[Kristen]

It's not too shocking actually (I mean last week they announced 47 million are malnourished, and that's being generous). First off, advertisement blossomed into light of consumerism (Only to become a venus debt trap). Branding became popular. ( the flag of a corporation). Most of the babyboomers jumped on the bandwagon, drunk from love of material things. Radio was the first to blame, implementing messages of bedazzlement. The babyboomers with transformed into consumers, passing it off to their offspring. To the ones, who boastingly on the post, went against this trend and actually saved, my hat goes down to you.

With color television, the images on the screen represented what life is (or what it's suppose to be), this gave most people in the eighties and nineties a false sense of security as far as being a great nation. I remember being in school and having canned drives for the poor children in Africa. (Sorry to bring up Education, but honestly, they don't really teach a course in "life".) These drives were my only clue of the outside world.

I guess where I'm going at is that here are many different factors contributing to where we are now. A lot of it goes back even further to the colonial days. The wealthy only were concerned with their same kind. Once slavey was abolished, they needed new slaves, and they got them. However there they aren't as powerful as they'd have you to think. Here's my optimistic (The negative one can be discussed later) view of the future.

I. The unemployed, frustrated by endless dead ends, start teaching themselves skills.
!!. Some go for gardening, others, plumbing, electrical, construction, sewing etc.
!!!. The barter system becomes the new economy
IV. Ater knowledge of peak oil becomes commonplace, the rest that is left over and has a positive EROI is too be used for emergency medical services. Not million dollar polished machines, but the basics.

Remember, I'm no fortune teller. There are many choices on where to go from here. Just remember 46 isn't 66.

Kristen Mcreagor
Chanhassen, Minnesota

[pup55]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ome people are just to stupid for their own good.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'I') don't have any numbers on this, but I think the rent-to-own/pawn shop industry is helping to keep the working poor in poverty.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kristen', 'I') remember being in school and having canned drives for the poor children in Africa. (Sorry to bring up Education, but honestly, they don't really teach a course in "life".) These drives were my only clue of the outside world.

[Kristen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kristen', 'I') remember being in school and having canned drives for the poor children in Africa. (Sorry to bring up Education, but honestly, they don't really teach a course in "life".) These drives were my only clue of the outside world.

[leaflight]

tapitilaism?



Some more bubbles to come bursting bonds and property taxes.

Tapitilaism system of built upon credit and bonds and property taxes= crash burn perish of a system?


A cows and bees system of milk and honey is more socialistic, and who complains when they get that social sercurity check or wins a socalism lottery or at the socialism casinos or all the socialism charity that comes from it as well?

Capitalism/tapitalism isnt no virgin or disease free , as many are seeing worldwide what fruits it actually produced on that American and others tap it now dream tree.

[Revi]

Payday loans and rent a centers are what poor people have always had to deal with.

It has just moved up into the "middle class". Or we have moved down.

That stuff was all there was when I lived in the bad neighborhoods of Syracuse in the 70's and 80's.

Nobody else wants to do business in the poor neighborhoods.

The price of everything is higher there. Food costs more, you have to take a taxi if you are carrying anything, cashing your check costs money and you have to worry about people stealing from you all the time.

It ain't easy being on the poor side of town.

[PrestonSturges]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('crude_intentions', 'I')n a stable monetary system under consumption to produces savings is what builds a middle class lifestyle. Our current fiat system does everything in a its power to discourage savings. The middle class way of life has become one of perptual debt slavery. Homes, Cars, College educations. People used to be able to save up to afford these things! Now how can they when the prices of these goods services rise faster than wages and the interest on savings is so low. In the 1950's a man could save his money while renting a house; until he could afford the 60-90% down he would need to get a mortage from the bank. If he could even get the mortgage. The PTB have turned America is a place where you can buy anything you want but never own it.

[Tyler_JC]

This might have something to do with it.

[eastbay]

.... and Tyler's 1,000 sq ft house from 1950 often had 5.6 kids living with mom and dad in it rather then the 1.9 kids living in the 2200 sq ft house from 2005.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrestonSturges', 'I')f they lived the 1950's lifestyle in 900 sq ft houses, they'd be millionaires. Look at shows like Mad Men - top executives rode the train, owned one car, and lived in houses that a modern executive would consider a vacation cabin. Today they would expect corporate jets, mansions, and limos for the same jobs (even if they lost money).

[dsula]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('2cher', 'I') make 22,000 a year, I put over 5,000 a year away in savings.

Some people are just to stupid for their own good.

[MarkJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')s for the half of American incapable of coming up with 2 grand in a crisis, Rent-A-Center has over 3500 store locations. We have millions of people renting their couches. This was unheard of twenty years ago.

Can you imagine missing a few payments and having the repo men confiscate your sofa?

[MarkJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')
And don't forget the buy here pay here car lots -- that business is like a license to print cash! In effect, these guys are really "renting" used to cars to people as quite a few of them never manage to pay the cars off. So when the buyer defaults, they repossess the car and pocket the down payment and then get to sell it all over again and get another down payment on the same car, rinse and repeat.

[SoothSayer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrestonSturges', 'S')eriously though, besides the obviosu stupidity and drug abuse, a lot of people have had their credit and savings ruined by medical bills. We read a bunch of credit reports from potential renters, and every one of them had judgments against them for medical bills.
We finally rented to someone with bad credit due to medical bills but who seemed to be OK, and he has been a good tenant. But there weren't any applicants without bad credit because of medical problems.

[Jotapay]

I just had to come up with $2100 for a new roof (my share vs insurance).

[frankthetank]

dsula-

Good... The more people who take advantage of all those programs, the harder they will crash. Don't you get it? The whole system is falling apart, it just needs more tugging Oh...and i'm sure millionaires don't get breaks or corporate welfare? What about the local millionaire here in town that runs a huge health insurance company and wants the TAXPAYERS to buy him a parking ramp... For some reason we have to pay for this so his employees don't have to walk their obese bodies an extra block...its corporate welfare and i wouldn't surprise me if the city gives in and builds him it.

[spudbuddy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') define abject poverty as lacking shelter and sufficient food to stave off hunger. By this simple measure, abject poverty is rising in the U.S. even as Wall Street pockets billions in bonuses, the government squanders $2 billion a day in Afghanistan and trillions more on toxic mortgage securities and other bailouts of the Power Elites. ... --snip--
Or it may just be that the majority of Americans are essentially one paycheck or unemployment check away from homelessness and hunger, and thus the social networks of most households are populated by others in the same general economic situation.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogdec09/poverty12-09.html

[PrestonSturges]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dsula', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('2cher', 'I') make 22,000 a year, I put over 5,000 a year away in savings.

Some people are just to stupid for their own good.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SoothSayer', 'H')ere in the UK my son crashed his car last week. Luckily he was OK. However the police, ambulance, fire service were all involved. --snip--Old Europe isn't all bad.