The Official Recession Thread

[shadha]

AsSalamu' Alaykum,

I am mainly talking about America here but I'm sure other countries are getting hit hard.

Do you believe your country is in or facing a recession?

What changes have you made to stay afloat? How are you budgeting for food?

What do you think is the likely hood that the world is facing down the barrel of a famine?

Would you consider leaving the country to reside in another?

Lastly, do you have or are you considering taking a second job to make ends meet?


shadha-

[IbnMardhiyah]

The subprime crisis that happened in America wouldn't happen in Canada - our financial controls are much more tightly regulated. America isn't in a full recession yet but it is heading that way, and the subprime mess isn't over yet either.

Other countries have been affected by America's problems but the other problems mentioned in the article are totally unrelated. Food shortages due to rising prices of various grains has nothing to do with the subprime mess or land shortages - the fact is that in a lot of breadbaskets around the world, farmers are reducing their staple crops in favor of growing other grains that sell at a higher price because its more lucrative when it comes to the bio-fuel craze.

That in turn means along the Mississippi they're finding a lot more fertilizer in the water due to run-off from the surrounding farming states, and that in turn is killing off alot of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico - the dead zone at the delta has grown massively and its like, this really big area in the Gulf that's devoid of oxygen now, and there's no marine life. Ergo, fishermen are coming home empty-handed or having to go much farther out in order to catch the same amount of fish, and that in turn drives up the prices of seafood as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if this trend keeps continuing over the years and decades, and we see some messed up, wacked out stuff like whats said in some ahaadith about Dajjal - they he will come with mountains of bread and will give it only to those people who believe in him as their God, na3udhu bellah.

Its like, so retarded.

[shadha]

....Yeah so I saved tons of moooonies by trimming my hair just now and I did a pretty damn good job too.

Frugal point for shadha.


shadha-

[YOUSUFofSD]

yea the US is getting hit pretty hard, and it doesn't seem anywhere near over...freakin dollar is losing power all the time...

[Nabisco007]

Yea the dollar is definately losing power. I'm sure other markets are taking advantage of this right now. but the good news is gold has gone up to around $1,000 per ounce (rough estimate) so a lot of people are selling their gold.

[Kona_Silat]

You know I wouldn't mind relocating to Canada. It would be a new start..i would have to abandon school and work and start all over in Canada. I am a Canadian citizen with a green card from the USA. I visited Canada recently and for some odd reason I wouldn't midn residing in Canada for at least one period of my life.

People ***** about the cold and the snow but I think it is a small price to pay for financial and civil peace of mind. It just seems like a cool (no pun intended) country to live in. The people over there are warm and tolerant. Correct me if I am wrong.

As far as what I am doing to cut back.. I take public transport to work whenever I can. More or less I have been budgeting for food meaning I am living off of coffee/tea as meals (no fancy lattees). I drive a feul effiecent car so I only fill up like twice a month. I also have some items that I do not use or wear that I am considering selling on Ebay. But after my trip to Indonesia I think I will try to cut back some more.

[Kona_Silat]

IbnMardhiyah said

The subprime crisis that happened in America wouldn't happen in Canada - our financial controls are much more tightly regulated. America isn't in a full recession yet but it is heading that way, and the subprime mess isn't over yet either.

Other countries have been affected by America's problems but the other problems mentioned in the article are totally unrelated. Food shortages due to rising prices of various grains has nothing to do with the subprime mess or land shortages - the fact is that in a lot of breadbaskets around the world, farmers are reducing their staple crops in favor of growing other grains that sell at a higher price because its more lucrative when it comes to the bio-fuel craze.

That in turn means along the Mississippi they're finding a lot more fertilizer in the water due to run-off from the surrounding farming states, and that in turn is killing off alot of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico - the dead zone at the delta has grown massively and its like, this really big area in the Gulf that's devoid of oxygen now, and there's no marine life. Ergo, fishermen are coming home empty-handed or having to go much farther out in order to catch the same amount of fish, and that in turn drives up the prices of seafood as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if this trend keeps continuing over the years and decades, and we see some messed up, wacked out stuff like whats said in some ahaadith about Dajjal - they he will come with mountains of bread and will give it only to those people who believe in him as their God, na3udhu bellah.

Its like, so retarded.

Bro, you seem to know a lot about economics..i was curious to know why gas prices are going up? Is it because of Opec?

[Purple_alien]

I already have a second job. I got it while I was out of work, but I welcome the extra cash.
I live in NJ though, and work for the state. The state is gonne be bankrupt in a few years if we keep going like we are.The governor has so many crazy ideas of how to get us out of debt, like layoffs and stuff. InshaAllah, my job will be secure. I am not beyond getting a lower job. I don't see myself leaving here, (maybe leaving NJ, but not the US) InshaAllah, everything will be ok.

[Nabisco007]

Purple_alien said

I already have a second job. I got it while I was out of work, but I welcome the extra cash.
I live in NJ though, and work for the state. The state is gonne be bankrupt in a few years if we keep going like we are.The governor has so many crazy ideas of how to get us out of debt, like layoffs and stuff. InshaAllah, my job will be secure. I am not beyond getting a lower job. I don't see myself leaving here, (maybe leaving NJ, but not the US) InshaAllah, everything will be ok.

My mom works for the state also. I think NJ state benefits are far better than most other states. Don't worry iA your job will be secure.

[shadha]

PurpleAlien: I live in NJ though, and work for the state. The state is gonne be bankrupt in a few years if we keep going like we are.

I heard about that. I hear the tolls will be raised within a few years too. Craziness.


shadha-

[IbnMardhiyah]

Kona_Silat said

People ***** about the cold and the snow but I think it is a small price to pay for financial and civil peace of mind. It just seems like a cool (no pun intended) country to live in. The people over there are warm and tolerant. Correct me if I am wrong.

Depends on where you live. Toronto can get hot in the summer with actual temperatures regularly going above 32C / 90F and the humidity making it feel even hotter. And in the winter we don't get as much snow as Buffalo, NY does or other smaller cities north of Toronto.If you want a bit more moderate climate, then try Vancouver - its pretty much like Seattle.

Yeah most Canadians are a laid back bunch. You'll find that the people in the western, prairie provinces have the same conservative attitudes as their counterparts in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, etc. More liberal attitudes are in larger cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, etc.

Kona_Silat said

Bro, you seem to know a lot about economics..i was curious to know why gas prices are going up? Is it because of Opec?

The short simple answer is that its the same as any other product - supply and demand. When the supply is tight and demand is high, prices will be high. If the demand is lower, prices will be lower, and if the supply is in greater availability, prices will go even lower still.

But yeah, there's a lot of factors at work. Personally I don't think OPEC is really to blame - people just like to point fingers at them because those same people just want to satisfy themselves by believing that its the big bad oil oligopolies controlling the market.

Other issues like hurricanes in the Gulf, wars and conflict, and speculation easily cause major fluctuations in the price per barrel. For example, look what happened when Iran captured those British sailors a while back - per barrel prices shot up like crazy, all because traders were speculating that it might get really bad and war would start, thereby constricting the supply even further and increasing demand at the same time.

Then you have emerging economies like India but mostly China who are really starting to suck up a lot of oil that was previously available on the market for the Western nations. China is freaking huge - its demand for natural resources and commodities is unstoppable, and its not afraid to demand more and more from the world markets to satisfy its hunger.

Prices are going to keep going up, so don't hold your breath waiting for them to come down. Suck it up and get used to it.

Alberta [in Canada] has the second largest proven reserves of oil in the world, after Saudi Arabia, but the total cost of processing Albertan oil is still very high, like around $20 / barrel because its very heavy with tar and sand and it has to be refined extensively. In contrast, Saudi Arabian oil is so light that it requires very little refinement and the total costs per barrel, for refining, are about $1 or $2.

If they have any major technological breakthroughs within a few years that would allow them to cut the refining costs of Albertan oil by like 70% or greater, then we could probably see a huge global shock as Canada begins to supply more and more oil to USA and other markets. Alberta in particular is unaffected by political instability, there are no wars here [yet] and none on the horizon, and no hurricanes either.

blah blah blah

[zeyneddine]

shadha said

AsSalamu' Alaykum,

I am mainly talking about America here but I'm sure other countries are getting hit hard.

Do you believe your country is in or facing a recession?

What changes have you made to stay afloat? How are you budgeting for food?

What do you think is the likely hood that the world is facing down the barrel of a famine?

Would you consider leaving the country to reside in another?

Lastly, do you have or are you considering taking a second job to make ends meet?


shadha-

by all indicators, the country is in recession. while the gdp is not declining (the real measure of a recession), manufacturing is slowing, unemployment is growing, price of oil is now topping $110 a barrel, and we've lost over a $100 billion in the subprime crises. everyone is just waiting to see when we bottom out. thankfully, other sectors of the economy are still robust, which is staving off the real effects of a recession. if the democrats come to power, it'll be a crap load on the economy.

[sixpakistan]

Kona_Silat said

You know I wouldn't mind relocating to Canada. It would be a new start..i would have to abandon school and work and start all over in Canada. I am a Canadian citizen with a green card from the USA. I visited Canada recently and for some odd reason I wouldn't midn residing in Canada for at least one period of my life.

People ***** about the cold and the snow but I think it is a small price to pay for financial and civil peace of mind. It just seems like a cool (no pun intended) country to live in. The people over there are warm and tolerant. Correct me if I am wrong.

As far as what I am doing to cut back.. I take public transport to work whenever I can. More or less I have been budgeting for food meaning I am living off of coffee/tea as meals (no fancy lattees). I drive a feul effiecent car so I only fill up like twice a month. I also have some items that I do not use or wear that I am considering selling on Ebay. But after my trip to Indonesia I think I will try to cut back some more.

Who are you and what have you done with Kona_Silat?!

[Revert]

Its pretty grim in my area, there no Full Time jobs anywhere, so i'm taking 2 part time positions inshaAllah. I work Part Time now but they have been giving me full time hours since I started, however due to the lack of people buying crap due to high taxes and stuff my hours are getting cut, so i have no choice but to take a second job.

Make dua for me.

[ShahRukh]

Then you have emerging economies like India but mostly China who are really starting to suck up a lot of oil that was previously available on the market for the Western nations. China is freaking huge - its demand for natural resources and commodities is unstoppable, and its not afraid to demand more and more from the world markets to satisfy its hunger.

This is the reason cited by economists. Extravagent increases demand for oil in the so called "third world" countries is steering prices up pretty crazily.