Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I honestly can't believe what I'm reading on here. It seems like everyone is sitting back on their thumbs and waiting for the end of the world and I hate to break it to you but you're worst doomsday fears are not going to happen.
Yes a lot of people have lost their homes their savings and a whole lot more but you need to stop crying in your beers and wake up. Most people that lost everything let it happen. I'll say that again. They let it happen to them as they where spending beyond their means not preparing for the future.
As for the country. Yeah it's still in trouble. We've been in trouble since Clinton left office but everyone feels the need to jump on the anti-Obama band wagon and blame him for our problems. I'm not really a supporter either but he was the best of the options we had available to us at the time. Can you imagine the mess we would be in if we elected another Bush or the idiot from Alaska!!!!!! Our best bet was Hilary but unfortunatly she didn't make it. Keep in mind it took 8 years of stupidity to get in this mess so don't expect a turn around in 3 years.
As for you guys crying about the country collapsing. Stop crying about it on message boards and get off you butt and do something about it. If you're unemployed get a job and don't tell me there not out there as they are. If you have a job then prepare for you future by putting a nest egg away then go put some money back into our economy. Buy a car, buy a house etc. But be realistic. If you make 50K a year a new Benz is not for you and neither is a 500K house.
People taking a little responsibility for their own actions would go a long way in this county. What we have here is a bunch of cry babies with their hand out crying about how the government isn't supporting them. Grow up..
The part I highlighted invalidates your whole post, especially since you can not follow directions clearly listed at the top of the business forum.
If wages keep collapsing and the wealth is more and more concentrated on tthe top 5% we will become a third world country where the workers can not afford the products they produce.
The America that most of us grew up in is a rapidly fading memory. The current system ought to be called Israel Major or Greater Israel or the United Police States or the Great Bankers Party.
The real question is, who will be the closer? Obama or Hillary or?
I think several things are kiling the poor and the middle class that we do have some control over:
1. The middle class and poor don't value saving as much as previous generations.
2. The middle class/poor have a shockingly high out of wedlock birth rate.
3. The middle class/poor divorce a lot more.
4. Health care costs have skyrocketed because of the explosion of low nutrient/high calorie processed foods.
If we could get a handle on those 4 things, a lot of the problems with wages would self correct.
EG #1--Lower health care costs mean potentially lower taxes or less government debt to pay for publicly sponsored health care. It can also mean higher wages for those with employer sponsored health insurance if premiums don't skyrocket every year.
EG #2--People with more savings and less debt don't need to snap at the first crappy job offered, thus keeping wages a little higher than they would be otherwise, etc.
EG #3. Fewer kids born out of wedlock means fewer people in poverty and less dependence on the taxpayers for various subsidies.
I'm not saying there aren't powerful forces that have conspired against the middle class....just that the middle class seems to have lost its sense of self discipline at the very time it needed it most.
a good post and i agree about savings, although i do disagree with one small point. the american birth rate is actually down: (quote)
The U.S. birth rate has fallen to its lowest level in at least a century as many people apparently decided they couldn't afford more mouths to feed. (end quote)
1.we have to get a handle on the immigration situation, because a surplus of workers impacts our economic stability and drives wages down automatically. we also need to get rid of the "anchor baby" rule. don't allow more workers until we have enough jobs for the people who are already here.
2.we have to encourage energy independence by investing in our own oil development (not brazil's), coal, natural gas, and nuclear power.
3. we need to temporarily repeal gasoline taxes so americans are not struggling to get to work and get goods that they need.
4. a flat tax would be a good idea to close all those loopholes that people use.
5. stop with the stupid wars/skirmishes/engagements NOW.
6. what we need is a think tank where people can bounce economic recovery ideas off each other (sort of a small non-nuclear manhattan project) because varied input from different sources can sometimes trigger a really good idea. it lets you think about something that you haven't thought about before, and a lot of people have proposed some interesting solutions at various times on the forum.
we keep using the same economic advisors and "thinkers" that have driven us to this unpleasant historic point in time.
8) highly important- cut the freaking foreign aid when we are in a financial crisis as a country.
American foreign aid appropriations have escalated from about $20 billion in 2000 to $50 billion today. Almost every single nation on earth gets our foreign aid. The major recipients of the $35 billion in economic aid we dispense are: Afghanistan, $2.6 billion; Israel, $3 billion; Iraq, $766 million; and Egypt, $1.6 billion. But beyond these aid packages, we give Africa $7 billion in economic aid each year. We donate $2 billion to the Western Hemisphere (only about $400 million of it to Haiti). We give Asia, apart from Afghanistan, $2 billion. And we give Europe almost $1 billion.
we are in no financial position to be throwing money at other countries.
let me add an addition to number 5, the cost of the wars:
now we are adding more to this with these new entanglements!
johna, i think you might be missing the point of the thread a little. it isn't just about how the individual is doing, (taking responsibility for one's own actions) but rather the economic health of the entire country. many americans are doing okay personally, but are still worried about the ramifications of the excess spending going on and the incessant monetization of debt, rendering our money less worthy with each run of the "printing press".
unless there is a turnaround soon, it will be a question of when we default rather than if we default and the consequences of that action will be felt by everyone.
Last edited by floridasandy; 03-29-2011 at 07:42 PM..
"I'm not saying there aren't powerful forces that have conspired against the middle class....just that the middle class seems to have lost its sense of self discipline at the very time it needed it most."
Middle class has lost its sense of discipline? I don't think so. The middle class is being screwed big time, and they are struggling like mad to hold onto the boat while the sharks (you know them) are trying to pull them under. Everyone seems to love to blame the middle class. Historically (since it's inception in the 1800s) it's been the biggest class. Not anymore. The 3-tier pyramid seems to have been socked in the middle, now we have 2.
Even though house prices are bdown less people can afford one.
The American Dream is no longer a reality, the rich have stolen that
Okay if that is the barometer then there was no American Dream in prior to the year 2000, since today's home ownership rate is higher than anytime before turn of the century.
Furthermore I'd submit the home ownership rate was too high in the mid 2000s because obviously many people had homes they couldn't afford.
EG #3. Fewer kids born out of wedlock means fewer people in poverty and less dependence on the taxpayers for various subsidies.
]
Marryin' off the wimmenfolk at 14 ain't gonna change nothin'. People will still do what it takes to have babies, at whatever age they see fit, and whether or not the union is blessed by the good book or not can hardly have an effect on the economic collapse of the union.
The fact is,whether the mothers are married or not, the birth rate in the USA is the lowest in history, and the age of primagravida is the highest in history. Partly due to the ease of abortion.
Last edited by jtur88; 03-29-2011 at 10:08 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
