"We really haven't noticed just how far things have gone to hell"

[TwixVoy]

Are We Really Better Off Than We Were a Year Ago?

This guy makes a great point about how we are actually worse off than at the same time last year, but because we don't have massive firms going under (thanks to government aid) people are just frogs in slowly heating water.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/379461/Are-We-Really-Better-Off-Than-We-Were-a-Year-Ago;_ylt=ArPmw7k7tSjV6Hh8.ur.VB27YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2b20xYTdrBHBvcwMxMARzZWMDdG9wU3RvcmllcwRzbGsDYXJld2VyZWFsbHli?tickers=spy,dia,qqqq,xlf,%5Edji,%5Egspc,fas&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=


Here's just some of the reasons why:

Since Lehman, we have lost 6.2 million jobs
The unemployment rate is 10.2% now, versus 6.2% the day before Lehman collapse
Real gross domestic product is still down 3% since the summer of 2008
Housing starts are down 30%
Auto sales are down 23%
Bank credit has contracted by $500 billion, or 8%
Household net worth is down $7 trillion
Home prices are down an average of 10%
Apartment-vacancy rates are up a percentage point to 11.1%
Consumer confidence is down 11 points
The budget deficit has tripled

[Nikki Stone1]

1. I went to Target yesterday

They were very nice to me, but clearly overworked. I was talking with the customer service staff and started telling them about the experiences that you talked about on DU. The two "team members" looked at each other and one said, "Hey, I didn't tell her that," and I said, "No, I just know someone on line who went through that." They both grinned at me, but were looking over their shoulder for the manager.

[TwixVoy]

3. Target really went to hell

I left earlier this year. Even being in management it was hell, and from a team member perspective they were REALLY getting screwed bad.

I went in last month and said hi to everyone I used to work with. (the nice ones anyway) One of the older team members told me she got a letter telling her they were taking away health insurance for older team members, so she is quitting. I was able to confirm with a former manager I worked with that it is company wide.

Honestly unless you are THE store manager of a Target store NO POSITION in the store is worth it anymore. Anyone in management below store manager is, at most these days, making around $32,000. Most team members (due to reduced hours and minimum wage) are pulling in around $10,000/year. Regular team members can't even get health insurance due to lack of hours. When I was in management it was typical for me to give 8 cent raises for an ENTIRE YEAR. I had no control over it - we got an email from corporate telling us that is the most to give and that's what we had to do. I was amazed how many team members would smile and be happy about it.

I believe the only reason Target can survive and be union free is due to the mind games they play. They get a lot of young people in there. They will outright lie to them that Target can be a good employer if you "give it time". They will be telling you to "give it time" 5 years in the future if you let them. But they try to make it a fun happy place (really not so much anymore even) and tell everyone that Target is their "family" (Yes, they literally say that) So they try to guilt trip people about leaving because they (supposedly) care so much about you.

It is truly a sick environment.

[tilsammans]

19. I stopped shopping at Target because of what you wrote a while back

They're dead to me. Just like Walmart. :rant:

[Nikki Stone1]

2. BTW, I K &R'd but was quickly unrec'd

:kick:

[StarfarerBill]

6. I unrecced their unrec.

Yep: think happy thoughts and don't notice that the sky is falling, or you'll be accused of being un-American.

[Nikki Stone1]

13. Prozac nation, eh?

Or Louise Hay?

[StarfarerBill]

17. Nope, just me.

:)

[FarLeftFist]

4. Is Walmart too big to fail?

[Sinti]

5. people are just frogs in slowly heating water - nah, it's past boiling n/t

[maxpower]

7. There is no polite way to say it

We're fucked.



Happy Thanksgiving peace and love to you all,

Max

[keep_it_real]

14. More like fucked to the infinite power

The powers that be have the noose on our necks and the shackles on our feet. We are all just corporate slaves.

This is the NWO.

[juno jones]

8. K&R! n/t

[Greyhound]

9. No, no, no, we're just fine because things might have been worse. So STFU and get in line

or the republik bogey men will get us.

What is done is irrelevant, all that counts is that it is now being done by "our team".
:kick: & R

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. +1

:evilgrin:

[EnlightenedOne]

10. Results of the Bush/Cheney Administration

We're going to feel them for quite some time.

[MadHound]

12. Sorry, but the non-stimulus stimulus was Obama's

As is this travesty of health care reform, the escalation of the Afghan war, etc. etc. Yes, Obama inherited a crappy situation, but the fact of the matter is that in many ways, he's making it worse.

[keep_it_real]

15. The travesty of health care reform is the result of congress not the Pres.

[Go2Peace]

16. Actually, the stimilus is the one "populist" thing the president has done

and it made a huge difference in the NW where I am.

[NNN0LHI]

18. US new vehicle sales are up 3.8% in November from a year ago. Not down 23%

The author people must be pulling these numbers out of his ass. I won't bother fact checking the rest of the authors figures. Got better things to do.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200911191119DOWJONESDJONLINE000607_FORTUNE5.htm

UPDATE: Adjusted US New Auto Sales Seen Rising In November

November 19, 2009: 11:19 AM ET

U.S. new-vehicle sales are expected to rise in November from a year earlier, adjusted for two fewer sales days this year, said Edmunds.com and J.D. Power and Associates as the industry continues to show some healthier signs.

The news follows some pleasant earnings surprises recently from auto makers. Ford Motor Co. (F) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, 7203.TO) posted profits in the third quarter and boosted their outlook. The auto industry has been one of the hardest hit in the recession.

When adjusted for the fewer selling days this year, Edmunds.com said November new car sales are seen rising 3.8% in the U.S. from a year ago. Without the adjustment for there being 23 selling days this year and 25 last year, the auto Web site's estimate is 4.5% below last year's sales and down 15% from October, which saw the strongest results in a year excluding gains from "cash for clunkers."

[lonestarnot]

20. Rivet.

:bounce: