WhiteSites Blog
WhiteSites Blog
After some discussions with friends about the economy, I wanted to put my own thoughts in writing for future reference. My feeling is 2015 is going to be a great year for the US Economy. And here is why
The economy thrives when those in the lower tax brackets are doing well. This might be seen as a very democratic way of thinking. Give Tax breaks and stimulus to the bottom working class, or as Republicans often see them. Encouraging a Welfare state of laziness. Anything that helps those with less money, its going to trickle its way to the top. In our economy money is not created. Its simply displaced from one sector of the economy to another. Or in the govenment's case, all money is made slightly less valuable when more of it is printed. Anything that takes money away from large sectors like Energy, or Healthcare will be good for consumers, and 2015 will be that kind of year.
At 5.8% Most people who want jobs have them. This is good as when people have jobs, they are spending money to maintain their existence ( clothing, grooming ), and they are spending as part of their job ( Eating, Driving ). Low unemployment also is good as less people are tempted to use crime to make ends meat.
This might be bad if you work in the Oil industry. From what I have heard some Houston Energy Companies have stated that they would be starting lay offs if oil gets much cheaper. Who would have thought that Fracking woud have allowed the US to go from importing 60% of our oil to only importing 30% of our oil. This is the reason oil has gotten so cheap. Bad for energy companies, but for the average consumer this is great. In Houston Gasoline prices are now at $1.95 / gallon. Just 6 months ago it was closer to $3.25 / gallon. If you travel alot for your job, or have a long commute this is likely over $100 / month in your pocket. Even more if you drive a truck, as many in Texas do. Lower oil prices will also impact the cost of many other goods like produce, meats, and even retail goods, as the cheaper oil, means cheaper fuel costs for shipping companies like UPS, and Fedex. Most companies will pass these savings along to consumers as a way to get a leg up on their competition. Point is prices will be going down, which means consumers will have more money available to spend on other activities.
The Healthcare.gov website had a rough start, but now that most of the bugs have been worked out, more consumers will try it out to see how much they can save on their health insurance. In my case our family is saving over 50% ( $400 ) over what we would have paid if we stuck with the same plan we had in 2014. Think about that thats almost $5000 back in our pockets for the year.
Now I am not a Weed user, but I also do identify that Weed is a multi-billion dollar industry with most of that money going to drug cartels. Legalization like what has been done in Colorado and Washington is a step in the right direction. I would rather see those billions of dollars and tax revenue stay within our states, plus it would take the stress off law enforcement. Then they could release anyone in prison for an offense based on weed, which would help to open up jail cells for real criminals.
This more effects me on a personal basis, but it also affects many others in the Houston Metro Area. For over 10 years, the City and Houston Stripclubs have been at war. The City trying to find some back door way to shutting them down. In the fall of 2013 the clubs came to a truce with the city. Now the bigger clubs can continue to grow their businesses. Before, clubs didn't want to make improvements. Why drop a million dollars into improvements when the city will shut you down next month? Now that the issues with the city is behind them, many clubs are planning for major renovations, and improvements. Being I do Stage and Bar lighting, plus websites, IT, graphics, and so forth, 2015 is already looking to be a very busy year for me, as well as other sub contractors providing services to these establishments.
Like I said earlier, there is a finite amount of money in our economy. Whenever that money is displaced for larger parts of the economy to smaller sectors, it results in more money reaching the lower tax brackets which then is fed back into the economy and causes growth. If this continues for the next 2 years, the GOP is going to have a hard time trying to convince the public that the economy is in bad shape.