I'm scared... really scared.

I work at a place that does surveys. It is a call center that has a day shift and a night shift. We call people and do surveys, usually political in nature. Day shop just closed. 150-200 people without jobs now. Night shop had to turn away over 100 of its workers today because there was only enough work for about 20 people. I have gone from 40 hours a week to 15.

I'm scared. Really scared.

The kids ask why we have chicken everynight. I tell them its because we got it on sale for 79 cents a pound (bought 12 packages). We go to the food shelf once a week and get canned food which we are stockpiling.

I'm scared. Really scared.

I sold my car to pay our bills and walk to work now. My friend got a hell of a deal because I sold my $11,000 Jeep Cherokee for $7,000 to my best friend. He got the deal because for 4 months I couldn't find one buyer...even when I had it down to $6,000!!! He paid 7 because I let him pay it over 4 months... in case you were wondering.

I'm scared. Really scared.

Personally, I see only one way out of this and that is a world war. I think this depression will spread across the world and force a war upon us to lessen the population, create jobs, and change things. I don't know.

So my question to all my friends on here is where is all this leading? Can anyone hazard a real guess? Should I take my money out of the bank? Should I buy a gun? We asked my rich grandfather's attorney if we should take our annuity out and cash it in fearful that the banks may fail in the future. He said not to... that the banks are fine.

Should I be stocking up on food or is that just like this trillion dollar bandaid they put on our economy and isn't going to do any good in the end?

I'd appreciate anything anyone has to say on this. Just how worried should we be? Thanks all for your words in advance.

Your probley right to be scared, bad things are going down right now.
I'm trying to keep up on everything going on and keep hearing more and more bad news/gloom and doom.

2009 Depression Validated
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'm on SSI for a Bad Heart/Back/PAD on have to rely on that...if things keep up like they are I'll be considered Rich soon. When/If the Gov crumbles people like me will be begging/sleeping on corners.

A Gun or stock pile of Food probley wouldn't hurt...you'll end up eating it one way or the other...Good Luck.

[edit on 2/11/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Originally posted by Hx3_1963
you'll end up eating it one way or the other...Good Luck.

[edit on 2/11/2009 by Hx3_1963]

ouch.

that can be read a few ways...



-

Its tough all over the world at present, even here in the UK, all the polticians and bank managers are putting a brave face on and telling us "everything will be alright".
Of course it is , for them that is.
The average person on the street has less money and even less security in their jobs.
Businesses are closing down at a stupid rate, more people being put out of work and then having to claim benefits making the taxes go up for the rest that HAVE got a job.

My advice to you is don't be scared, like yoda said " that leads to the dark side". Stand tall. especially infront of your children. if you fold they'll begin to think its easier to fail than to fight .

Also buy what you can in bulk , rice, pasta , tinned vegetables. chicken is fine, ( look for ones with fat legs - they're better tasting IMO) and then buy lots of spices and such, that way you can vary the meals and kids won't know, alternate between rice and pasta and vegetables. Get recipes off the net to vary them.

Things are going to be tough for at least a year or 2, maybe even getting worse first, more people out of work , means more benefits paid by the Governments, Food prices will start to go up after the tax is raised by those working to fund the bailouts and those not working. Taxes raised then hits the food on the shelves. I know things are tough now , but I also suggest buying a portable generator, as fuel prices will go up . ( real situation x stuff here) . Also to keep what you have make sure your home security is the best you can get , people are more likely to be burgled in the times of hardship as the desperate commit crimes to get what they want / need.
Stock up with what you can, instead of always dining out make it a family affair to get meals ready, go for walks in the local countryside, go the local swimming pool instead of paying expensive gym membership (swimming is better for you , it exercises all the muscles ).

Look at ways of cutting back your spending, on a side note, whatever loans or bills you can pay off quicker then do it , even if it means going without a much loved luxury , such as coffee or things like that, as you pay more the longer you have them. I have managed to cut down to loans and 2 crdedit cards by not buying any computer games ( I'm mad for the good ones ) and fizzy drinks and chocs to a point where I know I can get them paid off in a year rather than the 3 they're supposed to take.

But IN NO ACCOUNT think about suicide like has been done in the past by numerous people, thats the cowards way out.

Yep -- People should probably be scared... Everyone I know that has a job, has been told that layoffs are coming. Everyone is kinda eyeing each other in the workplace, wondering who will be let go...first.

This is getting stupid.

And to be honest, it feels really stupid. Obama is promising jobs, as if it is an act of total charity. Come on America, why can we not fend for ourselves like the old days?

In the old days, we used to have gardens and chickens, and food animals and junk. We used to barter.

Why are we not getting rid of all this bank nonsense, and turning to each other instead of the government?

Come on, jobs as an act of charity? This is getting really pathetic.

This is a depression. During the last depression, large families moved in together to help keep the household afloat. Everyone helped with the garden and animals, as well as bartered with neighbors. People stopped having so many god damn kids to support.

I am so disappointed in today's America. The government will kill us all unless we learn how to survive without begging them for those 'jobs'. That is NOT a solution.

Yes, get a weapon and stockpile what you can...but please learn from what generations before us did to get by.

(Sorry, please do not take offense. Rant-End)

reply to post by Alienmojo


I think a depression would knock the sense into those that are senseless, those that don't jump that is, why isn't anyone listening to Donald Trump? he said don't bail the banks out, don't bail the giant corporations out they'll just end up screwing the little man which is us, who else agreed with Trump.... it was that guy that ran for president... Mitt Romney, now if this depression hits due to the idiotic bailouts Donald and Mitt won't be looking stupid after the fact, there actually the only 2 people I've heard on the news aside from Ron Paul that has some sense... great depression... I don't think it'll hit until 2012 or so if it does hit, but it will likely be more like an ultimate depression...

i think people might not want to listen do donald trump because he has declared bankruptcy like 4-5 times not exactly good with the money he gets by on his name and fake hair

reply to post by Alienmojo


Sweetie here is what you need to do....
First get someone to watch the kids for an hour or two.

Second get a drink you REALLY like doesn't matter what it is as long as it makes you feel good.

Third get a piece of paper and sit in the peace and quiet and write down what it is you feel you need to be "safe". It doesn't matter how mundane it may seem "write it down". When you feel you have exhausted all avenues of thought. Sit the paper down and just relax for a bit.

Fourth.. get the paper(s) and go through them and label them in an order of importance to YOU, what you need the most to feel better about all of this. Then add the first 10 or so to a different page and start working on them.

The thing to remember above all else is that you have a wonderful thinking brain and if you let the stress fall off to the way side you are on your way to figuring things out. There are a million and one ways to survive what ever comes down with all this chaos and its up to you to decide which ones pertain to you and your family.

I noticed that food seems to be of such a worry to you, I too have three children and feeding them was at the top of my list. So I built a green house out of pvc pipe and plastic sheeting. I feel so much better about it now and being able to get some " quiet time" when I go and tend to it helps all the more. If you don't have room maybe do container gardening? It's very easy and if the weather is to cold you can just bring them inside and put them under a regular ole lamp! I sprout seeds with a florescent light
I have since gotten the help of my hub and we built one really BIG green house, so I am off to sprout more seeds..
There are so many more things you can do to feel better about all of this chaos and NO they don't involve guns.( The only reason we have any is because we hunt and help out at our friends ranches and well when you are faced with a rabid skunk while bringing in the cows its nice to have a 12 gauge on the atv. )
You just need to clear your head and figure out what "you" need.

reply to post by Alienmojo

The number of Americans without health insurance will exceed 50 million by next summer.

Friday's employment news was just what the country needed to hear before a pre-holiday shopping weekend - a loss of over a half-million jobs in the prior month, driving the unemployment rate up to 6.7%.

That's bad.

It's actually worse than that. Due to the vagaries of Federal statistical collection and reporting, the unemployment rate appears to undercount the unemployed. Here's how the NYTimes' David Leonhardt and Catherine Rampell put it:

The number of people out of the labor force — meaning that they were neither working nor looking for work and that the government did not consider them unemployed [emphasis added] — jumped by 637,000 last month, the Labor Department said. The number of part-time workers who said they wanted full-time work — all counted as fully employed — rose by an additional 621,000."

The number of people working part time also looks to be growing, as the average work week has shrunk to just over 33 hours. (Not mine, I now work 55 hours and get paid for 40).

One of the many unpleasant implications of losing a job is losing health insurance. Sure, there's COBRA, wherein a newly-unemployed can keep insurance for a year and a half to three years if they pay the monthly premium plus an admin fee. To do that, a family will pay about $1100 a month, a huge chunk out of whatever severance and unemployment compensation the breadwinner(s) are due. For those that still have a job, they still have to get enough hours to qualify for health insurance; the declining hours worked per week stats indicate fewer and fewer Americans will meet that test, and therefore will lose their coverage.

Historically, a one percent rise in the unemployment rate adds about 1.1 million individuals to Medicaid and SCHIP rolls, and another million to the ranks of the uninsured.

Since December, the US has lost 1.9 million jobs and the jobless rate has jumped from 5 percent to 6.7 percent, increasing the rolls of the uninsured by 1.7 million. (Not all of those workers had insurance through their employers, and some will end up qualifying for Medicaid and their dependents may qualify for S-CHIP coverage in some states). Adding those unfortunates to the 45.7 million + without coverage in 2007 gives us a total of about 47.4 million.


www.joepaduda.com...

Yet our Senators and Congress leaders (and their wives/husbands) have hefty health care "packages"..............you don't care, you will if you have one medical "issue" and have to sign your house over to pay for a 60,000 surgery.

Why does nobody care that the people who work for us namely our Senators and Congress Leaders get all the free high quality health care. Aren't these jokers suppose to be "public servants" ie: working for us, not vice versa?????

AIG and all the major banks have "folded".............I bet the CEO's of those companies walked off with millions of dollars and are not being prosecuted...........you try walking off with a couple thousand and see how fast in jail you land.

Millions upon millions of Americans with no jobs and no propect of getting a job now.

Yet, we have millions upon millions of "not Americans" that are working within our borders and companies being allowed to "outsource" another fancy term for setting up shop in a foreign country (where labor is cheap and people still live in grass huts and have to carry their daily water supply 3 miles).

Folks, we're in the mess we are in because of the way most people in America voted a little over eight years ago.

Republicans = Corporate (company) rule vs people ruling.

If you don't believe that last statement, just look around you at the financial situation we are in.

We were lied to about the war in Iraq and that is costing us a bundle. All that money on war (now google the companies that have profitted from this war/many are connected with GWB).

The trickle down theory does not work and people still don't care that someone like Beyonce who does nothing more than sing and jiggle is worth is 315 million dollars and yet the person who is really doing the work in America barely makes enough to live on.

People have been brainwashed into being compliant when it comes to all the injustices going on.

I don't personally feel sorry for anyone in a bad financial situation now that voted for George W. Bush.

The guy's campaign was funded by many major corporations (when someone hands you millions of dollars where do you think your allegiance is going to lie). Not with the common man that's where.

We are in the mess we are in now because when corporations are not supervised they get greedy.

My last statement is a proven fact. Look at all the "outsourcing" being allowed.

Outsourcing means your company is allowed to shut down in the city where you live and moves to India or China and hires people there to do the job at half the cost. Now you or your daughter or your son or husband is without a job.

Meanwhile the CEO's and board members make a ton of profit, can buy summer homes in Hawaii and have all the health care and steak they want.

We are in the mess we are in because people voted for a moron president a little over eight years ago.

We are in the mess we are in because actors are allowed to make and accumulate hundreds of millions of dollars for "singing, dancing and playing pretend on a movie screen". How insane is that?

We as a society will pay someone millions of dollars because they "look nice" but the people really doing the work in America barely earn enough to feed their kids.

We have voted in people who have allowed the large corporations to *uck over us royally.

If companies aren't allowed to "outsource" off American shores (taking American jobs away) then these large corporations are allowed to hire foreigners at minimum wage taking more jobs aways from American born citizens who pay taxes.

AIG & major bank bail outs.....................now come on don't tell me the CEO's of these major companies didn't know what was going on.

I do financial statements for large corporations and folks if I am off by a dime .10 I hear about it.

You better believe some of the top "bankers" walked off with billions of dollars and who is going to "bail them out"........the common man that works from 9-5. This is robbery taken to the max and yet the American People aren't taking to the streets and protesting having to bail out these fat cats.

The American People have become lazy and compliant and allowed the large corporations to screw over them.

The trickle down theory is a fairy tale.







[edit on 11-2-2009 by ofhumandescent]

reply to post by xoxo stacie


Good Post! This is all Sound advice. It's hard to Focus if you're Distracted and Stressed Out. I have some of better ideas Relaxing, while enjoying a couple glasses of Wine...good reason for having a Weapon also. If you were to Relocate in a Remote area away from centers of Chaos, Hunting Wild Game would be a valuable source of Protein.

reply to post by Alienmojo


You scared?
So am i, i am S***ing myself because i work in the motor industry that has completely colapsed!
Read this article!
www.weekendpost.co.za...
And i dont even live in the States.
They got such a nice catch phrase for it here in South Africa!
The knock on effect!
Thay make it sound like a F***ing sport!
What about ht emillions of people that are going to lose their Jobs!
THE WORLD IS FALLING APART!
And just like you i dont know what to expect!
Expect the worst and Pray for the best~!
And you need to buy bullets aswell, for the gun~!
Good luck to you all~!

reply to post by Alienmojo


Its funny because people are so conditioned that they will tell you things such as, learn from past generations and make the sacrifices they made etc. The exact same people usually say how did we let this happen when the SHTF as well. While they did make sacrifices and yes they got past obstacles. It was nothing like todays 10.5 trillion dollar debt socitey.

When the bubble bursts, do NOT use a gun, do NOT follow rioting sheeple, do NOT lout stores for food, do NOT be angry and for crying out loud do not do not feel patriotic enough to run around hitting people with a flag.

Walk away, find a safe place away from large parts of society with nature and learn to hunt for yourself. People will say, but everyone runs for the hills, they do not. If everyone did it would take the power from the gov but instead they will feed them more with fighting as usual and say "how did this happen?" as the past will show you constantly.

I cannot stress this enough because panic, fear and rioting is what the PTB want, do not fall for it. Relax in the knowledge that food and water are in abundance outside tarmac filled panic stations. If you heed my advice you will be safe because when the bang happens you have a plan to save yourself, your family and any friends that want to join.

The truth hurts I am afraid.

"Dont build your house on the sandy land"

The shores coming in to wash the cornflakes away, do not be a victim.

Taking part in the "game" is like playing chess without a king, you have lost the game before you have even started. Make your own rules up, they did and have courage to make decisions without them telling you what to do.



[edit on 11-2-2009 by XXXN3O]

Very good points, if I had more time I'd write a long preparedness speech.

Anyways, as is probably obvious, you should opt for a second part-time job, or take the other great advice, start growing your own food. It can save you money and be very relaxing. I like a nice garden carrot myself.

Don't 'stockpile' food just yet, but it is a good idea to set aside some. What I do (with many things in life, including money savings), save some, and when you have more than what is saved, replace it (ie: eat the old food and replace it with freshly bought food - this keeps it more recent and slowly increases the amount).

You dont need a gun yet, if at all, especially since it will just be another expense. Try to conserve and chop off some unnecessary things - yes, beauty products/morning coffees/lottery tickets/going to restaurants are unnecessary.

Last go through all your old possessions and sell everything you dont want/need! I find this relaxing as it opens room, tidies up the place and creates a bit of income.

Originally posted by Alienmojo
I work at a place that does surveys. I have gone from 40 hours a week to 15.

Then aim to replace the shift manager who gets a full 40hrs.

The kids ask why we have chicken everynight. I tell them its because we got it on sale for 79 cents a pound (bought 12 packages). .

Lucky you, everyone here sells whole fryers @$1.39+ ($6-$8 avg)
they have free-range chicken @ $14. each

I sold my car to pay our bills and walk to work now. My friend got a hell of a deal because I sold my $11,000 Jeep Cherokee for $7,000 to my best friend.

that contract might have took the profile of $1,000 down & $1,500 per month for four (4) months..= $7,000 total

** the USA does not have the capability to manufacture arms as it did for the ramp up to WW2... so how is a global conflict a way out of a economic depression.?

mobilization of the population is your underlying point...
Bush tried 'terrorism' as his regimes rally point (backfired)
Gore wants global-warming/cimate change as his mobilization theme
Obama is formulating the mobilization of youth as his theme, yikes

a defensive weapon like a firearm, yes
food storage, yes
boning up on first aid etc, yes
returning to multigenerational living with the extended nuclear family, yes

even if the economic world does not collapse suddenly, all the above would do well for the long & protracted decline alternative




thanks



[edit on 11-2-2009 by St Udio]

We are (almost) all going to have to go through the school of hard knocks and we are just going to have to make do. If you are still holding onto dreams of getting new toys every month and going out to eat every Friday you should probably drop them and focus on real down to Earth needs. The hardest thing for most will be paying for housing because we don't know where we are going to get the money. Next hardest is food. Look at the future as the "do it yourself" future. Grow your own food. Finally spend some time with your cookbooks and learn how to make delicious and nutritious meals. Make toys with your kids. Make art.

It is scary but winter is almost over so prepare for spring and summer and grow food in 5 gallon buckets or bags of soil.

I too am scared but my rational mind knows that is just an emotion. You are alive on a beautiful planet. It could be worse.

This is what all those "crazies" over in The Survival Forum (including myself) have been preparing for for the past couple years. Do some reading over there. The people range from light- to heavy-duty survivalists.

Great post, St Udio.

I would advise you stop being scared and start being smart about preparing for this coming recession. Don't panic. Just put some cash into food. Once this really hits, food is going to be MUCH more valuable to you than money, whether it's in the bank or under your mattress.

Job loss charts:

"Walk on Washington"...Time for Voices to make a Difference Again!
www.abovetopsecret.com...

We all are scared. My husband is lucky lately to pick up maybe one Roofing job a month. And that $400 to $500 doesnt even pay the $654 house payment. So yeah we are getting scared. But luckily, I get an insurance check from my accident I had back about 5 years ago. Which is $600 a month. But that runs in in Jan 2010. So, so much for that being long term.

This month though I happened to get a quick pick me up I sold 3 puppies for $200 each so we got the bills caught up for an extra month. So right now we are all payed up until April.

But the worst part of this whole thing is that if, the Government would look at the real problem they would be able to fix the economy in a hurry. Its the dang imports that are killing us. Look in any store and 90% of the stuff is made in China or Japan or some other country. If the government would put a huge fee on the imports, Then we wouldnt see that happening and we would have more places open here in the Us for folks to be working and more people would have jobs.

But we the US citizens wanted cheap. So I guess we are the ones at fault for buying all that cheap made crap from China.

But think about it, its been happening for years. Mills have been closing for over 30 years now due to us buying the cheaper made imports. If we stopped 50% even of the imports and opened up 50% of the old mills back up, all the folks that were layed off would now have jobs, and the economy would be back to normal in a matter of a year. But, NOOOO. The government cant do that. They cant even see that problem.

I think a big depression like the old one would be good, that would make us realize the truth.

Unfortunately it is hard to reverse what has been taking place probably the last 20, to 25 years, it began even before then though when the manufacturing bases of textiles, steel and livestock/agriculture related industries began dissapearing, it started back when Lee Iaccoca needed a bailout and then the Japanese car companies were able to introduce their industry largescale to the U.S. and when there was the oil/gas crisis in the 70's, there were many failures of the U.S. that were not properly brought back into balance and improperly managed enterprises (financial and other corporate entities like Enron and Worldcom) riddled with greed and corruption were not disbanded sooner or were left to operate despite the damage they may have been causing the U.S. and the economy.

Many people think this problem just cropped up, hell the only reason why the 90's appeared so prosperous is because of the propped up, overvalued dot.com bubble and all of the free venture capital money pumped into the economy, this also in my opinion fueled the Wall Street greed frenzy and helped to create people like Madoff.


Barak Obama and any amount of money is not going to reverse what has been ripped out of the core of the American money making economy long before even the first Bush or even Reagan, when things are left to slowly and quietly erode such as the industries above, it is very difficult to rebuild such niche industries and bring back the American economy, we are spending much more than we produce and that is the hole we are in now, there are really no viable choices except attempt to spend more, because it will take too long to rebuild the core economic engines of the past, you know why? many of those industries are located in other countries and unfortunately the United States operating costs to try and compete against them and win back that niche is almost impossible because it will not be profitable enough to be successful.

All of the jobs being proposed such as parks, green, wind solar and everything else are actually desperate attempts to do something instead of nothing, however, the nature of what is being proposed also appear to be bubble fads like the dotcom movement, unfortunatley this is not the fault of the President in office now, IMHO there is nothing he can do short or long term to turn things around in a solid, long term plan that will grow on it's own even with the dollars that are being thrown at the problem right now.

I must admit, as negative as it sounds, a world war and re-ordering of resources must happen, that includes whoever is victorious re-conquering, redrawing territories and completely rendering helpless the losers that might be resource rich but too weak to defend themselves against being destroyed.


[edit on 11-2-2009 by phinubian]

Originally posted by pmbhuntress
But we the US citizens wanted cheap. So I guess we are the ones at fault for buying all that cheap made crap from China.

I think you are right on, here. And it is a totally false economy... not only does it subvert manufacturing and real jobs here, but if you buy a cheap tool or shirt or shoes, they wear out or break in a short amount of time. So you have to buy another one. By the time a good tool is worn out, you'd have paid for it several times with multiple cheap crap.

I have tools that are 30 years old and more, and they are way better quality than what can be purchased now.

Short-sighted 'cheap'... not good...