Nearly everyone I know is broke, this economy sucks!

Originally posted by Bhadhidar
I guess I could be doing better, but;


I have a degree.

I have no student loan debt due to scholarships and grants that were available when I was in college.

I have a job.

Thanks to (union-backed) seniority, I have very little to worry about when it comes to the possibility of being laid-off.

Thanks to privacy laws, my job can't be "out-sourced" out of the country, or to prison(slave) labor.

My retirement is (currently) guaranteed, and not subject to the whims of the stock market "casino".

In just over a year, thanks to the contract my union negotiated many years ago, my Medical Insurance premiums will be paid for the rest of my life. I will still have to cover the co-pays. (A massive heart attack years ago cost me $25.00 out of pocket, surgery included)

My car isn't new, or too fancy, but it's comfortable and reliable (which is more than I can say for the BMW I traded in when I bought the new car). It's not paid for, but it looks like it will out-last the car loan.

I bought my very first house last January. Got a 3.75% fixed rate, 30 year mortgage.
According to Zillow, my home has appreciated: it's now worth $6,000 more than it was worth when I bought it.

I live 2 miles from my office. Even if gas goes to $8 a gallon, it's still cheaper for me to drive to work than to ride the lite rail (the station for which is 2 blocks from my from door and, which would drop me off right in front of my office), and that's with my employer provided 80% discount on passes.


And then there's my friend, who works for a different firm, on the opposite side of our city: he just got a promotion to a positiont paying over $80,000 per year, and he just received a $9,000 bonus!

The dog!


Yeah, this economy really sucks.

NOT!

-That is fantastic...BUT a Union contract really isnt a guarantee... GM pensioners lost their dental and Optical and my father (US STEEL, formerly great lakes Steel) lost his pension- All of which were agreed upon via contract.

In the case of Great lakes Steel (now US Steel) they merely said they couldn't pay and sold to another Corporation which has now made record profits. My father was supposed to retire 10 or so years ago and wont until next year (although he will get a pension, its 10 years late and for less than promised)

In the case of GM, look up what happened to American Axle- my Wifes mother retired from there and was promised Optical/Dental/medical- When the "bailout" happened one of the agreed cuts was to void and rewrite the contract to exclude dental/optical and gut the medical coverage.

-Private Unions are fantastic and I support them (and you) 100%- Buit they are losing power quickly AND its not the guarantee it once was now that contracts are triple tiered , etc...etc..etc.

Still, good for you brother. Just realize they can change these things on a whim.

Originally posted by Bhadhidar
I guess I could be doing better, but;


I have a degree.

I have no student loan debt due to scholarships and grants that were available when I was in college.

I have a job.

Thanks to (union-backed) seniority, I have very little to worry about when it comes to the possibility of being laid-off.

Thanks to privacy laws, my job can't be "out-sourced" out of the country, or to prison(slave) labor.

My retirement is (currently) guaranteed, and not subject to the whims of the stock market "casino".

In just over a year, thanks to the contract my union negotiated many years ago, my Medical Insurance premiums will be paid for the rest of my life. I will still have to cover the co-pays. (A massive heart attack years ago cost me $25.00 out of pocket, surgery included)

My car isn't new, or too fancy, but it's comfortable and reliable (which is more than I can say for the BMW I traded in when I bought the new car). It's not paid for, but it looks like it will out-last the car loan.

I bought my very first house last January. Got a 3.75% fixed rate, 30 year mortgage.
According to Zillow, my home has appreciated: it's now worth $6,000 more than it was worth when I bought it.

I live 2 miles from my office. Even if gas goes to $8 a gallon, it's still cheaper for me to drive to work than to ride the lite rail (the station for which is 2 blocks from my from door and, which would drop me off right in front of my office), and that's with my employer provided 80% discount on passes.


And then there's my friend, who works for a different firm, on the opposite side of our city: he just got a promotion to a positiont paying over $80,000 per year, and he just received a $9,000 bonus!

The dog!


Yeah, this economy really sucks.

NOT!

It just hasn't gotten to you yet.

There are still many with good jobs and there are good areas.

I live in one.

Many here have jobs still and there are jobs but a lot of competition that was not there 2 years ago.

I am not so arrogant or in denial

I am a watcher and can honestly say

It will hit everyone in due time.

These are the end of days

so, the sh** it going to hit eventually

The global financial crisis is starting.

Do you watch news ?

If you don't see it then this is your fault.

Greece has crashed, spain is on its way...

Wait until mass suicides start up. No, not this rise of suicides, but hundreds a day. Wait. That's already happening. Let's go with thousands! Thousands of people killing themselves every day because the world they live in is a hopeless grind where few win, some break even, but most lose.

That'll change everyone's perspective! The MSM can wake us up to the terrors of having "unfounded" feelings of hopelessness in a country just ripe and easy to make it in.

Wait...no, it almost definitely won't. And things will get worse. And they'll keep telling us they are making steps to improve. And these steps are helping. And that we can be the prosperous nation we were, and are meant to be again.

The fall of Rome...

Originally posted by ArtisticOne
20 years ago
this was predicted due to companies putting up business overseas and allowing illegals to take jobs

The illegals "taking jobs" are a tiny fraction compared to BIG corporates outsourcing and manufacturing in 3rld world countries. Don't blame Jose or Andrejo coming across the border while Intel, HP, Microsoft and many other are busy in China and Sri Lanka slaving people. CHEEZUS people, get a grip.

You are aware that some people might very well have an agenda you blame little Jose coming from Tijuana for the economy? The elite laughs while you blame the illegals...as long as as you buy your LEVIs at walmart, made in Swasiland for $0.20/hr.

My brother-in-law who is a top financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, specializing in wealth management, which is to say that his clients must have a minimum of $5 million to invest, is doing better financially than ever before. He and my sister take at least three luxury vacations per year, in fact are at an exclusive ski resort right now. He just bought an extra sports car for himself to go with his other expensive sports car. My sister drives a luxury SUV, they have huge house, just put in a lovely swimming pool and hot tub, their children go to private school, etc.

I guess my point is, the top percent such as him are doing better than ever financially while most everyone else I know, including myself, are struggling. Just buying groceries is getting ridiculously expensive. I think the toughest aspect of this is that I don't feel like it is going to get better. In the past, I always had some hope that things would get better but now, I just don't see it happening and that is sad. Everything, not just finances, seems to be going to hell.

Originally posted by littlewing
My brother-in-law who is a top financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, specializing in wealth management, which is to say that his clients must have a minimum of $5 million to invest, is doing better financially than ever before. He and my sister take at least three luxury vacations per year, in fact are at an exclusive ski resort right now. He just bought an extra sports car for himself to go with his other expensive sports car. My sister drives a luxury SUV, they have huge house, just put in a lovely swimming pool and hot tub, their children go to private school, etc.

I guess my point is, the top percent such as him are doing better than ever financially while most everyone else I know, including myself, are struggling. Just buying groceries is getting ridiculously expensive. I think the toughest aspect of this is that I don't feel like it is going to get better. In the past, I always had some hope that things would get better but now, I just don't see it happening and that is sad. Everything, not just finances, seems to be going to hell.

It

hasn't hit them yet.

The global financial crisis hasn't hit yet

just some countries

but when it engulfs the entire world

these people will have many troubles.

Originally posted by flexy123

Originally posted by ArtisticOne
20 years ago
this was predicted due to companies putting up business overseas and allowing illegals to take jobs

The illegals "taking jobs" are a tiny fraction compared to BIG corporates outsourcing and manufacturing in 3rld world countries. Don't blame Jose or Andrejo coming across the border while Intel, HP, Microsoft and many other are busy in China and Sri Lanka slaving people. CHEEZUS people, get a grip.

You are aware that some people might very well have an agenda you blame little Jose coming from Tijuana for the economy? The elite laughs while you blame the illegals...as long as as you buy your LEVIs at walmart, made in Swasiland for $0.20/hr.

edit on 2-3-2013 by flexy123 because: (no reason given)

Totally agree... But its all about "bait and switch" tactics.
Plus the Corporations are the ones hiring the illegals, getting a small fine (cost of doing buisness) and continuing on... hell, look at the new Honeygate. A Corporation in M ichigan (the biggest Honey maker apparently) has been importing their Honey from China, stamping made In USA on the packge and made 289 MILLION (its probably higher) and were caught and fined 2 Million. The Town they are in (Onsted) is decimated and there are NO JOBS... So not only did they essentially break the law, they chose to just not hire people to actually make the Honey here and were fined about 1% of the profits... Now, factor in how many people are getting food stamps in Onsted (which I have no clue about) and they would/could have been working and not taking tax money and this whole thing gets HUGE as to what it has cost our nation. www.foodsafetynews.com...-w

EDIT: here is another link www.michiganradio.org... also it was 180 million (I said 290 Million)- But still...Nice profit and of coarse nobody is going to jail...But steal a sandwich from Wal-mart because you are hungry...


Federal officials say the Chinese honey was declared as other commodities and shipped through third countries. The defendants in the investigation dubbed "Project Honeygate" are accused of evading anti-dumping duties totaling more than $180 million.

Groeb Farms has agreed to pay a $2 million fine.

“We take full responsibility for and deeply regret any errors that were made in the past regarding the import of honey,” said Groeb Farms CEO Rolf Richter in a written statement.

Some of the honey contained antibiotics not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in honey. None of the charges allege any instances of illness or other public health consequences attributed to consumption of the honey.

The investigation is continuing.

LOL- As long as he is "sorry" I guess...

It

hasn't hit them yet.

The global financial crisis hasn't hit yet

just some countries

but when it engulfs the entire world

these people will have many troubles.

The financial economy is artifical. Its electronic paper money.
Because its artifical it can be manipulated by whoever controls the worlds money system.
There will never be a world doomsday scenario finanical depression. If it did happen it could only be achieved through deliberate actions taking by controllers of the money system to make that happen. The present state of the world money system isnt sick, its exactly in the condition of state the money controllers want it in. Its obvious whats going on and thats to make each country in world one by one ask for a bail out package from world bank. This may take a long time but this all lines up with making world changes to move to a one world government.
If your a US citizen or one of its western allies you should be happy because the one world government will be formed around US.

Originally posted by AthlonSavage

It

hasn't hit them yet.

The global financial crisis hasn't hit yet

just some countries

but when it engulfs the entire world

these people will have many troubles.

The financial economy is artifical. Its electronic paper money.
Because its artifical it can be manipulated by whoever controls the worlds money system.
There will never be a world doomsday scenario finanical depression. If it did happen it could only be achieved through deliberate actions taking by controllers of the money system to make that happen. The present state of the world money system isnt sick, its exactly in the condition of state the money controllers want it in. Its obvious whats going on and thats to make each country in world one by one ask for a bail out package from world bank. This may take a long time but this all lines up with making world changes to move to a one world government.
If your a US citizen or one of its western allies you should be happy because the one world government will be formed around US.

edit on 2-3-2013 by AthlonSavage because: (no reason given)

I believe the Bible is truth.

It hasn't failed yet and its prophecies are on the mark.. correct.

The Bible tells of a time when the world will crash and the rich man of the world can do nothing to prevent it...

I would say this was true in the past that it could be prevented

but there will come a time when all hell breaks loose and there will be nothing anyone can do to prevent it.

OR

the anti christ WANTS the world marked with his mark so all the world shows they follow him

and HE allows it to crash

just so he can take control.

Read the Bible

and or go talk with a good pastor who is up on the Revelation of John

it will give you a greater understanding into what is going to take place

Originally posted by ArtisticOne

I believe the Bible is truth.

but there will come a time when all hell breaks loose and there will be nothing anyone can do to prevent it.

Yep...Bible, the "Soap Opera" for the masses. So they believe the rich will ultimately all punished and the world will ultimately come to an end and peace, chocolate and candy canes will rain down. Gets the sheeple "under control" so they can endure the hardships and injustices of life better.

Originally posted by flexy123

Originally posted by ArtisticOne

I believe the Bible is truth.

but there will come a time when all hell breaks loose and there will be nothing anyone can do to prevent it.

Yep...Bible, the "Soap Opera" for the masses. So they believe the rich will ultimately all punished and the world will ultimately come to an end and peace, chocolate and candy canes will rain down. Gets the sheeple "under control" so they can endure the hardships and injustices of life better.

Chocolate and candy canes you say?

Hmmm, you might just make me a true believer yet. =)

reply to post by wantsome

Do you have a family??? Are you on welfare???

reply to post by ArtisticOne

The global financial crisis hasn't hit yet just some countries

I have to disagree with you on that.

Originally posted by Echtelion

Why the hell you need a huge reserve of ammo for? Hunting? Really... you need to hunt for a living? Can do that with a bow and arrows.

yeah you can do that with a bow and arrows. but i don't think you have purchased either a bow or arrows recently . bows CAN be cheaper than a gun (for a cheap piece of garbage), ARROWS on the other hand are EXPENSIVE, dare i say GUN AMMO is CHEAPER. the cheapest "target" arrow i found back home was $5/each (rather cheap garbage and not able to use or adapt for hunting). others are normal $10-$15/ EACH ARROW, sure you can SOMETIMES reuse them for awhile, but they get lost, and break especially when a beginner. some arrows even break down over time making them dangerous to use. then there is the skill needed to bow hunt. i believe hunting with a gun is far easier in many ways especially for people who are not practicing all the time.

Do you know there's people who can't eat once a day, elsewhere on the planet? The average American still eats 2-3 times a day, and HUGE meals full of excess calories and proteins.

you got that right i am currently in one of those places. the difference i have noticed is that unlike back in North America companies seem to hire as many people as they can, instead of CUTTING STAFF at every opertunity. take your local store like wal-mart for example. they are constantly cutting staff working with less to "save" money, which gives the company more profit. i know the store i went to in the last couple years it seemed that you either had a FEW people helping customers and few checkouts open with long lines, OR almost NO sales help because they were all working cash registers.

now where i am currently (interesting that it is a "poor" country unlike in North America), you walk into a similar type store and you see sales staff EVERYWHERE. it can actually get annoying with all the "good morning" greetings as you walk through, as every FEW FEET there seems to be yet another sales person greeting you. want to buy a bed sheet and there are SIX (or more) PEOPLE right there to help you. have a large item? no need to ask for a carry out they AUTOMATICALLY have people do that for you. there are HUNDREDS of sales staff in these stores at any time. at the checkouts there are not only cashiers but someone to bag your item. have a lot of stuff and you will have multiple people bagging. same with grocery stores. more staff than i HAVE EVER SEEN back home in North america. a secondary benefit with having so much staff is that employees are a LOT happier. first off they have people right there they can chat with while working, not to mention a LOT LESS WORK when many hands are helping out. i have yet to find a "self serve" gas station, and you normally end up with one guy pumping gas while yet ANOTHER guy is doing your windows.

there are security guards EVERYWHERE. parking lots are FULL of security guards, roaming around looking for problems. they open doors for you (i have even seen them washing doors and windows). they help you get out of small parking lots stopping traffic and backing you out. if it looks like you have problems parking they will even guide you into the parking spot stopping you from hitting other cars see the thing is a SECURITY GUARD is yet ONE MORE JOB to be GIVEN OUT.

so while there are still many people without jobs at least companies here do their best to PROVIDE more JOBS. can you imagine the same thing in the US and Canada? companies instead of working towards more and more profit that they instead provide more jobs instead of cutting jobs like they do now. that would mean more people with jobs, happier employees, less stress for people currently overworked, less stress on healthcare from all the ills work stress and overwork cause. it would also mean MORE MONEY working it's way around as more people have money they can spend thus improving the economy.

Become a pirate!

www.youtube.com...

When are people going to WAKE UP to the Fact all this is planned and there will be NO recovery ,go and read Agenda 21 ,or 10 goals of the Illuminati etc ,the PTB are dismantling the ''old system ''or order, to be replaced by the NEW Socialist World Order .They decided long ago the Middle Class is unsustainable ,that the Middle class have too many Rights ,especially gun ownership which they hate ! the masses have no right to make any decisions for themselves, and have to be told by Higher, self appointed intellectuals how to live, and what they can or cannot do, or possess,where they can or cant travel to.Most if not all Polticians are a part of it ,and just keep parroting off ''things will get better blah blah blah '' when they know full well it wont .The masses will be manouvered into a situation when things get so bad, they will Demand action from the PTB, which is just what they want .to set up their New World Order .After the Dunblane massacre in the UK that got handguns banned. a Politican said to a reporter to one side ,''Banning handguns had nothing to do with the massacre ,by 2015 there will be No jobs ,no social security ,people will be rioting in the streets, and the last thing we want people to have is guns '' Wake UP !!!!!!!!!!!!

The solution to the economic crisis is and always has been a tax system that rewards the people who work and punishes the people who make debts. To better your country you must abolish income tax and the IRS!

Why not educate yourself and others about a fair tax system? Two random links:
www.ronpaul.com...
www.devvy.com...

And then start a new political party or support an existing 3rd one. The compulsive focus on a 2 party system is extremely narrow-minded of the US citizens. This does not have much to do with a working democratic system. Compare this to Switzerland, count the number of political parties and look at the percentage numbers. This can be done in your country, too!

Political parties of Switzerland

Regarding education: Use the fantastic opportunities to study for free on the Internet, see this thread.

Yet no one admits personal responsibility...... Does anyone get it???? It's all too easy to blame the government when we ourselves are in violation.

Originally posted by camaro68ss
Nearly everyone I know is broke

That´s why YOU are broke TOO!

Your income is generally the average income of your 5 best friends:

vanityandinsanity.wordpress.com...

Nearly everyone I know is broke, this economy sucks!,

Life sucks .. then you die.
And then the afterlife probably sucks as well.
"Life is cruel, why should the afterlife be any different" - Pirates II

America peaked in the 1980s ... and it's been downhill ever since.
The scary thing - we haven't hit bottom yet. It's still coming ...

Originally posted by XxkingofosirisxX2014

20 years ago
this was predicted due to companies putting up business overseas and allowing illegals to take jobs

NOW the # has hit the fan

and the effects are fully coming out.

This is partially the people of this nations fault.
You people were warned years ago that companies were going overseas

but no one did a damn thing about it and allowed it to happen.

You continued to watch your sports , and bad tv programming while you could have been working with you local
and national leaders to stop the jobs from going overseas

Your generation has to take some blame for doing nothing.

Just like is a repeat today.

Unfortunately for me I was only 2 when this was going on. I petition and speak out to my local whomever about things believed needed to be done, but I'm afraid not as many of my age group are as intelligent or informed to be able to do so, or just follow in their parents footsteps and become the sheep they are and pay no attention to the matters at hand

And 20 years ago I was a drug addict still. I didn't care then as I did a year later once I was free of the addiction.

But when Clinton signed that first 20 year trade deal with china even then I knew it would not be good for American jobs especially with the EPA tightening control via Congressional mandates and Special interest groups pulling strings.

but forgetting what lies behind we must act for today even if it means to do it day by day.