Overcapacity Everywhere.." What is it that we need more of?" "Wal-Marts, Pizza Huts, nail salons?"

[RedEarth]

by CalculatedRisk on 2/17/2009 09:04:00 PM
From the WaPo: Economy Strains Under Weight of Unsold Items

The unsold cars and trucks piling up at dealerships and assembly lines as consumers cut back and auto companies scramble for federal aid are just one sign of a major problem hurting the economy and only likely to get worse.

The world is suddenly awash in almost everything: flat-panel televisions, bulldozers, Barbie dolls, strip malls, Burberry stores. ... Business everywhere are scrambling to bring supply in line with demand.

And a quote from my friend blogger Mish:

Some analysts say over-capacity is so rampant that it will stymie government efforts to unfreeze credit markets. Banks have little reason to lend not only because they still have bad debt on their books but also because businesses don't have a pressing need to expand, said Mike Shedlock, an investment analyst with Seattle-based Sitka Pacific who writes the popular blog Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis.

"What is it that we need more of?" Shedlock said. "Do we need more Wal-Marts, more Pizza Huts, more nail salons?"

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/02/overcapacity-everywhere.html

[Hestia]

1. I've been wondering the same thing - what is it we need more of, other than food and water?

[PM Martin]

2. And every right wing nut is calling for more

tax cuts and money to go to the suppliers. :eyes:
We need to get money into the hands of the demand siders and unfreeze the credit lines.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. We need more and higher SALARIES

Jeeze, how stupid are these people? I'll also offer another sage bit of advice: LOWER PRICES NOW! They won't lower prices, they won't pay us more, but the rent on my place just keeps going up, up and away!

These people need to go to Econ 101 - and how much cash are THE CEOs pulling in right now? There's something else that needs to go down, down, down.

[Gregorian]

4. Mexico's car output fell 51% in January according to this article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/4623525/Failure-to-save-East-Europe-will-lead-to-worldwide-meltdown.html

[Somawas]

5. This is a question I have been asking myself for a long time.

I got nothing. I'm thinking that less of lots of stuff would be better.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. My wife of 29 years and I have never been able to understand it. Things.

We are happiest when we are walking with our dogs on the outer banks. Or when I am digging in the garden, or watching the birds, or listening to music. We've got no flat screen TV...no fancy Hi Fi equipment, no fancy cars....we are happier than most people we know. We also are spiritual but don't go to church...but are living in a neighborhood of mostly holy roller southern baptists who judge us badly because we aren't one of them, but over spend and over buy and always look miserable...

go figure.

[Tsiyu]

7. My kind of folks

I had to get away from that shopping fixation in Atlanta. It was driving me crazy. They chopped down every stinking tree to put another shopping center in my face. And that's all people did: drive for hours to work, shop, go out to eat, go home.

Moved to a rural area where we wouldn't win any beautiful homes awards but we all raise some of our own food and we have get togethers at one another's places and just enjoy campfires, the view, playing music, cooking, joking around. We don't have too many chain places, but my friends own galleries, restaurants, clothing stores, coffeeshops, car repair joint, whatever and we try to support one another as best we can.

My "religion" is a hike and I rarely watch TV, mostly at friends' places. I used to have enough $$$$ to own anything within reason I could want and I was miserable. I'd like more money to improve my standard of living and increase my farm output but I don't need any more doodads that aren't practical or outfits that I can't get muddy.

Cheers to you and your wife. My community is rather tolerant of all religions. I do try to respect my Seventh Day Adventist neighbors and refrain from running the chainsaw or weedwacker on their Saturday Sabbath, but they would probably not be too bothered either way. Sorry your neighbors are not so nice.


:toast:

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. Your post made my day (or night!) - thanks!

My wife always tells me that there are lots of people like us "out there", but we don't always know it because we are so busy living our lives - enjoying the little things, finding adventures....my big thing is heirloom tomatoes (since you mentioned gardening)...am writing a book on it, actually. (if you've ever grown or tasted the tomato Cherokee Purple, it is a variety that I named back in 1990!). We are a speck of blue in a very red neighborhood, which made Election day all the sweeter!

[Mojorabbit]

9. I believe I have

seeds for Cherokee Purple in my huge seed box! Wow. I will have to plant some this year.

[Tsiyu]

10. Don't get me started on tomatoes!

I grew some stripeys and orange ones and 'German Johnsons' this year along with Romas and a few other varieties.

That first beefsteak one -sliced and scarfed - was a taste you just can't even explain with words! I was thinking I was the richest gal on earth at that moment, especially since there was a big tomato scare this summer and you couldn't buy a tomato like mine anywhere!

Cool that you named the Cherokee Purple. You must be an awesome gardener.

Just got that Johnny's seed catalog and hoping to grow some of the heirloom and cool colored corn. Also thinking of trying to grow tobacco this year but I guess it would have to be far away from the tomatoes.

Anyhoo, not to turn this into the gardening forum here but know that there are many people like you out there. I am so, so fortunate to know so many down-to-earth, sweet, educated people who enjoy the simple things, too.

I hope you have some nicer neighbors show up :hi:

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. Wow. Maybe we should take this to gardening! I sent Cherokee Purple

and Brandywine and Yellow Brandywine to Johnny's - Rob Johnston is a friend of mine. Try Victory Seeds in Oregon - Mike, the owner, is great....I think my tomato collection is around 2000 types, and an Australian friend and I are leading a project to breed new varieties that stay short (3-4 feet), but have the big different colored fruit. As a hobby my wife and I sell seedlings at the local farmers market each spring - a great diversion!!!

have a great night (or is it very early morning!)

[Tsiyu]

12. One more and then bed, i swear

Still a bit before midnight here.

PM when you get that book ready. I would love to learn from a tomato expert.

Mine have a nice bed of deep aged horse manure/compost (thanks to my two horsies) but I only have a small area since I'm in the woods.

I'd love smaller varieties. Sounds like you do stay busy and keep involved and that makes a good life. You need to post in gardening about your book and the CP's if you haven't already!

(and sorry, Red Earth for hijacking your thread!)

G'night all :hi:

[RedEarth]

15. I like to garden, so I enjoyed reading these posts

[Tsiyu]

16. I'm glad then

:blush:

Your thread title drew me in - but I got distracted!

Cheers, Red Earth :yourock:

[Joanne98]

13. True. Nobody ever talks about this.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. It's based on a failed business model I liken to "Field of Dreams".

Build it and they will buy it.

[GoesTo11]

17. We need more public spaces and goods

Nicer parks and more of them in cities. Playgrounds in walking distance for every child. Bike lanes. More libraries with longer hours. More artists and more public art and beauty. Clubs for kids. Clubs for grownups. Great public TV. Vaccinations. Debate. Friendship.

[DemReadingDU]

18. Why unfreeze the credit markets?

If we don't need more stuff, why do the credit markets have to be unfrozen!

Edit: people who are unemployed, why do they need credit to buy stuff they don't need? What they need is a job so they have income to buy necessities, like food, and shelter to keep warm.

[HamdenRice]

19. Which shows why the doomers, neo-malthusians and even peak oil people get it wrong

I'm not saying that peak oil isn't real or that it didn't play a role. I'll get to that later.

But the single most important thing to understand about the current economic crisis is that it is not a crisis of shortage. We are not running out of stuff. There is just as much farm land, just as many factories, just as many willing workers as there were a year ago. There are even still tens of trillions of dollars in global savings. Yet we may be plunging into full fledged depression.

It's a classic late 19th-early 20th century depression of overproduction, set off by a financial crisis.

The financial system is like the nervous system of a person, and the world is having a seizure. The global economy is like a muscular, healthy young man who is having an epileptic fit, and can't use his strong muscular legs or arms to do anything.

The concern about peak oil did set of a speculative frenzy, price gouging attempts by big oil to exploit the situation and an oil commodity price bubble -- which stole trillions of dollars from household budgets, which plunged people into mortgage default. But as the price of oil shows, that was a speculative bubble, not an actual shortage.

The solution to our nervous system break down is a coordinated economic takeover of the economy by institutions capable of rational planning -- namely governments. That's why the solution is nationalization of the banking system and several other major sectors of the economy.

Just as Karl Marx predicted.

[4dsc]

20. Its called CONSUMERISM!!!

Keeping up with the Jones has been the mantra for the past 40 year but now the downside to it is rearing its ugly head.. Our way life is not sustainable and we are just now realizing that..

But its going to take more than a little depression to get people back to the day's when thrift and saving was way of life..