Reply #11: It ain't the price of oil, it's the stagnant wages.

[fasttense]

Though the price of oil isn't helping, what is really hurting this economy is the lack of demand.

All the corporations all over the world want to sell to the US. Their productivity is up and the supply is up. The problem is US workers, who are the consumers, don't have good paying jobs and never get raises. Workers use to be able to borrow by using their homes as collateral but with the housing market crash, workers can only rely on their paychecks and that ain't much.

Since Raygun double our payroll deductions by doubling SS taxes and cutting the wealthiest's taxes, the American poor and middle class have become the backbone of government funding. The biggest market in the world has lost most of its customers. The customers are busy using up what little they have paying taxes and paying for necessities (food, water, heat, gas). The demand for the junk the corporations are spewing out has faded. Demand is down and corporations have no one to sell to.

Welcome to Stagflation and soon to be followed by depression.

If the Fed would just stop cutting interest rates and let our savings work for us, then maybe we could generate a demand based on savings. Low interest rates are useless if no one is borrowing.