How is the economy treating you?

[Reverend Timmy]

Hey,since I have had so much time on my hands with this neck and head injury,I had an idea.If you want to move to this country as a illegal alien and suck up all the benefits,show some sincerity in the commitment.Make a 2year stint in the military mandatory.If you don't,back you go....I bet that will slow down the flow.....Men & Women...

[nateb]

I am doing very well but, I am also working very hard. With the economy the way it is, I am not sure how long I would last if I was to loose my job. It is my biggest fear but, I have been planned for a rainy day.

The problem is the same as a lot of other people in Silicon Valley.

Life is a bit expensive around here.
Housing is VERY expensive around here.

-Nate

[Cygnus X1]

Bingo...this is a huge problem/issue.

Lets have the legal Americans have a day of protest and watch the devestating effect it most definitely will have.
Banks, Walmarts, courthouses, public services, Dr's, lawyers, small and large businesses all and etc would feel the one day protest.
These little illegals need to get with it or get out.
Most Americans are not happy about these illegals not having to pay taxes, .

+1
I'm in total agreement, I don't think we have a problem with immigrants, just with freeloading illeals, who are just taking advantage of what is there for the taking.

[jwoods986]

It's treating me fine. We sold our little townhouse in Northern VA two years ago this month, right before the slow-down. Wife had bought it in '98, so we made a killing. We moved to Atlanta, put a fat downpayment on a 3500-sqft house (that cost less than a condo in NoVA), and we both work, so we're ok. What's surprising to me, is how many foreclosures are happening in the Atlanta area considering house prices are nothing like NoVA, L.A., Boston, etc. I keep telling the wife we need to scoop this stuff up!

I will say the IT market was crap when we moved here (especially compared to NoVA) but it has gotten a lot better this last year.

[442w30]

It's treating me fine. We sold our little townhouse in Northern VA two years ago this month, right before the slow-down. Wife had bought it in '98, so we made a killing. We moved to Atlanta, put a fat downpayment on a 3500-sqft house (that cost less than a condo in NoVA), and we both work, so we're ok. What's surprising to me, is how many foreclosures are happening in the Atlanta area considering house prices are nothing like NoVA, L.A., Boston, etc. I keep telling the wife we need to scoop this stuff up!

I will say the IT market was crap when we moved here (especially compared to NoVA) but it has gotten a lot better this last year.

Here's the problem as I see it, not picking on you in particular:
That big wad of money you made came from some dummy that was either a)foreign investor snapping up our stuff because of the deflated dollar b) uber-rich guy snapping up prime real estate to screw people on rent/flip to make money c) some poor ass that couldn't really afford it, but got some crazy mortgage that will fail in the future and be a foreclosure.

Then with that wad of cash from the above, you moved to an area and thought it was a great deal, driving up the values (taxes/demand) for homes in the area and squeezing the locals who in turn have to refi with an unfavorable mortgage (ARM, Home equity, etc) to continue to pay, or they flip and move somewhere to squeeze another region.

Again, not to bag on you, but home values here have doubled in 10 years, and I cannot count the # of californians that came here and snapped up 3 or more homes for each of theirs. I know more Californians than Texans, and I am a native. My taxes are $6800/yr and I don't have a big house. That's $500+ a month in taxes. then you have a $200/month power bill and $100 in other utilities, $100 in cell and home phones, $100 in internet/cable, $400 in car, $300 in gas, $200 in home/car insurance.
Not to mention upkeep, lawn care, healthcare, groceries. No wonder the "stay at home mom and kids playing house-to-house are a thing of the past

That being said, the "economy" is treating me well, I am making more and living in a better environment/lifestyle than I ever dreamed. It just doesn't look sustainable. My comfort is that if I go down, I am not the worst off of the folks I know, so I'll have great company.

[Shawn Lutz]

its not great that for damn sure. the cost of oil/gas has taken its toll. I live in Tejas and energy bills SUCK, especially electric.

I've also taken it in the shorts on my stock ...ouch!

[shreddermon]

I think we're on the verge of a big economic downturn. And maybe an extended one. My wife's company is probably going to be laying off a ton of people in a few weeks. She thinks there's a 50/50 chance she may be one of them.

[Wayniac]

Like a birds treats the bottom of a birdcage.
I am the newspapers

[UFORocks]

I know my dollar doesn't go as far as I'd like, and the government is taking 1/3 of my pay in income tax, not to mention all the other taxes I pay ranging from bottle tax to gas tax, so I probably give between 45 and 50% of my money to the govt. be it state, local, or federal.

The IT job market sucks, 300,000 candidates to 3800 jobs in my area according to job circle. Job competition is high, pay rates are low, raises (if you get one) are barely enough to cover COL.

Gas is $2.50 a gallon where I live, which forced me to trade my truck (that I absolutely loved) for a sedan (that I dont hate) just so I could afford to drive to work. Meanwhile Exxon pulls in $30bil per financial quarter in profit but says that they cant afford to lower gas prices... Sure, Right.


As mentioned above illegals run rampant in our country, not obligated to pay taxes, almost 100% guaranteed work and housing, and receive free services that I end up paying for one way or another.

Every time an illegal commits a crime in this country; I pay the cop to arrest, process, and document the person, the county to house and feed the person, and the judge to sit on the bench and give him a fine he'll never pay and community service he'll never serve.

And the most f***ed up part is that through the whole process if someone dares ask this person if he's a legal citizen then he can claim his civil rights have been violated and the ACLU will sue for him, again something that comes out of my pocket.

Meanwhile, countless corporations and small businesses hire these illegals at pennies on the dollar and stuff the profits in their back pocket. And then they have the balls to complain that they can't afford to operate by hiring legal americans, or they complain that they tried to hire americans but they dont want the job. This country has prisons stocked full of people that could fill this role, and pay for their own incarceration by working for it.

I could probably go on for ever here but..


Right now my wife and I are focused on reducing our debts as much as possible, increasing our savings, and getting her through nursing school. At least they can't offshore medical care, yet...

[Bert]

You'd be paying a lot more for just about everything if the illegals weren't here. They are here because it's economically valuable. Without them, jobs would go unfilled, basic services would cost many times what they do now to provide. Guess who would pay for all that? Not the evil corporations, but YOU. If you think things would suddenly be great because the illegals were all gone, you are incredibly naive.

I'm all for immigration reform, I don't think this "turn a blind eye" approach is anywhere near the optimal approach for handling the labor shortage. Unfortunately the racists and xenophobes among us make it hard to handle things sensibly. It's sad that the only sensible thing the Bush administration ever proposed (immigration reform) was shot down in flames.

[Bert]

Oh, but on the actual topic of this thread: Things are great in the tech industry. If housing really does plummet, I might actually be able to afford a house that's not 40 miles away from where I work! Unfortunately there's little sign of a housing slump around here, so I'm not holding my breath.

[UFORocks]

You'd be paying a lot more for just about everything if the illegals weren't here. They are here because it's economically valuable. Without them, jobs would go unfilled, basic services would cost many times what they do now to provide. Guess who would pay for all that? Not the evil corporations, but YOU. If you think things would suddenly be great because the illegals were all gone, you are incredibly naive.

I'm all for immigration reform, I don't think this "turn a blind eye" approach is anywhere near the optimal approach for handling the labor shortage. Unfortunately the racists and xenophobes among us make it hard to handle things sensibly. It's sad that the only sensible thing the Bush administration ever proposed (immigration reform) was shot down in flames.

I'll say this last piece about it...
Considering that there are at least as many unemployed workers in this country as there are currently employed illegals, and a prison system full of non-violent offenders that are potentially eligible to work, I highly doubt that jobs would go unfilled. And your argument about 'basic services' costing more makes no sense at all, seriously, think about it. One way or another there's a monetary gap that gets filled by the people, be it on consumer products or in taxes. I'm already paying more than I should for 'basic services'. Why? because someone is stealing from the system, from me and you. Who? Illegals that dont pay taxes and the companies that hire them. And its not just taxes, there's also healthcare and insurance that costs more as a result of illegals stealing from the system.

Sorry to the original poster for taking this slightly off topic, but illegals are a big impact on the economy, obviously a negative one in my opinion, which is why I went down this route....

[nateb]

Oh, but on the actual topic of this thread: Things are great in the tech industry. If housing really does plummet, I might actually be able to afford a house that's not 40 miles away from where I work! Unfortunately there's little sign of a housing slump around here, so I'm not holding my breath.

Give it a little bit. Right now, the number of houses going on the market is increasing with no buyers right now. People cannot get loans at all. Realestate market is really taking it in the ass. People are getting layed off left and right and offices are closing. The funny thing is that all these people think that their house is worth what they are listing it as. People cannot even get a loan around here without pristine credit. The speculation is that there is going to be 2-3 times more housing available in the next 8 months. It's going to be a buyers market and there will not be a lot of this outbidding bullshit that was going on about 2-3 years ago.

-Nate

[UFORocks]

Give it a little bit. Right now, the number of houses going on the market is increasing with no buyers right now. People cannot get loans at all. Realestate market is really taking it in the ass. People are getting layed off left and right and offices are closing. The funny thing is that all these people think that their house is worth what they are listing it as. People cannot even get a loan around here without pristine credit. The speculation is that there is going to be 2-3 times more housing available in the next 8 months. It's going to be a buyers market and there will not be a lot of this outbidding bullshit that was going on about 2-3 years ago.

-Nate

Around here houses in good condition sell almost as fast as they go up for sale, and they're constantly building new housing developments in my area. I think Bank of America is centralizing in Delaware and bringing in people from all over the country, which may be contributing to the strong housing market around here. They just built two new parking lots in our business park that look like they can hold a total of about 500 cars.

Unfortunately for the locals it looks like BOA is bringing in their own people and not much hiring is happening.

[j2379]

im good we do HIGH END HVAC, our clients are disgustingly rich. NYC construction hasnt slowed down at all from what ive seen. slightly less jobs but they are bigger than ever. we are currently doing a 35,000 sq ft single family residence, in NYC next to central park. gives you an idea of our clients.