haha oh wow my bad.....u are right i did get them confused. I can say though that yes times are hard, but I do know that there are many people that have to tighten up the budget to make things work. also I am considered a middle class family and i am still able to afford the things i want and need. It is all just so confusing......and as far as starbucks I used to work for them and everyone that worked with me new there would be a time when they would over extend themselves and that is exactly what they did, it has nothing to do with a recession it is the fact that they have a starbucks inside a grocery store and in the same parking lot they have starbucks, and then 1 block up the road they have another...LOL Also just a little tid bit, the starbucks and big named coffee companies are on a decline, but the small locally owned coffee business' have seen 19% increase in the last year alone. I think people are getting tire of the big ones taking out the little ones....

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all i can do is laugh my butt off and hope for the bestLOL

Exactly.

However, we are worried about the climbing costs associated with oil prices. Something has to give.

keep in minds also the difference between recession & depression


Bush anounced yesterday that the economy is growing???

Common sense has to make ya stop & ask How is that possible???

2 MAJOR banks are being federally bailed out.....Wachovia and a couple others are on the "watch" list for disaster....GM is in SERIOUS trouble,housing in general is falling apart...and more than most are feeling the effects of rising costs.

I think there's gonna be alot of smoke blowing for a while with the coming elections...but after that...I think were all gonna be blind sided with a wake up call to what's really going on.

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I started working for 1st Nationwide Mortgage in 1991, at that time they were in bankruptcy.

In my tenure at my former bank, we acquired 4 community banks before being acquired the few months before my resignation. Our bank went to pot (for lack of a better term) in the time I worked there. Our customers ran to smaller banks and our good employees left for better jobs. No one wants to bank where you are transferred 50 times until you reach and intelligent live body to assist you with your problem. BIG BANKS are failing due to mismanagement, IMO.

I do understand the whole ARM problem and it's impact as well.

It is too bad GM produces so many gas guzzlers. That one is a given. Producing better gas guzzlers didn't work out for them.

We are SUV, 4WD, truck loving people but my dh purchased a diesel Jetta for work because we could never afford to commute in a truck.

Drill here, Drill Now. Pay Less... say it with me

That is the point ... a lot of these businesses are doing poorly because of stupid choices. Toyato is doing very well and they were one of the first to jump on the fuel efficient autos. My husband's former employment -- they talk recession but truthfully, they did so many stupid things at that school that people stopped sending kids.

People need to be smart about their businesses and that includes the big guys too.