Believe it or not, I haven't tired of PB& J sandwiches. We are lucky in this country that we still have things to eat and we can more or less afford the little things still. we could be worse off.
Bad economy
- Thread starter vraiblonde
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Believe it or not, I haven't tired of PB& J sandwiches. We are lucky in this country that we still have things to eat and we can more or less afford the little things still. we could be worse off.
foodcritic
New Member
I agree on the immigration policy (lack their of) I just did not factor it in to my personal finances. You may be able to even argue that having that cheap illegal labor kept prices down and that "real" workers paid more would drive up produce etc... But then again market forces with equal "real" workers should still produce a market price.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
That's...
...true, but 'low' prices come at a cost if they are too low. Is it 'good' to have cheap labor fuel a runaway housing market that leads, inevitably, to an oversupply? Is it good to have entry level low wage jobs so cheap that people can barely afford to get to them? Is it 'good' for mega stores to put countless local small business's out of business for the sake of cheap foreign products that the people working their can barely afford because the jobs making those goods left the country as well?
Henry Ford paid his people well way back in the day because he knew, at the end of the day, they were his customers as well.
I agree on the immigration policy (lack their of) I just did not factor it in to my personal finances. You may be able to even argue that having that cheap illegal labor kept prices down and that "real" workers paid more would drive up produce etc... But then again market forces with equal "real" workers should still produce a market price.
...true, but 'low' prices come at a cost if they are too low. Is it 'good' to have cheap labor fuel a runaway housing market that leads, inevitably, to an oversupply? Is it good to have entry level low wage jobs so cheap that people can barely afford to get to them? Is it 'good' for mega stores to put countless local small business's out of business for the sake of cheap foreign products that the people working their can barely afford because the jobs making those goods left the country as well?
Henry Ford paid his people well way back in the day because he knew, at the end of the day, they were his customers as well.
foodcritic
New Member
missing it
What's your point? That dems and repubs have been spending money like drunken sailors at at a brother for the last 40 years! I would love to see a balanced budget every year and slow down the Nat debt. but in the meantime we have to watch our own finances. Stop voting for politicians that give away money to every citizen who asks.
So what I think you are saying is that your voting for McCain because if you vote for Hillary/Bill or Obama our spending (Nat Debt) and taxation would continue at a much faster rate then would under a McCain. Is that what you are implying?
What's your point? That dems and repubs have been spending money like drunken sailors at at a brother for the last 40 years! I would love to see a balanced budget every year and slow down the Nat debt. but in the meantime we have to watch our own finances. Stop voting for politicians that give away money to every citizen who asks.
So what I think you are saying is that your voting for McCain because if you vote for Hillary/Bill or Obama our spending (Nat Debt) and taxation would continue at a much faster rate then would under a McCain. Is that what you are implying?
Pete
Repete
I think about this topick alot and even though the current state of the economy hasn't caused me any real hardships to this point we have certainly tightened the belt here at home.
I spend more time thinking of how this will affect us in the future. The average salaried person that is not getting a promotion each year gets around a 3% raise. The inflation percentage is at least that. So for me I am losing more money as the years go by. In essence the state of the economy has made it difficult to really get aheard these days.
Yes, It is easy to say to just get a better job but I know so many people that can't find work in their field and have had to move out of the area or work a couple of part time jobs to make ends meet. I also look at the factor that I have over ten years in with my present company and I have four weeks of vacation plus leave and holidays. They also make the contibutions to my pension and provide my family healthcare at no cost. The value of my benefits are huge. So if I were to go to DC to work and pay for those additional benefits I would have to double my current salary to even break even.
With these points noted, I realize that at my age I really need to have a plan to set aside and invest in my own retirement above what I already have .If I retire from my present company I will only receive 30- 50 % of my highest average pay to live off of. I do not know if Social Security will be available to me 30 years from now. So how do you accomplish this when every extra few dollars you may get is being sucked into your gas tank or other costs?
I have one child going to college this fall and two more that will follow in the next ten years. So when I think about the big picture I worry.
I spend more time thinking of how this will affect us in the future. The average salaried person that is not getting a promotion each year gets around a 3% raise. The inflation percentage is at least that. So for me I am losing more money as the years go by. In essence the state of the economy has made it difficult to really get aheard these days.
Yes, It is easy to say to just get a better job but I know so many people that can't find work in their field and have had to move out of the area or work a couple of part time jobs to make ends meet. I also look at the factor that I have over ten years in with my present company and I have four weeks of vacation plus leave and holidays. They also make the contibutions to my pension and provide my family healthcare at no cost. The value of my benefits are huge. So if I were to go to DC to work and pay for those additional benefits I would have to double my current salary to even break even.
With these points noted, I realize that at my age I really need to have a plan to set aside and invest in my own retirement above what I already have .If I retire from my present company I will only receive 30- 50 % of my highest average pay to live off of. I do not know if Social Security will be available to me 30 years from now. So how do you accomplish this when every extra few dollars you may get is being sucked into your gas tank or other costs?
I have one child going to college this fall and two more that will follow in the next ten years. So when I think about the big picture I worry.
foodcritic
New Member
your right
Your right on the low price issue and cheap labor. This is really a broad problem. What is the incentive for companies to act ethically (for other than financial gain?) to their employess? In my world companies would treat their workers well and pay them.
As a Christian I would treat them like I would want to be treated. Really if we live in a world of survival of the fittest should not that philosophy carry over to the world of business? I like to think of it a darwinian economics.
Is money always the bottom line or is their a greater responibilty to people that has nothing to do with money. Tough to balance all that...
Your right on the low price issue and cheap labor. This is really a broad problem. What is the incentive for companies to act ethically (for other than financial gain?) to their employess? In my world companies would treat their workers well and pay them.
As a Christian I would treat them like I would want to be treated. Really if we live in a world of survival of the fittest should not that philosophy carry over to the world of business? I like to think of it a darwinian economics.
Is money always the bottom line or is their a greater responibilty to people that has nothing to do with money. Tough to balance all that...
MMDad
Lem Putt
You just stroked his ego!
mAlice
professional daydreamer
is their a greater responibilty to people that has nothing to do with money.
No. People should be responsible for themselves. If they have even a small amount of sense, they can get a good job, which would force the huge "Wal-Marts" of the world to treat their employee's better. These people work in places like this because they are either students, can't do any better, or don't want to do any better for themselves. They're not willing to take a few classes in accounting (example) to improve themselves. They're not willing to get the hair cut, remove the vile jewelry, cut off the dread locks, put on some decent clothes, etc. They're lazy or stubborn.
So please don't suggest that there is a "greater responsibility to people".
My grandmother didn't have any tats or piercings the 10 years she worked for Wal-Mart.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
I am...
...all for free markets and the powers of supply and demand. The problem is that is not what we have; the US labor force should be looked at as the US labor force. If people are trying to gauge the economic conditions based on an assumption that the government won't dramatically alter those conditions, you have the promotion of the general welfare.
If you move forward with your ideas, be it pursuing a trade, opening a business, etc, and then find that uncontrolled immigration is flocking to the same opportunities you saw, now what? The opportunity as you saw it and were counting on being rather stable is gone.
How would politicians react if, when they decided to run for office, a whole bunch of new candidates came flooding into the market completely outside the practices and norms of traditional candidates? How would some Senator react if some Saudi prince moved to Arizona and brought a billion dollars with him to run for that seat? Think that senator might suddenly see the value of rules and organization?
Your right on the low price issue and cheap labor. This is really a broad problem. What is the incentive for companies to act ethically (for other than financial gain?) to their employess? In my world companies would treat their workers well and pay them.
As a Christian I would treat them like I would want to be treated. Really if we live in a world of survival of the fittest should not that philosophy carry over to the world of business? I like to think of it a darwinian economics.
Is money always the bottom line or is their a greater responibilty to people that has nothing to do with money. Tough to balance all that...
...all for free markets and the powers of supply and demand. The problem is that is not what we have; the US labor force should be looked at as the US labor force. If people are trying to gauge the economic conditions based on an assumption that the government won't dramatically alter those conditions, you have the promotion of the general welfare.
If you move forward with your ideas, be it pursuing a trade, opening a business, etc, and then find that uncontrolled immigration is flocking to the same opportunities you saw, now what? The opportunity as you saw it and were counting on being rather stable is gone.
How would politicians react if, when they decided to run for office, a whole bunch of new candidates came flooding into the market completely outside the practices and norms of traditional candidates? How would some Senator react if some Saudi prince moved to Arizona and brought a billion dollars with him to run for that seat? Think that senator might suddenly see the value of rules and organization?
mAlice
professional daydreamer
That's nice.
sockgirl77
Well-Known Member
She's not implying that all Wal*Fart employees do. She's implying that alot of their employess look less than professional when they work. They do. I have friends that work there and they are cleancut people. But, there are alot of trashy people there too.
I'm surprised what some folks get away with working retail. When they first came in to the area Wal-Mart was one of the tougher places to get a retail job. Of course that was when Sam was still alive. He's sure to be rolling in his grave right now.
AndyMarquisLIVE
New Member
National Deficit = Weaker Dollar = Higher energy pricesWhat's your point? That dems and repubs have been spending money like drunken sailors at at a brother for the last 40 years! I would love to see a balanced budget every year and slow down the Nat debt. but in the meantime we have to watch our own finances. Stop voting for politicians that give away money to every citizen who asks.
So what I think you are saying is that your voting for McCain because if you vote for Hillary/Bill or Obama our spending (Nat Debt) and taxation would continue at a much faster rate then would under a McCain. Is that what you are implying?
AndyMarquisLIVE
New Member
I'm undecided. I don't like Shrillary, don't like McCain, don't like Obama.So what I think you are saying is that your voting for McCain because if you vote for Hillary/Bill or Obama our spending (Nat Debt) and taxation would continue at a much faster rate then would under a McCain. Is that what you are implying?
As of right now, I'm voting for Vrai's cat.
Pete
Repete
Could you tell me when the nation started the deficit and how much it was? TIA
I'll give you a hint it was between 1790 and 1792 and it was less than 100 million but more than 50 million.
Personally, I'm not feeling it. But the scuttlebutt is that the economy is so poor that people are desperate, and high gas prices are causing people to lose their homes.
So tell us your tale of woe. How has the economic downturn caused you to suffer?
Seriously, all of you who insist that times are terrible and poverty is rampant because of Bush's policies, please share with us just how exactly you have been affected.
We have yet to be really hit by "bad economy". It's in quotations since I believe most people that are complaining are people that made stupid financial decisions. Just because you were approved for a $500k mortgage doesn't mean that you should buy a $500k house. Just because you want a new fully loaded vehicle doesn't mean you should take on the $500 a month payment when your current vehicle still runs well.
Today, I went grocery shopping. I walked out of BJ's with a months worth of food for $250. That's less than $10 a day for 2 people. If grocery prices really have gone up, I haven't noticed.
Hubby and I still eat out when neither of us is in the mood to cook.
We still have cable, internet, cell phone, home phone, and all of our bills get paid on time.
Do I like the fact that gas is $4 a gallon? No, but I pay it since I still have to get to work.
foodcritic
New Member
I have to disagree with you that food prices are not increasing. With a family of six I watch every penny I spend at the grocery store and prices have gone up. Not to mention gas and electricity. Being a one income family I think we feel the pinch much more than a two income family. We are still paying our bills but the fun extra things we are starting to do without. Like going to get ice cream - way too expensive at these time. Maybe if it did not cost me $60 bucks to fill my car we could take the kids to get ice cream and but that $25.00 is needed for other things. Society doesn't make it easy on one income families these days. Remember a time when most families were one income? Prices have gone up but incomes have not.
That's something I don't understand. Back in the day, most women were homemakers and the husband brought home the bacon. They owned homes and a vehicle, and managed to feed and clothe their families.
Nowadays it's rare that a family can get by on one income. The wife will at least have a second-income job. Why is that? And how does it work that prices have grown so far over income?