Spend! Spend! Spend!

[Gob]

US consumer spending 'best in three years'


Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of activity in the US, the world's largest economy.

Consumer spending in the US grew at its fastest pace in three years during 2010, official figures have shown.

Spending grew by 3.5% from 2009 the Commerce Department said, the best showing since a 5.2% rise in 2007 - before the country went into recession.

The 2010 levels were helped by a strong December, where spending grew by 0.7%, the sixth consecutive month of growth.

Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of activity in the US, the world's largest economy.

Rising incomes and the faster increase in spending meant that the savings rate dipped slightly in December, the data showed.

Economists expect that spending and savings will be boosted further in 2011, if the job market continues to slowly improve and with a cut in payroll tax.

"As hiring picks up this year, income gains should accelerate noticeably, providing fuel for both modestly faster spending growth than in 2010 and a renewed rise in the savings rate," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist for Pierpont Securities,

However, there is concern over whether these gains will be enough to offset further cutbacks in government spending and the weak housing market.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12327467

[BoSoxGal]

Sadly, our economy relies upon consumer spending.

[Long Run]

All that pent up demand. e.g., my iPod is at least 2.5 years old -- outrageous!

[Andrew D]

Don't economies generally depend on consumer spending -- if not the spending of consumers in that country, then the spending of consumers in other countries? What good does producing goods and services do if no one buys them? Off the cuff, the only economies not dependent on consumer spending that occur to me are nomadic hunter-gathering and subsistence farming. I do not find either appealing.

[rubato]

Sadly, our economy relies upon consumer spending.

All economies rely on consumer spending. Roughly 70% of GDP for us.

That's how it works. How is that sad?

Now I want you to get out and SPEND that 2% SSI tax cut! Don't listen to Guenivere. Just buy something nice, no cheap crap and nothing tacky.

yrs,
rubato

[dales]

Gun sales are up.

[Guinevere]

I spent, spent, spent last year. I'm saving this year so I can redo my patio/yard next.

[Sue U]

I'm spending my money on health insurance.

[Jarlaxle]

I'm saving OT and snowplowing money for my vacation...

(Like I do every winter!)

[Guinevere]

Well you must be raking it in Jarl.

[BoSoxGal]

I have some spending planned - just as soon as I pay off medical bills. That's not the kind of spending they want me to do, though, is it?

[oldr_n_wsr]

Well you must be raking it in Jarl.

He would have more if he left Pa and came to NY. My house in Pa. has gotten about 1/10th the amount of snow I have gotten here on Long Island.

[Econoline]

IIRC, Jarl's somewhere in/near Massachusetts.

[Jarlaxle]

I plow in RI, MA, and CT. I have been out most of the day and will be out again in a few hours. The money is nice...but I do remember when I actually had a life!

The sander hasn't come out of my truck since New Year's!

[Econoline]

I sure could've used you--or at least your truck--last night, Jarl. I was one of the hundreds of motorists who were stranded all Tuesday night (6:30pm-6:45am) on Lake Shore Drive during the blizzard that just hit Chicago. An empty or almost-empty rear-wheel-drive cargo van is probably the last type of vehicle you want to be driving in such conditions. (I swear, even my wife's Taurus would've been much better under those conditions.) For the first time in many years I really really missed some of the 4WD vehicles I used to own. (Interestingly, I discovered last night--when I saw one of them get stuck and talked to the driver--that all the new Chevy Tahoes that the Chicago Police Dept. is buying to replace their old Crown Vics are 2WD, not 4WD.)

But I had a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses diesel fuel, a good working heater, a half-decent radio, and I knew the city would have to get a major road like Lake Shore Drive up and running pretty soon, so it was mainly just boring.

[loCAtek]

Which begs the question: Why didn't you just stay home?

[oldr_n_wsr]

From what I read about the blizzard was that it started off not a blizzard around the evening rush hour so people were trying to get home. Then there were a couple of accidents on that road which slowed everything to a crawl then the full force of the blizzard hit which stopped all movement on the road and buried the cars. People ran out of gas, plows and tow trucks couldn't get through. A real mess.

[Guinevere]

Econoline, I saw some of those Lakeshore Drive pictures and I have to say, my first thought was "who the hell was out there on a day like yesterday." Can you tell us how that snarl came to be?

[Econoline]

Well, Guin... oldr got it basically right, except that we were expecting the blizzard but instead of starting as a regular snowstorm and building in strength it pretty much hit full force and stayed that way for about 14-15 hours. (The day started out clear, with predictions of a blizzard later that night, so most people went to work Tuesday morning as usual.) The city officially closed Lake Shore Drive at 7:58pm (at which time I'd already been completely, hopelessly stuck for about an hour and a half) but they really should've done so 3 or 4 hours earlier; I guess they were somewhat unrealistically wanting to keep it open until after rush hour(s).

When I got on Lake Shore Drive at 47th St. (~4 miles south of the downtown area) around 5pm traffic conditions were already a little iffy: reports said it was moving, albeit slowly, and the worst of it was on the north side, where I wasn't. I figured I'd at least be able to make it downtown, and probably get back south by some other route later. Problem was, it was already close to a standstill and there was no evidence of any snow plow work--though to be fair, it may have been plowed already but with with the snow being driven off Lake Michigan by a 50-60 mph wind the evidence of that work wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes. My first available exit was in 1 mile and when I got there over an hour later, after having been stuck and unstuck 3 times already, I found the (uphill!) exit ramp was covered by about a foot of snow, so I pressed on, hoping to get off at the next exit. Half an hour (and ¼ mile) later I was finally, completely, hopelessly stuck, anything I tried only made matters worse, and with the aforementioned 50-60 mph wind I was too cold, wet and tired to try anymore so I stayed in the van with the heat on and just waited it out.

This was about the time the worst of the mess on the north side (~6 mi. north of where I was) developed, with a CTA bus spinning out and coming to rest blocking 3 lanes of traffic bringing things up there to a complete standstill (there were still some vehicles making it past me where I was)--yet the city STILL didn't close the road and direct traffic away from that route for another hour and a half!

As for why I didn't stay home... Besides not really knowing quite how bad it was when I started out, I work for a delivery/courier service and get paid only on commission, no sick days, no paid holidays, no paid vacation, no nothin'--if I don't go to work, I don't get paid anything at all--so I felt like I should at least give it a try. I've lived in Chicago my whole life and I've been through some pretty rough weather, I just misunderestimated the severity of the weather (especially on that particular road, with the full force of what turned out to be Chicago's 3rd worst blizzard ever coming directly off the lake and across Lake Shore Drive [weather here more typically comes from the west or southwest]) and/or my own (and my vehicle's) capabilities.

All's well that ends well. I survived fine, didn't do anything particularly stupid beyond getting on the Drive in the first place, once I dried off some I was warm enough, and I even got to give a report on the radio via cell phone to tell the rest of the city that not all of the traffic problems were on the north side. I just wish I still had my old Land Rover...or, even better, my old Jeep pickup truck.

[Guinevere]

Thanks for the details Econo, we've all been in that same situation. Some storms are just easy to misunderestimate and it sounds like the City did a terrible job of getting the word out. Glad you are safe and warm and dry!