8 Industries That Will Sit Out a Recovery

ECON 101?

Ummm, Spike...did you ever take ECON 101? There is only so much money that you can make from a fixed unit of sales. The alternative is to open a new sales unit (or units) to infuse more revenue. This is not cooking the books, or decption...this is the American Dream. Remember, a lot of these new stores/restaurants are owned by franchisees - fellow Americans like you and me. I can almost assure you that they are not trying the feed off of you. While I applaud your concerns on that state of society and the lack of common decency (e.g. on the highway, in our neighborhoods, etc.), how about a little optimism? Business owners, both corporate and individual alike, are trying to make money in this crappy economy -just like you and me...you can't begrudge them for that. If you have a problem with them, don't eat out, or patronize a local "mom-and-pop" shop in your local nighborhood...believe me, I do every chance that I get. As for rules and regulations, these exist, but we are a FREE market economy - government cannot (and should not) run everything; and there are VERY real consequences for violating these rules (ask Martha Stewart, Bernie Madoff, and the ENRON folks). Give your countrymen a chance, my man...I promise we won't let you down.

Glass Half Full of MI @ Nov 09, 2009 14:45:00 PM

Americans don't have balls?

Sebastian are you completely ignorant of US history? We threw out the British when we were just an infant country. We went from nothing to a global power in one century. We elected an African-American president to become prime examples, and pioneers, of human rights. Americans have "balls" my friend. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. We are trying to do everything right and justly while maintaining our power. Why are so many Americans ungreatful? Other citizens would gladly die for their country and you are putting it down? Perhaps you need to visit China where you would be hunted down and executed for treason for your little comment.

Brandon of UT @ Nov 09, 2009 12:13:15 PM

Stupid Americans

Nothing will change until you stand up and change it? Americans don't have the balls to stand up for themselves. Bitch Bitch Bitch is all you do. I read countless articles about how stupid the average american is, but that is all it is. Articles, never any change.... just articles.

Sebastian of GA @ Nov 09, 2009 11:30:26 AM

Free America

After being in the military and seeing how peoples in not-so-free countries lead their lives, there is not a day goes by that I am not thankfull to be a citizen of this great country. Unfortunately, being free allows us to do anything and everything we feel like. Some abuse, steal, rape, murder - those are the obvious ones. What bothers me are the predatory people who will steal anything you have in any way they can to get rich, balance their books and line their pockets all in the name of get-rich-quick free enterprise. Sales being at the top of the list from the cable company to car sales to real estate. Why does a company have to open 20 new stores to show a profit? Hmmm, if the first 20 stores aren't making it, why on earth would you open 20 more? This form of cooking the books is a deception, designed for us to invest (throw away) our hard earned income on a growing company in the hope of a reasonable retirement. WAKE UP! BEING FREE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS ENABLED US TO FEED OFF EACH OTHER! There are bad people everywhere and at every level - they are not going away. They need to be dealt with in a way that will not destroy the very fabric of America. I do not know how to do that but I say that those free citizens who want to do all the aforemention deeds, from neighborhood level all the way to and including corporate level theft (for lack of a better term), go do it to the bad guys who threaten the freedom of this nation! Not to fellow Americans! I just want to make it through this life as long as I can without crisis and woe, have a little love and pleasure along the way and leave some kind of legacy for the next generation. Now 15 years from retirement, it is starting to look bleak. I spend more of my days trying to figure out which of my fellow Americans are feeding off me and avoid them at all cost. Not what I had planned for my life. Religion has worked in some cultures (not without oppression of others) but how about just plain COMMON SENSE? Integrity? Respect? Compassion? Concience? Values and the basic concept between right and wrong? I hope there is ONE politician who reads this. WE NEED RULES, REGULATIONS AND REAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT ABIDING BY SAID RULES! With the internet, and even just driving in heavy traffic, the is so much annonimity. A person (or corporation) can kill or steal everything from a fellow American destroy their lives and still still sleep at night knowingly, or totally benign that their actions have ruined countless individuals. Just numbers on their balance sheet. Those countless individuals ARE the fabric of America! STOP FEEDING OFF EACH OTHER! THIS IS A GOOD LIFE AND A GREAT COUNTRY!

'Spike' of OR @ Nov 09, 2009 10:08:43 AM

Corporations Stole Our Future!

The bottom line is corporate America sold our souls, stole our children's futures, and the rich pig faced executives walked away with full pockets and bail outs! Banks robbed people by knowingly granting loans to people they knew would never be able to afford a mortgage that would triple in a short five years! And they continue to legally steal our hard earned money by jacking up interest rates to 30% or more, calling it "necessary", yeah necessary for them to screw us over any way they can. This is the America we are living in today, and it will never change until we stand up and demand it! I will never put my money in a bank, ever! Use a credit union, they won't screw you, because a credit union is owned by it's members, You! Stop driving gas hog vehicles and supporting foreign terrorist and domestic oil companies. Stop filling up your gas tank and wait to buy gas until you absolutely have to, and even then, just $10 at a time. It will make a difference, oil companies want you to fill your tank, because when you don't, they have to lower their prices! It's works! Imagine if for one day everyone in America did not buy a single drop of fuel! Our planet is in peril, and our own self destruction is imminent. Human greed and a desire for worthless material stuff has left Mother Earth out of balance. She will correct herself, with and very possibly without humans. Right now, this very instant, millions of men, women, and children, do not have food, access to clean water, and shelter. Think about that mr. banker, wallstreet broker, corporate ceo, oil companies, industrialized, coal burning, acid rain producing factories, while you're stuffing your face in gluttony. All your greedy money in the world will not save you when there is nothing left to save. Is this truly the world you envisioned leaving to your children and your children's children? Make a difference. Live simple, Live with less, Change. While we can, with what little time we have left.

Mike of NY @ Nov 09, 2009 04:12:51 AM

"We The People"

The citizens of the U.S.A. must have forgotten the most two famous phrases that this country was built on: WE THE PEOPLE and UNITED WE STAND. But instead of WE, it has been changed to ME and that is a shame. The people of this great country have let the few (the MEs) to take over. Yes WE may moan and groan about the things that are happening in this country but that is all WE do, NO ONE BANDS TOGETHER as in the beginning. The Gov't and big companies/industry use to be afraid of the people and now it's the other way around. We are afraid that if we don't do as the Gov't says, the Gov't will come down on us and who gave them that power, WE did, by doing nothing. Same way with big companies/industry, if we don't do as they say they will fire us--they're doing that anyway and sending the jobs elsewhere ( MOSTLY FOR GREED ). And again who is at fault--the WE. Oh by the way, when I say Gov't, I mean (Politicians, CIA, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security, Judges and Law Enforcement) all the way down to our states, cities and towns. The Gov't and big companies/industry are either shutting down or selling America off bit by bit and WE are letting them. Hell, the Gov't even lies to us and WE let them get away with that too, ie: J.F.K, Vietnam, Agent Orange, Watergate, Iraq, Gitmo Bay, Illegal Immigrants, The Big Bailout....shall I go on and that's just the Big Gov't.

Now WE do band together and march for causes like fighting Breast Cancer, Aids, M.D.S and Diabetes, just to name a few. So if WE can band together for these causes, then why can't WE band together to bring back the--WE THE PEOPLE and UNITED WE STAND---not only for the outside world to see but also for our Gov't and big companies/industry to see as well. These phrases were written to PROTECT and INSPIRE the CITIZENS of the U.S.A., not for the protection of the Gov't and big companies/industry.

Now, I have served in the U.S. Air Force and was willing to fight the enemy if needed for the FREEDOMS of the citizens of the U.S.A.--but now after posting this, I have to worry will Homeland Security come busting into my home without a warrant, because they can, and hall me off to Gitmo Bay as an enemy of the state. If they don't, I'm thinking about going to Mexico to become a citizen there and then sneak back into the U.S.A. to have everything just handed to me ( free health care, SSN, bank loans and pay no taxes..ect ) and if I break any laws while here --no prison time either--just get sent back to Mexico. I'm kidding about becoming a citizen of Mexico, making another point here.

LET'S PUT THE "WE" BACK INTO---"WE THE PEOPLE" and "UNITED WE STAND"

P.S. do they want our e-mail address to track us down??????

J.A.F. of TX @ Nov 09, 2009 01:55:19 AM

it's all a RICH (republican) man's game!

the sad part about all this, is that it has happened several times before...specifically, 1929 and in the late 1800's. in all cases, it was republican administrations that preceded these downturns.

BUT interestingly, the Rich (mostly republicans) knew that this was coming and "propped up" the stock markets until they got their stocks/money out and then let it fail completely. also, there was (according to an inside bank source) a large amount of US money transfered to Cayman Island accounts in august and september '08.

it is the only explanation why they made money, esp, last oct when the rest of us lost our A**es, homes, and jobs!! i, truthfully, do not see a return to normalcy until these Rich are brought to justice by hanging them upside down till all the money falls out, but since most of it are in off-shore accounts, it'll be a long wait. unless they invest those profits back into the economy, the recession will deepen into depression despite what the stock market and government is saying. obama, needs to review what FDR did in the 30's (NWPA. CCC, TVA and other "PUT PEOPLE BACK TO WORK PROJECTS!) and make the hard decisions that need to be made. how many people would be glad to make an honest living while helping make America a better place - this includes road repairs/bridge rebuilding/ work to (re) buy your home thru a work repair program that would eliminate all those abandoned foreclosed homes that are ruining neighborhoods while leaving millions homeless. if you think i am nuts, just go back and read books written in the 1930's that investigated the 1929 crash and it'll open your eyes!

john of forest hills, fla of FL @ Nov 09, 2009 01:08:06 AM

CEO

THIS IS NOT A RECESSION, BUT A DEPRESION! THIS ECONOMY WILL NOT RECOVER IN 2010 BUT WELL INTO 2012. ITS NOT POSSABLE TO RESTORE A DEPLETED ECOMOMY IN TWO TO THREE YEARS.

STEVEN of CA @ Nov 09, 2009 00:18:52 AM