Effects of Social Security taxes going back up?

[BOP]

As if I already don't know, I'll be looking forward to the reaction of many here if/when the big cuts in spending take effect. Of course unemployment will rise and consumer confidence will plummet. The economy will tank, and those who have been clamoring for reducing the deficit at all costs will be the first to whine about the immediate economic conesequences, blaming it all on Obama.


Good times.

You do realize that Bush hasn't been President in over 4 years now, don't you?

Besides, Congress isn't spared that blame, either. It's just that Obama is the polarizing figure in all this.

 

[BOP]

The really crappy part is those who try to portray it as so one-sided when this is a purely bi-partisan screwup. If the White House comes up with the idea of sequestration, then the House AND Senate give them what they asked for, how can you only blame the House?

This is so disingenuous. When we start seeing economists point to the "fiscal cliff" compromise as the cause of a recession, you will be pointing at the House as being at fault because they gave Teh Won what he wanted. You can't have it both ways - you can't say it's their fault when they give him what he asks for.

I don't know; when you put it that way, I say we can blame them. That doesn't exonerate the donks in any way, but as (nominally fiscal) conservatives, we should be holding alleged repubs, conservative and moderate donks to account.

 

[Larry Gude]

At any rate, I do hope we'll be realistic and honest with ourselves...

I wish I could express how out of character that sounded. It was as if a machine that spews logic and reason, measured, repetitive, suddenly blurted out 'Lady GaGa rawks!" or some other totally random absurdity. I'm trying to think of any other time where you wrote something that just kinda caught me off guard and chuckle a little bit like that...wait...

 

[Larry Gude]

Fair points, but most of those things have been true for quite a while and even in that environment Walmart has done fairly well. The question is why did sales become a "total disaster" (assuming they did) in February? What changed relative to months and years prior?

Walmart doing quite well through this period is kinda like saying 'McDonalds did well...as more and more higher end restaurants saw declines..." The cheapest guy in town doing well while others are declining is always a bad sign and now that the cheapest guy is hurting, man, THAT is a really bad sign.

Thing is, the issues mig pointed out, food and energy prices are still the major reasons. It's just that now it seems to have started catching up with the big box.

That IS bad news. Vendors will now go from being beaten up the last 5 years to to being beaten down.

 

[Larry Gude]

As if I already don't know, I'll be looking forward to the reaction of many here if/when the big cuts in spending take effect. Of course unemployment will rise and consumer confidence will plummet. The economy will tank, and those who have been clamoring for reducing the deficit at all costs will be the first to whine about the immediate economic conesequences, blaming it all on Obama.


Good times.

First of all, Sequestration is Obama's idea. Second, he just got his beloved tax increases. As well as his Stimulus, Obamacare and all these lovely pet 'energy of tomorrow' projects. Do you have any plans on starting to wonder if tomorrow is ever gonna get here? Given he's gotten what he's asked for and it hasn't worked?

 

[migtig]

Makes complete sense. Mary Joe and Buster have been waiting for their tax return to buy new Elvis themed decorations for the trailer and it has not come in yet. Same store sales certainly would slump for Feb.

I like Elvis themed decorations.

 

[GURPS]

(Remember the 600 ship Navy and the Star Wars missile defense system?)

I believe the argument can be made that the Soviet economy collapsed as a direct result of the Reagan administration's defense spending. We won the Cold War without firing a shot (or nuke if you prefer).

I have NO Issue with that ...

.... I was not much into politics in the 80's [Beer / Booze and Broads] although I was in the Army 84-88

but I was told in the 1990's, basically Reagan was given a message, by whom I do not know,

'Spend Them To Death'


The Soviet Economy cannot keep up ....

 

[GURPS]

Share of 2011 federal budget spent on elderly, defense, children and other...

 

[Tilted]

I wish I could express how out of character that sounded. It was as if a machine that spews logic and reason, measured, repetitive, suddenly blurted out 'Lady GaGa rawks!" or some other totally random absurdity. I'm trying to think of any other time where you wrote something that just kinda caught me off guard and chuckle a little bit like that...wait...

Ha! That was just my eternal optimism showing. Or maybe it was passive aggression manifest as implied, rather than direct, derision. Or maybe it was an inside joke. Heck, I don't know what it was, I just start typing and words come out (and often keep coming out for a while) - my brain is usually somewhere else trying to resolve some other mystery by the time I get around to putting thoughts down in text.

And... Lady Gaga doesn't rock, she dances. Her music makes you (or at least me) want to dance - like you're 22 still and for no other reason than because you feel like it - and that's important. If you don't dance enough (in a club, in the shower, on stage, around your living room, wherever and however), your soul decays. Now, Conway Twitty... he ROCKS!

Walmart doing quite well through this period is kinda like saying 'McDonalds did well...as more and more higher end restaurants saw declines..." The cheapest guy in town doing well while others are declining is always a bad sign and now that the cheapest guy is hurting, man, THAT is a really bad sign.

Thing is, the issues mig pointed out, food and energy prices are still the major reasons. It's just that now it seems to have started catching up with the big box.

That IS bad news. Vendors will now go from being beaten up the last 5 years to to being beaten down.

Well, yeah, Walmart should do comparatively well in tougher economic times. That's part of the point, it has been doing fairly well in the recent economic environment. (I'd note though that a lot of big business has done well, not just those that are cyclicality-resistant like Walmart - and not just with regard to bottom lines, top lines have been fairly strong as well.) Walmart has surely been affected by lingering economic sluggishness (you like that turn of phrase?) and higher input costs, but what I was talking about in this thread was a change - as alluded to by Walmart executives - within that ongoing context.

 

[Tilted]

So Walmart released earnings this morning. Their guidance for next quarter (i.e. the one they are in now and which began with February) is a bit low, but not terrible. I haven't read the entire conference call transcript yet, but this is what I've gleaned so far. The delay in income tax returns apparently had a significant, but short-lived, effect on sales. It seems that's no longer much of an issue. They're of course still being impacted by high unemployment, but the payroll tax increase and higher gas prices are putting pressure on customers now as well.

 

[abcxyz]

Of course unemployment will rise and consumer confidence will plummet. The economy will tank, ..........., blaming it all on Obama.

Of course it will, and the blame will be placed where it should be; on Obama.

 

[stgislander]

I have NO Issue with that ...

.... I was not much into politics in the 80's [Beer / Booze and Broads] although I was in the Army 84-88

but I was told in the 1990's, basically Reagan was given a message, by whom I do not know,

'Spend Them To Death'


The Soviet Economy cannot keep up ....

And that's why I give Reagan a pass when people scream about the deficits his administration racked up.

 

[Larry Gude]

And that's why I give Reagan a pass when people scream about the deficits his administration racked up.

We can not forget that, unlike Obama and Bush, Reagan's spending and tax cuts sparked a flood of money into the Treasury. He created positive economic activity. The other two, not so much.

 

[bcp]

They're of course still being impacted by high unemployment, but the payroll tax increase and higher gas prices are putting pressure on customers now as well.

From what I can tell just by the bowie Wal-Mart, high unemployment should create a larger bottom line for them.