My Mom was waiting in line at the bank yesterday...

[IdaBriggs]

and overheard the guy ahead of her talking to the teller, who apparently knew him. The man buys and sells 'collectibles' and was talking about how he can't keep up at the moment, because EVERYONE is *SELLING* everything they have to stay afloat. He was an older gentleman, and he flat out stated he didn't think the country was in a 'recession' but was instead in a 'depression' similar to the Great One.

We live in Michigan. My Mom thought it was worth mentioning, so I thought I would pass it along -- just a small story from the front lines of the economy...

[fasttense]

1. Recession, depression, collapsing economy, economic crisis

A rose by any other name.

According to Merriam Webster the definition of depression is a period of low general economic activity marked especially by rising levels of unemployment

I think it is safe to say the American economy is in the toilet. Thank You Bush and Milton Friedman.

[zbdent]

4. the old definition is

"A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job."

I say we start by laying off any registered Republican who works in (non-elected) government. Aren't they the ones who say that the government workers are lazy f*cks?

[PassingFair]

9. And a PANIC...

is when your wife loses HERS!

[Sadie4629]

2. Michigan probably has the worst economy in the nation now

Where was this?

I live along the L. Michigan shoreline, somewhere south of Traverse City. Things have been bad here for probably decades. After the plants closed up, we became largely a tourism-based economy, and that is dependent on LOTS of stuff--weather, the economy elsewhere, price of gas, condition of roads, even the whims of the tourists.

My son's in-laws live in the Detroit area. Bad, bad, bad there. We were there at Christmas, and the stores were really hurting.

Whatever Jennifer Granholm is doing, it isn't working. Don't know if anything can ever replace the auto industry.

[IdaBriggs]

3. Waterford, which is in North Oakland county (aka the 'richest' county in MI). nt

[michreject]

17. I live in Waterford

What bank was this? I was at my bank yesterday. 1st monday of the month and all. Had to get paid.:)

[knitter4democracy]

7. Battle Creek is sure hurting.

The OP didn't surprise me. I've been seeing that in our area with garage sales--stuff I wouldn't normally expect to see there. Estate sales, too, which more and more often are for people moving into nursing homes or even having to move in with their kids. Very hard to see.

Granholm was left with a huge mess of a budget, and the damn Republicans in the legislature have stymied every good plan she ever had.

[raccoon]

10. Is Kellogg still there? nt

[knitter4democracy]

18. Barely. They've been cutting jobs, as has Post.

We've lost too damn many jobs in the last few years, and it's getting worse all the time.

[Occulus]

19. Hollywood.

Granholm and the Legislature have recently enacted tax breaks for Hollywood to film here. It's a great idea, really; MI has scenic areas that easily rival anything elsewhere in the nation. Even Detroit, with its run-down, decaying areas of urban blight, is perfect for some filming locations.

I really hope it catches on. We need something to replace the auto industry, and moviemaking can bring in bucks for local businesses. Frankly, I'm surprised we don't yet have arms of major studios here. Maybe that'll happen at ome point in the future.

[NNN0LHI]

5. I am 53 and have never seen things so bad across the board all at one time

[closeupready]

16. I agree. And what's worse,

the fundamentals are weak, we don't have competent people running the economy, and we're stuck with this team for another six months or so. Things are going to get MUCH worse. I'd say we're only 1/3 of the way towards reaching our economic nadir.

[KharmaTrain]

6. There Are Also A Lot Of Bottom Feeding

I'm sorta "active" in several forms of collecting...music boxes and old radios in specific and its definitely a "buyers" market as a combination of bad economy and those who need to move are moving fast. There are still those with money who can and are buying...a lot are foreign as the dollar is a bargain against the Euro right now.

Depression? I don't think we're quite there...but we're definitely in a period of stagflation...just like the late 70's...prices are on the rise faster than income. While those with large portfoios have seen their values decline over the past year, they still have a healthy "nest egg". It's the middle class that is getting the full-nelson squeeze...those are the folks more likely to sell mom's old vase right now. I haven't checked lately, but I'd bet that estate sales are going very well as well.

Cheers...

[knitter4democracy]

8. We're there in Michigan.

Estate sales here aren't doing so hot, though I've managed to find some good things that the people running the sale obviously had no idea the worth of (tatted and crocheted edged handkerchiefs for fifty cents each, etc.).

[NNN0LHI]

11. A little lot that used to have just a few farm tractors for sale by consignment in Dwight is booming

They had to add on to the lot to make room.

Don

[KharmaTrain]

14. Consignment...

I see a lot of that as well...and a true sign of the times. People who will take whatever they can. I have a good friend who lives and dies by having her stuff sold that way and she has far more people looking to sell than buy these days.

The way things are going, I would imagine there are quite a few bankruptcy sales going on in and around Dwight these days. My daughter and son-in-law live near Danville and they've had a terrible growing season...a lot of crops were flooded out in May and early June and they haven't been able to fully recover. Filling up those trucks and combines are a killer this year...and we'll be paying for it this fall.

Cheers...

[MetaTrope]

12. Yeah, I checked out ebay with thoughts of selling my silver age comic book collection

But by my rough calculations, I'll be able to get back about 1/10 of what I paid for them 30 years ago.

[KharmaTrain]

15. A Sign Of A Lot Of Sellers...But...

Hang in there...the good side is these markets rebound real quick once people realize they can't dump anymore...and the prices will go up. I've seen this with vinyl over the years. When CDs came in, people thought vinyl was through...people dumped like crazy...then in a couple years, it began to make a comeback and so did the prices.

Somewhere around I have some 1950's Superman comics along with Mad Magazines from the late 50's through the 70's...been a while since I looked to see if they had any value.

Cheers...

[lpbk2713]

13. I've read in the paper where business is booming at pawn shops.

And I see a lot more yard sales these days, particularly towards the end of the month.

It looks like it's 'Mission Accomplished' for the BushCo war on the Middle Class.

[MillieJo]

21. It feels like the whole of the UK is depressed..

People fear they won't be able to pay for heating, it was announced last week that
British Gas were raising Gas bills by 33% and other companies following suit. Many homes has gas
central heating and to heat their water.

[slampoet]

20. I know a LOT of people who sell used things. We've gone from selling 90% in the USA to 90% overseas

in just three years.

[MsTryska]

22. Dammit.

I was just telling my BFF that he needs to go through all the stuff in his basement and sell it so he can have money to move down here to ATL. He's in MI now. Of course his money problems aren't so much tied to the economy as they are to the fact that his sister is a gambling addict/thief, but still.