The dollar goes up. Weird economic crises. 
Yes, I agree that it is weird.
The value of a dollar has gone up and gas prices have gone down, so that's good.
However, the stock market is down and there is lots of unemployment, which causes people to spend much less during this holiday season than in previous years and so this gets even more people laid off.
The stock market is taking a much over due correction. The dollar moving is an indication of international faith in the resilience and diversity of the economy in this country.
Here's an interesting set of figures:
In our district (where I work; I mean our district, consisting of fourteen stores, not our single store location) our traffic (which is the actual number of people entering the door) is down by twelve percent, BUT, our revenue (actual dollars taken in) is up by three percent over this same time last year. Those are quarterly numbers, BTW. That is roughly equivalent to inflation, even though our traffic is down. Not too bad, really. (I can get into deep doodoo for posting this type of information, so I have made it anonymous, but you know what I'm talking about.)
Yes, there are some large over extended banks having problems and auto manufacturers have been milked dry by the UAW, in recent years. I don't think these businesses represent typical economical climactic conditions, though. They get all the press, because they are American institutions, large, old ones. I think most of the globe, and most especially those of us who live here, believes that quite a number of "American institutions" need a nip and a tuck here and there. Maybe it's finally happening.
As far as lay offs, we must realize that the fact that the numbers are large, no one seems to be taking into account that the work force is also much larger than the Eighties decade they keep comparing with the present.
I need more convincing that the sky is actually falling, before I get out my Chicken Little suit.
