The recent actions, news and happenings over the past couple of years have some questioning whether China will become the leading new world power. Why? Because they basically have that control over the world’s money right now.

With so many other governments hurting for money, and countries coming to them left and right for bailout money and loans, they are quickly becoming everyone’s “best friend”. Even European countries are now asking for their monetary support. Countries that once criticized China for their human rights violations and currency manipulation are unfortunately now possibly going to be at China’s mercy for money.

This demand for money, which is something they have in abundance in foreign currency stock, actually gives China a lot of bargaining power. For example, they can ask countries to lift trade embargos that gives them (even more of) an upper hand when it comes to exporting and importing products for sale.

They could also ask for countries to ease off their constant pressure on China to improve on their human rights laws. That wouldn’t really improve their economic standing, but it would put other countries at their mercy.

China already has a great advantage over other countries, including the US when it comes to the cheapness of their goods. It is the reason that so many countries allow such abundant imports – the goods in China are usually much cheaper than they can ever be made in the US .

They suppress the wages of workers, and they artificially suppress the value of their currency, which results in their goods being so much cheaper and more desirable to American companies for use in other products or for sale on their own. They simply make things cheaper over there. Whether it’s of the same quality you might get here is another argument.

So what do you think? Do you think China is heading for world domination? Or can the US hold its position as the dominant world power? It could go either way, but the bad news is that it definitely looks like America is on the decline. The only thing we’ll always have going for us is open capitalism and favorable business conditions for people to open up their own business.

We’ll always have our engenuity too. That’s the American way. It’s the reason we invented cars, computers, electricity, the phone, and other things that no one in the world goes without today (maybe a small fraction).

There’s a lot of news in the financial arena as of late. Some of it is good, and of course some of it is not so good, or at least not very hopeful. One of the biggest stories is the big stock market rally that occurred surprisingly at the end of October.

It was a nice Halloween surprise, that’s for sure. But it had me questioning why the stock market is rallying so much on so little good news. It seems the public is overreacting to good news. The news that made the market swing into the highs it experienced was news that there was an agreement made to get European debt problems under control.

I’m wondering why, when all other economic indicators seem to show that the economy is not really recovering that well, the market makes wild swings higher, to earlier highs when it did indeed seem a recovery was on its way. Of course, back then it was only because the government was still on its wild spending binge and propping up the economy artificially for a time.

I get a little scared when I see the stock market overreact to a little bit of good news. All this European news is telling us is that there are going to be serious austerity measures in Europe in order to get their debt under control. I’m not sure that starting the road to correcting something that went horribly wrong is a reason to start the party back up.

In other news, and one that got a lot of consumer’s boiling, including me, was news that banks may start to charge fees for customers using debit cards. Debit cards are something that we have all become so accustomed to using that this would greatly impact many of us in our wallets.

Debit cards are a great way to keep you out of getting into debt trouble with credit cards, because unlike high interest credit cards, you don’t get charged interest on debit card purchases, and you have to have real live money in your account when you spend.

So basically, debit cards are a way to make you spend only what you have and not live beyond your means unlike the unrealistic credit card. Low interest credit cards can be a great way to make purchases that you can’t pay cash for, but they are still a risk.

Banks are now actually backing away a bit from the whole debit card fee thing due to consumer pressure and an outcry that this wasn’t fair. It all stems from banks not being able to charge businesses huge fees any more on debit purchases.

Sheesh, it really does seem like every day you look at the news, you see a new industry that has come under the burden of a flagging financial system. It was the car industry, the banking industry and the housing industry just a couple years ago that started it all.

Now, after years of what the post office has said was impending doom and flagging first class mail postage sales, they are nearing the brink of bankruptcy. Instead of keeping on their employees, which are obviously helping to boost the American economy, they are going to be forced to let go of about 35,000 postal workers.

In addition, they will be closing several thousand facilities. This is all very troubling, especially for a service that we have all known and been spoiled by since we came to this earth.

A big part of the reason they were unable to turn profit was that they were actually contractually obligated to make unrealistic payouts to their retirees every year. In addition, they had clauses in employee contracts that prohibited layoffs.

Tell me, how is this sort of collective bargaining good for business? I’ve always been against collective bargaining (unions). I don’t believe that it serves the greater purpose, which is to see businesses thrive and to help the American economy grow.

It’s not that I’m against organized employee rights, but I think it just goes too far and pushes companies to do things that, in the end, just are not profitable or business savvy.

I think that employees do need to protected now, but there are laws in place for that. For crying out loud, it’s hard to even fire a person these days without getting sued!

The post office has made its proposal, and they’ve asked to be let out of contractual obligations that will surely see its demise if they are not released. It has a plan to get back to profitability, however, it needs the right to do the things it needs to in order to stay open.

First class mail offers the most affordable way to get small packages to people. I love it because I can mail something up to thirteen ounces for a very reasonable price when compared to services like Fedex and UPS.

The USPS is not federally funded, contrary to what a lot of people may think. It is actually funded solely by its postage sales. So, go out there and buy some first class mail and support your local post office – before they take that away from us too!

Well, it looks like the House is still at a deadlock over the whole debt deal. We kept hearing yesterday over and over that they were going to vote on the John Boehner (Speaker of the House) debt bill. Then they “postponed” it and said they would vote on it later last night (are they seriously holed up there all night?)

Then, this morning, we wake up to news that they are not in fact voting on the Boehner debt proposal solution, but have scrapped it and did not vote on it. Wow, these are our representatives people, and there is so much infighting and bipartisanal interest going on that it will be a wonder if we ever get ourselves out of this mess.

It’s already affecting the economy. The stock market didn’t like it for a day when we saw a massive drop (unfortunately, nothing like I think is coming) in the indexes two days ago. But it rallied back again, which I am still scratching my head over.

All I know is that I’m eternally grateful that I have a pretty safe job, because I think this whole thing may wreck another wave of havoc on the economy and the stock market.

I’m glad that I’m still able to pay my mortgage, and that I even have a home, unlike so many other unfortunate Americans who are still hard-hit by the first wave of job losses that hit our now still fragile economy.

The news of the debt deal being scrapped also was accompanied by another piece of dismal news. The economy has now slowed even more than economists had forecast this summer. The GDP only grew a measly amount, and it’s not enough to sustain any sort of meaningful recovery.

With news like this cropping up, it’s a wonder that we’re all not crying in our cornflakes! Boehner’s proposal was to propose we raise the debt ceiling to a more staggering amount, and also cut trillions in government spending.

This is not a popular idea amongst a lot of democrats, who as we all know are hugely in favor of spending on many different programs that have already been pretty dramatically cut over the past few years in order to get money back into the pockets of the government after they overspent on a ridiculous “stimulus” plan that mostly went to the darn banks and other companies that got us into this trouble in the first place.

I could go on and on, but I’m starting to feel my blood pressure go up, so I had better sign off.

Hate to be the bearer of what seems like constantly bad news for our financial straits right now, but there are several factors working against the hard working people of America right now. We used to be the land of golden opportunity, but that paradigm is slowly starting to shift thanks to a stagnant economy, rising cost of living expenses, and an awful housing market.

Gasoline prices have skyrocketed over the past few months, in many places topping five bucks a gallon. Here where I live in Northeastern Ohio, we’ve seen the gas prices go above $4 a few times, and right now they are just at about $4 a gallon. Gas reward credit cards are enjoying popularity now because of this.

Not only are gas prices high, but everyone is starting to notice cost of food basics going up too. You see it in your grocery bill, and just when you’re out shopping, that the food prices across the board pretty much have gone up.

Meat and dairy products are higher, and even staples like corn, wheat, flour, sugar and other basics that most people keep in their pantries are at an all time high right now. Commodities are really taking off, and it’s not boding well for the typical American consumer.

When my husband and I get takeout or go out to eat (which by the way, we rarely do, because I feel more and more as I get older that going out to eat is one of the biggest robbers of wealth there is), we notice that the portions of food are getting smaller, while the prices are getting higher.

We recently went to a lunch time buffet and spent a lot more than we would have just a few years ago for a lunch for two. That’s at a standard, nothing-fancy buffet. Even fast food has gone up thanks to the rise in basic food and commodity prices.

The average American is spending more on the basic needs for life, and they have less disposable income to spend on things that actually propel the economy, like clothes, fun things, and services that are more affordable when the cost of living is lower across the board.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that everyone will only buy things now when it is a total, ridiculously dirt cheap bargain. This includes, unfortunately, homes, which people are having a hard time selling because there are so many foreclosures on the market right now.

These factors, combined with inflation in the cost of living, are going to be incredibly challenging for us to overcome over the next several months or even years.

Well, we’ve just had a piece of history go down. Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al Quaeda terrorist group that was responsible for masterminding the 9/11 attacks against the US almost ten years ago (I really can’t believe it’s been that long), was killed this past weekend.

It was surgical military operation that was authorized by Obama, which he liked to emphasize several times in his midnight national address Sunday night, since I’m sure he’s sick of all the criticism he’s been taking, and is gearing up for re-election efforts, Bin Laden was finally killed, and justice was served.

He was killed after he offered resistence to capture, shot in the head. He was buried at sea merely hours after his death. This was to avoid a shrine or place or worship that can be worshipped by his followers, essentially furthering his cause after his death. However, some do think it a bit odd he was buried so soon after he was killed.

The big question is, will this landmark occurrence have any effect on our fragile economy, and on the financial markets, which are already surging beyond anyone’s wildest dreams after being in the dumps for so long?

There is already a jubilance in the streets of New York, where people came out to celebrate the death of the leader at Ground Zero. Ok, must say that it’s also a little strange that people are celebrating a death, actually several deaths, but I can understand people’s need for vindication after the atrocity that was performed. This was an unprecedented attack on our freedom, and it’s understandable that it would lead to such unexpected reactions.

Will this jubilance extedn to the greater financial markets, the job market, and the overall spending and attitude of American consumers? It’s entirely possible. Time will tell if this has any meaningful impact.

Most people, no matter what walk of life you come from, are facing some difficult times right now. Whether you know friends or family who have lost their jobs, reduced their pay, cut hours, or had to move away just to get another job, this country’s great financial fall as of the last 3 years has taken its toll on pretty much everyone.

Even the rich are seeing a dent in their pockets, and there has been a shift seen in the way the rich spend their money as well. It’s almost as if a mass psychosis has befallen America in that everyone has gone into “save” mode, regardless of their actual current financial status.

Nothing wrong with that for the individual, in fact normally one would be saluted for being miserly in favor of saving for the future, but that’s not what is ultimately going to fix the economy.

Among the job challenges, or the lack thereof shall I say, there are some other potential problems that are brewing which could really put more pressure on American family’s wallets and further burden the disposable income of the average family household.

One of the current dangers that has been cited by numerous economists which sounds a bit doom and gloom but has already materialized to some degree by what I can see on my own personal grocery bill, is the skyrocketing prices of food.

Grain, wheat, meat, produce, and nearly everything that we use as raw materials to make the food we eat is forecast to skyrocket in the next several years. This means the cost of living is going to skyrocket, even higher than it is today, in the near future. This means you’ll have to be making even more money just to live by the standards that you currently do.

I’ve heard many of my friends say that their grocery bill has gone way up, and that they are noticing foods that once used to be affordable are now much higher in cost and add significantly to their grocery bill. Especially people who have larger families to feed. Most likely, this will influence people on how many children to have, or whether they even want any children at all.

Another concern is the price of gasoline. Gasoline has gone up considerably because of speculation and what is happening in the middle east right now. There are multiple uprisings and people who have been long oppressed are demanding changes in leadership from oppressive regimes that have ruled these countries with an iron fist for decades.

Good for them, not so good for that already fragile world economy! In the end, this may be a good thing, as better economies of scale will most likely come out of better world leadership, but in the meantime, we are going to have to deal with some pretty high costs of living.

The recent economic meltdown has brought with it a bevy of sea changes in the way we live, our future outlook, and the world of consumer goods and services and how they do business here in America. Why? Because the consumers themselves have changed, and companies have changed their business models.

One very disturbing trend I’ve seen personally is the trend for companies to resist hiring, even when it is warranted and business has picked back up. They need the bodies, but they don’t want to spend the money and get the economy going again by hiring.

Instead, companies have become somewhat miserly and would rather either work their skeleton crews to death or have their skeleton crews do overtime, rather than paying for someone new to come on and pay all the associated expenses of a completely new hiree such as insurance, social security taxes, and other benefits.

In the end, unfortunately, it’s usually cheaper to simply have people do over time.

Not only that, but they are not paying the people they have very well. They are withholding raises and giving very low raises. Why? Because they can afford to. People are still terrified of losing their jobs, and most companies know this and know that they will still usually keep talented help even if they are not happy and are being worked to death.

It’s the unfortunate landscape that us middle income people are facing today. Decreasing pay, increased workloads, and quite frankly it sucks to be in the middle class as the climate is today, for most people.

There are a lot of people who are over qualified who are doing lower paying jobs simply because that was all they could find after being laid off from higher paying jobs that may have also had better benefits. They are struggling to pay their mortgages because they had to go from one income to another.

What is particularly frustrating as well is that a lot of those higher paying jobs that people are getting laid off from here in the US are being shipped overseas, where conditions may be more favorable for US companies to make a better profit since they may be able to pay lower wages and get away with not paying good benefits.

If anything, our government needs to step in and stop this and make it more appealing for large corporations to KEEP THE GOOD JOBS HERE IN AMERICA. Otherwise, all we are doing is putting ourselves in deeper water here and making things better in other countries.

The end of November is notorious for one of the biggest shopping days of the year – termed “black Friday” because it is supposedly the day that most retailers go in the black instead of being in the red for most of the year round before the holidays hit. I used to think it was just called Black Friday because it was a really hard day for employees and shoppers due to the large crowds and often bustling streets to even get to the shopping places, but that wasn’t it!

Now, it seems like most retailers, from tires and baked goods to actual merchandise that people would get for others as gifts, are being offered at incredible discounts and with some pretty amazing incentives. In the first week of November, actually, my husband, who is a big gamer, actually got a few video games from Toys ‘r Us that came with a really generous gift card. These types of deals would almost never be found during the year at any other time.

I’ve seen a few pretty amazing deals myself in November, not just toward the end of it, like we’re in now. I’ve seen cosmetics go on sale that never go on sale, I’ve gotten emails about products and services being offered at ridiculously low prices, and I’ve just generally seen a lot of great deals all around, in most niches of shopping.

I think that retailers are grasping at anything they can right now to stay profitable since consumers are still not in the buy mode as much as they need to be, and so many people are still uncertain with their finances. It’s great for consumers, but bad for the economy as a whole. Jeez, I feel like such a broken record!

This is fantastic news, as usual (yes, being facetious), about the economy and the people that have to deal with it every day, have paid their dues, and are now getting the shaft by our federal government, because THEY spent wildly and are now looking for ways to cut back. The people who have paid their dues which I’m talking about are the seniors who are going to be impacted due to the lack of a social security payout cost of living increase this year again and next.

There is generally an outrage among seniors right now, and the Democrats are really going to be hurting with this November midterm election since seniors are typically the highest turnout during the midterm elections, when most of us younger folks seem to bail out. This is really a major concern for senior citizens, who often rely on their monthly social security checks to ensure they will be able to meet the costs of their monthly bills.

I couldn’t help but reel in disappointment myself when I read about this. My heart really goes out to those that are not going to see a cost of living raise again this year, because the cost of living and utilities etc. etc. does go up every year, even if the “inflation” calculation they use to determine these increases doesn’t say so.

It’s going to take some fancy footwork on the part of the Dems, who are generally out of favor right now because they are seen as being helpless in the current economic situation now, whether that’s fair or not is up for debate.

I’m not really sure how I feel about it. I’m not sure that any other party could have done any better with the bad deal we’ve been handed for the past few years. I know there are lots of people who have strong opinions one way or another, but it’s hard to “blame” anyone when the overall situation is inherently a tough one.