Is This Proof The Economy Is Still Soaring?

Worldwide sales of private jets have more than doubled since 2003, to $19.4 billion in 2007. The number of jets sold increased 28 percent between 2006 and 2007 alone, and sales are up sharply in the first quarter of 2008. Corporate jet ownership has increased by about 70 percent since the early 1990s. Demand for private jets is so high that a used jet bought in 2006 can now be sold at a handsome profit. Boeing's largest business jet costs $67 million. Other companies sell airplanes that are nearly as costly: Airbus's priciest plane goes for $55 million, while Gulfstream Aerospace's G550 sells for $46 million. U.S. taxpayers subsidize private jet use and ownership. Corporate CEOs flying on jets for vacation on personal use pay personal income tax based on the value of the gifted flight -- but the value is calculated based on much lower commercial airfares. Most startlingly, the 2008 Economic Stimulus Act enables private jet buyers to take a "bonus depreciation." http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/18027 who's that girl...there are two Economies: for most Americans Inflation, the falling value of housing and Unemployment are greater realities that are being downplayed by official government statistics (ever optimistic lest they give Wall Street reason to panic) and the Economy of the Wealthiest 1% which is represented in this article. I wanted to show the contrast.

Public Comments

1. No, but with a 5% unemployment rate; I don't think the American economy is as bad as people make it out to be.
2. This means the rich are getting richer, thats about it, the rich will still be rich even if the economy sucks. During the Great depression, any money says rich people were still spending like crazy. If you think any of these people buying jets will give an average american their money, you are mistaken
3. We still havent had ONE negative growth quarter yet. Not one.
4. hey that's great, i an average person can now go out and buy a jet! wweee! every thought the jets are those purchased who are extremely wealthy, like i dont know. oil companies?
5. somebodies is soaring...not mine
6. All that shows is that the gap between the middle class and the richest people is soaring.
7. We all know that the wealthiest Americans are doing fine but the commercial airlines are cutting back flights and raising rates for regular people.
8. Wow. I guess if you are rich -- then your vantage point shifts towards the "Yeah the economy is doing quite well for me, thank you very much---now go get a job, you lazy bum" paradigm.
9. No, it's not, and the unemployment rate in society is above 11%, so that's definitely not good.
10. Yeah, yeah. Sure. Sales of private jets worldwide is just having such a BOOST to our nation's sagging economy. Much like Bush's idea that his tax stimulus checks is going to 'save' the economy from a recession--when it's only a one-time deal. Mmm-hmm. CAUTION: Republican illogic at work. Watch were you step.
11. the rich cry and complain about the tax rate... and poor Republicans take up the banner and run and defend it as hard as they can... poor Republicans don't know all the kick-backs that the rich get from the government though.... funny how fox and Rush never talk about all the perks they get from the government... yet constantly talk about welfare that the poor people get... if poor Republicans knew just how much "welfare" the rich get... I would bet many would rethink some of their positions...
12. The Dems are pushing the illusion of the economy being worse then it is....unemployment is at 5.5%...I dont know where some people get their numbers....it is still lower than the average of the past adminestrations....we are NOT having negative growth nor run away inflation.....gas prices and food costs are up due in part to the policies enacted by the Dems....or have you failed to notice that the spike has only occured AFTER the Dems took over Congress..it is all an election plan to oust the GOP from the Whitehouse,,,and anyone with half a brain who is not mesmerized by Obama can see it
13. I'd agree with you that the economy is not as bad as it's hyped to be. The U.S. economy is still doing exceptionally well, relative to the economic slowdown in most of the world right now. What you detailed shows that some industries in the U.S. are still doing very well. And despite the "for the rich only" assessment of others' answers here, the continuing high sales on these planes mean jobs for the MIDDLE CLASS people who design and engineer these planes, build these planes, sell them, and service them. Those people benefit as well, NOT just the rich who can afford to buy private planes. "Recession" is defined as at least two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, and as was pointed out above, we have not even had one such quarter. The economy has slowed (as it did in Clinton's last year as president) but we are not in recession yet, and certainly not a depression.
14. Of coarse it's not bad, that is just the issue libs lie about because they know people vote with their money. The economy isn't bad, they have said the country's in a recession and it isn't. It takes 2 straight quarters of negative growth and we haven't even had one. So when you look at the front page of Yahoo! and all you see is doom and gloom, remember their is a political agenda behind it. Libs you can give me all the thumbs downs you want to, I am in a business where all I do is watch the economy and I haven't said anything that isn't true.
15. 11%? If whiteflame55 is going to make up numbers, why doesn't he just say 15% or 20%? It's around 5%, we haven't seen 11% since Jimmy Carter. You can consider 5% unemployment to be full employment, I'm still hiring because my business is growing, believe me, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. The people unemployed in this economy are the people who are unemployable, no skills, no brains, no work ethic, 5 jobs in 3 years with 2 month gaps between them. Liberals are just desperate for a presidency, but with only 2 democrats in the last 40 years it's obvious America knows they're idiots.
16. The economy isn't soaring, it's flat. We haven't had a recession though.
17. I don't think the American economy is as bad as people make it out to be, but it's definitely going down. Maybe it's not in a recession, but it's definitely approaching. Though, I must say, the fact that private jet sales have doubled is a bad sign. For one, it's just showing exactly how selfish people are--they think they're so much better than everyone else that they can't even travel with them, and that they deserve their own plane, and (assuming you accept global warming) it's absolutely horrid for the environment. If they can take a plane somewhere else that's taking 100 other people, WHY on earth would you need your own plane to do so?
18. How does the sale of jets have to do with the economy as a whole?? Theres more to the economy then the sale of jets. edit:"The people unemployed in this economy are the people who are unemployable, no skills, no brains, no work ethic, 5 jobs in 3 years with 2 month gaps between them." Replying to who said that. My dad was unemployed and he was willing to work. He worked hard at the same job for 20 years how are you going to say he had no work ethic. He looked hard for a job. And him being fired was unfair. The owner of where he was working had no reason to fire him.