The Economy and Kung Fu

[BoulderDawg]

Banks are falling like dominoes...people are losing their jobs...the govt is spending our money to bail out corporate execs........Just how long before all of this starts to filter down to the MA schools and people decide that now might not be a good time to pay the extra money for Martial Arts?

I think schools on the edge are going to have a tough go.

[uki]

Banks are falling like dominoes...people are losing their jobs...the govt is spending our money to bail out corporate execs........Just how long before all of this starts to filter down to the MA schools and people decide that now might not be a good time to pay the extra money for Martial Arts?

I think schools on the edge are going to have a tough go.

in the end it will amount to wether or not people have kung fu... once the finacial crisis evloves into a food crisis, martial arts will no longer be as obsolete...

[MightyB]

Don't use the Media as your economic indicator. The News loves crisis- I mean who watches the weather channel when there's no hurricane?

Use parking lots of chain restaraunts and major stores like Target as your economic indicators. The lots are still full and it's still a b!tch to get into a TGI Friday on Friday night. The economy isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be. New home sales are down because contractors were too aggressive. They outbuilt the market. Banks were too aggressive with mortgage loans... yes this is all true- but the fact of the matter is that people are still eating at McD's and still are buying Wii's- there's still a lot of money being spent on non-essentials. The economy isn't great- but it's still ok. Be a smart marketer and you will survive- and it's even possible to thrive because now's the time to become a market leader. You just have to remember that smart marketers advertise most in bad times.

[1bad65]

MightyB is correct. When the media starts whining about a depression, just don't participate in it.

[mkriii]

Use parking lots of chain restaraunts and major stores like Target as your economic indicators. The lots are still full and it's still a b!tch to get into a TGI Friday on Friday night. The economy isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be. New home sales are down because contractors were too aggressive. They outbuilt the market. Banks were too aggressive with mortgage loans... yes this is all true- but the fact of the matter is that people are still eating at McD's and still are buying Wii's- there's still a lot of money being spent on non-essentials. The economy isn't great- but it's still ok. Be a smart marketer and you will survive- and it's even possible to thrive because now's the time to become a market leader. You just have to remember that smart marketers advertise most in bad times.

Last week me and my family went out to eat at Rafferties here in Lexington and walked right in at 7:30 and got a table. Half the restaurant was empty. That should be peak hour for dinner. I think we're going to see a lot of places going out of business. We've already seen Ruby Tuesdays and Bennigans go bankrupt. Banks are going bankrupt. This country is in bad bad shape right now. This country is built on a deck of credit cards. Banks are lending money to people that they shouldn't be lending to.

[brothernumber9]

I don't have any statistics to back up my belief, but I believe, outside of 401k's and retirement accounts, that the average american is not affected much if at all by the financial mayhem on Wall St. I don't personally know anyone with more than 100k in their bank accounts, and really not that many that have investment portfolios or stock that they trade regularly or borrow against, or receive dividends from. The threat of local banks going under is a concern for those that aren't FDIC insured, but otherwise, most of us live check to check and if lucky, put a little away each month, that is insured, and it's just day to day business as usual.

[mkriii]

I don't have any statistics to back up my belief, but I believe, outside of 401k's and retirement accounts, that the average american is not affected much if at all by the financial mayhem on Wall St. I don't personally know anyone with more than 100k in their bank accounts, and really not that many that have investment portfolios or stock that they trade regularly or borrow against, or receive dividends from. The threat of local banks going under is a concern for those that aren't FDIC insured, but otherwise, most of us live check to check and if lucky, put a little away each month, that is insured, and it's just day to day business as usual.

The FDIC only insures up to 100 thousand dollars. The way to do it if you have more than 100 thousand is put your money in seceval different banks then it would be insured. Washington Mutual the largest bank in the country went bankrupt. They said its the biggest bank in history to go mankrupt. BILLIONS of dollars was said to have been lost. Unfortunitely it is not business as ussual. I know tons of people with more than 100 thousand in the bank and I know a lot of people that have put thier retirement money in to the stock market and now thier sweating it (afraid their going to lose everything. The stock market dropped 1000 points yesterday. I wouldn't say thats business as ussual. What planet do you live on?

[BoulderDawg]

in the end it will amount to wether or not people have kung fu... once the finacial crisis evloves into a food crisis, martial arts will no longer be as obsolete...

If if gets down to fighting for food I doubt we'll be using MA...Nope! The conservatives have just made it to easy to get a gun in the country. And if you don't have one...so what? There are guns shops on every corner. You can just break in and take what you need.

[BoulderDawg]

I just read where McCain has been working on the economy.....****! I feel much better now!

[MasterKiller]

I just read where McCain has been working on the economy.....****! I feel much better now!

Maybe he'll do a better job with it than he did with the savings and loan banks in the 80s. *cough*Keating Five*cough*

[Shaolinlueb]

for some reason the school does better when times are tough. :idk:

[MasterKiller]

The FDIC only insures up to 100 thousand dollars. The way to do it if you have more than 100 thousand is put your money in seceval different banks then it would be insured. Washington Mutual the largest bank in the country went bankrupt. They said its the biggest bank in history to go mankrupt. BILLIONS of dollars was said to have been lost. Unfortunitely it is not business as ussual. I know tons of people with more than 100 thousand in the bank and I know a lot of people that have put thier retirement money in to the stock market and now thier sweating it (afraid their going to lose everything. The stock market dropped 1000 points yesterday. I wouldn't say thats business as ussual. What planet do you live on?

They FDIC doesn't even have enough money to pay out for every $100,000 insured in it's banks.

[GeneChing]

We've seen a more than a few schools go belly up this summer. And we're certainly feeling the pinch.

Y'all like this forum? 'cause I gotta hit ya up for subscriptions again. Things aren't desperate, but we definitely appreciate your support now.

[SimonM]

My school has been rocking lately. Sifu had to move into bigger digs to accomodate all the students and we are still experiencing crowding issues some days.

[1bad65]

This country is built on a deck of credit cards. Banks are lending money to people that they shouldn't be lending to.

Correct.

Read up on the 'Community Reinvestment Act'. Banks were actually FORCED to make a certain percentage of high-risk loans.

Bush tried to reign it in in 2003, but people like Barney Frank said Fannie May and Freddie Mac were doing just fine.