Wow! Anyone else listen to the Diane Rehm Show today?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
To 08:22: LIKE x 100.
It is so refreshing to read optimistic forecasts! |
Anonymous
Ignorance of the cyclical nature of the economy and pure greed |
Anonymous
|
Divorced poster here.
I know my life will get better. And yes, a large part of my problems are from my divorce . . . but even just 5yrs ago, I probably could have found a job that would support DC and I on one salary, plus rents were lower (esp in this area, the rental market has tightened considerably in the past several years) and credit/loans were easier to get. I still would have had to make compromises, but I'd most likely at least be living on my own. And to the PP that asked about child support. I get it, but you can't get blood out of a stone and you can't get money out of deadbeat. Child support is based on XH's income, which will likely never be above $50K. Ever. This is a reality for many custodial parents, that child support is a negligible amount and unreliable to boot. What makes me discouraged is all the long term things. I have very little money saved for retirement, I have none set aside for DC's college. Social security can't be counted on, retirement ages are creeping upwards. Everytime I read about retirement planning, etc. I just hear over and over again "You're on your own and you're behind." I want to avoid being a burden on DC if possible, but I worry about not being able to set enough money aside in case I need longterm care (which is likely as Alzheimer's runs in my family). And college! I'd like to at least be able to help DC out so he won't be hamstrung by loans at 22. Not pay for all of it, but make it doable. Shorter term, I worry about grade school. Am I going to be able to afford to live in a good school district? Am I going to be able to be involved in DC's school and take time to advocate for him if needed while working FT? Even good schools are not a good fit for every child, what if he needs additional help or enrichment programs? Will I be able to afford them (both time and financially)? Music, art and sports are important to me and I want DC to be exposed to them. 'Extra' programs keep getting cut in public schools, will I be able to provide him opportunities outside of school? I'm not talking schedule classes for every day of the week, but piano lessons on Tues and rec soccer on the weekends. Extra curriculars within schools are getting increasingly expensive as well (if they're not eliminated entirely). Technology is required more and more, there are currently public schools that hand out iPads to students (with parents expected to foot the bill for replacements). How am I going to keep up with that race? More and more costs are getting shifted to the consumer. Health care is going up, cost of education is going up, salaries are not. Like many businesses, people are trying to do more with less, and something's got to give. In the long run I do think this is a good thing, consumer debt is out of control in this country and we (collective we) need to learn how to budget and save and pay for things ourselves without credit, but it's going to be very, very painful for quite a while. I didn't grow up going to private school, I didn't get a car at 16, or college paid for. But I had a comfortable house in a safe neighborhood, I went to excellent public schools and my parents were able to get me into the programs I needed to succeed. I took piano, art and music lessons, participated in soccer and gymnastics, competed in extracurriculars at school. We were able to travel to visit family at least once a year and we had computers available at home. My parent now own 2 houses, have retirement accounts, and have been able to help all 3 of us kids with college and various life crises. I expected to be able to provide that same solid middle-class life to my child. Now? I'm not so sure. I don't think the economy will forever be horrible and I'm confident that I'll eventually be successful, but I do think that my standard of living will be lower than my parents, education and experience being equal. Maybe my child will attain it, hopefully I'll be able to give him enough of a solid foundation to get there. |
Anonymous
| PP, do you have a grad degree? Sounds like you're not even 40 yet. You have a long way to go, please do not get discouraged. |
Anonymous
|
I agree with the PPs who encourage us to all count our relative blessings. Still, where is the line between keeping your nose to the grindstone and "minding your own business" and being callous and indifferent to the hardships or poverty of others around you, (whether in your own socioeconomic demographic or below yours)?
I say this because their was a previous post where someone cited the greediness of the Baby Boomers -- things were perhaps "better" for them and now we are suffering for their ill-made choices. The same hard work and sacrifice that got some people to a better station in life no longer gets the same results. Perhaps if that generation had stopped to think of the future implications things would be different -- so the generations who now will shoulder the responsibilities to create a more solid footing for our kids should take note. Also, how is the greed of the Boomers any different than our own narrow mindsets of being dependent on oil and ruining the environment for generations coming after us? Our kids will be resenting us too....as they live with a sicker and sicker planet. This is discouraging yes but the American ethos is resilient and inherently positive-thinking. Maybe these things -- if people can tear their minds away from needless consumption and reality TV and all other stupid distractions -- can serve as the impetus to put in the sacrifices to make this country really strong again. |
Anonymous
| *there* - for the typo police! |
Anonymous
|
"Why do you think business have to hire? What sector of the US is growing?"
Not the pp you're responding to, but the tech sector is doing much better in this recession than last, and those are NOT $9/hour jobs - pay is much higher. |
Anonymous
| Really tech jobs? Heard of the internet? Almost every job can be outsourced or automated. If you are in a white collar job, you should not feel safe. It started with manufacturing and is now moving to other sectors of the economy. Look at the pressure on the legal industry. The money manager are heading to Asia. |
Anonymous
|
I think a lot of people who feel squeezed (middle to upper middle class squeezed, of course) would do much better if they would deign to move to a non-urban area. Yes, your salary will be lower. However, you will more than make up for it in terms of housing costs, childcare costs, and so forth.
|
Anonymous
|
After WW2, this country took off. But the government play a huge part in it. GI Bill, federal highway System, and build up of the defense industries changed this country. This could never happen today.
To illustrate the profound impact of the G.I. Bill one needs only recite the stark statistics: two years before the war approximately 160,000 U.S. citizens were in college. By 1950, the figure had risen to nearly 500,000. In 1942, veterans accounted for 49 percent of college enrollments. Yet these stark statistics tell only half the story. The extent of the profound changes had only begun. The HBCUs benefited from the enlargement of the colleges through the parallel Lanham Act (1946) that stabilized the marginal colleges and strengthened the others. Twenty-five research universities existed before the war and 125 afterwards. Before the war, 10 percent of students attended college, and the G.I. Bill led to 51 percent of students being able to attend. Seven million veterans took advantage of education and training, with 2.2 million of them attending college. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3651/is_199510/ai_n8720508/ "The Impact of the G.I. Bill To illustrate the profound impact of the G.I. Bill one needs only recite the stark statistics: two years before the war approximately 160,000 U.S. citizens were in college. By 1950, the figure had risen to nearly 500,000. In 1942, veterans accounted for 49 percent of college enrollments. Yet these stark statistics tell only half the story. The extent of the profound changes had only begun. The HBCUs benefited from the enlargement of the colleges through the parallel Lanham Act (1946) that stabilized the marginal colleges and strengthened the others. Twenty-five research universities existed before the war and 125 afterwards. Before the war, 10 percent of students attended college, and the G.I. Bill led to 51 percent of students being able to attend. Seven million veterans took advantage of education and training, with 2.2 million of them attending college. The restrictions against Jews and Catholics were quietly dropped, and thousands of blacks attended previously white universities and colleges. The provision of subsidized housing allowed thousands of veterans to buy houses and flock to the suburbs. The "52-20" provision of the bill (a $20 a week subsidy for 52 weeks for veterans who were out of work) enabled blacks for the first time to make the same wages as whites in the South. Indeed, thousands of blacks and whites were thrust into the middle class, and their children did not wonder whether they would go to college, but where they would go. That profound change in American social and economic relations was brought about by the revolution of the G.I. Bill in its impact on the American people. The men and women who had fought in the war were transformed by the Act from poor working-class citizens to middle-class citizens, from citizens who worked with their hands to professionals who worked with their minds, from renters to homeowners. To be sure, the G.I. Bill did not wipe out all inequities. The bill did not eradicate the discrimination and prejudice that permeated American life. But it did enable blacks to move into the middle class and thousands of whites to rise." |
Anonymous
| Yep people coming out of school now have a house payment with no house. Tuition has really increased. |
Anonymous
| Reading these posts makes me really grateful that we are in a pretty good work/financial situation, and so are our family and most of our friends. I do worry about my kids' future, but we will give them what our parents gave us, which is an excellent paid-for education, and hope that they can make their way in this rapidly changing economy. |
Anonymous
|
I feel lucky but NOT because we bought at the right time or sitting on some huge pile of money while everyone else barely makes it.
I feel lucky because we bought a small condo in 2006 and have only lost about $50,000 in value. We won't know how much until we sell, which we probably won't do. I have friends that have lost hundreds of thousands of house value and are stuck. We rent a good house for a very fair price. We could leave if we needed to. We have savings, we pay off our bills every month. We will probably not own for another 5-10 years, maybe never in this area and I'm ok with that for now. I feel fortunate to just be above water and have a roof over our heads. |
Anonymous
|
"Really tech jobs? Heard of the internet? Almost every job can be outsourced or automated. If you are in a white collar job, you should not feel safe. It started with manufacturing and is now moving to other sectors of the economy. Look at the pressure on the legal industry. The money manager are heading to Asia."
Yes, actually, I'm in the field. You've heard of 4G cellular networks, right? Wireless broadband? All of that is going to be deployed, requires a lot of workers in the field to install the technology, and those jobs are high-paying. |
Anonymous
Wow. You are too articulate and too thoughtful to remain in a purely administrative position. Consider starting a blog about your experiences and thoughts - anonymous or not - and keep writing, and get noticed for it. Get a job out of it, or get advertisers. I'd read you, so if you start a blog, post a link. You and your child are going to be just fine. |