Personal Income Rises 0.2%; Spending Gains 0.4% (something must give?)

[papau]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/regions/us.html

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=ab0AWDWaMzx0&refer=us


U.S. December Personal Income Rises 0.2%; Spending Gains 0.4%
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. personal incomes rose 0.2 percent in December, half as fast as personal spending, reflecting companies' cost cutting and reluctance to hire, a government report showed.
Incomes had climbed 0.3 percent the month before, the Commerce Department reported in Washington. Personal consumption rose 0.4 percent, compared with a 0.5 percent increase in November.

<snip>
In today's report, the Commerce Department said disposable income, or the money left after taxes, rose 0.2 percent in December following a 0.3 percent gain the previous month. Wages and salaries fell 0.3 percent after rising 0.4 percent in November.

The personal consumption expenditure price index, a measure of inflation watched by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other policy makers, which is tied to spending, rose 0.2 percent in December. It had fallen 0.1 percent the month before.<snip>

The economy has shed 2.4 million jobs since an eight-month recession started in March 2001, and unemployment rolls still total more than 3 million. According to Federal Reserve estimates, the economy would have to add 150,000 jobs a month to reduce unemployment, which was 5.7 percent in December. <snip>

[Just Me]

1. It's tough to be forced to watch a train wreck in the making,...

,...and accepting that it will come as a complete surprise to the vast majority of Americans. I suppose such things toughen a person's ability to prepare for and endure the crises to come.

[54anickel]

2. But, but, the govt will come and fix, it always does!

sarcasm off

Part of the problem, that's what most of todays working class and investors believe. Sure, they read about the recent crises in Mexico, Argentina, Japan, etc.

But it CAN'T happen here. They read about it in the papers and the history books - the gov't has always stepped in and fixed it, and that's true at first glance. But I guess unless you've lived through the "fixxer up time", you just don't realize how bad it could be.

Some think they've already survived a crisis when their 401Ks took a dive, and are now back on the way up. Heck that was a cakewalk.

[Ripley]

5. The majority of Americans have become fatalists.

They are accepting their "lot in life." Through the warped teachings in church (war good, marriage bad (for certain people), the decline of education, and the fascist propoganda techniques being used by BushCo., Americans have not only been dumbed down, but trained to accept a lousy job. To accept debt burdens. To accept secret government activities. To accept life is tough...buck up soldier.

Sad.

[htuttle]

3. Whatta ya mean we're broke?

We can't be. I still have checks left!

[salin]

4. again? No wonder congress is gearing up to pass that Bankruptcy bill

the public is following *s advice to spend, spend, spend... but his policies have continued to push down wages (new jobs created are for less $ than those lost.)

But hey - we still have low interest rates... time to go spend more!