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

[KristyHall]

I am making less than half of what I was 3 years ago. The past two years we had to dip into savings to survive. Thank the Lord we had some savings.

I'm actually looking into moving to Costa Rica, or Ecuador.

With the results last night, if I stay here, I'll have to lay off some employees and I'll be out of savings in just a few years.

I have experience in my youth driving a combine... perhaps by then there will be a collective somewhere, where I can get a job and let the gov'mint take care of me like the other 51%.

good luck with that.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote: You know, I've been to Cuenca, Ecuador before... Stayed in a decent hotel there once for a few days. It is beautiful. The food is wonderful and the climate is like springtime year round and if you wanted a trip to the beach once a year or to the big city (Guayaquil), neither is that far away. If I didn't have kids we could live there for the next 40 years...

 

[jettgirl24]

My situation has improved over the last four years aided by the slowly but steadily recovering economy and hard work to improve my own marketability. I have continued my education, worked hard to receive a promotion, and I have more than doubled my income since Obama was elected. I am a confirmed liberal and always will be. Like everyone I know, I work hard and do not seek handouts. For the record, blue states on average pay out more and receive less public assistance than red states so I don't know where this lazy, system abusing liberal reputation started. I agree with Obama when he says each of us needs to take responsibility and work toward a better America. I work my butt off, I don't complain, and you know what? I'm happy to contribute to a safety net for those who are having a rough go of it because none of us knows when we might need it. Looking out for our fellow man is, to me, the core of what it means to be a good and decent human being. Welfare is not enough to live a comfortable life on and it's not something that the vast majority of people want to live on, but it can help people get by when times get desperate. Like a previous poster said, I would rather risk paying out to a very small minority who might take advantage of the system that let even one person who is legitimately in need lose everything.

 

[kathyinmo]

You know, I've been to Cuenca, Ecuador before... Stayed in a decent hotel there once for a few days. It is beautiful. The food is wonderful and the climate is like springtime year round and if you wanted a trip to the beach once a year or to the big city (Guayaquil), neither is that far away. If I didn't have kids we could live there for the next 40 years...

I LOVE this book!

This is what my book says about Ecuador:

<snip>Uraguay is our top pick for relocation to South America..<snip>

(Threats of Nations in Conflict) page 8:
Latin America countries could become embroiled in conflicts against each other if current trends continue. Latin America is split among those nations that are still allied with the US and those that are allied with the Far Left, Russia, and China. The only allies the US has presently are Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Columbia, and Chile. The anti-Americans include Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and the Guyanas. Several nations are playing up to the US, for financial and trade advantage, but are actually in the Far Left camp: Brazil, Argentina, Panama and Uruguay.

Ecuador - page 51
Ecuador has a large contingent of expatriates and is highly rated by the editors and writers for International Living. Living is cheap and the climate in the highlands is ideal, which is about all they consider important, as long as the law allows foreigners to live there. However, they completely overlook the fact that Ecuador is ruled by Rafael Correa, a far left socialist president and ally of Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian movement - advocating a Marxist revolutionary approach in Latin America to counter US influence. If this far left control in Ecuador continues, we think there is a high probability that Americans' property will someday be confiscated.

 

[JD4570]

Actually this is kinda funny. Americans going to Latin America. . . . . and Latin Americans come to Texas.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Nope not better at all. My DH makes $10-15,000 less then he did in 2008. He just got a new job and before that we where making half of what he made in 2008 and where considered at poverty level income. With his new job things are very tight but I'm hoping we'll be able to pay off a few debts incurred from barely making enough to live. I did have to go to the ER this last fall with kidney stones and guess what?? My husband refused government help to pay my ER bills, and he absolutely insists on paying our own way and not being a leach on society. We could easily qualify for Medicaid and food stamps ect... ect.
A quote from a DEMOCRATIC president...

'I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support the people. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.'
-Grover Cleveland-

I think that; what we all can have in common is friendliness and charity for each other in these hard times... regardless of who is in the white house...
I've failed at the friendliness part a few times...

meh I should go to bed now...

 

[newfoundland]

Nobody should worry about the outcome of any election. We have a saying here, 'Whoever wins the election, the government always gets in!' ain't it the truth?

 

[Mahonri]

Guess Ecuador is out then, don't want to go from one dictator here to another one there.

 

[7 Biddies]

My situation has improved over the last four years aided by the slowly but steadily recovering economy and hard work to improve my own marketability. I have continued my education, worked hard to receive a promotion, and I have more than doubled my income since Obama was elected.

I think you're selling yourself short while giving Obama all the credit. Sounds like you're young and starting out ... at the bottom. By furthering your education and working hard, you've improved your lot and taken advantage of opportunities that came your way. I don't see where anyone else did it for you. YOU built that!

On the other hand, I furthered my education back in the late 1990's, developed a new career, and my financial situation steadily improved .... until the last 4 years when it stagnated. In education, we've received no raises in salary for several years, have had days cut from our contract (an effective paycut, which is why they took the days), and have had benefits decreased. Because of the results of the election, I now cannot retire in 4 years when I turn 70. With more of the same for the economy on the horizon, I'll have to keep working.

I am a social liberal, believing in the sanctity of an individual's rights and freedom. But, I'm fiscally conservative, meaning I don't believe in spending money we don't have and passing the debt on to future generations, like yours. I also don't believe in taking money from hard working, motivated people like you, and giving it to those who prefer to let the government take care of them: nearly half the US population, now. Working in the school system evaluating kids for special education, I see these folks everyday, hoping I'll say their kid has a disability so they can collect freebies from the government trough.

Have you seen the figures on the increase over the past 4 years in people who receive food stamps and public assistance? That's NOT evidence of an improving economy ... in fact, it's just the opposite.

So, be as liberal as you wish, but also be economically wise, and remember to take credit for what you've accomplished. You owe it to yourself, and to all the other hard working individuals who have done the same.

 

[bakerjw]

You know, I've been to Cuenca, Ecuador before... Stayed in a decent hotel there once for a few days. It is beautiful. The food is wonderful and the climate is like springtime year round and if you wanted a trip to the beach once a year or to the big city (Guayaquil), neither is that far away. If I didn't have kids we could live there for the next 40 years...

Ah Ecuador. I spent several months in a fishing village on the coast in Anconcito. If it weren't for Correa, I'd be saving money and buying land down there to retire. I was even trying to get a work visa. Our operations lawyer had a house right on the road from Anconcito to Salinas. Across the road was the ocean. It was one of the few houses with warm running water, windows, and air conditioning. He paid $40K for it.If you're going to live in a country like Ecuador, you need to get cozy with the upper class. They like educated gringos who have something to offer the country.