are y'all better off than you were 4 years ago ?

[jbirds2012]

well i am, but that's only because i met DH. i am 52 and DH is 68 we are living on his pension and social security. were not rich, but we get by.( barely ) i used to have my own 40 acre ranch ( that got foreclosed on a year ago ) i am no slacker, i started working when i was 12, 13 legally by a few weeks in 1973 as a dishwasher for $ 1.64 per hr, had two girls that i raised pretty much on my own. worked all my life, saved when i could, tighten my belt when i had to. i had been an electrician and carpenter by trade ( yay !!! me !!!, a woman in a male dominated field ) in 06 i got layed off. in 07 i got my contractors license ( yay !!! me !!! in a male dominated field ) I am a licensed electrical, building and solar contractor in the state of California. license # 892735 so i cruised thrue 07, slowed down in 08 and by mid 09 i found myself working for someone else again. and layed off. i tightened my belt, hunkered down, frantically looked for work to no avail, i couldn't get arrested ( well actually i did manage that, conveniently when i was getting foreclosed on i took it to court and was found "NOT GUILTY" !!! BOO RAH !!! ) that's what I've been paying your wages for all these years for ? to protect me ??? I spent the last of my savings to pay the mortgage, just to watch it get all taken away from me. yea, well the last 4 years ain't been all that great for me. what about y'all ?

edited by staff

 

[CluckyCharms]

My two cents: They're both in the wrong career field. It's a shame, because they could have taken the stand-up comedy world by storm.

In regard to the last 4 years...it's about the same as the previous 4, the 4 prior to that, and so on and so forth (for us anyway). I can't complain I guess; there's always someone out there worse off than we are.

 

[jbirds2012]

yea, what cha'll do for a livin ? im sure i've been do it all wrong ?

 

[CluckyCharms]

You're not doing it wrong.

Life isn't easy...ours isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination. If we have nothing and we're barely getting by, we're thankful that we are alive to experience having nothing. If times are good and we are able to eat better than mac-n-cheese we are thankful for that too. A lot of people tell me that I live in my own little "rainbows and sunshine" world, and I guess I probably do...but I choose to be thankful and happy for whatever life throws at me, whether it be good or bad. Being bitter and angry are just things I refuse to be for any longer than 10 minutes at a time (doing that eats you up inside, and if there is any eating to be going on, I want to be eating something tasty..not something eating me instead).
I just like to be happy, and if that means eating stale macaroni and cheese with a great big smile on my face, or pushing the car up the road while smiling because the blasted thing broke down again - so be it. I wonder if they will find a way for chickens to power vehicles (manure anyone?)

I'm sorry the last 4 years have been difficult for you, and I sincerely pray that the next 4 will find you well and with abundant blessings, truly. =')

 

[chickened]

I am better off than I was 2 months ago.

 

[Baymule]

Gas has doubled in price in the last 4 years. Food prices are on a rocket to the outer universe. Millions of people are out of work and can't find jobs. College graduates are deep in debt and unemployed. This country, my home, your home, this country that belongs to all of us, is so far in debt because the present admisistration thinks money is free and should be given to those who don't work for it.

Our home, thankfully is paid for. Our income is flatlined and prices for everything go up. We can afford less and less. If I didn't garden and have chickens, we couldn't afford the level of food we now enjoy. Utilities have gone up. Air conditioning may be a luxury for some, but when temps reach over 120 degrees right out my front door, (never mind the "official" temperature) then staying cool indoors is worth paying for. But just how long can we keep paying for it?

I am angry that our economy is in the crapper. Borrowing from China so we can give billions to Middle Eastern countries that hate us and want to blow us off the map makes sense to WHOM????? Certainly not me or anybody else in this country that is struggling to put gas in the tank so they can make it back and forth to work, or watching helplessly as the grocery bill gets bigger and bigger and the pile of food gets smaller and smaller.

Am I better off than I was 4 years ago? Not hardly. I do count my blessings that we have a roof over our heads, food to eat and clothes to wear. Tax the rich!! Yeah, that'll cure all our problems, until people realize the rich becomes anybody with a job. Wake up people.

















t
h

 

[cupman]

I would say most everyone is better off now than they were four years ago, despite a political campaign to try and convince us otherwise. Unemployment just dropped to 7.8%, we aren't losing 800,000 jobs every month(instead we are growing), Dow Jones is at a 5 year high, NASDAQ is at a 10-year high, Iraq has about come to an end, the auto industry is saved, housing market is finally turning around. I don't really get how people can say they aren't better off now. I think they are just falling victim to false rhetoric. Oil is a global commodity, it would be nice if we could directly control it and drop prices to a quarter/gallon but I won't hold my breath. I think the current state of government assistance was inevitable irregardless of who won in 2008... I mean geez, 800,000 jobs lost monthly? It shouldn't come as a surprise that more people would start looking for assistance.

 

[galanie]

I'm not. My income is fixed and hasn't gone up. Four years ago I was doing OK but now I am seriously having to scrimp and pinch pennies to get by. My biggest problem right now is the way that dental work has skyrocketed. And if you have insurance, do you really know how much those doctors are charging for a visit? Compare to 10 years ago. OUCH!!!!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Pulled my teeth, they cost to much money. A blinder, hamburger an hotdogs are cheaper...

Inflation along with the lie that inflation is low so no one is getting cost of living raises, that is killing everyone on a fixed income.

 

[caspernc]

I would say most everyone is better off now than they were four years ago, despite a political campaign to try and convince us otherwise. Unemployment just dropped to 7.8%, we aren't losing 800,000 jobs every month(instead we are growing), Dow Jones is at a 5 year high, NASDAQ is at a 10-year high, Iraq has about come to an end, the auto industry is saved, housing market is finally turning around. I don't really get how people can say they aren't better off now. I think they are just falling victim to false rhetoric. Oil is a global commodity, it would be nice if we could directly control it and drop prices to a quarter/gallon but I won't hold my breath. I think the current state of government assistance was inevitable irregardless of who won in 2008... I mean geez, 800,000 jobs lost monthly? It shouldn't come as a surprise that more people would start looking for assistance.

I wish I had your rose colored glasses with smell-a-vision! It really STINKS in this house hold and I don't need anyone telling me it dosen't! We are fighting to keep the boat floating and are not getting any gov. assistance, thank you very much..