WBF Economic Poll

What is the state of US economy relative to last year this time?

  • Much better than last year

    Votes: 2 4.3%
  • Somewhat better than last year

    Votes: 11 23.4%
  • The same as last year

    Votes: 10 21.3%
  • Somewhat worse than last year

    Votes: 15 31.9%
  • A lot worse than last year

    Votes: 9 19.1%

  • Total voters
    47

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Hi Everyone. Thought it would be good to take the pulse of the membership to see where we as a group think the US economy is at this point in time. The poll is anonymous so please vote :).
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Adding on, I am asking about your own *personal* situation. Not what you think others think or the economy is going. In other words, as you think about purchases and investments, how are you feeling relative to last year? Are you spending same, less or more? Do you personally feel less, same or more secure about economy?
 

audioguy

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
2,794
73
1,635
Near Atlanta, GA but not too near!
While the media presents unemployment slightly down from last year, that is not my observation. I continue to see small retailers in strip malls closing their doors; the folks I know that are looking for jobs are having no improved success and the general comments I get from others who own small businesses are no more upbeat than last year. And the fact that there is no significant improvement adds even more gloom to those who are struggling. In my own business, we added a few more new customers from the previous year but lost customers from those who could not longer afford the service.

I just had my quarterly review with my broker. Here was their synopsis (shortened version)

We are still in a very volatile market

The Federal Debt is up 41% in the last three years (mind boggling)

There are too few moderates in Washington. No one reaching across the aisle (from either side) to make things happen.

NOTHING will be addressed until at least 2013 (and depending on who ends up in the White House and Congress), it could be much longer than that)

Maybe 1.5% to 2.% growth in the economy. Maybe.

Not particularly upbeat !!!
 

RBFC

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
5,158
45
1,225
Albuquerque, NM
www.fightingconcepts.com
They're counting part-time workers as employed, who were previously full-time in jobs. Unable to find full-time work, many folks accept part-time work that offers few/no benefits. Employers are shifting to part-time workforces to save money on benefits administration. So, even if the statistics "show" unemployment as lower, it doesn't reflect the actual workforce participation and compensation.

Lee
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,376
2,497
1,398
De facto unemployment is probably closer to 16%-17% as i understand...factoring in exactly what Lee pointed out...plus all the people who have stopped looking for a job (who also are no longer counted as unemployed).

...it is still very, very rough out there. And with time, comes people eating into savings, not being able to hold on. It is very, very tough. I dont think the economic 'spot stats' may be drastically different, but what is different is that it is another year of this...and it gets harder to continue to hang tight.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
More votes would be good guys to get better statistics. If you are a visitor reading this, this would be a good way to get your feet wet with posting here where no one can argue with you :). Register and vote!
 

Mark (Basspig) Weiss

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2010
678
31
940
New Milford, CT
www.basspig.com
This year was terrible. First, the hospital that contracted me in November to shoot their corporate communications videos suddenly quit using me after they ran a VendorMate check on me (at my expense). Probably didn't like the tax liens on my home and thought somehow that made me a bad videographer..
Then this past fall, the orchestra with whom I worked 13 years to build a relationship and, in 2007, started recording, is under a new director who suddenly decided they don't need my services anymore.
So I've earned less than $9K again this year, same as last year. Not even enough to cover property taxes on the house, so it's been a really depressing year.
No new prospects either. It seems that people these days don't care about quality video and sound that I produce for their products. Even the weddings.. they want dirt cheap. $1500 is way too much now. Whereas in 2007, I could get $1500 for a wedding shoot. Now it's $850. And I still only actually close one wedding contract every other year. The rest blow me off when they see my price list.
Corporate folks won't talk to me, so I have been unable to get my foot in the door at any local corporate entity. So telemarket all day in vain, just to feel like I put in a day's work. I may as well be sitting on my a** doing nothing--the result is the same. :(
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Sorry to hear that Mark. When the economy gets worse, competition becomes the same thing. Hope your fortunes turn around and folks who read this forum near you, can refer some business to you.
 

Mark (Basspig) Weiss

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2010
678
31
940
New Milford, CT
www.basspig.com
Sorry to hear that Mark. When the economy gets worse, competition becomes the same thing. Hope your fortunes turn around and folks who read this forum near you, can refer some business to you.

Thanks, Amir, it's just a tough all around economy, plus the fact that I'm in the sort of business that's at a disadvantage now that consumers have access to cameras.
Same thing happened to me in the 90s with my graphic design business.. the Mac became available and everyone was suddenly a 'graphic designer'.. the $5000 4/1 sell sheet design job became $1350, then eventually a min wage job given to in-house college kids. Then I went back to electronics, this time in broadcast engineering/maintenance/studio builds/transmission plant builds, peaked at $19K gross income in 2003, then it all went downhill as station ownership became pencil pushers instead of radio people. Then in 2008, I decided to go full time with my dream from 1968: to do cinematography. There isn't enough work, I've got colon cancer and medical bills, my wife just was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last Sept, and we're drowning in medical bills and collection letters now. We're living on credit cards, until they card companies figure out what's going on and shut us off. Scary times!
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
My heart goes out to you and your family Mark. If we ever needed a poster child for this economy and this forum, you would be it :).
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
5,455
949
1,290
The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
*clears throat*

Not my situation, just an observation.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Let's get more people to vote! If you are not a member, this is an easy way to join and vote anonymously!
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
1,231
4
0
Interest rates=same (good for large economic entities, bad for individual retirees/investors)
Case-Shiller=same/worse (very bad)
GDP=up (thank goodness)
Spot heating oil/refined products=prices up (very bad)
Elections=good for economy
Unemployment=down

On a whole... no change or cloudy
 

RogerD

VIP/Donor
May 23, 2010
3,734
318
565
BiggestLittleCity
A tale of two economies....I can walk into Whole Foods and pay twenty dollars a pound for porterhouse steaks (high select??) and then go down the road to Food Source Raley's and pay 3.99 for Harris Ranch Choice rib eye and 4.99 for t-bone and new york steaks.

Enough said!
 

Mark (Basspig) Weiss

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2010
678
31
940
New Milford, CT
www.basspig.com
The economy seems to affect eBay sales. Four years ago, I could sell almost anything on eBay and get a higher price for that item than almost anyone else. Since 2009, I've sold almost nothing, spent more on listing fees than I took in on sales, and stuff just sits on the auction block with little or no interest.
To the good, it's a buyer's market, especially for test equipment. It's possible to pay 2¢ on the dollar for used yet functional high end test equipment. You can get an $11,000 spectrum analyzer for $200 or so, for one example. But vintage audio gear is hurting hard if you're a seller. Four years ago, a certain reel to reel deck was fetching $1700. Now several of them sit with no bids or even offers. Naturally, since I'm thinking of selling mine, I'm surveying the market. Not a good time to sell, and March is usually prime because of tax refunds making buyers more generous.
 

Mosin

[Industry Expert]
Mar 11, 2012
895
13
930
I suppose it depends on what you are doing.

My day job is holding fine. I am in the copier business, and people still need copiers. There are few new businesses to sell to, however. Our base is also making fewer copies, and we are carrying some old customers for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in past due billing for service and overage copies. The good part can be summed up in a single word, leasing. We make up the slack by shopping much more carefully there, and by carefully managing expenses like fuel and parts costs. If we had to sell directly to our customers, rather than have third party leasing companies involved, we would be history. Maximizing profits at the front end of the sale is keeping us going. Typically, the real money is made on service, but these aren't typical times. No, we aren't hiring anytime in the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons. That's the bad part.

The audio business is equally strange, according to my friends. Some are selling virtually nothing, and others are selling only to certain places in the world. South Korea seems to be a hot market right now. Personally, I have customers because my product is so limited in availability. I'm not geared for high production, so it doesn't really matter whether the overall economy is up or down. Now, if I could just get vendors to read my mind! :)
 

Mark (Basspig) Weiss

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2010
678
31
940
New Milford, CT
www.basspig.com
All video production business has stopped since last April.......... Even my annual client put his teaching series on hold because he found he was losing sales to piracy and torrent files of his DVDs.

The amplifier repair business that I started in March has only had one customer for a very minor repair.

Basically, I'm frustrated and thinking of joining the FSA.
 

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