What is the State of the Economy in 2013?

Bob McGovern January 5, 2013 at 01:41 pm

Financially, we're in for a tough year in 2013. As individuals and small business cope with higher taxes, all levels of government will have to deal with decreased revenue. 2013 will be a year of financial realignment at all levels.

Tina Valentine January 6, 2013 at 05:03 pm

As tax credits ended with the new year, there will be a decrease for me in my weekly paycheck and the greedy government will get more of my money once again. My employer will be facing more taxes which means the chances of my ever getting a raise are non-existent, add in the non-paying customers who blatantly rip us off and I have to wonder and prepare for the fact that the small business I currently work for may not be able to survive 2013. Not seeing any rainbows at the end of my tunnel in 2013.

Barb Tomaszewski January 6, 2013 at 09:38 pm

DISASTER is all I see ahead after seeing my first pay check for 2013 not much hope. Our elected officials need to do more than fight between themselves how sad they had a year to get this all worked out and not......They all need to be fired with there big time pay, parttime work and pensions that are more than most of us make do you see a problem with that !!!!!!!!! I DO...................

Daniel Kegley January 7, 2013 at 03:06 am

So many posters here are expressing their negative outlook for our nation, our state, and our occupations, yet this state once again elected Obama, who blatantly told us before ever getting elected back in '08 that he did not believe in our Constitution or our nation, at least not in the way we did, and promised to do away with everything that is/was good about America. He's halfway there, with upcoming plans to finish us off, and our children's entire lives will be spent in repair of our nation. That is, IF they even believe in anything anymore. That will be up to you who are or would be parents. 20, 30, even 40 years of trash like Stabenow, Levin and Conyers? Really now, does this state care about anything other than themselves? Not even their own children?

Lianne Mathie January 7, 2013 at 01:53 pm

I could not agree more. Lansing works 90-110 days a year, yet they are payed at the highest rate of any State. 86.000 a year with a 10,000 dollar expense account.

Retired Army Tanker March 5, 2013 at 08:35 pm

Now that the sequestration deadline has passed, if nothing else changes, I'll be hit with a mandatory one day off work with no pay per week for 22 weeks starting sometime in April. Meanwhile, federal legislators in both chambers of Congress continue to receive at least an annual salary of $174,000.00 with no interruption in their paychecks.
Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution requires that Congress pass a federal budget. Yet the U.S. Congress hasn't passed a federal budget since April 29, 2009; instead, they've opted for a Continuing Resolution year after year since then to avert a US Government shutdown. Since April 29, 2009, which the was the last time the U.S. Congress passed a federal budget, the average U.S. Congressman, senators as well as representatives, has earned roughly $522,000.00 in annual minimum salaries. Yes, that's a half-million dollars. As a DoD Civilian, I haven't done one damned thing to earn a 20% furlough-induced pay cut. And I can assure you that I have not received a half-million dollars in pay since April 29, 2009. Yet the six-figure-a-year masterminds of the federal budget universe can go to bed each night safe in the knowledge that their pay will not be negatively impacted at all. Can you sense my anger?

Lee Jacobsen March 5, 2013 at 10:34 pm

Retired, your anger is pretty evident, and , to stoke the fires a little bit, here are some additional examples of our stupid govt spending. 30 of them to be exact.
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/30-stupid-things-the-governemnt-is-spending-money-on Some of these I can relate to. #27 where the military spent $998,000 to ship two 19 cent washers . I make washers for the Boeing jets. Around 400 per year. They go on military aircraft. There are specs on these washers, and one page says they have to be sent to Israel to go through a pickling process. This adds about $40 to the cost of each washer. This makes no sense! Makes no sense at all for a part that should be sold for around $2, but instead is sold for $115 per washer. For security reasons, other folk can't even bid against me to make the washer. Our govt sure knows how to make us mad. On the other hand, the govt is paying me good money to do stupid things, so who am I to turn it down? It keeps the doors open, and folk busy doing their jobs. Instead of giving pay cuts to vets like you, they should be doing common sense cuts in areas that no one cares about. So, 2013 will be a pretty good year since the govt is still as 'non-thinking' as ever, and I am going to take advantage of it. Do you blame me? If I don't make the parts, someone else, probably in India or China, will do the work and who wants that scenario.? At least the money and work is staying in the USA.

kidcat24 March 6, 2013 at 02:35 am

Retired Army Tanker you could support Claire McCaskill and Bill Nelson both Democrats:Congressional Overspending Pay Accountability Act. Reduces Congress's pay by the greatest percentage of any federal worker furloughed as a result of the sequester

kidcat24 March 6, 2013 at 02:37 am

Daniel Kegley, please tell me do you have video of President Obama saying he did not believe in our Constitution or our nation? Where are you getting that information?

kidcat24 March 6, 2013 at 02:41 am

republicans have been yelling cuts for four years now. Now you complain? John Boehner held the debt ceiling for ransom, this is what he was offered for that ransom. He took it and 174 republicans in Boehner's house voted Yes on it. And Boehner said afterwards "I got 98% of what I wanted, I am happy"

Daniel Kegley March 6, 2013 at 10:24 am

In response to Retired Army Tanker... Without knowing what your job is, it is a little more difficult to gauge whether a cut in your pay would be warranted. If it was an essential defense position in support of critical national security, I'd be inclined to say your work should not be reduced. That said, with what I know, I must say that you seem to address the shortcomings of Congress mainly. I don't see mention of Obama. While the Constitution does indeed charge Congress with the handling of our monies, the enactments such as in 1921 and 1974 have laid out a process. It starts with our president submitting a budget proposal to Congress. Let's see, for 2012, his own liberal run Senate voted his plan down 97-0. Yes, 97-0. Then the next year, his plan was put to a vote in the House. Fell by 414-0. He seems really serious about budgeting, doesn't he? If you are conservative, like me, I apologize. It does seem as if you are blaming more the Republican House, though, which is what many people mean when they say "Congress". If that is the case you should be told that we must cut, and not in this measly 44 billion dollar way, but like in the trillions, ASAP. I would much prefer a government worker be furloughed than a private one.

Daniel Kegley March 6, 2013 at 10:40 am

Absolutely, kidccat... Check the last 15 seconds of <http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4dlmv35uyZw> Obama says,"We are five days away from fundamentally transforming America." From Merriam Webster: fundamental: adjective : serving as a basis supporting existence or determining essential structure or function : of or relating to essential structure, function, or facts : radical, fundamental change : of central importance : belonging to one's innate or ingrained characteristics... He says similar things, of course, in thousands of other ways, but I think this best describes his completely and utterly opposite view of the America most citizens remember and want. Do you want rich vs poor, white vs black, Christian vs atheist, blue vs white collar, man vs woman, et cetera, every day? He has divided us in ways we never knew we were divided.

Daniel Kegley March 6, 2013 at 10:48 am

...and Boehner IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE... He is a Republican who has totally rid himself of most conservative values, and does not speak for a traditional American party. He is the newer breed of Republican which is becoming indistinguishable from his liberal counterpart, really. He keeps giving in to Obama... He says, OK, you can have your spending, as long as you make cuts later on, and Obama, as uneducated as he is, keeps laughing at him and spending more. No cuts ever come. Do you think the sequester is a cut? Please tell me you don't think it's really a cut. Please.

Jason R. March 6, 2013 at 11:05 am

Looks like kidcat drank a whole bunch of kool aid! Obama has never governed and suggested the sequester not thinking that it would never happen. He is a disgrace!

Lianne Mathie March 6, 2013 at 02:31 pm

Holy Cow Jason, if you don't think the disfunction is on both sides you need to get out of your house more. Washington is one big clown car.

kidcat24 March 6, 2013 at 06:22 pm

I think, maybe, could be, might be, whatever. Please quit listening to Limbaugh. Remember "If you aren't with us, you are against us"

kidcat24 March 6, 2013 at 06:23 pm

Bircher Tea Party's goal is a government shut down.

Katie March 6, 2013 at 08:14 pm

Great Idea. Shut the whole thing down except the Defense Department and let them all get real jobs and earn their paychecks instead of wasting ours.

Daniel Kegley March 6, 2013 at 10:47 pm

Thank you, Katie. Probably 90% of what our fed gov't does was never meant to be their job, anyway. I could live with them basically securing our borders and killing those who try to harm us. But our toilets, light bulbs, cars, salt intake, sexual tolerance, geez, they are spending our children's future on this garbage? I don't really want to pay for a sex change for a convicted murderer, in prison for life, because he thinks he's a woman. Liberals minds just don't work right, and if anything, Obama has emboldened them to let their colors truly show. They are no longer afraid to tell you your money should go to eliminating carbon dioxide. That is what we exhale, libs, if you don't know that. I agree, Katie, let the gov't shut down. I don't like the idea of hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs, but if they are gov't workers, most shouldn't even have the job they do. That is not my fault. Their jobs produce nothing but misery for people who want to be left free.

MRSPirateLarz March 7, 2013 at 12:03 am

I love how all sides pass the buck back and forth. Obama has some good sides and is not this completely horrible thing that has happened to our country. Just like Bush was not this completely horrible thing that happened to our country. It would be wonderful to see action instead of complaints, real solutions being presented instead of mud throwing (I know, it's hard to talk about actions when we are not the ones in power). If I thought that I had a good solution or action, I would take it. But at the moment the best I have is that I am sick and tired of seeing the politicos of this nation act like elementary students on a playground fighting over a ball!

Daniel Kegley March 7, 2013 at 10:08 am

MRSPirateLarz, I appreciate your frustration, but I'm not sure what you mean by both sides passing the buck back and forth. Obama is destroying our society, but it sounds like you would negate that by saying the other side has equally valid reasonings. Fact is, some things really are good or bad for us. Everything is not just a point of view. I don't disagree that Bush did some wrong things, but how about one example of what Obama has done for us. He was elected largely on the premise that he was superintelligent, was for the common folk, and that he would bring us all together. None of these were true. He has divided us as no president ever has. He displays no expertise or knowledge of anything, just anger. People are full of stress, heads down, angry, and confused. Our greatest problem now is that because gov't has wedged itself into every part of our lives, the public cannot keep up with current events. Unfortunately, we cannot have productive discussion or debate with most people ignorant of events. I could walk you door to door, and you'd find people aren't even aware of the huge amount of directives and regulation that is pushed out on a daily basis. So we must enact solutions without consensus. The government was never meant to be the gigantic force that it is now.

kidcat24 March 7, 2013 at 01:46 pm

Humans create their own problems. Sort of like texting and driving. As if that's safe to do.

todd b March 7, 2013 at 02:40 pm

In our 'handout society' ... as long as those who work for a living continue to be pressed to share more of their wealth with those that don't, there will be conflict, stalemate on policies and further social decay. And ALL elected officials are the problem, not the solution as their own interests to stay in power always rise to the top. It is easier to spend other people's money than it is to vote on cutbacks to any program.
Change will never come to pass until these type of structural changes happen: 1) Term limits for every branch of government (including Judicial branch) 2) Handout limits for every US citizen receiving Section 8 housing, welfare, food stamps, etc. ( couple of years max) 3) Handout "EXEMPTIONS" for NON- US citizens wanting to tap into any type of government subsidies and handout "EXEMPTIONS" for US citizens with felony records. 4) Drastic changes to government pension programs so employees can't retire after 20 years work and collect from taxpayers for the next 50 years 5) Finally, drastic changes to address health care costs begining with TORT LAW changes to cap liability payouts driven by over-zealous lawyers. Exponential increase in liability insurance premiums can be traced back to this one variable. Implement these changes, and as an over-taxed, working american, I will be glad to kick in a bit more on taxes as well. But any further government hand on my wallet will be met with my second amendment rights until these changes take place.

Tom Skyler March 7, 2013 at 03:57 pm

I am happy with the cuts, it should be more, the government needs to curb spending and fast, they need to operate like we all have to, within our means.

Katie March 7, 2013 at 06:10 pm

Thank you todd b!

Retired Army Tanker March 7, 2013 at 06:34 pm

I am a Regular Army veteran, and I am 60% disabled as a direct result of my active duty Army career. Thankfully, I was able to get hired-on as a DoD Civilian after I left active duty, which allows me to continue to serve my country as long as I am able to do so, albeit not in uniform. I am not bitter about my disability; rather, I served with pride and honor, and I'd do it again. I am, however, bitter that some people think that I somehow deserve a 20-percent furlough-induced pay cut as a DoD Civilian.
In the past year, three of my fellow DoD Civilian colleagues from my own office volunteered for six-month temporary duty assignments in Southwest Asia, right alongside our uniformed warfighters: all three DoD Civilian colleagues served in Afghanistan. I resent any notion that I or my fellow DoD Civilian colleagues are negligent, malfeasant, ne'er-do-well, under-worked, over-paid, or otherwise deserve to have a 20% furlough-induced pay cut. My fellow DoD Civilian colleagues and I bust our collective asses in an effort to support the warfighter in a manner that we all hope the warfighter down range DOES NOT BECOME SIMILARLY DISABLED - or worse. Rational voter ignorance: it is real. Read about it. Don't succumb to the 30-second sound bite or political commentary masquerading as fact. http://econ.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/16670/Somin_2_20101213.pdf

todd b March 7, 2013 at 11:26 pm

Gotta look at it with glass half full attitude -- 20% more time to spend with family. When I was unemployed at a 100% pay cut for 24.5 months with refusal to go on unemployment, I made the best of it, took extra classes to improve skills and moved on. I don't think anyone would say any government employee "deserves a furlough" as that would be pretty mean, but cold hard facts are government's out of control spending must be reigned in, defense is the third largest expense category in the budget and can't be exempt from cutbacks. Sequestration is a good first step but long way from putting dent in budget. The link below is a real time look at US spending and the minimal effect current sequestration has on the big picture. Every American should study these numbers.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Daniel Kegley March 8, 2013 at 12:41 am

Todd, you said,"Change will never come to pass until these type of structural changes happen:" I agree. While your list is well-reasoned, it isn't all that needs to be done. Of course you can't list everything, I understand. I think, though, that all these things must come from some really basic changes in public behavior. It is not difficult. Quite basically, these changes cannot occur unless the citizens demand it, and in order for that to happen, people would have to understand what is happening to America. You keep hearing that the people aren't stupid. Well, I disagree. Most are. Living here in Michigan for the last thirty years, I have heard over and over from union members, for example, that even if it means their very own children have no future, they want their check, be it a government handout, a ridiculous pension or benefit plan, or something else they say they "deserve". Most either don't know, or don't care, what happens down the line. We have a president that supports that reasoning with lies every day, and his voters really believe he is in their corner. He is not. Short of the people waking up, revolutionary actions would be the only way to institute your proposed changes.

Daniel Kegley March 8, 2013 at 01:53 am

I won't say you deserve a pay cut, not knowing how critical your work is to our defense, which is the LAST thing I would want cut. Even with waste, I would rather err on defense than study schools of fish or environmental crap compliance. Your president has chosen to make cuts that will hurt the nation for selfish political reasons, to be sure the perception is ANY cuts will do harm. His golf trips, like Hawaii & Florida since Christmas, costs millions. 25-30 outings per year (they stood at 100 early summer 2012, look it up). He won't even reduce his welfare cell phone program. What's that tell you? This admin is uneducated, immoral, and destructive, both economically and socially. We've been headed this way since Wilson; more so since LBJ. Social justice, e.g., the war on poverty, worked well, didn't it? These aren't even cuts, but a minuscule reduction in the INCREASE of spending. Not cuts. More worrisome is that you don't "deserve" a job. Outside of gov't, the world operates on logic and science, not rules and definitions by unnamed, faceless bureaucrats whose job is to make up more rules. If you are worth it to an employer, or self employed with a product people want, your work is valued, by someone somewhere. A smart employer will pay you adequately if you produce. People taught to be victims complain, others search out employers who understand value. You're free to try anywhere, but certainly are not "entitled" to a job, or a pay rate; that's the progressive paradigm.

Katie March 9, 2013 at 05:07 pm

My opinion is that if you served active duty fighting you should get Cadillac health care benefits for life and a reasonable pension. NOT the government bureaucrats. Obama’s health care takeover is for the masses, but not for Washington – they keep their Cadillacs. THANK YOU Retired Army Veteran for your service to this country to keep all of us safe. God Bless you!