Hobby Economist » Economic Recession

Unemployment: Is Capitalism Failing?

Razib Ahmed — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:28:27 +0000

The recession is over in USA but the jobs have come back. If we look at the jobless rate in USA the it is sure that the recession is not over. Yes, the big companies are back on the right track but still, many people are unemployed. So, it seems that free market economy and capitalism is not helping that much.

Well, there can be two sides of the argument. First of all, when recession comes then governments are forced to act with retrain and the market is somewhat controlled.

On the other hand, in this age of globalization, US workers cannot compete with workers of other countries in terms of money. China has taken a lot of manufacturing jobs and India has taken a lot of service oriented jobs. The irony is that it is the US companies who have sent these jobs to India and China. Thus, they are becoming bigger and richer but not the US workers.

Still, it is not as simple as I am saying. US companies have to send these jobs or else they will not be able to cut their cost.

It seems to me that capitalism and free market economy is in some kind of real trouble. It is perhaps time that scholars do some research about finding a better way or at least find a way to modify capitalism.

Hopefully Recession will not come Soon

Razib Ahmed — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:45:48 +0000

It has been few weeks that I wrote anything in this blog. In fact, it is nearly 2 and half months that I updated the blog last. It has been a very tough one year for me. In fact, the last two years were very tough indeed. In the middle of 2008, I started to get an idea of economic recession as my revenue from blogging started to suffer significantly. Then from the middle of 2009, I became sick.

The recession did not make me sick but the pressure, fear and worry took my mental strength to a great extent. I can assure you that it is not enjoyable at all. So, my health is back and I am going to be back to blogging from today hopefully.

The recession is almost gone but things don’t look rosy in some European countries. Hopefully, the global economy will bounce back again and we will see a new beginning for the global economy. We live in a world in which the fortunes of all countries are somehow linked together. If there is decrease in demand in USA then for whom China or India will produce goods and services?

Everyone Should Read Economics

Razib Ahmed — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:08:54 +0000

I did not use the word ‘study’ in my title because ‘study’ means more careful and intense reading of anything. Instead, I am implying here casual reading of Economics because I think that most people would run away if they have to study it. Instead, they should have some knowledge of it because in our life we need some skills.

Many people now invest a lot of money in the share market and a good number of people among them do not have any idea at all about the stock exchange. They get unhappy when they suffer loss but they do not want to know about the basics of this market so that they could invest more carefully and wisely.

The same can be said about Forex market. Many people literally gamble in this market too. Some reading about Forex would help many people not to lose so much money and fall victims to the scams.

Economic Recession Should Teach Us Something

Razib Ahmed — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:14:15 +0000

The great economic recession of 2008 is slowly removing and most people are now free from its clutch. Now, there is hope and there is new energy in the economies of Europe and America. I wonder if the economic recession has taught us any lesson. The first lesson I can see is that no economy is invincible. The US economy is baed on consumerism and the basic idea is that people should work harder and earn more. When they can earn more, they can consume more and when there is more consumption then there is more demand and more supply.

Now, the most important lesson that I can think of is that people should start to think about their life again. Consumption is good but too much of anything is bad. They simply need to understand that they must learn to live without many of the luxuries and without their credit card. When you have a decent job and fixed income then using credit card once in a while is no problem. But when you are living in uncertainty then you should not get addicted to credit card.

The recession showed us that capitalism is not perfect. Of course, capitalism was never perfect and free market economy has its bad sides too.

Is there an effective Way to Create Jobs in US economy?

Razib Ahmed — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:53:58 +0000

The worst of economic recession is gone from US economy but on one front things are going from bas to worse indeed. There is no sign of new job creation that would help the people. If jobs are not created then naturally people would suffer and it will bring perhaps another recession because American economy is based on consumerism. If people do not have jobs then how they can buy products and services.

Is there a good way for this? Well, I don’t think that there is. US economy is in a mess. It is not good for anybody but I don’t see any good effort from anyone in this regard. Creating employment is not done by private companies as they have to think of their shareholders. US government injected a lot of money last year and it gave some good result. I guess that in 2010, US government will need to inject again a lot of money for job creation.

Can Black Friday 2009 Turn the Fortune of Retailers?

Razib Ahmed — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:12:02 +0000

In the last few days, in my Laptop Computer Blog, I have been writing a lot about Black Friday 2009. Hopefully, we will cover it more in that blog. Well, this time, the retailers in USA have started some early with deals with the hope that they can attract consumers. It is important for the US economy too. President Obama is trying hard to find a solution to the economic recession. Many people are now hopeful that the recession is almost over or is going to finish soon. However, the October 2009 unemployment statistics perhaps does not bring any encouraging sign for the retailers. They are perhaps some worried that since one in every 10 person does not have any job, many people may become afraid about their own jobs.

Just Don’t Count the Economic Recession Over Yet

Razib Ahmed — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:22:39 +0000

I am sorry that I could not update the blog at all since I wrote the first entry almost a month ago. Well, I was sick most of the time and from first, I decided that I would try to just write quality entries in this blog. I would not care for any traffic or earning from this blog. My total dedication will be to produce content that would bring satisfaction to my heart. Anyway, I hope to update it regularly from now.

Today, I was thinking about the economic recession. It started a year ago in the month of September in 2008 and then it is still going on. Some countries are officially out of it but I do not think that it is time we should start celebrating. Things are still some pale in most of the countries.

I am concerned for two things at this moment. The first one is oil price. It is increasing again. In December 2008, it fell down to $33 a barrel. Now, it is more than double of that.

The second thing that I am worried is the matter that drought caused bad harvest for Indian farmers and that means that India will be forced to import a lot of food items in the coming months. This may increase price of some items like sugar in the international market. This kind of price increase will have chain reaction.

I wish that global leaders can sit down and do something about these two problems. They need to work on it or else we can find another recession coming before the finishing of the current one. No one wants that.

With this note, I want to finish this entry. I hope that I can update this blog regularly from now. I am very fond of economics. Unfortunately, my health did not support me for the last 3 months.