I believe this economic downturn is going to suck.

[Wcross]

It is going to suck HARD. I just filled up my tank & spent 85 dollars. I walked out of Kroger's with 2 1/2 sacks of food & spent 45 dollars on it. There were very few shoppers in the store for a Tuesday afternoon. The real estate signs are popping up everywhere & staying up. Our plant has begun shutting down some of the production due to decreased demand. People aren't buying low mileage vehicles which will shut down a large portion of the big three automakers plants around the country while they retool or close them. Boat manufacturers are laying off. Recreational vehicle plants will be shutting down. Builders will be ceasing operations, construction jobs will dry up. Nobody will need to There is going to be a wave of unemployment the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1930's.

We built this house of cards on easy credit, anyone including my dog could get a credit card last year. The last time it was this bad people had very little personal debt, now people are financing "happy meals" from McDonald's. People bought their homes based of the potential for appreciation rather than ability to pay.

People have become pigs at the credit trough, now the slaughterhouse doors are opening.

I am kind of on edge about this.

:scared:

[Robbien]

1. When ten bucks only gets you a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk

On edge is too mild a description of how I feel.

How soon will it be that ten bucks will only get you a loaf of bread OR a gallon of milk?

[peacebird]

2. if at all possible pay off your credit cards and any debt you can.. Plant a victory garden

even if only on a balcony.

I agree that this could easily be very very ugly. In addition to the jobs you mention - my company has been actively outsourcing software and engineering jobs to India. And all those IT jobs that the politicos claim we need to train our factory workers to do? Those are already overseas.

What jobs remain here? Service sector jobs and the trades - can't very well outsource plumbing or HVAC work.

It could get very ugly very quickly.

[Wcross]

5. I am debt free including the house & still it is frightening.

I have a large garden. I will need an income though & I think it could get bad enough that earning an income will be difficult.

[trof]

3. And grocery shopping isn't 'fun' any more.

I'm a guy who actually likes to shop for groceries.
Try a new veg, see a new steak rub, some interesting bread in the bakery department, GOAT CHEESE!, etc.

Now I see $2.50 a lb. tomatoes.
$1 an oz. blueberries.
Asparagus at $4 a bunch.
Forget about strawberries.
It's painful.

The downturn already sux, big time.

[Wcross]

6. I actually enjoy grocery shopping myself.

It is always fun to try a new dish or something different. I have a good crop of strawberries out back, I am getting burned out on them. The blackberries are just now flowering, my whole fence line is covered with them.

[fed-up]

13. I sliced, sugared and froze 4 pints of fresh picked organic strawberries today and will do more

tomorrow.

Next week will blanch and freeze some spinach

then cherries, then peaches

So glad my BF has a farm with an endless supply of organic food.

I have plenty to do preserving it

and boy do strawberries taste great in Sept!

[dysfunctional press]

8. strawberries are on sale all over around here...

and meier's had asparagus for 95 cents/lb., and breyer's ice cream for $2.50/1.75qts.(nobody does 1/2 gallon ice cream anymore).

[eridani]

14. Organic green beans $6 a fecking pound!

$3/pound organic tomatoes.

[enid602]

4. true

". . . people are financing "happy meals" from McDonald's." How true.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

7. But there's no inflation, right? Two grocery bags for $45. Gas approaching $4/gal.

Who came up with the idea that energy and food are not factored in to the statistics on inflation?

[Wcross]

10. Well, ya see, the core inflation rate is low, yeah, that's the ticket....

They are under reporting the true inflation rate in order to calm us "sheep". I guess it is easy to "overlook" the facts of life when "your people"
do the shopping.

[unblock]

9. "going to"?

try "already"

anyone who thinks the economy actually grew during the first quarter is ..., well, a rabid right-wing republican.

[Wcross]

11. By "going to" I am saying we ain't seen nothing yet.

Buddy, can you spare a dime? Soup kitchens. Signs in windows saying "We are NOT hiring". Apple carts in the street. Nobody will be immune to it either. A major depression.

[Enthusiast]

15. I fear you are correct. nt

[LucyParsons]

12. I agree

100%