Do You Believe We Are In A Recession?

The first step to getting us out of this recession is to reduce the gas prices. Another thing that needs to be done is to put a lower limit on how much interest a credit card company can charge its customers. I don't know if there actually is a limit on how high a card company can set its rates, but I have heard of interest rates on a credit card as high as 30%. This is outrageous! It should be illegal for a card company to charge that much. The absolute MOST they should be able to charge should be in the neighborhood of 15-20%. It is hard enough to pay off a card with an interest rate of 17-18%. It is almost impossible to pay one off that has a 30% interest rate. The Federal Reserve keeps playing with the prime rates like it is fun, claiming that they are trying to stabilize the economy. The only thing they are really succeeding in is making people even more afraid to spend or invest money. Lowering the prime rate also lowers the rates of CD's. People are pulling their money out of the banks instead of letting their CD's renew themselves. In turn, banks have less money to loan. Lowering the prime rate does mean lower rates on loans for people looking to borrow money as well, but I don't think the rate cuts have been significant enough to really make a difference to people seeking loans. What the FED needs to do is come up with a nice, middle of the line number to set the prime rate at, set it there, and leave it alone. This would mean that people looking to borrow money get a decent rate, and at the same time, people looking to invest cash into CD's get good returns on their money as well. This will make them more likely to leave their money in the banks...meaning the banks will have more to loan. There are some other things that probably need to be done. I will say that it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We are really just getting into this recession. I personally believe that another depression is not out of the question if some things aren't changed in the next couple of years. Hang on America...it is going to be a wild ride...

Wow, I guess I live in my own little world! I have heard a lot about the recession, but I have never been in better shape! I live in an Oil rich area, and its booming right now!! I am making 20 times what I was making 4 years ago!! So I can't see the recession as much as someone in Michigan might!

Yes, I believe we are in a recession due to the high gas prices. I don't know if gas prices will ever go back down to a very low level like they did about ten years ago. Basically, people are going to have to change their habits and adapt to what is going on. That's what always happens when we are in a recession, we change our habits. The economy will recover, it always does. In fact, I think it will recover by the end of the year, but it will be different than before the recession.

the gas prices should be reduced and the main reason for this is black money hiding. if those money is confesticated then the government has enough funds to meet the needs

We have long been in a recession, until now, we're at the door of a depression. I don't know what to do about the economy other than bring our jobs back from overseas and for the government to do something about the high cose of oil. On a personal level, the only thing that'll help is caring, sharing, and praying.