When do you think the economy will start to pick up again in the US?

Jan 20th, 2009 would be my first guess.

I personally have a gut feeling that its never gonna be what it once was.

not too fast, i still need to buy some stuff from the states

what I notice working in retail, prices seem to be going up. Gas prices have a lot to do with it. Also companies want to continue to make a profit. The problem is the majority of people don’t want to pay the higher prices. Some turn to other sources and some do without. Its a dumb cycle that is not helping the economy.

It seems like after an economic slowdown, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Of course there are always exceptions but for the most part it happens. This economy will last a very long time before we can breath again. Due to lack of jobs and due to losing new jobs, people who didn’t have bad loans are defaulting too on their mortgages. This is gonna compound the housing problems we already have. Now, the high price tag of fuel at the pump is having a ripple effect on the whole spectrum of the economy. This is affecting everybody not just those losing their homes. The only lasting positive effect we can have on the overall economic situation is to become much less dependent on foreign oil and invest in renewable sources of energy that in the long run will bring down the price of fuel due to the lower demand.

Yes iwamoto!! I totally agree. Don’t go fixing it too soon – I need my shopping trip to SF first!

“Back in my day you could go to a movie, get a drink AND a hot dog for just a nickel! You whippersnappers don’t know what inflation means! what with your pokemans and your PSP’s. Heck, If I wanted money as a kid, I had to dig it out of the California hills!”
– John McCain 1942

18 months. That is to get an upward movement (+.03%) of the GPD. But it is going to be really weak for about 2.5 years. Unemployment will remain low. Cost will go up and wages remain stagnant.

That is my guess.

@johnpowell you sound like a pro economist

It was my major. But I am just making numbers up. I think they will be close to being accurate. But I never did any serious analysis on them.

18 months sounds good, that should give me time to do my shopping trip with (practically) monopoly money.

@wildflower woooooow! A new avatar, you must have millions to choose from. I think we are entering a new era in the avatar business here, all I can say is gonna be fun!!

hey im brand new to this. well this is my second thing im answering. well i hate to bring the bad news its not and it wont. infact techiniaclly it hasnt even really gotten bad yet. The dollar still has value to it and most americans can still drive and go to work and eat and stuff. Its all talked about in the bible, end of times. And also google this dude named Gerald Celente, watch him youtube when hes interviewed by Foxnews and listen to what he says and dont think of it as an opionion, cuz rememeber just like Jay Z says “people lie, numbers dont”

The key is national self-sufficiency. Once we stop buying oil from OPEC and start keeping our money her at home, that goal will be realized. In theory, Obama supports the Pickens Plan:

http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

Once this plan reaches fruition (if it ever does), and assuming we don’t involve ourselves in too many other revenue-sapping foreign wars, we’ll see a prosperity never before seen in this country.

As to when the economy will “start” to pick up, it will start when enough members of the Congress and Senate embrace (and fund) our conversion to domestic resources.