I hope the people who own these companies are Republicans. Too bad the common folk are the ones who suffer most.

I would say that the Movie Gallery/Hollywood Video closings have more to do with changes in the market place rather than the overall decline in the economy.

Damn Democrats strike again!

I really hate how they have messed up Bush's great economy.

I'm almost expecting BushCo. to try to blame it on Bin Laden.... wherever he is.

Seriously, if people vote for McBush we're only going to see more of this.

Wake up, people.

republicanSScareme @ 1:

I hope the people who own these companies are Republicans. Too bad the common folk are the ones who suffer most.

I'm sure they're not going to the poorhouse... just their employees. I'm mean, it's not like Republicans attack the middle, and lower income folks.

I mean.... it couldn't be deliberate... could it?

Exxon made record profits this year! Halliburton made off like a bandit! Their not thieves! There's just good 'Murkins!

Yes... I'm being sarcastic.

There is also the 600 Starbucks closing, the struggling airline industry, the car industry, the newspaper companies, etc, etc...

While some are haggling about whether this is a recession, I 'm wondering if we're in a DEPRESSION.

republicanSScareme @ 1:

I hope the people who own these companies are Republicans. Too bad the common folk are the ones who suffer most.

People who OWN the stuff won't suffer. People they owe stuff to, they suffer. Employees get fucked.

Store closings are simply psychological states of mind- like suicide.

But hey, there will always be Wal-Marts.

That's the boosh legacy in action. He is going to leave a big mark in the history books afterall. Too bad it's a skid mark.
And McCain will continue the road to an American third world.

You missed Starbucks (closing 631 stores), Bennigan's (closed), Steak and Ale (closed).

Boscav - filed for bankruptcy today.

Linen n Things - filed for bankruptcy will close if don't find a buyer.

And a couple more I can not remember off the top of my head. At an airport getting ready to board. Maybe someone else can come up with the ones I forgot. GOING TO THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!! Take care.

More mental delusions.

Alan (bitter in Michigan)Hussein Cameron @ 17:

But hey, there will always be Wal-Marts.

I dunno. If Home Depots are closing then big boxes obviously aren't immune.

CompUSA is not closed. It was bought out by TigerDirect and still operates a number of CompUSA retail stores plus the CompUSA website.

25 Lyon Says: Alan (bitter in Michigan)Hussein Cameron @ 17:

But hey, there will always be Wal-Marts.

I dunno. If Home Depots are closing then big boxes obviously aren’t immune.
____________________________________________________________________

What about coffins?

I'm sure undertakers are making a killing.

ConcernedCanuck @ 20:

LibertyLover @ 2:

"No one could have predicted" that when the middle class don't have high enough wages or good paying jobs or homes to live in --- the middle class doesn't buy goods and services like furniture and clothing or rent movies.

But no worries, Exxon made $11 billion last year.

Don't you mean last fiscal "quarter"??

Yep. I did. Thanks for the correction.

ysbaddaden @ 29:

25 Lyon Says: Alan (bitter in Michigan)Hussein Cameron @ 17:

But hey, there will always be Wal-Marts.

I dunno. If Home Depots are closing then big boxes obviously aren’t immune.
____________________________________________________________________

What about coffins?

I'm sure undertakers are making a killing.

Don't be surprised if Walmart goes into the coffin market. After all, they support the NeoCons, and therefor support mass murder. All those bodies have to go in something.

It just makes fiscal sense.

LibertyLover @ 31:

ConcernedCanuck @ 20:

LibertyLover @ 2:

"No one could have predicted" that when the middle class don't have high enough wages or good paying jobs or homes to live in --- the middle class doesn't buy goods and services like furniture and clothing or rent movies.

But no worries, Exxon made $11 billion last year.

Don't you mean last fiscal "quarter"??

Yep. I did. Thanks for the correction.

Scary isn't it? Ludicrous profits while the middle class get bled dry....oh ya, oil futures are $130/barrel, but hey, right now we are paying $50/barrel...shhhhh...don't tell anyone or let the media slip that into their nightly reports.

Prattvictory @ 18:

Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 8:

Yes, but how about the stores that AREN'T closing. You guys can be so negative sometimes!

Yeah, and how about all those innocent Iraqis that haven't been killed. Their children are going to freshly painted schools protected by God's angels, Blackwater Contractors who will teach them about Jesus and the lethal effectiveness of an M-4. All you libs want to do is whine.

-Phil G. Texas

Now you're learning how to fly with those who are blessed by God to be Republicans!

But we aren't paying attention. It's because we are not drilling off shore. Go on home Repub Congress and tell your folks why they should vote for you.

Sorry, not going to miss a one of them, none on the original list nor on QG's #14. They have gone out of business themselves. I don't go to WalMart either, I shop for value, defined later.

Stores close all the time good economy or not. Granted some closure may have bee accelerated by a poor economy. Poor service, merchandise I not needed or liked (Wickes/Levitz built absolute crap and at high prices!), regardless they never modernized their offereings, limited to a prior generation. Ethan Allen?, good but at far too high a price for the average Joe. Stores that create a value between what you get and what you pay will continue do well. McDonalds, albeit tasteless is inexpensive and consistent, a value (can't argue with that kinda of success). In-n-Out Burgers (sorry east coasters, best big chain) is three times as good and about three times the cost, thus also a value.

Rite Aid is getting their collective butts kicked by WalGreens. Wilsons? Who wears leather anymore? Footlocker? I can get the same stuff on-line or at Big-5 without having to go to some hard to get too mall store. Sorry, can't get to excited about this one, outside of feeling badly for those who have lost their jobs. I hope they can recover and can get some additional skills beyond retail sales.

Also, a ConcernedCanuck of all people should point out that, and this is a fact, there are more Starbucks in Canada than there are Canadians.

War profits are still excellent.

Undiminished as a matter of fact.

Jeon Ji-Yung @ 43:

Also, a ConcernedCanuck of all people should point out that, and this is a fact, there are more Starbucks in Canada than there are Canadians.

Really? Where? Over 3000 Tim Horton's but haven't seen many Starbucks.

There's definitely trouble in the retail sector. Available space is going through the roof. But technology is what is killing Movie Gallery, when you think about it. Yeah--they are a shit company, and so was Hollywood Video. In many respects, Hollywood Video's decline means certain religious affiliations are losing tons of money, as is the decline of Blockbuster. When the God boys decided to get into the entertainment market and try to influence the culture, the culture simply turned to other methods to get what it wanted. To see companies owned or partly owned by the religious right go down the tubes is a blessing.

Quite a few of the companies listed that are going out of business are behind the times. The wireless market is changing, people are getting their entertainment via downloads or payperview, and the retail chains that cater to the high end are losing out because people have less cash to spend thanks to gas prices and inflation. Bombay company offered awful stuff--we had a gift certificate there that we basically threw away.

Hmmm..Foot locker. Could that be because there is no dominant pro NBA player right now that can market shoes? LeBron is still young, but how are you going to build a shoe company around him when he can't win a championship?

There's gotta be a theory for all of these stores as to why they're closing...

Sharper Image - Closed
Starbucks - closing 600 US locations by end of May 2009

I was obviously being slightly facetious :)

Last time I was in Vancouver, there was a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks, which was two blocks from a Starbucks in a Chapters. And I'm probably overlooking one on a side street. That was a couple of years ago, and with the US dollar as it is now, I'd just hit Hortons anyway, because then I could get change back from a twenty when I got my coffee. Plus it's not Starbucks.

Jeon Ji-Yung @ 53:

I was obviously being slightly facetious :)

Last time I was in Vancouver, there was a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks, which was two blocks from a Starbucks in a Chapters. And I'm probably overlooking one on a side street. That was a couple of years ago, and with the US dollar as it is now, I'd just hit Hortons anyway, because then I could get change back from a twenty when I got my coffee. Plus it's not Starbucks.

LOL!. Lewis Black does an hilarious bit about the end of the world. Where in front of him is a Starbucks, and he turns around and WHAMMO....a Starbucks!! There are very few Starbucks in Ontario that I am aware of, outside of the huge cities, and Chapter's stores. But you can find a crappy Tim Horton's on every damn corner in some towns. All treating their employees like crap for minimum wage, and making $25 on a 2 cent pot of coffee.

ConcernedCanuck @ 55:

Jeon Ji-Yung @ 53:

I was obviously being slightly facetious :)

Last time I was in Vancouver, there was a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks, which was two blocks from a Starbucks in a Chapters. And I'm probably overlooking one on a side street. That was a couple of years ago, and with the US dollar as it is now, I'd just hit Hortons anyway, because then I could get change back from a twenty when I got my coffee. Plus it's not Starbucks.

LOL!. Lewis Black does an hilarious bit about the end of the world. Where in front of him is a Starbucks, and he turns around and WHAMMO....a Starbucks!! There are very few Starbucks in Ontario that I am aware of, outside of the huge cities, and Chapter's stores. But you can find a crappy Tim Horton's on every damn corner in some towns. All treating their employees like crap for minimum wage, and making $25 on a 2 cent pot of coffee.

As an American fan of the NHL, I was always fascinated by Tim Horton's...then I stopped in at one. Yeeecccchh!!!

gg @ 22:

And Elitist McLame is wearing $520 dollar loafers while Rome burns, what a guy!

i am sure the burning fiddle will fit just fine
up mcfuckhead's ass if we move some of those
corporate hands over a little.....reichwingneocon
hemorrhoids you know.

AZ casinos revenues are down 7.5% this year and retail stores are warning that Christmas prices might be up as high as 15% due to....wait for it.... higher gas prices...

Gee. Think that there might be a trend?

Aren't furniture stores always going out of business. Sometimes it takes them 5 or 10 years to "liquidate" all their inventory for pennies on the dollar (lol). This is the oldest gimmick known to free enterprisers (aka scammers).

Ah, they reaped the crop they sowed, and with them, an economy crashes. Every action reaps what it sows. As I've said before: Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin.

dadams @ 34:

these store closings and the housing foreclosures
and banks tanking all over America are really
what will be called the

BUSH LEGACY = DESTROY AMERICA

America's been in this process for quite some time, Dadams, it didn't start with Bush, nor will it end with him. All Bush has done has been to push the US closer to emperor to go with empire. The cycle of history is starting, the US Republic is becoming the US empire. And people said that history died, in 1991.

For all their Christian rah-rah, Movie Gallery sure loved their porno money. Let's not beat around the bush (better yet, let's! ah-cha!) - it's internet porn that's going to deep-six that company. That was the bulk of my store's income. Mainstream titles are probably comparatively stable - nobody wants to get sued for downloading Transformers. Also, US internet speeds are still poor compared to much of the first world. What's good enough for five minutes of porn is irritatingly slow for a 1080p copy of Transformers, plus you might get sued for 8 billion dollars by Paramount and nobody wants that hassle.

BigD145 @ 58:

ConcernedCanuck @ 42:

Starbucks? You mean it doesn't make business sense to make people stand in a line like cattle for 15 minutes for the opportunity to buy a $6 cup of coffee? Oh the humanity!

$6 cup of burned coffee. I just wanted to correct that for you.

LOL...thank you....it isn't really coffee either.

The decline of competition is yet another symptom of the continuing decay of the 'market' system, as fewer and fewer corporations control more and more of the outlets, no matter what for: News or shoes...

Warren Street @ 49:

Hmmm..Foot locker. Could that be because there is no dominant pro NBA player right now that can market shoes? LeBron is still young, but how are you going to build a shoe company around him when he can't win a championship?

You can get damn near any shoe that FootLocker carried for less at Shoe Carnival, or a big box like WalMart (or our local one here, Meijers). The last few times I glanced in a FootLocker, it seemed the focus was on official MLB/NFL/NBA merchandise.

OTOH, if you've got a Steve & Barry's near you, you can buy anything in the Starbury (named for NBA player Stephon Marbury) line- shoes, jerseys, sweats- for $8.99. None of the stuff is officially logoed, but I can get as much mileage out of 3 pairs of Starbury sneakers as I can from 1 pair of Nikes- and I'm still saving beaucoups $$!

woody, tokin librul @ 73:

The decline of competition is yet another symptom of the continuing decay of the 'market' system, as fewer and fewer corporations control more and more of the outlets, no matter what for: News or shoes...

Market systems don't work without the restraining hand of the past. As it is, the US is in enough trouble from spending wastefully (along, incidentally with much of Europe), that if their spending ever catches up with them, or ours with us...

There is a locally owned chain store in a little town not far from where I live that has been having a "going out of business sale" for going on 10 years now. Just sayin.

What sane kid would want to be seen in "Starbury" shoes? I gotta believe they're the lamest joke out there, almost like having them is an invite for a taunt or something. And Marbury himself isn't selling shoes--poverty and desperation and remainder bin shoppers sell those shoes, not his pathetic career.

Meanwhile, payday loans and pawnshops? Booming, jack.

it's clinton's fault!!!! LOL

Numinous @ 7:

I'm almost expecting BushCo. to try to blame it on Bin Laden.... wherever he is.

Seriously, if people vote for McBush we're only going to see more of this.

Wake up, people.

No, I'm sure they will blame it on Bill Clinton .... You know, the guy with the budget surplus....

So the 4-phase business plan that was all the rage in MBA-centric fecal pools is coming unhinged? Noooooo.... no one could have seen this coming!!!! It made perfect sense, let's review:

Step 1. Offshore workforce to produce goods cheaper.
Step 2. Sell goods to the recently "offshored" for the same (or in most cases higher) price to achieve obscene margins.
Step 3. ????
Step 4. Profit

In 29 when the banks went bust,
our coins still read "in god we trust"

dadams @ 86:

General_Rennenkampf @ 67:

dadams @ 34:

these store closings and the housing foreclosures
and banks tanking all over America are really
what will be called the

BUSH LEGACY = DESTROY AMERICA

America's been in this process for quite some time, Dadams, it didn't start with Bush, nor will it end with him. All Bush has done has been to push the US closer to emperor to go with empire. The cycle of history is starting, the US Republic is becoming the US empire. And people said that history died, in 1991.

i understand, but this is just not a normal business cycle.
when an administration takes a whopping surplus and turns
it into a sinful deficit that does not include the illegal/criminal
war he started, you have the makings of another depression
like in the 1930's.

And no FDR to stop a Commie or Fascie Revolution this time! Obama certainly doesn't meet the bill, and McPapen's a James Buchanan.
ConcernedCanuck @ 84:

General_Rennenkampf @ 77:

woody, tokin librul @ 73:

The decline of competition is yet another symptom of the continuing decay of the 'market' system, as fewer and fewer corporations control more and more of the outlets, no matter what for: News or shoes...

Market systems don't work without the restraining hand of the past. As it is, the US is in enough trouble from spending wastefully (along, incidentally with much of Europe), that if their spending ever catches up with them, or ours with us...

I know what you are saying, but don't follow the credit line of thinking. According to every economist, the US is in debt to the tune of around 9 trillion. Canada is in debt to the tune of 600 billion, give or take. England is in debt.............Germany is in debt.....France is in debt.....Mexico......Norway......Russia.....etc, etc, etc.......just who are all these nations in debt to? I would say it isn't credit and debt that is hurting the global economy, it's the entire bullshit system used.

Well...the world operates on credit, which sucks as an economic system. If something isn't found to be done, it all crashes and burns and billions die. The question then becomes: what replaces today's system?

Warren Street @ 81:

What sane kid would want to be seen in "Starbury" shoes? I gotta believe they're the lamest joke out there, almost like having them is an invite for a taunt or something. And Marbury himself isn't selling shoes--poverty and desperation and remainder bin shoppers sell those shoes, not his pathetic career.

Meanwhile, payday loans and pawnshops? Booming, jack.

When I was a kid, we weren't anything like poor, but my dad was (and still is) frugal...Okay, he's cheap. One time, when I was 10, I needed a new pair of shoes, and I had my heart set on a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors- or hopefully some Adidas. Dad said no, and instead I got a pair of (cheaper) green suede John Havlicek's (this was '75, and 10 year olds in MI didn't know a lot about the old Celtic). I was pissed. Thought I'd be laughed off the playground. But I didn't get laughed at more than twice (by the rich kid who was so cool because he wore Jack Purcell's- oooooo), and they ended up being the most long-lasting pair of sneakers I wore in my childhood. Hell, I could have gotten more mileage out of them if I hadn't grown.

Now if some kid gets laughed off the court for wearing Starbury's, I'll blame the parents- and not the parents of the kid wearing the cheaper shoes, but the parents who spoil their kids by buying them a $100+ pair that are branded by some guy who makes millions of $$ a year, and made at subaistence wages in some southeast Asian sweatshop.

Greed wins over common sense every time.

What, no mention of the 600 US Starbucks closing?
What about the 12,000 employees that will be jobless!
This is the most shameful administration in US history.
They're still cooking the intelligence.
They're still trying to cover up their criminal activities.
Even those activities dating back to 9/11 and prior.
I'm a 52 year-old, partially disabled woman.
Can you imagine me trying to get a job in this economy
when my disability insurance runs out?
Makes me want throw up!

Dang, it must just be our "imagination" that times are tough! It's 'bout time for "W" to come on the tube, and tell us all how wonderful things are in the good, old US of A; we just have to be patient a while longer, because the "signs are all good".

What this country really needs, to stimulate the economy even more, is a further tax decrease for our billionaires, who are feeling the pinch! Lord, things are really tough when you have to buy a fleet of Mercedes instead of a fleet of Rolls, and you can only get a six seater, private jet instead of a 12 seater! Heavens, before you know it, if this mass, negative psyche persists, even Exxon and Halliburton will see their profits (blood money) start to shrink into the 10 billion dollar per quarter range! Then, we'll have to have the taxpayers jump in and lift their spirits with some loans... those poor souls! We surely can't have Blackwater laying off hired killers, or Exxon closing gas stations, God forbid!

ConcernedCanuck @ 42:

Starbucks? You mean it doesn't make business sense to make people stand in a line like cattle for 15 minutes for the opportunity to buy a $6 cup of coffee? Oh the humanity!

Maybe it was their failed marketing campaign...
"Starbucks, We're Expensive,but the lines are sure long..."

Anyone interested in the economy and consumerism run rampant should definitely check out Ad Busters Magazine.
I'm convinced it's one of the best most important magazines there is.

And a friend of my mom's (elderly woman who has Medicare) insists that people are without health insurance as a result of "poor planning"; it's their own fault. You know, if your job of 20 years that provided benefits, including insurance, was sent overseas- or the store of which you've been a retail manager for years had to close-- it's your own fault. It's not just the politicians who are out of touch with reality. Unless this stuff affects you personally, you don't even notice it. Neocons will find a way to blame the store closings on illegals, high crime in bad urban areas, you name it.

Karl Rove @94 Says:

1- I am gaining as much weight as possible so I will be one of the last to starve.

Cool! We'll eat you first.

.

.

.

"First, Wal-Mart came for the Mom & Pop stores
But I wasn't a Mom & Pop store, so I said nothing..." - Niemöller Marcus

NMDonkey @ 105:

And a friend of my mom's (elderly woman who has Medicare) insists that people are without health insurance as a result of "poor planning"; it's their own fault. You know, if your job of 20 years that provided benefits, including insurance, was sent overseas- or the store of which you've been a retail manager for years had to close-- it's your own fault. It's not just the politicians who are out of touch with reality. Unless this stuff affects you personally, you don't even notice it. Neocons will find a way to blame the store closings on illegals, high crime in bad urban areas, you name it.

por planning? How can you possibly plan to have 2 or 3 million on hand for health expenses when people 70 years old and older never even made a million in their life time? anther rush limbauged brain washed idiot

Tyler Durden @ 108:

ConcernedCanuck @ 84:

General_Rennenkampf @ 77:

woody, tokin librul @ 73:

Market systems don't work without the restraining hand of the past. As it is, the US is in enough trouble from spending wastefully (along, incidentally with much of Europe), that if their spending ever catches up with them, or ours with us...

I know what you are saying, but don't follow the credit line of thinking. According to every economist, the US is in debt to the tune of around 9 trillion. Canada is in debt to the tune of 600 billion, give or take. England is in debt.............Germany is in debt.....France is in debt.....Mexico......Norway......Russia.....etc, etc, etc.......just who are all these nations in debt to? I would say it isn't credit and debt that is hurting the global economy, it's the entire bullshit system used.

The current system is based on credit (which is really debt). It is a scam...

The scam is based on the premise that only a few people can print money.

The people who can print money actually charge you for the privilege of using your own wealth, since you can not use your very own money (this is the first part of the scam, and this is where they get started to laugh at your face).

Those people printing money, also have bank charters. Banks can actually print more money than they actually have in actual tangible wealth, this is they get to pull money out of thin air via credit. Banks use the implied promise to pay loans as being the same as the bank having said money.

Let that sink for a minute: Banks give us loans made of money which does not exist. The money becomes "real" once you pay the loan by producing something (usually in the form of a salary which you use to pay back). In the process, you are also paying interests on money that the bank did not have to begin with. So the bank not only gets to make money out of thin air, they get to have you pay an extra fee for the "privilege."

There is a reason why the only people who Jesus lashed against were the usurers.

The system is not sustainable, simply because it relies in people having to fill in the constant gap that is implicit to credit. If you take a snapshot of the economy there is more money on "credit" than on actual assets.

Thanks for the lesson, but you are explaining to the wrong person. Sorry if my post didn't convey my sarcastic nature. Your explanation does become quite obvious though, when a person watches two big corporations "merge" or say a bank getting bailed out. It's a joke. An entire system set up based on rich greed and more greed.

On the bright side, Wal Mart is opening 78 stores across America in the next 6 months.

So much for any economy. The Chinese manufacturing boom will end in a bust.

All booms do, regardless what the reason for the boom was.

while i have great sympathy for the people losing their jobs, frankly i am not saddened by a world which is free of bombay company and sharper image -- i mean, seriously, who buys that overpriced crap?

sorry, boys, you can't defend sharper image's "cool gadgets" -- it was all overpriced crap.

lillian vernon was still in business?

malls must be getting decimated. pretty stupid putting all your eggs (stores) in one basket (malls), eh?

General Rennenkampf...Almost all US economists lie when they talk about our debt only at $9 trillion. That's a joke. It's closer to $50 trillion plus.

The entire assets of this planet are mostly in the hands of a few. Why isn't Evelyn de Rothschild on the Forbes Billionaires list? He has over $1 trillion in controlled assets.

ConcernedCanuck @ 116:

General_Rennenkampf @ 91:

dadams @ 86:

General_Rennenkampf @ 67:

i understand, but this is just not a normal business cycle.
when an administration takes a whopping surplus and turns
it into a sinful deficit that does not include the illegal/criminal
war he started, you have the makings of another depression
like in the 1930's.

And no FDR to stop a Commie or Fascie Revolution this time! Obama certainly doesn't meet the bill, and McPapen's a James Buchanan.
ConcernedCanuck @ 84:

General_Rennenkampf @ 77:

I know what you are saying, but don't follow the credit line of thinking. According to every economist, the US is in debt to the tune of around 9 trillion. Canada is in debt to the tune of 600 billion, give or take. England is in debt.............Germany is in debt.....France is in debt.....Mexico......Norway......Russia.....etc, etc, etc.......just who are all these nations in debt to? I would say it isn't credit and debt that is hurting the global economy, it's the entire bullshit system used.

Well...the world operates on credit, which sucks as an economic system. If something isn't found to be done, it all crashes and burns and billions die. The question then becomes: what replaces today's system?

Cash only sales??

How about reversing Nixon and going back to the gold standard?

The system is not sustainable, simply because it relies in people having to fill in the constant gap that is implicit to credit. If you take a snapshot of the economy there is more money on “credit” than on actual assets.

-----------

No system is sustainable. Boom and bust. Economic expansion and contraction, Yin and Yang, up and down, inflation and deflation, up phase and down phase.

Sales of IPods ramp up, peak and decline. A product cycle. A boom and a bust.

Everybody became a stock owner.
Everybody became a home owner.
Everybody became employed.

After everybody became- there is nowhere but down.

The Coolidge prosperity roaring 20's ended in a depression.
The Clinton prosperity roaring 90's will end in a depression.

We are being raped and pillaged. It's quite simple. And now a disaster will occur so that these maniacs can usher in an even worse system. You think you have no rights and sovereignty now, just wait another month or two. You are merely slave workers to the people who run this planet. If you're starving and homeless, they will do everything they can to make sure you have food and shelter. In jail.

The crimes and cover-ups are endless.

The Social Security fund has been robbed by the wolves. That's why the Republicans are running around talking about private personal accounts and there are television commercials promoting the waiting to take your SS benefits until the age of 65. They stole all of our money. And they have to cause some catastrophe prior to most of the baby boomers hitting 62. And meanwhile almost all of us are driving less, purchasing fewer goods and services, and attempting to get by without. This will continue to precipitate a downward spiral.

The secondary mortgage market has imploded. The Federal Reserve is doing everything in its power to destroy our currency. The dollar is super-saturated in debt. There is no gold left in Fort Knox. It hasn't been audited in generations. It's been stolen by the cabal of international bankers and other modern day robber barons.

Pretty much, we're screwed.

Thank you! thank you! thank you! For putting that up, I have followed global research for some time now and was surprised to see C&L reference it. Now if we can get momentum on getting Washington to stop abusing our currency, realize social security is dead (hey I hate to see it happen too but folks it's dead, face it it's not what it was it doesn't pay jack anymore after inflation).

Most important is the fatal flaw in the ERISA act which requires baby boomers to start withdrawing money out of their stock market based 401k's at the age of 70 1/2 years old. $75 million baby boomers increasingly required to starting in the year 2016 to withdraw money in a market where there will be more sellers than buyers spells depression crash.

What, no mention of the 600 US Starbucks closing?
What about the 12,000 employees that will be jobless!
This is the most shameful administration in US history.

-------------------

Every boom ends in a bust- no exceptions Period. Except for the housing bubble, the 2001 recession would have been longer and deeper, to wring out the excesses of the 90's boom. Remember how democrats were complaining about the recssion that we had? You can't have your cake and eat it, too. Wringing out much of the excesses was pushed off to the futuere. Well, the future is now.

dadams @ 66:

Move on people, nothing to see here. @ 41:

Sorry, not going to miss a one of them, none on the original list nor on QG's #14. They have gone out of business themselves. I don't go to WalMart either, I shop for value, defined later.

Stores close all the time good economy or not. Granted some closure may have bee accelerated by a poor economy. Poor service, merchandise I not needed or liked (Wickes/Levitz built absolute crap and at high prices!), regardless they never modernized their offereings, limited to a prior generation. Ethan Allen?, good but at far too high a price for the average Joe. Stores that create a value between what you get and what you pay will continue do well. McDonalds, albeit tasteless is inexpensive and consistent, a value (can't argue with that kinda of success). In-n-Out Burgers (sorry east coasters, best big chain) is three times as good and about three times the cost, thus also a value.

Rite Aid is getting their collective butts kicked by WalGreens. Wilsons? Who wears leather anymore? Footlocker? I can get the same stuff on-line or at Big-5 without having to go to some hard to get too mall store. Sorry, can't get to excited about this one, outside of feeling badly for those who have lost their jobs. I hope they can recover and can get some additional skills beyond retail sales.

sorry, what an a$$. i guess when it hits you, you will
whine and want all of us to lend you a sympathetic ear...
we will watch while you fall off the cliff......
this is not the usual business cycle.

You over-stepped your knowledge on this one (and your class, or lack of it). I'm a 45 year Democrat, was taught to respect all people, especially working ones. Sure the economy is bad, a monkey could point that out (you were faster than the monkey). But to base despair on this list of stores? Get real. Too many of them will be knocked off by COMPETITION, (I'm a democrat and I know what that means). many of the Home Depots are older ones that opened 20 years ago when they leased existing building no longer suited for their needs. Most local governments survive off of sales tax, so they over estimate the need for retail zoning. Then they think they are geoing to be the retail center of the universe. So tell me, whats the difference between Bed, Bath and Beyond and Lines and things. How many retail outlets do you need for a community! Switch the basis for taxing, to say a small payroll tax and watch the local governments roll out the carpet for small manufacturing or office space. Recently I know of a City that was wooing a a Kodak corporate center, with about 100 moderate to well-paying job, but no sales tax. Along came who? Home expo (high end home depot design center) no big payroll jobs but lots of sales tax. Who got the 20 acre parcel? The sales tax producer. We need to build industries. People with money will spend it and retail jobs will follow and go to students, or part-timers like they should.

I am very sympathetic for anyone who lost their income based on hitching their economic wagon on these badly managed stores, yeah lots of them had little choice and I do bleed for them. And no you won't ever see me asking for any hand-out, not any of my employees either because we stay current.

Read the whole post. May Company, Robinsons-May, 84 Lumber has been downhill for 20 years they all closed when the economy was good. Competition closes losers. So, take note, retail workers, find a better skill or you will be laid off many times over. Lets get a program together to get better skill-sets out there. Mybe you could take and economics course or two.

ConcernedCanuck @ 111:

Thanks for the lesson, but you are explaining to the wrong person. Sorry if my post didn't convey my sarcastic nature. Your explanation does become quite obvious though, when a person watches two big corporations "merge" or say a bank getting bailed out. It's a joke. An entire system set up based on rich greed and more greed.

Sorry, I did not get the sarcasm in your previous post :-)

You actually hinted to something which I find incredibly perverted: the bailing out of failing banks.

In other countries, when a bank fails... its associated debt is "nationalized" this is, the bank charter for that institution is revoked and it gets dissolved. Since the state is the ultimate insurer of the loans (in other countries the money is printed by a national bank not a private institution) as the printer of money, loans are then paid directly to the state since the state had to absorb the loans left by the failed bank.

In some countries like the USA, however, bank bailouts are the biggest scam: They get money from the state, usually in some soft money loans. Those loans come from the public, and the public also makes up the bulk of the people paying loans back to the bank. This is, the customers of the bank are actually paying twice to the bank.

Ironically, banks charge interest partially under the excuse that they are the ones in the "risky" situation. What a load of bollocks....

But the Republicans say that they're for strong dollar policies. They're for smaller government. They're for supporting the troops. They're for expanding democracy. They're for free trade. They're for free market systems. They're for dealing with the "axis of evil." They're for keeping us safe. They're for dealing with the terrorists and defending the homeland.

So what if they haven't been able to accomplish any of these things? They must have been stopped by the "evildoers."

crazylikeafox @ 135:

Charles @ 118:

Someone take a guess how quickly China will collapse economically if we continue to NOT buy items from them?

If they can get a few more good years in we will be working for them.
The Middle East is another matter. That is stratospheric wealth.

I'm picturing shiploads of toxic toys, DVD's, cheap clothing and other shit we don't need sitting at docks waiting to leave mainland China. Piling up one by one. Soon...as in the next few months. China, the home of the Great Firewall.

We are being raped and pillaged. It’s quite simple. And now a disaster will occur so that these maniacs can usher in an even worse system. You think you have no rights and sovereignty now, just wait another month or two. You are merely slave workers to the people who run this planet. If you’re starving and homeless, they will do everything they can to make sure you have food and shelter. In jail.

The crimes and cover-ups are endless.

The Social Security fund has been robbed by the wolves. That’s why the Republicans are running around talking about private personal accounts and there are television commercials promoting the waiting to take your SS benefits until the age of 65. They stole all of our money. And they have to cause some catastrophe prior to most of the baby boomers hitting 62. And meanwhile almost all of us are driving less, purchasing fewer goods and services, and attempting to get by without. This will continue to precipitate a downward spiral.

---------------

They is all of congress. The Social Security trust fund has been a government slush fund. The government issues bonds and spends the money, whether it is for bombs or welfare programs.

Every boom ends in a bust. The catastrophe is built into the boom. Everyone was jazzed as the stock market rocketed up. Everyone was jazzed as their home value rocketed up. Everyone was jazzed as 18 million jobs were created. Nobody pays attention to the corruption while everyone is fat and happy. Then the boom turns to a bust. High flying stocks drop 90%. House prices collapse, foreclosures jump, stores and factories close, unemployment jumps.

Bitter Bud Hussein @ 114:

B-b-b-b-b-but that just means its a buyer's market ---- uhhhhhhhh

Make no mistake. The rich are buying the foreclosed houses, they'll rent them back to you real soon.

some of you may remember the info that came out about the two banks in europe providing
tax shelter for the "super rich". a whistle blower came forward you don't hear much about this story.....estimation total of 100billion taxes. the big player that many are familiar with UBS. these are some of the reasons the complaints about tax increases happen some don't pay there fair share......good video
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&It...

Ron J...If the system is a house of cards, yes.

i'm sorry, but does anyone else out there think that most of these stores sold a bunch of crap to start with?

i mean, starbucks, finally! their coffee sucks! and yet, there's one on ever freaking block. i don't care. i'm glad.

linens and crap? really. glad to see them go. home depot, linens and crap, and 84 lumber are being hit by the housing market crumble--those depended on new homes. so, there goes bush's idea that the housing market was great...they set themselves up for failure.

you know, the problem is, a lot of these stores were selling junk to start with--poor quality, overpriced, stuff that was still made in china, and shipped here on diesel engine ships, trucked on diesel trucks...and it was crap to start with. people don't want to drive all the way to the store anymore, with their costs for fuel, only to buy something they didn't want in the first place.

moreover, the malls and places that the stores are leasing from, are all raising their rates. we were all so focused on the race to the bottom, that no one was paying attention to how much global warming was hurting us all--malls can't keep up their profits either, due to rising energy costs. now, if they had invested in some solar panels, we'd have a different story.

in addition, didn't anyone think it funny that most of these stores didn't need to have so many stores? starbucks? heck, just the cell phone companies, like sprint--why do they need to be on every block, too? what does that say about their services, anyways, if you really really need to have stores that handy all the time? a lot of these businesses may have over-built on purpose, to show they could compete with other retailers, and over-inflate their stock value.

for once, this has nothing to do with politics--unless, we want to blame bush for not warning these idiots about their business practices being a complete bust, or for not warning that the energy prices were going to go thru the roof. but then again, we could have blamed clinton for not warning people more about the dot com bubble, too.