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If you really think that $2K is "pocket money" and have a hard time believing that a large minority of citizens would have a difficult time coming up with that - then its been a long time (if ever) since you've been in the real world.
People who make $10/hour (which is substantially higher than our minimum wage) would probably have a difficult time putting 2K together. That would be 10% of their yearly earnings!!
People working at Walmart, Target, McDonald's, Kroger -- $10 would be about average. Many are making less than that.
Median income in this country is what - 45K?? 2K is nearly 5% of that. So if approx. half the country makes less than 45K -- why do you think the difficulty of having a 2K cash cushion is unbelievable?
The world is not full of people on the C-D message boards who plan and think and save up 6 months worth of expenses.
The world is full of people who live paycheck to paycheck and for whom one unexepected trip to the doctor can force them to take a payday loan.
If you have 2K as pocket change in your sock drawer - awesome for you and your family. But, go ask the single mom who works at WalMart as a cashier if she does? Or the guy stocking shelves? Or the person buffing the floor at night....
45 million Americans are now on food stamps. 22% of our population is either unemployed or under-employed. People laid off from decent-paying jobs are finding only minimum wage jobs available to them, and to their credit, they take them until hopefully something better comes along.
Then you have the entire welfare population...but then, we tend to forget about them, don't we? Folks on SSI and seniors living on fixed incomes fall into these cracks in our society, too.
I personally know people who are cashing in IRA's and other investments, just to raise a few grand in cash. When they get the $$$, they spend it immediately on living expenses; they don't save it as an emergency fund. One neighbor of mine was faced with replacing an older car with a newer used one. He'd just filed bankruptcy and couldn't get financing for a new one. He would have fixed the old one if he still had a credit card, but he lost that in the bankruptcy, too.
How many of us consider our credit card available funds as "savings"? A lot of folks who won't admit it, that's who! If you're still working at a decent-paying job and are still flush, good for you. The pawn shops are making a killing, right about now!
I have developed a reputation as kind of a "doomer" on this forum, but even I cannot believe this article.
To imagine these percentages of people are so close to homelessness is mind-blowing.
Inflation adjusted, $2000 is practically pocket money.
Do you believe we as a country are in such dire straits?
Do you think this article is credible?
Jim, will you spot me 5 bucks so I can read the article?
But no, very few people really in danger of being homeless, because very few people do not have family and/or friends who would take time in if it came to that.
I have developed a reputation as kind of a "doomer" on this forum, but even I cannot believe this article.
To imagine these percentages of people are so close to homelessness is mind-blowing. Inflation adjusted, $2000 is practically pocket money.
Why not? I've posted before that more than 70% of house-holds live paycheck-to-paycheck. The figure was 67% in 2008 before the small economic downturn (mistakenly referred to as a "recession") took place, and that number is higher now.
If you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, then "no" you aren't going to be able to come up with $2,000 and you won't be able to crap gold either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimhcom
Do you think this article is credible?
With the numbers, yes, but not necessarily the conclusions. You have to understand this is the Aging & Health group and they have a very slanted agenda, namely more money for the Boomers (a Latin word that means "elderly") and free health care for everyone (a holiday for Yahweh tomorrow).
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimhcom
Do you believe we as a country are in such dire straits?
Yes, of course. The difference between me and the Doom-n-Gloomers is that I recognize and understand that this is a gradual process that will continue over the next 30 years, while everyone thinks it will happen in a day.
The bottom line, as I've pointed out repeatedly, is that you as a Nation sold your soul for instant gratification. You slanted the playing field so far in your favor that the playing field became vertical, except now BRIC is very quickly leveling that playing field and as a result, your wages and standard of living will decline while the rest of the catches up, and eventually, maybe toward the end of the Century, it will be equalized, meaning a job in the US that pays $15/hour pays the same nearly everywhere in the world.
The only way to stop this process, is to go nuclear and murder about 4 Billion people.
You can't stop the off-shoring or the job losses, and people don't appear to be smart enough to understand that you cannot manufacture autos in the US and export them to other countries for sale and make a profit, especially when other countries who are also exporting vehicles or making them on-site have a lower bottom line.
People should stop to think that the profits the US companies make overseas is what is keeping the doors open and jobs afloat here in the US.
People who make $10/hour (which is substantially higher than our minimum wage) would probably have a difficult time putting 2K together. That would be 10% of their yearly earnings!!
tried to rep you - hindsight - but apparently I must spread some around.
C-D is beyond an ivory tower, it borders on a closed feedback loop. Like minded individuals all say the same thing and reinforce each others opinions. Especially on the financial forums! About the only place you see disagreement is parenting or sometimes the health forum when someone with "alternative" views shows up.
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