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New Paltz, NY – Away from politics and the national implications, there's plenty of concern about an uncertain economy's impact on individual finances. WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Greg Fry reports...
Away from politics and the national implications, there's plenty of concern about an uncertain economy's impact on individual finances. With stocks continuing to fall, there are obvious impacts on future financial stability. Michael Shaughnessy is the Interim President and CEO of the Ulster Savings Bank. He says people who have a 401k or IRA, who are depending on that money for retirement, are concerned. Shaughnessy was hesitant to compare the downgrade by Standard and Poor's to a warning shot over the bow of the government, but he says that might be exactly what happened. He explains why investors may have concerns about the economy. Shaughnessy doesn't believe foreign or domestic markets are afraid to invest in US government securities. However, he says there is a thought that unless the government gets its act together, that everybody is going to have some concerns. There is still some thought that opportunity exists for those who can somehow find a way to economic stability. Shaughnessy says it's a buyer's market right now in terms of available opportunities. There are clear concerns though about the confidence of consumers. Dr. Douglas Lonnstrom is the Founding Director of the Siena Research Institute, which releases a monthly report on consumer confidence. Their latest numbers, released last week, show consumer confidence in New York State is in line with national numbers, with both on the decline. Lonnstrom says before the announcement of the downgrade by S & P, consumer confidence was already fragile. He says there's been a string of bad news, and right now, there's nothing going on that's very good. Lonnstrom says a slight drop in gas prices has helped, and says if the prices were over four dollars, consumer confidence numbers would be a lot worse. Lonnstrom also raises questions about what more companies can do to get people to spend during this period of uncertainty. He brings up the car industry, saying dealers and manufacturers come out with incentives when sales aren't very good. Lonnstrom says while more deals may be on the way with the introduction of new models, there are plenty of leftover models from this year. In a time of bad economic news, Shaughnessy mentioned one other point that could be a minor glimmer of hope - Friday's report of a slight dip in the unemployment rate, and the creation of more jobs than expected nationwide.