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I would start by getting serious with the politicians that opt for corporations rather than you, the taxpayer. I would be yelling for more better paying green jobs that some idiot politician promised us and has done NOTHING about since he was elected.
So many politicians (Bush) said people, when good jobs leave, merely have to be retrained. NOBODY suggests the field this retraining should be in.
Really funny, when you are getting screwed over, how placidly you take it. You should be upset. For many people their families suffer. Kids suffer. We should insist on good schools and a higher standard of education and to not promote a kid if he's dumb. No more lowered standards in college. Kids must know math and English well. Everyone must take responsibility.
If people are living off the dole and have another kid, no increased payout for that kid. Tough love.
Anyone cheating on benefits or having no show government jobs should be made a BIG example of and punished. So should companies who hire illegals because they are lowering the salaries and standard of living for the poor.
I mean, we HAVE to all recognize that something is terribly wrong so we can pull together and fix this thing.
Just accepting crap when it's thrown at you is NOT the way to go. Turning the other cheek does not work here. It just makes them walk on you more.
Other than the jobs issue, most of the stuff you propose here is stuff supported by Republicans (at least in theory) like Bush, who you seem to not like. But whenever said tough love is proposed, liberals scream about money being taken out of the mouths of babes to benefiit the big corporations. School standards are about hurting the self esteem of kids who don't pass. Disciplining kids is harmful, blah, blah, blah. And a large % of the voting public buys into it. Unfortunately, the elite has America evenly divided into 2 camps and the two don't agree on much of anything, which allows control to go back and forth between both factions of the elite (Elites usually break up into factions). Regardless, one faction of the elite always stays in control.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 07-26-2010 at 01:45 AM..
I'll bet there are millions who have lost good jobs who would rather have their jobs and pay a bit more for their tv. THAT'S the tradeoff you speak of.
Yeah, that's what they say. But not what they actually do.
In my short experience, it has been those who take chances that get ahead. Now, I believe you're well aware of my positions on the globalisation of our economy and income disparity in this country. Even having these views, I believe there is some opportunity out there. I know it's probably tough in your area with all the college grads flocking there. It's similar here in Colorado. You have two ways of dealing with it. You can do what you're doing now, and spend (waste) time on this forum providing examples or arguments for something that most of us already know, and that's how effed up this country is. Or you can use this dissatisfaction/anger as motivation towards something positive, like getting ahead.
Maybe instead of pointing out all the possible downfalls of getting a CPA, it might be worth shooting for it (if that's the direction you want to go). I often ponder the next steps I need to take to get ahead in my life. Sometimes I think I want to go back to college for an MS in Computer Engineering. I have a habit of listing off all the bad things that could possibly happen. I'll lose money on my investment. I'll be in more debt. I won't be able to find a job in the field. I can go on and on and on until I justify to myself why going back to school is a bad idea. But if I never do it, I'll never know where it could land me.
Two years ago, after I graduated from university, I had to figure out what I was going to do. Here I was, 22, having more student loan debt than the average grad, and absolutely no jobs lined up. You can imagine how down in the dumps I was. Sure, I could have put on a display of grief for my family and friends, and that would have garned some temporary comfort after they would tell me everything would be alright. But I realized that it would not pay the bills. I came to the conclusion that I needed to take some action. So, after doing some research, I packed my car full of clothes and I moved 1200 miles away to Denver. I had no job, no apartment, no friends, or no family here, but I had hope that there would be opportunity. I lived in a Motel 6 using a credit card for all of my expenses. Within a couple of weeks of pounding the pavement, applying for jobs like mad, and working some temp gigs, I landed something full-time w/benefits. Shortly after, I leased my first studio apartment right downtown. Since then, I've seen my salary go up by $10k, not because I sat around hoping that it would, but because I chased opportunities as they presented themselves. Now, most people I tell that story to look at me in astonishment. They'd tell me, "Wow, I could never do that." And I think to myself, "Why not?" As difficult/scary/unnerving as it was, it was never much worse than taking a final exam in college.
Here's my advice to you. First, figure out what you want to do and what you need to do to get there. Second, do all the steps necessary to get what you want. Third, don't be afraid to take chances; if all else fails, it sounds like you have a loving family that will help you get back on your feet. Use that to your advantage. Fourth, take a vacation from this forum for at least a month. As much as you may be enjoying those rep points, the consonance only perpetuates your negative mindset, thus preventing you from focusing on the goals that you need to be focusing on.
Good luck!
I'd rep you but I couldn't!
I don't think Randomdude actually wants to take any risks. He just wants to complain about stuff, unfortunately.
I have to say, even though I do not believe that its possible for everyone to do what you did, nor is it really advisable, I do appreciate the fact that you keep things consistantly positive.
Whenever I post my personal stories as empirical evidence of my beliefs, people who have counter beliefs usually do nothing but attack, but I havent seen you go to that well. I do appreciate that.
Well, you're going to have to come to the realization that our beliefs do indeed create our reality. No, maybe not 100% like some New Agers say, but they have a much larger role than most of us realize or are willing to admit. If you believe improvement is possible (as MCB1025 did), you'll be more willing to take a risk. If you don't, you probably won't.
i understand low wages, an invasion of cheap illegal labor supported by the feds and american business.
what i dont understand is america's utter hatred of unions. unions which would have prevented our destruction. was not too long ago we were picking lettuce, its guna happen again.
I'm a member of a government union and I can tell you why....Unions eventually get as greedy and power hungy as any corporation. The greed eventually collapses on itself by bankrupting any entity (government or private business) where unions dominate.
I'll be surprised if I actualy get that generous pension I'm supposed to get when I turn 55.
Everywhere I've lived in this country it took *two* of the average prevailing wages to have a home. (Based on pre-bubble mortgage lending practices, LOL!)
I.e. when we sent women out into the work force as wage earners... the price of houses went up to absorb that income.
Basically we mortgaged off the lives of the ladies, to the benefit of the lenders.
Very true.
The authors of The Two Income Trap said that very same thing, although not quite that bluntly.
So you're not doing bad other than the health care issue. It seems like your rent is high for the area where you live. My rent for a studio apt. & utilities in the San Francisco Bay Area comes to less than $900.
No, my rent is extremely low for the area (about 60% of the market).
Americans should be entitled to their labor value. The per capita GDP of America is $46,381, while the median wage is $33,176. What exactly is the disconnect here? We produce $46,381 per person, yet, well over half of us make over 10k less then we produce.....well, when we check the average wage per person......$43,460, it is very close to what we produce per person.
So, since Im not expecting you to be able to comprehend what this means, Ill explain it to you.
When the median is far below the average, it means the income is badly distributed towards the top. A few people are making a large chunk of the money (including giant chunks of stolen labor value), while most of the people are concentrated in low paying **** jobs where they are not even receiving a fraction of what they are producing.
There is absolutely no reason why every single person in this country should not be making over 40k, without any adjustment to inflation, but instead, only about 35-40% are.
Well, um yeah....but since when has retail EVER been a family wage kind of industry??? Never. So nothing new here.
Hey, why dont you wake up from your misinformed dream land, the median hourly wage is $15.95, that means there are MANY people supporting families on retail wages.
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