks are pikers.
Why pick 2095 as the date that a problem would come up?
By your methodology why even bother to get close to balancing a budget?
The government should just print up the entire required funds to meet it’s demands each year and there would be no problem right?
I still have tuna fish from preparing for Y2K. Want to trade?
wow! *you* got tuna? Damn! all I got were these damned dried beans!
Libertarians of the 1980s: Yep, the end is coming, the dollar will be worthless, the economy will collapse, and the people will revolt. I’ll be surprised if we make it to the 90s.
Libertarians of the 1990s: Any day now. Just watch, the fed will finally slip up and the whole place will come crashing down. I highly doubt it’ll last much longer, probably before Y2K.
Libertarians of the 2000s: Yep, it’s going to happen soon, I can just feel it. The US will explode and the yuan will replace the dollar. Better start investing in gold before it’s too late, you’ll regret it! I doubt we have much longer.
Libertarians of the 2010s: The feds must be barely holding on, delaying the inevitable. What a bunch of Keynesian fools. When the fiat currency finally turns into glorified toilet paper I’ll be glad I put a buttload of money into Bitcoins (since, you know, the price of gold isn’t going up anymore). We probably have a year or two, at most.
Libertarians of the 2020s: Any day now, the bottom is going to fall out and we’re going to be fucked. The fed is desperate and lord knows the US government is going to confiscate everything they can when shit hits the fan. I lost my ass on Bitcoins but this new crypto-currency will be different, you better save up too if you want to buy canned vegetables and bullets in the NWO.
Libertarians of the 2030s: Ok, seriously, what the fuck man, when is this shit going to hell in a handbasket? Did the fed learn black magic? Are they consorting with aliens to keep the monopoly money flowing? Did the debt become so large it collapsed in on itself to form a black hole? Did USA 2.0 invent a time machine to bail out our current government with their currency? Whatever it is, it isn’t going to last much longer. Just wait and see.
Thats cause mother pickers are in debt up to their asses from low wages.
People are in debt up to their asses because the spend more than they make. If you can’t prioritize, cheap or expensive gas low or high wages will make no difference, you will still be in debt up to your ass.
Time! Give it time! By your same logic, tax cuts would not help consumer spending..
Dave Ramsey:
First, pay down debts.
Second, Build up an emergency fund.
Third, fund retirement .
Fourth, raise your standard of living living.
Auto sales up 6% in 2014.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/05/auto-sales-continued-to-soar-in-2014-as-economy-improved/
Oh how I beg to differ.
Already in my possession are:
2 tickets to Seiger in Atlanta Jan 31
2 tickets to the red neck symphony at Volusia County Speedway mid Feb
2 Tickets to “The Dream” at Eldora Speedway first weekend in June
2 tickets to the Mellencamp concert in Augusta June
2 Tickets to “The World 100” Eldora weekend after Labor Day
2 tickets to the World Finals at THE DiRT TRACK in Charlotte Mid November
And seeing as how we have 20% federal with holdings on all our SS and pensions, a rather substantial “red neck’ windfall coming in the next few weeks.
As an aside, 120 octane gas was $8 a gallon last year at the Dream, any guesses on this year?
LIVE BETTER!
WORK AND RETIRE UNION!
I DID!
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
journeyman wireman
Local 1579 Augusta,Ga.
But unions are evil. Corporations colluding to fuck over the serfs is running a business smartly but when the laborers band together to negotiate scraps from the captains of industry so their lives are marginally better it’s evil. Greed is only good when the rich fucks do it.
Unions have been weakening over the last several decades but all of the economic issues we’ve been having is because unions.
Sick days, vacation days, 40-hour work weeks, retirement, health insurance, and so on weren’t because of unions but because the Job Creators™ took mercy upon us, Invisible Hand be praised!
Shining Path!
Shining Path!
AKA “New Democrats”.
The road to enlightenment is littered with the bones of kulaks.
Thanks for expanding my vocabulary.
“But unions are evil.”…yes they are, especially when you’re a member and you don’t agree with them.
my n.ighbor’s sister-in-law makes $85 /hr on the computer . She has been fired for five months but last month her pay was $14631 just working on the computer for a few hours. linked here;.See more.
Bravo Foxtrot Delta, FU Stan.
At least “Stan” has a job and is producing something, unlike Smirks. (btw, telling Stan to “FU” doesn’t do much because he’s a script/robot, but it does probably make one feel better)
Why don’t you stay in your own lane Socialist Smirks. (btw, making up user names as you go can only be what you produce, but it does probably make you feel better)
I’m sorry the help annoyed you. Shame on me for attempting to enlighten.
Go back to telling Stan like it is and ignore my comments.
Boy that was a quick up vote.
r u the ‘upvote’ monitor at Fits tonight? Thought u were sober?
No but I sure got you to respond.
u r not sober?
Haven’t drank in about 30 years, quick upvote again I see.
respect that…if it was a problem
Selective outrage over user name?
Another quick up vote.
just upvoted u? Whats the frequency, Kenneth?
You’re good two upvotes in seconds.
this idiot has prob never read a comment from fitz.seems right wing assholes have selective rage as well.
Is your n.ighbor’s sister-in-law a member of a UNION, Stan?
“Invisible Hand be praised!”
That’s some commie shit right there.
Doubting the invisible hand eh? Well, I’m not sure the underpinning of neoclassical economics can be easily dismissed, but certainly you’re not the one up for the task.
Your hate for the “Job Creators™” must mean you’re self employed, right?
5% growth last quarter? HALF of that was the GOVERNMENT REQUIRED OBAMACARE PAYMENTS!!!
Obamacare isn’t going any damned place. It’s helping too many Americans.
LMAO!!!
Doctors Face A Huge Medicare And Medicaid Pay Cut In 2015
http://www.forbes.com/…/doctors-face-a-huge-medicare-and-medicaid-...
Forbes
12 hours ago – If scheduled 2015 Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement cuts remain in … First, what it did do: Obamacare increased Medicaid reimbursement …
As Medicaid Rolls Swell, Cuts in Payments to Doctors …
http://www.nytimes.com/…/obamacare-medicaid-fee-increas...
The New York Times
Dec 27, 2014 – “The government attempted to entice physicians into Medicaid with higher rates, then lowers reimbursement once the doctors are involved,” he …
NYT: Those temporary Medicaid reimbursement rates really …
hotair.com/…/nyt-those-temporary-medicaid-reimbursement-rates…
Hot Air
Dec 29, 2014 – Instead they chose ObamaCare, and with it explicit cuts toreimbursement rates even while pushing millions of people into Medicaid with …
Obamacare paradox: Medicaid is expanding, but doctors …
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…/obamacare-paradox-me...
The Washington Post
Dec 10, 2014 – But a scheduled cut in Medicaid payments — built into the law — could … The federal Medicaid reimbursement to doctors vary by state, but …
Obamacare cuts Medicaid doctor pay 42 percent in 2015 …
http://www.infowars.com/obamacare-cuts-medicaid-doctor-pay-42-...
Alex Jones
Dec 29, 2014 – Obamacare cuts Medicaid doctor pay 42 percent in 2015 …participating in Medicaid — which typically has low reimbursement rates — even as …
Who are the real job “creators”?
The manufacturer, or the consumer?
It doesn’t matter as far as my inquiry to the Socialist.
He clearly hates those that have the means to employ people.
If you don’t make the product ya can’t buy it? Was that a trick question or did the union make you answer that before they deducted your dues and turned in your voting ballot?
Obvious you could educate yourself as to the difference of “job creator” versus “job provider”.
My country cousin in Alabama would agree with you 100%. He is retired as an IBEW electrician. I went with him to his local headquarters in Chattanooga where he showed me the classrooms and other facilities — all very nicely done. He also explained in detail how the union operated, such as how jobs were assigned, duties, how one moved up in responsibilities, and so forth.
The IBEW, overall, for his duties and assignments over the years, was good to him, especially now that he has retired, with his pension and health coverage. I admitted to him that this was the way a union should be run already knowing that overall I oppose unions. What I didn’t tell him was why, in principle, I oppose them because (well, too much negativity to go into here).
Now it has not been a rosy ride for him throughout the years, because three times he was on the verge of losing everything he had through bankruptcy. But the good years were very, very good. Also, many times he had to work away from his family for long periods of time; other times the work was available within commuting distance. There were times when he would not be working for weeks or months. He survived it all though. He’s a good dude!
Chattanooga LU 175, know it well.
As far as the Democrats versus Republicans, I could never vote for a party that always ran on the promise of destroying the unions.
I will go even further, i my opinion, working class Americans( notice I didn’t limit that to union members) have had absolutely no national representation since Hubert Humphrey and George Meany!
That ain’t bad for an uneducated, queer redneck with no skills.Do you still have your teeth?
how many different names is this asshole going to post under?
Gas prices and the Earned Income Tax Credit (10,000 dollars) for families that don’t pay a DIME of taxes is fueling spending.
Glad that consumerist Americans get to enjoy their chinese electronics and minimum wage paying restaurants at the expense of the last industry thats pays skilled labor..
Skilled labor? What is that?
Don’t make me club you.
D O N ‘ T – F I L L – Y O U R – T A N K S
Gas prices have barely begun to affect the economy. The price of a barrel of crude is falling at an increasing rate. The chart looks like the crest of a hill not the valley. In other words, since June price have fallen more and by a larger amount each month.
and then Obama was annoited king in Jan of 09…
and the stock market roared higher ! Obama has been great for stocks.
I warned a month or two ago that cheap gas is a prelude to a recession or deflation, which is worse. Look at Japan. Stagnant. That is deflation. Bad thing.
Just read this – so now I’m confused. Who’s right?
“Consumers’ average daily spending in December was $98, the highest it’s been since matching the upper reaches on this measure since 2008.”
What we are enjoying is the price of gas thanks to the decision of Saudi Arabia to destroy North Dakota. And it’s working.
This is the FULL ignorance of FITS. The price is LOWER. Gas is Still not Cheap…To say it’s cheap, as household incomes have nosedived under Obama…makes you look like the lemming media-cliche you are.
And: When you figure gas has been $1.50 more per gallon for the first 6 years of Obama than it was for the first 6 years of Bush…I want my money back Obama STOLE for 6 years….
PS: The stock market is tanking because of oil prices…so since the only thing Obama has had to brag about is propping up the stock mkt. for years…can we say ALL the EXTRA money we spent on gas went to rich Wall St. investor cronies of Obama. They got richer, while families suffer…
Liberal Democrats SUCK on the economy…and Dumb@$$#$ like FITS cannot figure that out…so the idiots who follow FITS and Co., are still stupid….
Since this story was posted, it’s been out of date. Oil prices have dropped $2.00 a barrel in 24 hours. Maduro is traveling around the world, crapping in his pants at every stop.