Are we dooming ourselves?

[BadWolf]

Originally Posted by Greg B

For the rest of the country and for webmasters who have to rely on other people providing content, my dearest sympathies.

Oh, please.

I'm getting married this Sunday. We're both taking a week off work and driving (yes, driving) up to to Tennessee where we have rented a cabin atop a mountain for our honeymoon.

We can afford this because we live simply and don't waste money.

If people will stop panicking and think clearly and most importantly save their money and stop buying toys they don't need they'll be fine.

[rvince]

Funny how this "The middle class is going to disapear, the poor will be poorer and the rich, richer!" thing comes back all the time...
40 years ago "poor" people had no car, no TV, no dishwasher. Now they have that + mobile phone + certainly a few things I've forgotten.
The level of life of the "lower class" _IS_ improving when looked on a long timescale... (at least in Europe/North America)

[tigermom]

Originally Posted by BadWolf

I'm getting married this Sunday. We're both taking a week off work and driving (yes, driving) up to to Tennessee where we have rented a cabin atop a mountain for our honeymoon.

Congratulations!!!!! Hope you have a fabulous wedding and a wonderful romantic honeymoon!

[Sven800]

I wonder how some of the people that had to drop out of high school are managing (not the dumb shits dropping out because they are lazy, but those that have a valid reason).

Working 40 hours/week at above minimum wage (lets say $10/hour, that very generous) they make $400/week, $1600/month. Thats about $1250 after taxes, social security, Medicare, etc.

I'm not seeing how they are making it. Driving is a must, as there is no public transport worth speaking of in most American cities (there is a bus that runs by my place of work, but the last bus back home leaves at 3pm - I work until 5pm - wtf?). Gas will run about $35/week, even if they live reasonably close.

Then you have rent, power, water (Lets say $710/month)

So $400 left.

Not to mention you haven't bought food for the month yet.
Or paid for Car/Renters Insurance.
And forget about health insurance ($180/month right out of college - and I have a squeaky clean medical history - no problems of any kind).

Most people need a phone (cell or otherwise) and like to have TV service...

And if something goes wrong, they have to pay a lot more at the hospital because they are not insured.

You get my point...

(and if gas goes up even more, driving up food prices, because everything is trucked in, people will be really screwed).

(Of course then there are those that dropped out of school because they got pregnant, were lazy, etc. I don't feel that bad for them because they are partially responsible themselves, but at the same time they are in the same situation...)

Anyways, just my $0.05

[thebes]

Originally Posted by Sven800

I wonder how some of the people that had to drop out of high school are managing (not the dumb shits dropping out because they are lazy, but those that have a valid reason).

I worry about this a lot. Locally 45%+ of high school students do not graduate. Looks like more gang-bangers, more crime, more unemployment and welfare, more pot growing more police state. I guess some of them can go off to be poisoned / blown up / disabled in the military on another adventure for the US far far from home.

[Sven800]

Originally Posted by thebes

I worry about this a lot. Locally 45%+ of high school students do not graduate. Looks like more gang-bangers, more crime, more unemployment and welfare, more pot growing more police state. I guess some of them can go off to be poisoned / blown up / disabled in the military on another adventure for the US far far from home.

Well, most of these would be the dumb shits I am referring to - I worry about them too, but mainly for the reasons you cited, and not because I feel sorry for them.

[BadWolf]

Originally Posted by tigermom

Congratulations!!!!! Hope you have a fabulous wedding and a wonderful romantic honeymoon!

Thanks, Tigermom. We plan to do a lot of

Also just relaxing, which has been in short supply lately.

[thebes]

Originally Posted by Sven800

Well, most of these would be the dumb shits I am referring to - I worry about them too, but mainly for the reasons you cited, and not because I feel sorry for them.

I feel less sorry for them than I do about the massive waste of tax dollars going into the school system. I mean, shit, what a pathetic return on the community's investment, barely half of the kids graduate and having spoken to some who do they are dumber than rocks anyway. I hear things from high school graduates like, "Abraham Lincoln was the first president of the United States because he freed all the slaves."

So glad I am not having kids. I'd have to home school them and I just don't have that sort of time.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Sven800

I wonder how some of the people that had to drop out of high school are managing (not the dumb shits dropping out because they are lazy, but those that have a valid reason).

Working 40 hours/week at above minimum wage (lets say $10/hour, that very generous) they make $400/week, $1600/month. Thats about $1250 after taxes, social security, Medicare, etc.

I'm not seeing how they are making it. Driving is a must, as there is no public transport worth speaking of in most American cities (there is a bus that runs by my place of work, but the last bus back home leaves at 3pm - I work until 5pm - wtf?). Gas will run about $35/week, even if they live reasonably close.

Then you have rent, power, water (Lets say $710/month)

So $400 left.

Not to mention you haven't bought food for the month yet.
Or paid for Car/Renters Insurance.
And forget about health insurance ($180/month right out of college - and I have a squeaky clean medical history - no problems of any kind).

Most people need a phone (cell or otherwise) and like to have TV service...

And if something goes wrong, they have to pay a lot more at the hospital because they are not insured.

You get my point...

(and if gas goes up even more, driving up food prices, because everything is trucked in, people will be really screwed).

(Of course then there are those that dropped out of school because they got pregnant, were lazy, etc. I don't feel that bad for them because they are partially responsible themselves, but at the same time they are in the same situation...)

Anyways, just my $0.05

Sven you sure know what you're talking about. The bottom line is things are set up this way to get us the citizen in debt and under the leash as early and for as long as possible. Guys outta college are already tens of thousands of bucks in debt. Try finding a job. They get married and have a kid and get a house and theyr'e already half a million in Dutch and then some. Since working for a corporation or company for one's lifetime is no longer the norm the average person is now on a 'maybe' basis for the rest of their lives and they never get to own anything since it's owned by a bank or company and then they're there maintaining things for the day they go into default and the business guys buy up their properties on the downlow and resell it high.

It's a fine tuned business fucking people over and unfortunately there are far too many obliging members of society that engage and support such behavior. That's why I say get yours before yours is gotten.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by thebes

I feel less sorry for them than I do about the massive waste of tax dollars going into the school system. I mean, shit, what a pathetic return on the community's investment, barely half of the kids graduate and having spoken to some who do they are dumber than rocks anyway. I hear things from high school graduates like, "Abraham Lincoln was the first president of the United States because he freed all the slaves."

So glad I am not having kids. I'd have to home school them and I just don't have that sort of time.

Right on. But don't forget the people who've graduated from college who are dumber than a bag of wet socks. They usually become politicians.

Anyhow, the dumber the kids the more people you have to make porn, booze it up, take drugs, be obedient.

It's time to think about who's side we're on.

[pimp3611]

Go spend your stimulus checks and everything will be ok lol