Comments for Consumer spending up for second straight month »
Posted By Beau7890 8 months, 3 weeks ago in Business & FinanceThe government says consumers increased spending for a second straight month in February even though their incomes slipped due to continuing massive layoffs.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent in February, in line with expectations. That follows a huge 1 percent jump in January that was even better than the 0.6 percent rise originally reported.
But the report says incomes fell by 0.2 percent in February, the fourth drop in the past five months, declines that reflected the sizable number of job layoffs that have been occurring because of the recession.
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Turner78x8 months, 3 weeks ago
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I would like to know how in the world we are suppose to believe that consumer spending is up when income and jobs are down? Who the hell is spending and on what? Is this another Corporate media ploy to get us to believe this is true so that those of us who are still fortunate enough to have a salary go and spend it? Maybe I'm being too cynical, maybe there are intricacies of the economy I don't about, or maybe this is just another outright lie from controllubg interest that 'need' us to spend.
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Beau78908 months, 3 weeks ago
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The numbers are from the Commerce Dept. I don't know how they're collected, but it's hard to imagine private corporations all inflating figures reported.
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However, the article also says this:
After dropping steadily throughout the second half of last year, with a particularly steep pullback in the final months of 2008, spending rose in January and February.
To economists, that suggests that after cutting back to bare-bones levels of spending at the end of last year, consumers don't have much further to cut. But they still appear disinclined to buy big-ticket items such as furniture, appliances and automobiles; consumption of durable goods fell 1.3 percent last month.
People still have to buy some things.
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