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

[Chickerdoodle13]

I would say yes, for now anyways. One good thing that has happened is the age to be covered under parents' insurance policies was raised to 26. I have a full time job now that gives insurance, but it is not nearly as good as the one my dad has. I am a juvenile diabetic, so medical supplies are SUPER costly. I have about another 2 1/2 years on his insurance, which is somewhat of a relief, since I am currently in the process of applying to vet schools.

I was very lucky to get a job right out of college, though it is not one I will be staying in long term. Right now it pays the bills though with some left over to save in the bank. Should I not get accepted to vet school this round, I will hopefully be searching out a new job relating to animals so I can gain more experience to hopefully get into vet school the following year.

 

[jbirds2012]

Everyone always blames the politicians. The mules blame the pachyderms, and vice-versa. I don't like politicians, but I don't think they're the cause of all the problems we are having now either. I blame the REAL power, the money that got them there in the first place! That's who they actually serve, not us.

Consider:

The foreclosure mess, it's tragic. It was caused, mostly, by unbridled, greedy, predatory lending by a bunch of unscrupulous banks and mortgage companies that took advantage of over-inflated house estimates during a housing bubble that they knew would burst, without care or concern for the borrower. They weren't politicians, they were thieves.

The banking fiasco. When they were de-regulated, big banks began buying up all the small, independent banks. Then they could charge any crazy, exorbitant fee, surcharge, rate they wanted to, even a fee to close your account! They keep on sticking it to even the smallest depositor while their CEOs get multi-million dollar bonuses each year. They even get multi-million dollar 'golden parachute' payouts when the bank goes insolvent and all the little employees lose their jobs!

The credit card industry. Now there is a choice bunch! They would take a person who had perfect credit, perfect payment history, and a low rate, and suddenly institute the '20 day billing cycle'. This little beauty was designed to ensure that your payment would be late BEFORE YOU GOT YOUR BILL! This way, they could charge you an outrageous "missed payment fee", a "late fee" and bump your single digit rate to 36%. You then had to make sure that you paid each payment within 20 days in order to avoid those added fees! Of course the bills came every 32, 33, 34 days or so. Best of all, If you disagreed with any of this you have the option of paying your entire bill (plus all those fees) immediately. They weren't politicians, they were vampires.

The medical industry. Thanks to the legal industry you can't afford to get medical help without insurance. And thanks to greed in the insurance industry, many people can't afford insurance. So people who just can't afford insurance take their chances, and when they need health care, often just go to the local E.R. When they can't pay, the hospital has to pass the loss on as higher rates, which get billed to those that DO have insurance, those insurance companies pay more out and need more profit so they raise their rate, and so on, and so on, and so on.... Obamacare may be seriously flawed, but at least it is an attempt to fix this situation.

Pharmaceutical industry. Why should people have to die because they can't afford their medicines? I know, I know, there are programs... but the difficulty of jumping through all the hoops is too much for some of the elderly or seriously ill people. I know, I've seen it, I've tried to help. Some of the drug co-pays are just too much for some people and they would rather not take them than starve. That is a shame!

Speaking of feed for livestock, yes, it's expensive! With corn being genetically modified by Monsanto to produce more starch than protein so that it's better for ethanol production, and kills its own bugs, and resists Roundup, it just HAS to cost more! And soybeans too! Oh, let's not forget that drought thingy! Around my neighborhood you can say "drought" and that lets you charge (currently) $15 a bale for hay that a year ago last spring was $3 a bale. Of course if the drought ended today, please don't expect them to lower their prices to 'pre-drought levels'. That would just be un-American! So there goes your price of meat.

And how about Walmart. They come into small to medium sized towns and drive all the locally owned stores out of business! Sure, they hire some folks, at minimum wage, with no or few benefits. And what do they sell? Junk made overseas. Look at the labels! China,Taiwan, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam. That's where your hard earned American money is going, folks! Even the food products, just check the labels.

Internet sales. You can't hardly FIND a book or music store anymore! Internet stores have put all of them out of business. Barnes and Noble is the last of the chain stores and they can hear the clock ticking. Why? Internet stores don't need employees. There's one of your sources of unemployment right there. Amazon can supply almost anything to anyone , anywhere in the country with a few employees in a building in Seattle. Much of it is drop-shipped, sometimes from overseas. Again, your money goes out of the country, jobs lost, what a pity.

Perhaps in the 50s or 60s the idea of a "trickle down economy" might have worked. Today you'd be kidding yourself to believe in it. All the big corporations, for that matter wealthy individuals, keep the bulk of their assets tax-sheltered in overseas accounts. We couldn't tax them if we tried! So there goes that source of funding for schools, health programs, roads, elderly. Oh, and that 'trickle down' effect that everyone is waiting for is trickling down in Bangladesh, India, and wherever else these fat cats are farming their labor out to in order to get it cheaper! Yup, another cause of unemployment and another funnel of our money going out of the country.

They aren't politicians. They want you to look at the politicians. They own them.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, ..." -Wizard of Oz

"Be afraid,...be VERY afraid!" -Newt

preach on it's about time someone starts talkin about the truth of the matter

 

[thaiturkey]

preach on it's about time someone starts talkin about the truth of the matter

Quite so!

 

[DianaMallory]

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. =')

Well I wonder what the last 4 years would have been like if you were in a depression? I would have to say compared to the way things were 4 years ago, and where they were headed I would have to say no it hasn't been easy but it could have been worse!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

No. Not better off than 4 years ago.

Of the four people in my household, three were laid off. One was laid off twice. I was laid off from a job I held about 25 years. This came 6 months before my youngest was to graduate from high school. Lousy timing.

I managed to find part-time work with half the hours and half the hourly pay so I was bringing in about 1/4 of what I was previously. Husband got part-time but it was so very part time that it might as well have been nothing at all. After a year he finally got another job with better hours but it's a temp job. Son found part time work for several months and finally got full time about a month ago.

I now work weekends and nights and I'm no spring chicken, the wacky hours really impacts my sleep. Guess I should just be glad I have a job. This isn't what I worked for or what I was expecting from my later years, for sure.

 

[DianaMallory]

jbirds2012, Why do you think you think the oil prices are rising? What does Newt have to say about that? I have my own theories. It is because we bought the least amount of foreign oil this past year than ever. And the Oil companies don't want us to find another source of fuel! So right before the election the oil prices sore! I am all for green energy! And president Obama is brave enough to put the funding out there to try to make the change! I say it is time to tell these big shot oil companies to stop taking the oil out of the ground and spilling in our water ways! Stop killing our men in the coal mines! It is time for change! I love the story I read about a man who built a car that runs off solar panels! No it wasn't pretty but he said he would have a pretty good laugh everytime he drove by a gas station watching everyone pouring their money into their gas tanks! And yes with change their will be new jobs created and old jobs lost! So my vote is for the man with a plan! And gives you the details of it! And doesn't want to put big Bird out of work~!
!

 

[DianaMallory]

No. Not better off than 4 years ago.

Of the four people in my household, three were laid off. One was laid off twice. I was laid off from a job I held about 25 years. This came 6 months before my youngest was to graduate from high school. Lousy timing.

I managed to find part-time work with half the hours and half the hourly pay so I was bringing in about 1/4 of what I was previously. Husband got part-time but it was so very part time that it might as well have been nothing at all. After a year he finally got another job with better hours but it's a temp job. Son found part time work for several months and finally got full time about a month ago.

I now work weekends and nights and I'm no spring chicken, the wacky hours really impacts my sleep. Guess I should just be glad I have a job. This isn't what I worked for or what I was expecting from my later years, for sure.

Like I said could have been worse! We could have been in a depression! With no jobs, no nothing! Count your blessings!

 

[galanie]

Does no one wonder about how much fossil fuel is needed to create the crops for all this "green energy" ethanol? The fertilizers that must be manufactured and the fuel for the tractors?

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Does no one wonder about how much fossil fuel is needed to create the crops for all this "green energy" ethanol? The fertilizers that must be manufactured and the fuel for the tractors?

Oh, yes. I also wonder about the benefits of an electric car when your electricity is generated from coal. But, hey, that's just me.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Does no one wonder about how much fossil fuel is needed to create the crops for all this "green energy" ethanol? The fertilizers that must be manufactured and the fuel for the tractors?

A LOT Sort a reminds me of a dog chasing its tail, huh? not accomplishing much but he's doing something.

Jeff