[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('VMarcHart', 'I')nvoluntary powerdown doesn't count.

[Olaf]

Saturn dealer here closes in 2 weeks.

Olafr

[Cog]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'H')ave you quit your job to accelerate power-down?

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', '
')You are on PO forum and don't understand that a radical change in the American lifestyle is ahead of us?

[Cog]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'I')'ve been posting on this forum for years and you don't know anything about me?Mmmkay!

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', '
')Or do you support building more cars and shredding them so we can keep these workers busy?

[VMarcHart]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', 'O')r do you support building more cars and shredding them so we can keep these workers busy?

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreebeardsUncle', 'S')ounds like a good start. There are too many car dealers, and restaurants, and clothing retailers. It is about time.
g

[Cog]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('VMarcHart', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', 'O')r do you support building more cars and shredding them so we can keep these workers busy?

[Ludi]

[quote="Cog"
There is a psychological aspect to the loss of jobs and confidence that affects not just the laid off but also the people retaining their jobs by a fingernail. The uncertainty that many people are feeling will result in at least some of them not going back to the ways of over-consumption. And that is a factor that will lead to further power-down of society as a whole.[/quote]


That seems very optimistic, but I hope you're right.

[VMarcHart]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', 'W')hy does power-down have to be voluntary? Can't circumstances change in such a way, that we are forced by events to forever change the way we operate our life? Isn't that what Peak Oil is going to do to us?

[bodigami]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('VMarcHart', 'I')nvoluntary powerdown doesn't count.

[Cog]

A valid question that deserves a response. My basic power-down mode is not as altruistic as some poster's motivations are. I approach frugality from a standpoint of me being a skinflint, cheap, or otherwise frugal. I'm not trying to save the planet or conserve oil when I make a decision about what resources to use or not use. Towards that end, I spend as little money as possible on what others consider pleasurable. Namely:

1) Most of my family clothes are bought from either yard sales or Goodwill.

2) I eat out rarely as I consider myself a better then average cook that can make things at home cheaper

3) I consolidate trips whenever possible to save on fuel expenses

4) I planted a garden two years ago behind my home in suburbia and have doubled it's size this year. No one else out here has one.

5) I vacation locally and haven't flown on a plane for 15 years.

6) I take on debt reluctantly and pay it off as soon as is possible.

7) I try to do the basics of carpentry, electrical work, and other basic maintenance tasks on my own.

My awareness of the ramifications of Peak Oil last year and the current economic disaster that is unfolding has deepened my understanding of just how Farked we are and how artificial our lifestyle is. I do not embrace doom and living in hard conditions but I do want to prepare myself for it as much as is possible.

So although my motivations are different then some here when they power-down their life, the end result is not really that much different. Which takes me back to my original point. The majority of people do not live the way I do with my income. I do it because I am by nature a skin-flint. But if people are forced by circumstances of the economy to power-down their lives and those circumstances are long-lived, then the result it the same as those who chose that life-style. In other words, you can't live a $100K lifestyle on a $25K wage. At least not for long.

The great leveling of society is enroute whether we want to accept it or not. IMO it is on its way due to peak oil and debt.

[TreebeardsUncle]

Actually Ludi et al, I worked for 3 years for Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake as an electronic engineer but left that location by mutual agreement and allso 13 months for Intel as a product development engineer before getting laid off. Have done a few other things and have saved up quite a bit and am doing well enough trading stocks online and getting help from folks so that I can get along without paid employment.
Am hoping for more dealers, restaurants, and retailers to close and cut back on the hideous metasticizing cancer that passes for development. Seeing Chrysler go bankrupt, GM up against the ropes, and Good Guys, Circuit City, Mervyn's, and Gottshawlk's etc go into liquidation is a nice start.

G

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreebeardsUncle', ' ')Am hoping for more dealers, restaurants, and retailers to close and cut back on the hideous metasticizing cancer that passes for development.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreebeardsUncle', 'A')m hoping for more dealers, restaurants, and retailers to close and cut back on the hideous metasticizing cancer that passes for development.

[VMarcHart]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreebeardsUncle', 'A')m hoping for more dealers, restaurants, and retailers to close and cut back on the hideous metasticizing cancer that passes for development.

[bencole]

General motors bankruptcy "highly likely"


http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0905 ... ral_motors

[JJ]

this may be old news by now: link

[Ache]

The automaker's shares fall to $1.09 during trading, their lowest level since 1933. They end the session at $1.15, down 29 cents, or 20%.