as NYC goes, so goes the nation?

not talking voting patterns here......just the economy

sure, there are differences between New York and the rest of the country

BUT, read this

Despite the sluggish economy, prices are rising in the city more rapidly than in the nation. That means that New York—already among the priciest places to live and do business—is growing even costlier than the rest of the nation. Right now, the New York area boasts an unusual distinction: it has among the highest unemployment and inflation rates of any U.S. city, creating the troubling condition known as stagflation, which the national economy hasn’t seen since the Carter presidency.

A severe local downturn should be producing the opposite effect, bringing New York’s prices more in line with the rest of the nation’s and making the city more competitive, as decreased demand pushes prices down. But state and local government have piled on tax increases during the current recession. New York City alone has raised taxes and fees by more than $3 billion, while state tax increases on city residents amount to another $1 billion, meaning that the city’s suppliers of goods and services either need to raise prices to pay the taxman, or they must absorb the tax increases, leaving less cash for new hiring and investment—or both.

All of this is also a replay of the last recession, with potentially distressing repercussions. State and local governments enacted hefty tax increases in 1990 and 1991, with the result that inflation rose even amid staggering job losses. It wasn’t until 1993 that New York’s inflation rate finally sank down to the national level. Only then did the recession end in New York, and it was not until 1994, when the area’s inflation rate actually slipped below the nation’s and New York regained some measure of competitiveness, that a substantial rebound began.

The city’s own forecasters seem worried. Official forecasts call for a gain of a mere 26,000 jobs in 2004, an increase of only 0.7 percent, then another increase of 51,000 jobs, or 1.7 percent, in 2005. In other words, two years from now, by the city’s own estimates, New York will have recovered fewer than 40 percent of the jobs it lost in the last recession and will still be 125,000 jobs below the jobs peak of three years ago.
http://www.city-journal.org/html/14_1_sndgs01.html

sound familiar?

how does this apply nationally?

from what I've read, the structural changes wrought by the insane tax cuts will create a standing national debt, which may NEVER get better. think about what happens, in addition, when the boomers start cashing in SS and medicare.....you've seen the horrendous projections

point is, interest rates will eventually be forced up, increasing the cost of money, slowing down whatever recovery is actually happening, raising mortgage rates, bursting the housing bubble, causing god knows what chaos (think those record high bankruptcies are going to level off?)

so, get the idea? no more recovery, higher interest rates, oh yeah, how BOUT those gas prices, pResident Carter, I mean Boosh?

no matter who wins the election, he's screwed....dumbo less so, cause Greenspan will hold off on interest rates as long as he possibly can, but will crank them up IMMEDIATELY upon Kerry's taking office, perhaps before

but what di I know

Boston also has high unemployment AND rising prices. Housing is still through the roof, and I have posted many threads about rising food costs.

gonna be like that, only MUCH worse

lots and lots and lots of those sixty eight percent of people who own houses are going to LOSE them.....tons of them overreached, by refinancing at levels affordable at then-current cost of living/interest rates

when the hammer comes down, they'll be SCREWED!

btw, love those protest pix!

AND, the enlistment forms! that really cracked me up?

did you think of that?

when intrest rates in the late 70s were higher than 12 percent..in fact that was considered good

last night. The numbers for last month were 13pts below the national average. http://www.siena.edu/sri/results/2004/040304NYSCCI.htm

On the housing... My daughter and S.O. are house hunting, real estate agents and bankers are advising (!) them to look at houses priced DOUBLE what the kids have decided on.

It took them six months to find good jobs after graduating. They are the lucky ones, no way are they buying at the top end of their mortgage approval. Once burnt, twice shy, I think bush may have created a generation of frugal spenders.