Economic reports show inflation, cooling retail sales

[othermeans]

The Commerce Department said retail sales slid a greater-than-expected 0.5% in April to a seasonally adjusted $331.84 billion. Sales excluding autos were off a smaller 0.1%.

Full story

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2004-05-13-ppi-retail-jobless_x.htm?csp=24

Predicted by Bush's fired Treasury Secretary O'Neill if Bush handed out tax cuts. O'Neill had predicted a serious downturn by late November 2004.

[madrchsod]

1. 2 dollar+ gasoline

will put the brakes on alot of things..higher interest rates will put the economy in reverse. deflation will not be able to be exported anymore...

[rkc3]

2. It's just a matter of time...

before the consumer slows their pace of consumption. If business consumption does not pick up and consumers hide their wallets, we can expect one of two things:

1. The economy experiences what is generally called a death spiral.

or

2. Bush sends all taxpayers with children another check for $800.

[qanda]

4. Well, I know my comsumption has cooled!

I took up sewing and have begun making most of my clothes-- it's rewarding and very cost effective when you buy patterns and fabric on sale.

The only thing I have purchased for my children this season are their shoes-- I guess it would be a little much to try to make those.

The price of gas and groceries pretty much wipes us out, we are struggling to pay almost every bill. My husband and I have no health insurance and so all we can do is pray for good health. The stress we are facing is amazing. November cannot get here soon enough.

[WI_DEM]

3. food prices

up 1.4% in April and 1.5% in March along with energy prices people are beginning to feel the inflationary pressures and people care more about that than the unemployment figures.

[Tansy_Gold]

6. Yes, absolutely, because now it is hitting those who still have

jobs. There is a mentality that ignores the plight of the unemployed and blames it on laziness or lack of skills or dismisses it as short-term looking for work. Joblessness hits one major part of the electorate, but not another.

Inflation hits both groups.

Friend of mine sent an email yesterday lamenting the spiraling cost of gas. She was delighted two years ago when she had her first baby and quit her job to stay home and work on the remodeling of their 1920s bungalow. Hubby had good income and it looked like they could afford the voluntary cut in pay. But the baby is costing more than anticipated and heating costs this past winter were outrageous in this underinsulated older home, and now gas prices (her hubby commutes and "needs" a car for business, so can't use public transportation) are costing them $200 more per month than a year ago. And now she finds that even if she wanted to go back to work, jobs in her field aren't easy to come by, and day care for the baby would eat up virtually all of her pay.

"We could budget to cover everything," she wrote in conclusion, "except the gas prices. The savings we built up before I left (my job) is almost gone, and Geoff hasn't had the raises we anticipated. I've never had to really worry about money before and it scares me to think that we went from flush to flushed so quickly. It's not like we wasted it either. Just day to day to day it trickled away. Talk about trickle down ha ha ha."

Personally, I never believed that wealth trickled down, but maybe now in *'s economy, poverty will trickle up far enough to wake up some of the middle-class dunderheads who voted to outsource their own prosperity.

But I ain't holdin' my breath.

[paulk]

5. retail sales

are the true engine and indicator of the state of our economy. These numbers put the lie to Bush's "recovery". Again.

[WVhill]

7. Looks like the Saudis

are doing us a favor by running Bush out of office. So much for friendship.