What is the best determination of value? Many years ago as a real estate agent, I was taught that a home's value is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for it. In today's dismal real estate market, that's bad news for sellers and great news for buyers.
But, does that mean that suddenly your home (car, boat, rv, jewelry, etc.) has lost its original value? It all depends on how you personally define value. In fact, the less someone is willing to pay for something, the more valuable it becomes to us, and the more sense it makes to keep it.
If I'm confusing the issue, let's look at it this way. Unemployment has grown to a frightening level. People who have devoted years to their jobs are losing them left and right. And the common question they ask themselves is, "What do I do now?" Years ago if you lost your job, you'd just send out some resumes, get interviewed and get another job. That's no longer the case.
Back to supply and demand. Too many people out of work and not enough jobs available for everybody. Employers know this. It gives them license to implement elaborate screening techniques to "weed out" the undesirables; those less qualified to meet their unrealistic job requirements that a few years ago would not have been an issue.
Unemployment does not discriminate to just those without formal education. It's rapidly becoming an epidemic. It seems that every day I hear of yet someone else I know losing their job. And the sad part is it may not change anytime soon.
My question is this: does an unemployed person lose their original value? Does unemployment automatically erase the skills and experience a person has worked so hard to achieve? It would seem so, because what potential employers are willing to pay is directly affected by supply and demand of people applying for those positions.
The most obvious solution to this dilemma is to lower the unemployment rate by creating jobs and shifting the balance of supply and demand in favor of the workforce. Offer training and use the transferable skills people have and apply them to the newly created jobs. Get people back to work and stop outsourcing their jobs.
My thoughts on economic stimulus or tax refund checks: No matter how great a discount we are offered, or how low the interest rate is, these tactics simply won't entice us to buy (thus, boost the economy) unless we have a weekly check to pay for them.
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