Explain again. I must be missing something basic.

Half the people I know are either out of work or working less hours or for less money. Most school districts I hear of on the news reports are laying off teachers and increasing class sizes to absurd limits. Near every city is laying off employees, including police and firemen and cutting budgets to the bone.

Now Detroit has filed bankruptcy. This at the same time everyone is telling me how well the economy is doing and the stock market is soaring......................in the face of a 17 trillion dollar national debt. Last I heard, this just didn't make any sense at all.

What am I missing.

How does the national debt affect me personally? I'm not smart enough to figure that out. Personally, I'm lucky to be working more hours for more money.

nemisis must've missed the growth in part-time employees at the expense of full-time employees, . . . at least partly in anticipation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It is likely to continue.

Oh, . . . and somebody finally did read the PPACA; it was the large Labor Unions. The union leadership just realized the union membership is gonna get nothin' from Obamacare and and non-union individuals are gonna get Government subsidies. They want the Obama Administration to fix it; they claim President Obama owes them for putting him into Office.

The stock market, . . . and other investment vehicles, . . . no longer respond to market conditions and such quaint concepts as profit and loss, revenues and expenses, etc., etc.,
They do respond to Government or Government-related policies. When last month Mr. Bernanke said the Federal Reserve might slow its purchases of Government Bonds (which is keeping interest rates low) the Dow Jones Industrials dropped over 300 points in one day, and mortgage rates shot up just a mite. Mr. Bernanke has taken it all back as of today, . . . and the DJIA set a new record today. Maybe it's just coincidence.

For some years now financial corporate profits have been soaring, . . . especially since financial companies were bailed out in the 2007/08 crisis; manufacturing and service, et al are not doing nearly as well.

The Detroit bankruptcy should be interesting. If the Federal Government steps in and decides who benefits from what and who doesn't, . . . like it did with the GM debacle, . . . it would be another step toward ignoring the Laws which do not suit the present Administration, ignoring individual decisions/responsibilities and ignoring free markets and acquiring ever more Government Control.
It is a City/State matter; DonDiego sincerely hopes the Government does not intrude to help its selected patrons; DonDiego does not want his taxes bailing out a City which has been mismanaged for several decades.

But poor old DonDiego hasn't observed Government which he likes for some time.

nemises- you have not missed anything, but you have heard the lies.What you haven't seen is that what has happened is just the tip of the iceberg known as the Obama administration. Expect more of the same as our country is ruined from within.

This thread is missing graphs and charts.

Not any more!

Don't you know that when you set out cheese that the rats will come out?

Hmmm...so confusing. I've been told for years by people on this board that laying off public workers and cutting the size of government is a healthy and necessary component for a more solvent state going forward....and now they complain about the smaller class sizes for kids, laid off cops, etc, etc.... . It gets even more entertaining when they simultaneously decry/applaud the effects of the sequester depending on the context of the conversation. I wish they would make up their minds so an honest conversation could be had

Meanwhile the private sector continues to suffer through record profits. And we've now created over 1 million jobs since we did the unthinkable late last year: rasie taxes on the job creators.

But to anyone who believes the economic recovery is all a farce, please, by all means, continue to buy gold and other doomsday equities. Hows that working out for you, by the way?

Thanks Obama

With all due respect PJ, I don't believe all those new jobs were of the full time variety let alone very high paying. I never once said anything about reducing the governmental workforce and subsequent bitching about the high unemployment rate.

Public sector jobforce had/has gotten so over bloated that reducing it was/is absolutely necessary, witness The likes of Stockton and Detroit. If it's not done I think we can expect to see more bankrupt cities/municipalities soon. JMHO

J