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Spending
By Daphne | October 17, 2007
Do you feel like you are being squeezed financially? It’s not just you. There are so many ways that you may feel the pinch, gasoline prices are one way, food prices another and taxes still another.
According to Marketwatch
In a speech Monday evening, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said the impact of the turmoil in the housing and credit markets is still unclear. Fed officials don’t know at this point if consumer and business spending will slow in response to tighter credit conditions.
The Fed chief is out of touch with working class people. If businesses were so concerned about tighter credit conditions they would not have advertisements for Christmas sales or offers to entice you to spend well before Halloween.
Also the record number of foreclosures only tells part of the story, what about people who sell their home in advance of foreclosure. Things look grim for the rates to be cut again. In the short term a rate cut seems good, then you could have more money in your pocket if you have a lot of debt. In the long run a rate cut could further devalue the dollar.In Chicago, we are feeling the pinch and our elected officials want to raise taxes. I understand that prices increase. Where I live, our condo association had a proposed budget. No one wanted higher assessments, but when electric rates increased, staff salaries increased, and cable rates increased it was inevitable. When residents saw these things, we understood. Government budgets are less transparent and include more patronage hiring. When you know you have to pay more but still aren’t receiving a quality product, then you are concerned especially when you are being spend to spend more of your hard earned money.Prices are rising on necessities which make it more of a challenge to be frugal and have any “extra” money left for saving, investing or fun. People can’t spend more if they don’t have any more!
Topics: October 2007 |