Maybe they thought they were saving . . . 'cause their homes kept 'going up in value', to the point that they could even take out a little of the 'built up equity' for home improvements and other doodads. Maybe they thought they were saving when the stocks in their 401ks kept going up steadily as a good 'long term investment' should. Maybe they watched a few too many b.s. ads on t.v. touting what they could buy in the malls and online to enjoy and display that they were living 'the good life'. Maybe they believed (awhile ago) in that 'New Paradigm' talk, and that the markets will only go up. Maybe they went out and showed their patriotism after 9/11 just like the Prez said - - by going out and shopping. Hmmmm - - - maybe they forgot all the stuff their First Depression grandparents said about saving and living within your means. Not nearly as fun as living off money borrowed from foreigners. - - -
Well Iâm sure Wal-Mart takes advantage of the tight labor market, just like a lot of other employers. Good point about Costco. Iâve heard thatâs a decent place to work, yet they still offer very low prices to their customers.
The title of this thread is âwhy donât Americanâs save?â After 26 pages, just about the only thing weâve established is that Iâm a lazy Communist who wants everything given to me. Iâm trying to talk about my and others issues on why we arenât saving. I used to save a $1000 a month. Not anymore. Like for instance I heard the other day from a Congressman that the average Americans income has fallen $!000 in the past 8 years, meanwhile their cost of living has gone up $5000. But nobody wants to talk about this and how to fix it, weâre going to talk about the big screen tvâs people bought. Let me know when everybody wants to talk about issues.
That is a serious issue and there is no simple solution. The citizens of this country would have to stand up and say "enough's enough", but they're too afraid of losing their shitty jobs, their houses, their cars, and their big screen TV's. I believe something big is going to happen soon. It's inevitable. The United States is past its expiration date. If you feel so strongly about it, I suggest you do the following: Go buy a yourself a gun and put a bullet in the heads of the globalist assholes who created the problem. Two hundred years ago, it would have only took a private militia armed with rifles and pitchforks to overthrow a government or execute a crooked political leader. Too bad those days are over.
your problem is that you are too f_king naive what makes you think honesty pays off and don't go learning Visual Basic, it's just bullsh-t, learn C# or Java
Sandythebestdog, if I get it right your concern is that you can't save $500-1000 like you used to, right? The wealth in America in the past few years was extremely inflated. I see a very young working class couple with kids owning a 5000sf mansion here....the same couple in Germany or France for example would struggle with employment, rent a tiny apartment, and hope their parents or the government would help them when in need. Both scenarios are extreme. Take the middle, we can't be all rich. If I pizza delivery allows you to save $500-1000 a month (unless it's in a super location), then what about the average office worker? How much should he be able to save? 2-3 times as much? This is not normal. take a wealthy country as an example: Switzerland (it's been wealthy for a while now...low unemployment, very high average wages etc), look at the home ownership % compared to the US....most people rent. homes are reserved for the upper middle class and up....OR older residents. This is just an example... Under normal economic circumstances the pizza delivery job should barely cover your daily expenses. This is a job for a student who wants to make some extra money, for a young person just starting out, or for an unskilled worker....not a job that will allow you to get rich.
You got it. I canât save like I used to. I canât comment on people in Europe, I donât know anything about the way things are there other than they seem to have a lot higher taxes and a lot of social programs. Youâre right, if I was able to save X $âs, then a higher level job should be able to save a lot more. I donât see why this shouldnât be the case. You have to also take into account that I donât really care about a lot of the things others do. I have a higher goal and am willing to sacrifice the time and money now to achieve it later. I still live with my parents, so that I donât have that extra burden. Many my age are realizing that is the only way they will ever have a shot at anything. Itâs not uncommon now for kids to live at home into their 20âs. My sister just moved back, sheâs 22. We canât afford a $1000 apartment. I have bought 3 cars. The most expensive was $5000. The car I have now has 226k miles. I hardly buy new clothes and pretty much watch every dollar I spend. So maybe that is why I used to be able to save a lot. Iâm not cheap, I just see the bigger picture. My one nemisis is obviously trading, and once every 2 years I buy a nice cell phone. I have never ever said that I should get rich deliverying pizza. That would never work. I think many here are not getting this point. What I have asked is why did such an unskilled job used to provide so much, but now is barely providing minimum wage. Nobody seems to want to answer this. I will never get rich deliverying pizza, but I can get rich taking the money I can save from pizza and investing that and starting new businesses with that. But I canât do that if Iâm barely able to pay my bills and the cost of living never seems to stop going up. What I have never figured out is why there is this notion that if you donât have a skilled job, then you pretty much deserve to make so little money that youâll inevitably live in poverty. Where does this thinking originate from? Is it a new economic theory or is it market based economics? I went to the wisest source I could find to see what could be said about work and labor. I really donât like religion, but I figured the Bible was a good source to look to. I was unable to find any verses that said those who work hard, but at an unskilled job, deserve poverty. Instead I found this. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Proverbs 12:11 He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. Proverbs 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Romans 13:7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. I Corinthians 9:7-11 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? James 5:4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. These seem to suggest that labor should be rewarded accordingly. I never saw a verse that said somebody should work and not be paid his worth, or that only skilled workers deserve to eat. The overriding theme seems to be an honest days work should be granted an honest days pay. Iâm not a Bible expert, so feel free to disagree, I know most of you will. So here is a list of as many jobs that I can think of that are doomed to poverty if we continue with this notion that only skilled work should be justly compensated. I know Iâm going to take a lot of heat for this post, and frankly I donât care. Somebody has to say it. Pizza delivery drivers, janitors, taxi drivers, cashiers, cooks at fast food restaurants, host and hostesses, waiters, bar tenders, receptionists, maids, lawn care people, bell boyâs, school bus drivers, mailmen, postal workers, DMV workers, grocery store stocking clerks, couriers, trash collectors, prostitutes, hotel roomservice workers, newspaper delivery persons, UPS drivers, parking attendants, probably most low end government jobs and pretty much most retail jobs.