"JohnH" wrote in message
...

Oh woe is me.

That's for all y'all saying the economy is so bad. I wonder who's buying
all these middle class homes? I wonder who's buying all the cars? I wonder
who's getting all the jobs and promotions?

What tripe!


Lots of people SELLING middle class homes, too. Without further information
about this, any conclusions are vapor.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
A handful of boats arent representative of a nation of people.


It's nothing more than an indicator. But when paired with all of the
other indicators, its lends credibility to the notion that our economy is
firing on all cylinders.




For the wealthy. That's it. By this time next year, you'll be bartering
dental services for boat gasoline.

I'm already doing that. One crown no longer equals a tank of of gas. Now
it takes one crown, plus one build-up beneath the crown, plus a two-surface
anterior resin. If it's a posterior tooth, $25 goes into my pocket. Of
course, I could always take an extra radiograph to cover bait costs too.
;-)

wrote in message
ups.com...

NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
I took a seaplane up to Roche Harbor to cover one of the many owner's
rendezvous we see up this way every spring and summer. The boats were
all 36-60 feet, (nearly all 42 or larger and over 50 very common). The
least expensive boats run about $500k, with 7-figure price tags
extremely common. This line of Asian trawlers has been imported by the
regional dealer for about 5 years, so I was impressed to see over 30
boats gathered the last weekend in April at Roche Harbor.

When I remarked about the large gathering, I was told that several of
the people who had intended to come had to change plans at the last
minute, or the gathering would have been larger.
"We'll have a substantially larger group next year," said a
representative of the local broker/importer, "we currently have orders
for another 31 yachts."

That's a lot of upscale boat business, by any standard.


And all despite the escalating fuel costs. The economy is apparently
stronger than some would like us to believe. Imagine if fuel was back
down
to $2/gallon!



The economy is *extremely good* right now, for certain groups and
certain sectors.
The gap between the haves and the have-nots is growing by leaps and
bounds. Some of the former middle class are joining the "haves", but a
greater number are probably joining the "have nots". For people basing
their personal economic life around working at a skilled or
semi-skilled occupation for a salary or hourly wage, incomes are more
fequently almost stagnant or even slowly declining, (while prices for
most things rise slowly and prices for eenrgy are shooting through the
roof.) But I do agree, if one only looks at a portion of the picture or
considers only ones' specific personal curcumstances the current
situation can appear very rosy indeed for a lucky (or hard working and
highly deserving) minority.

Most of the world never had a middle class. It was a product of the
need for skilled labor in a highly industrialized society in the
western economies where it has existed in the last 150 years. I think
historians will look back on this time and observe that when the
industrial base shifted from the first world to third world nations,
computers and robotics replaced a lor of the supervisory and skilled
labor occupations. This new dynamic, coupled with a surplus labor
supply numbering in the hundreds of millions in the newly emerging
industrial
powerhouses, will allow lifestyles in the Asian countries to improve
dramatically but there will be no need to transfer enough wealth to the
workforce to ever create a middle class consumer economy in most of
those areas similar to that of the United States in the last half of
the 20th Century.

I was commenting on this the other day to a friend. China has grown too
fast without experiencing the "growing pains". We had our Upton Sinclair
Industrial l Revolution to get to where we're at today. China hasn't.
They're more likely to go through much more internal turmoil than we ever
experienced. China's day of reckoning is coming.




When the dot.bomb stock frenzy was in full swing, a lot of big boats
were sold as well.
Obviously this isn't primarily high-tech stock money going into these
boats, a lot of it is probably people refinancing nice homes, or
selling off that rental house they bought 30 years ago for $30,000 and
walking away with $1mm.

More people than ever can afford a $1mm plus boat. More people than
ever cannot afford to pay the premiums for basic health insurance.

Then call your senatora and get them to vote in favor the Health Insurance
Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act in a couple of weeks!

http://capwiz.com/nfib/issues/alert/?alertid=8167701

http://www.naractioncenter.com/keyis...hr525s406.html

http://www.nam.org/s_nam/doc1.asp?CID=362&DID=235632

http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files...ma_march06.pdf

NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
A handful of boats arent representative of a nation of people.


It's nothing more than an indicator. But when paired with all of the
other indicators, its lends credibility to the notion that our economy is
firing on all cylinders.




For the wealthy. That's it. By this time next year, you'll be bartering
dental services for boat gasoline.

I'm already doing that. One crown no longer equals a tank of of gas. Now
it takes one crown, plus one build-up beneath the crown, plus a two-surface
anterior resin. If it's a posterior tooth, $25 goes into my pocket. Of
course, I could always take an extra radiograph to cover bait costs too.
;-)

Ah, the used car saleman of the medical field.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
ups.com...

NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
I took a seaplane up to Roche Harbor to cover one of the many owner's
rendezvous we see up this way every spring and summer. The boats were
all 36-60 feet, (nearly all 42 or larger and over 50 very common). The
least expensive boats run about $500k, with 7-figure price tags
extremely common. This line of Asian trawlers has been imported by the
regional dealer for about 5 years, so I was impressed to see over 30
boats gathered the last weekend in April at Roche Harbor.

When I remarked about the large gathering, I was told that several of
the people who had intended to come had to change plans at the last
minute, or the gathering would have been larger.
"We'll have a substantially larger group next year," said a
representative of the local broker/importer, "we currently have orders
for another 31 yachts."

That's a lot of upscale boat business, by any standard.


And all despite the escalating fuel costs. The economy is apparently
stronger than some would like us to believe. Imagine if fuel was back
down
to $2/gallon!



The economy is *extremely good* right now, for certain groups and
certain sectors.
The gap between the haves and the have-nots is growing by leaps and
bounds.

That's the fault of the have-nots.

(Just thought I'd beat NOYB to the punch)

"I hate the poor. The poor can't pay." (Denny Crane, "Boston Legal")

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
A handful of boats arent representative of a nation of people.

It's nothing more than an indicator. But when paired with all of the
other indicators, its lends credibility to the notion that our economy
is firing on all cylinders.



For the wealthy. That's it. By this time next year, you'll be bartering
dental services for boat gasoline.

I'm already doing that. One crown no longer equals a tank of of gas.
Now it takes one crown, plus one build-up beneath the crown, plus a
two-surface anterior resin. If it's a posterior tooth, $25 goes into my
pocket. Of course, I could always take an extra radiograph to cover bait
costs too. ;-)





Yes, barter is great. I've been trading my stud service to the young gals
at the gas dock for free fill-ups.

It must have been a lonely winter with the boat in dry storage.

"basskisser" wrote in message
oups.com...

NOYB wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
A handful of boats arent representative of a nation of people.


It's nothing more than an indicator. But when paired with all of the
other indicators, its lends credibility to the notion that our economy
is
firing on all cylinders.




For the wealthy. That's it. By this time next year, you'll be bartering
dental services for boat gasoline.

I'm already doing that. One crown no longer equals a tank of of gas.
Now
it takes one crown, plus one build-up beneath the crown, plus a
two-surface
anterior resin. If it's a posterior tooth, $25 goes into my pocket. Of
course, I could always take an extra radiograph to cover bait costs too.
;-)

Ah, the used car saleman of the medical field.


*New* car salesmen. All of our crowns are new...and the full mouth
rehabilitations cost more than *used* cars.

"NOYB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
ups.com...

NOYB wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
I took a seaplane up to Roche Harbor to cover one of the many owner's
rendezvous we see up this way every spring and summer. The boats were
all 36-60 feet, (nearly all 42 or larger and over 50 very common).
The
least expensive boats run about $500k, with 7-figure price tags
extremely common. This line of Asian trawlers has been imported by
the
regional dealer for about 5 years, so I was impressed to see over 30
boats gathered the last weekend in April at Roche Harbor.

When I remarked about the large gathering, I was told that several of
the people who had intended to come had to change plans at the last
minute, or the gathering would have been larger.
"We'll have a substantially larger group next year," said a
representative of the local broker/importer, "we currently have
orders
for another 31 yachts."

That's a lot of upscale boat business, by any standard.


And all despite the escalating fuel costs. The economy is apparently
stronger than some would like us to believe. Imagine if fuel was back
down
to $2/gallon!



The economy is *extremely good* right now, for certain groups and
certain sectors.
The gap between the haves and the have-nots is growing by leaps and
bounds.

That's the fault of the have-nots.

(Just thought I'd beat NOYB to the punch)

"I hate the poor. The poor can't pay." (Denny Crane, "Boston Legal")



You've echoed similar sentiments in the past.

NOYB wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
oups.com...

NOYB wrote:

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

NOYB wrote:

wrote in message
legroups.com...

A handful of boats arent representative of a nation of people.


It's nothing more than an indicator. But when paired with all of the
other indicators, its lends credibility to the notion that our economy
is
firing on all cylinders.




For the wealthy. That's it. By this time next year, you'll be bartering
dental services for boat gasoline.

I'm already doing that. One crown no longer equals a tank of of gas.
Now
it takes one crown, plus one build-up beneath the crown, plus a
two-surface
anterior resin. If it's a posterior tooth, $25 goes into my pocket. Of
course, I could always take an extra radiograph to cover bait costs too.
;-)

Ah, the used car saleman of the medical field.



*New* car salesmen. All of our crowns are new...and the full mouth
rehabilitations cost more than *used* cars.




Yup..lots of gold in them der Snowbird mouths.
'Captive audience'.....they can't drive all the way back north to escape
being fleeced.

"JohnH" wrote in message
...

Oh woe is me.

That's for all y'all saying the economy is so bad. I wonder who's buying
all these middle class homes? I wonder who's buying all the cars? I wonder
who's getting all the jobs and promotions?
..

"Whaddaya mean, run out of buffalo? Whoever heard of such an idea? I
just saw a herd a couple of days ago. Must still be plenty left." Wm
Cody, 1891 (not, just for purposes of illustration)

I never said the economy was bad. What I did say was that more people
than ever before are able to buy $1mm boats, and that more people than
ever before are working without as basic a benefit as health insurance
and cannot individually afford the premiums to pay for it with after
tax dollars. Is either one of those statements untrue? No, both are
correct.