Aplus.net Blog

Amid reports that the recent election results in Iowa and New Hampshire were based primarily on voters’ worries about the economy — a significant turn of events considering that it had been previously thought that most voters were preoccupied with Iraq — comes a glut of news stories in recent days about the weakening American economy, and the effects it may have on the business world.

As we reported here earlier, the falling value of the U.S. dollar is considered to be one of the major symptoms of this weakening economy. Wall Street’s recent downward spiral isn’t helping matters either; nor are record-high oil prices or recent news that the federal deficit and trade gap are shooting up to previously unpredicted levels.

And that’s not all: Today’s news is increasingly dominated by the mortgage lending crisis and by hot anticipation over whether or not the Federal Reserve will alter interest rates. And with news sources of both conservative and liberal persuasion becoming more and more vocal about economic issues, it seems a safe bet that we’ll hear lots more on the subject as the 2008 election year rolls on.

From today’s Los Angeles Times (”Public senses an economy going south”, by Stephanie Simon):

Exit polls from the New Hampshire primary Tuesday confirm that: 97% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans are worried about where the economy is headed. Only 14% of Democrats — and about half of Republicans — consider the current state of the economy good.

Asked about their own families, 28% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans said they were falling behind financially.

Their concerns will resonate on the campaign trail and in Washington, as Bush and Congress debate tax cuts and other measures to stimulate the economy. But it’s in homes across America that the anxiety is most keenly felt.

What do you think? Are you worried about the effect these issues are going to have on your business, or on online business in general? Is the weak dollar hurting or helping your business? Do you think there are long-term problems with having so much of our federal debt in the hands of rival Asian nations?

Or do you think all this is much ado about nothing? As always, we’d love to hear your comments.