Monday, February 11, 2013

U.S. CEOs See Dim 1st Quarter Economic Outlook


S. Thurm (2013, Feb 11) 'Companies Fret Over Uncertain Outlook' The Wall Street Journal, p. A1

The article examines CEO attitudes about this quarter earnings.  63 S&P companies are reported as having lowered forecasts for 1st quarter earnings. Only 17 raised them.

The article states: "Many executives see shrinking economies in Europe. Closer to home, they worry about hesitant US customers, chilled by continued Washington gridlock."

Majia here: It is not "Washington gridlock" that is chilling US consumers.

I have reported quite a few times that the US consumer now, on average, has a lower household income than during the height of the financial crisis.

Older and younger Americans were particularly hit hard by the recession. Older Americans lost jobs with good incomes and now cannot replace them. They also lost the equity in their homes.

Younger Americans cannot find full-time living wages and too many must work part-time jobs for low wages, often without benefits.

Consumption cannot return to pre-recession levels because earnings are lower and credit is tighter.

Of course, returning to wanton, conspicuous consumption should not be our goal.

What should be our goal is improving the health and well-being of ourselves and our environment. We should allocate our societal resources towards that goal.

Instead, we allow the raping and pillaging of the commons and the attendant degradation of ourselves, our society, and our environment.

PREVIOUS POSTS

Dec 22, 2012
The "dispossession" of the population through risk shifts and austerity programs has been an ongoing concern of mine, and the subject of a book project I've been developing. Its my belief that this dispossession is being ...
 
Jan 18, 2013
The data I've been collecting for my book on neofeudal dispossession indicate dramatic declines in household income, particularly among young people (including college graduates) and minorities. The Obama health ...
 
Nov 07, 2012
The data I've been collecting for my book on neofeudal dispossession indicate dramatic declines in household income, particularly among young people (including college graduates) and minorities. The Obama health ...
 
Aug 09, 2011
Here is an excerpt from something I've written about this process of dispossession: Brian Nichiporuk argues in his Rand publication, The Security Dynamics of Population, that population demographics are the primary threat to ...





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