# Giant Economic Collapse this year? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108 "2017-04-24T00:19:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/1 "2017-04-24T00:19:52Z")
Will we face a giant collapse in the US Economy in 2017? > [@](#): > > Brokerage firm Credit Suisse said in a research report released earlier this month that it’s possible more than 8,600 brick-and-mortar stores will close their doors in 2017. > > For comparison, the report says 2,056 stores closed down in 2016 and 5,077 were shuttered in 2015. The worst year on record is 2008, when 6,163 stores shut down. > > “Barely a quarter into 2017, year-to-date retail store closings have already surpassed those of 2008,” the report says. > **[Stores are closing at an epic pace](https://money.cnn.com/2017/04/22/news/credit-suisse-retail/index.html)** > > The retail industry could see far more store closures this year than ever, a new report says ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/2 "2017-04-24T00:22:54Z")
Although brick-and-mortar stores are a significant part of the economy, they’re not everything. As long as things are bought and sold in other ways, we’re in good shape. It’s when goods aren’t being manufactured and people can’t afford to buy them that we’re screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/3 "2017-04-24T00:28:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Although brick-and-mortar stores are a significant part of the economy, they’re not everything. As long as things are bought and sold in other ways, we’re in good shape. It’s when goods aren’t being manufactured and people can’t afford to buy them that we’re screwed. **OR** when massive unemployment keeps them from doing that. I’m very worried for my fellow Citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/4 "2017-04-24T00:37:48Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > **OR** when massive unemployment keeps them from doing that. > > I’m very worried for my fellow Citizens. See chart top right. > **[Unemployment in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_in_the_United_States)** > > Employment > Unemployment in the United States discusses the causes and measures of U.S. unemployment and strategies for reducing it. Job creation and unemployment are affected by factors such as economic conditions, global competition, education, automation, and demographics. These factors can affect the number of workers, the duration of unemployment, and wage levels. > Unemployment generally falls during periods of economic prosperity and rises during recessions, creating significant pressure on... or here > **[Bureau of Labor Statistics Data](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000)** ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/5 "2017-04-24T00:43:29Z")
The US has much more retail square footage per capita than most other nations. The UK has half the retail space per person as the USA, and it doesn’t seem to be hurting them. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/6 "2017-04-24T00:54:49Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > **OR** when massive unemployment keeps them from doing that. This is nothing close to massive unemployment. There are over 160 million people currently in the US labor force. If each of these stores had about 200 employees and they all closed at once it would push 1.7 million into unemployment. That’s a touch over a 1% rise in our unemployment rate. The longer term issue of these being jobs that aren’t coming back is a concern. That’s not the same as the economy tanking in the short term. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/7 "2017-04-24T00:55:44Z")
I gotta admit–there’s so much construction going on locally, we can’t even get a Handyman, here in Middle Tennessee. Still, seeing figures like that one makes me feel like I’ve swallowed a live grenade. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/8 "2017-04-24T00:59:00Z")
Although the closing of stores and imminent collapse of retail giants like Sears and JC Penney’s is recent, the decline of retail in general is not a sudden event. Retail has been on the decline since people started buying goods–and especially difficult-to-find and therefore expensive to stock specialty goods–on line, and department stores have been declining ever since the rise of big box discount stores in the late 'Eighties. These stores have been regularly cutting staff, so while a shutdown would be a big chunk of people being unemployed, many have already found other work. Be more concerned when food service jobs–which comprise more than 7% of our economy–start to be reduced due to automation. While it won’t be quite as sudden as the collapse of retail as there are certain jobs it is just difficult to practically automate, employers are looking to reduce costs in point-of-sale and preparation/cooking, which will drive jobs down in a segment where there are many workers who are otherwise unemployable (poor work history, criminal records, lacking other skills or experience, et cetera). There is still a heavy demand for skilled trades jobs which are grossly understaffed and for which it is not practical to automate most functions with existing or foreseeable automation technology. A sensible strategy to deal with unemployment would be to encourage and subsidize training and apprenticeship in these fields to produce the necessary skilled labor, especially if we’re going to be forcibly ejecting the undocumented workers who currently perform as a large proportion of the workforce in this area. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/9 "2017-04-24T01:07:44Z")
That fuckin Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/10 "2017-04-24T01:28:55Z")
He’s quite powerful, still able to manipulate the US economy and wiretrap the Oval Office while kiteboarding in the Caribbean. Idris Elba step aside, we have our first black James Bond. Double-Obama: “Do you expect me to talk, Tiny Fingers?” Trump-Finger: “No Mr. Obama, I expect…hey, my hands are normal sized. See! They’re tremendous hands!” Double-Obama: “I know everything about your plans, Wee Digits, and so does Theresa May.” Trump-Finger: “Stop making fun of my hands, or I’ll have Steve Bannon do to you what he did to Graydon Carter!” Double-Obama: “Oh, you’re going to have Bannon breathe on me with his fatal halitosis?” Trump-Finger: “Just stop it, or I’m going to insult your wife.” Double-Obama: “Good luck with that. You take on Michelle at your own peril, Pinky-Thumb.” Trump-Finger: “Goddamn it! Doesn’t anyone show respect for masterful villainy any more?” Double-Obama: “Masterful? You’re a second rate real estate huckster whose most notable success was being on an idiotic reality television show. Now, Putin, there’s a real diabolical cocksucker.” Trump-Finger: “Fuck! Putin, Putin, Putin, why is it always Putin?” Double-Obama: “Because while you brag that you could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it, he actually does it.” Trump-Finger: “It’s all because of that stupid conny…consta…commutation!” Double-Obama: “You mean the Constitution?” Trump-Finger: “Yeah, I’m done with that thing. I’m going to pass an executive order getting rid of it once and for all.” Double-Obama: “You know, you’re going to have to take that to the Supre…never mind, you’ll figure it out. Eventually. But not before I use my raw strength to break out of this cell and throw you out of an aircraft at twenty thousand feet.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/11 "2017-04-24T01:59:13Z")
♪ Trump-finger… He’s the man, the man with the bias touch A divider’s touch Such a cold binger Beckons you to enter his web of kin But don’t go Flynn Golden turds he will pour in your ear But his lies can’t disguise what you sneer For a poll done good knows when he’s dissed it It’s the dis of death from Mister Trump-finger… ♫ ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/12 "2017-04-24T02:06:57Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Will we face a giant collapse in the US Economy in 2017? How is this “Mundane or Pointless Stuff”? I wind down my day perusing mundane pointless stuff dopers must share. This is so unmundane and pointful that it’s got me worried. Hope I can get to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/13 "2017-04-24T02:37:46Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > ♪ Trump-finger… > > He’s the man, the man with the bias touch > A divider’s touch > Such a cold binger > Beckons you to enter his web of kin > But don’t go Flynn > > Golden turds he will pour in your ear > But his lies can’t disguise what you sneer > For a poll done good knows when he’s dissed it > It’s the dis of death from > Mister Trump-finger… ♫ Where can I download this as an MP3? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/14 "2017-04-24T06:50:02Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Still, seeing figures like that one makes me feel like I’ve swallowed a live grenade. So this is all about your _feelings_? Have you tried therapy? ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/15 "2017-04-24T12:09:46Z")
I have read stories that predict the next big recession every single year, without fail, since the last big recession. One of these days they will be right, but future economic performance is extraordinarily difficult to predict, and even in the best of times there are plenty of statistics that could be used to argue for coming disaster. It’s best to take a long-term view and ride it out. Everyone knows people who are continually spooked about the next recession. These are the folks that have missed out on 200% growth since the last one. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/16 "2017-04-24T12:22:34Z")
What the most revent year in which there was NOT a credible forecast of this “great economic collapse”? How many more times will the sky fall? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/17 "2017-04-24T12:48:36Z")
An economist is someone who has predicted nine of the last two recessions. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/18 "2017-04-24T14:01:43Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > This is nothing close to massive unemployment. There are over 160 million people currently in the US labor force. If each of these stores had about 200 employees and they all closed at once it would push 1.7 million into unemployment. That’s a touch over a 1% rise in our unemployment rate. So not a giant economic collapse. Certainly some of those put out of work will find jobs elsewhere, perhaps even elsewhere in retail. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/19 "2017-04-24T14:32:44Z")
Someone predicts a massive economic collapse every year. Some years it happens. The economy is fragile, the market forces are heavily affected by perception and there’s always a significant intrusion of government and individual manipulation. The economy consists of a lot of subjective evaluation of future productivity and potential profit, so it only takes a few mistakes to end up with an over-valued economy which needs correction and with the right timing the correction pendulum swings too far and the result is a collapse. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108/20 "2017-04-24T14:40:14Z")
A brick-and-mortar store called Rue 21 closed in my city this week. Amazon opened a warehouse in the next city over, and is hiring for the summer and beyond. Circle of life. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-economic-collapse-this-year/785108.md?page=2)