BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[It's middle class income, dummy!]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/06/its-middle-class-income-dummy/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/06/its-middle-class-income-dummy/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/06/its-middle-class-income-dummy/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

cashAs the ever-increasing stench of socialism wafts from the halls of our legislative branch, one must take pause to wonder exactly how we got to where we are today economically. Yes, I know that there has been a lot of pausing and wondering going on lately. What ticks me off is that it seems that very few of those who are pausing and wondering seem to be able to form the words to express the reality of what they have determined to be true, which is: that the single most significant root cause for today's economic dilemma is the erosion of income for the American middle class private sector.

For the purposes of this piece, I'll state that I consider the "middle class" to be those workers who earn between $14,000 and $125,000 per year. That covers just about every worker from entry level manufacturing to first tier management. We create the bulk of real wages that move throughout this country. We also pay virtually all of the taxes in this country. Never mind that corporations pay huge sums in corporate taxes every year, because the fact of the matter is, they collect those sums from us at the consumer level. Yes, we pay those corporate tax bills, and we know it.

Continue reading It's middle class income, dummy!

It's middle class income, dummy! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>declineemploymentmanufacturingmiddle classMiddleClasswagesworkersMon, 06 Oct 2008 16:31:00 EST<![CDATA[The Payday Pinch -- Cutting at the grass roots]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/02/the-payday-pinch-cutting-at-the-grass-roots/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/02/the-payday-pinch-cutting-at-the-grass-roots/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/02/the-payday-pinch-cutting-at-the-grass-roots/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

moneyEven in the best of financial times, living within your means can be a challenge. When economies contract, as we are experiencing now, things become even tougher as spendable cash becomes more scarce. From the offices of banks and investment firms, right on down to the worker who wipes tables at your favorite corner diner, people across the country are feeling the effects of economic slowdown. Some of the people most deeply affected are those who make a substantial part of their income as a percentage of sales. As the amount of cash flow dwindles, so shrink the incomes based on commissions and tips at the point of sale.

Continue reading The Payday Pinch -- Cutting at the grass roots

The Payday Pinch -- Cutting at the grass roots originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>commissionscompensationdeclineeconomygrass rootsGrassRootsincomeinthenewssales peopleSalesPeopletipswaiterwaitressMon, 02 Jun 2008 16:51:00 EST<![CDATA[The Wal-Mart Weekly: A retailing era in decline?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/05/the-wal-mart-weekly-a-retailing-era-in-decline/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/05/the-wal-mart-weekly-a-retailing-era-in-decline/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/05/the-wal-mart-weekly-a-retailing-era-in-decline/#commentsWelcome to the 31st installment of The Wal-Mart Weekly, a column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions and just a bit of everything else when it comes down to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

Last week, I brought you a look at why Wal-Mart has a chance to really stand out from the crowd with its green, eco-conscious initiatives. The retailer stands to make a pretty large difference in the area of environmental sustainability if it continues to trumpet energy conservation and sustainable practices, although it is having a hard time getting that message out to customers. In other words, Wal-Mart's PR actions aren't following its admirable eco-actions. Why this is, I'm not sure.

This week, I'll be expanding on an idea this past week that looked at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) in terms of an "empire in decline," so to speak. The Wall Street Journal ran a piece earlier this week that looked at why Wal-Mart is in a funk, and why the world's largest retailer no longer commands the power it once did. All companies have a peak followed by inevitable decline, right? Read on.

Continue reading The Wal-Mart Weekly: A retailing era in decline?

The Wal-Mart Weekly: A retailing era in decline? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>declineretailWal-MartWal-Mart WeeklyWal-martWeeklyWMTFri, 05 Oct 2007 17:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Bad trade: Shockingly bad data]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/05/30/bad-trade-shockingly-bad-data/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/05/30/bad-trade-shockingly-bad-data/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/05/30/bad-trade-shockingly-bad-data/#commentsFiled under: ,

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a subsection of the Commerce Department, after peaking at $321 billion in 2000 it then began a precipitous decline, dropping to $167 billion in 2001 then to $84 billion in 2002 and $64 billion in 2003. This figure has since recovered jumping to $184 billion in 2006; however, it is still meaningfully below the 2000 peak, with the upswing being very erratic from year-to-year, suggesting many countries are still hesitant to invest in the U.S.

The decline in foreign direct investment has had an impact on U.S. employment data as well. The number of Americans employed by foreign companies within the U.S. from 2000 to 2005 is down, declining from 5.7 million to 5.1 million. This is not a good number when considering the US economy has had four solid years of growth. Even with a downturn in foreign direct investment one would expect, purely from inertia, employment to have gone up.

Treasury Secretary Paulson is attempting to put the foreign direct investment tide on a sustainable uptrend, albeit doing so with a political touch. Paulson needs to soften the blow many foreigners felt following the Bush Administration's unilateral withdrawal from the Kyoto agreement, the Dubai Ports World debacle and the tough scrutiny of the Alcatel-Lucent ADS (NYSE: ALU) transaction which all left foreigners with a bad taste in their mouths.

Historically, even during good times, foreigners like to allocate a good portion of their new-found wealth into the U.S. Despite cheaper labor costs in emerging-market economies like China and India, the U.S. has a highly productive labor force, a society which produces millions of college educated students each year, a very solid currency and a flexible real estate market to construct buildings or plants in rural or urban areas. These are all attributes that can be found in few other major cosmopolitan cities.

Paulson's actions suggest the U.S. has a lot of fences that need mending. Forget the trade deficit, focus on foreign direct investment numbers to get a real sense of what the world thinks of the U.S.

Bad trade: Shockingly bad data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 May 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Alcatel-LucentALUBush administrationBushAdministrationdeclineDirect investmentDirectInvestmentEconomic analysisEconomicAnalysisemployment dataEmploymentDataforeign investmentForeignInvestmentKyotoPaulsonTreasuryWed, 30 May 2007 16:00:00 EST