CallMeVilla

Go back and look at the lifestyle your parents really lived. How many suits did Dad have or Mom's wardrobe? How many other toys beyond the basics? My Dad bought cars for cash, not credit. They owned everything outright, not interest expenses to the bank. No expensive cruises, only "stay-cations" in town . . . No season tickets to the football team. They used to put all their loose change in a 5 gallon bottle. It was play money at the end of the year. You name it.

Can you still get TV for free? Sure but not CATV.
Do you "have to have" a big-*** wide screen TV? No, especially if it is new.
Do you "have to have" the latest 5-G telephone? No, avoid the two year contract by buying a phone outright. And Verizon sucks, so dump them for something cheaper.
The list goes on and on.

Clean up your lifestyle, save for vacations, kill your on-going debt, you'll do better.

inspectorD

But on the plus side,,,,I have alllll that manure.

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Just My
Made in the

AlwaysOneMoreProject

Lower their standards, and learn Mandarin.

mudmixer

Raise the standards to other county's standards.

Learning a different language is a waste of time. English or American is universally accepted in almost every country due to the prominence of the internet and WWII.

In India, there are 17 different languages/dialects and when two people cannot understand each other they shift to English and sometimes American. They do not export merchandise or materials to the U.S., but my last 2 doctors went back to India after 20 years in the U.S.

Same for China where there are many different languages due to the huge size of the countries. Most of the automated and technical equipment there is shipped from the U.S. with instructions in English. - Later it is copied, improved and made more economical without using cheap labor since they have the technology to not rely on cheap labor and have really abandoned rickshaws many years ago except for old movies and travelogs.

Dick

AlwaysOneMoreProject

I really want to argue with you, but I find your arrogance in the face of certain doom to be too amusing to hinder.

asbestos

It seems now all this country values is the financial manipulators, arbitragers, speculators and all thise people who do not add value to the economy. I just saw a st udythat said that pay for CEO's has gone up over 700% since 1978 and wages for workers have gone up 5%. We need to start making things and educating people. Without good schools (and roads and airports for that matter) we are no better off then any third world country. I am tired of hearing people whine about how we can't compete with cheap Chinese labor or we can't afford to do this or that. Nonsense. this is a great nation and if we decide we are going to rebuild our manufacturing base and put a real emphasis on education (and make public school teacher the kind of prestigious job it is in many countries) we damn well can do it. All this whining about how factory workers here ask for too much. Phoey. German factory workers get big $ great healthcare, and six weeks of paid vacation. (!!!) every year. and they somehow manage to export more then anyone. and then some

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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts

nealtw

Always: Do you have your doomsday shelter all stocked up with food and guns? I agree with Asbestos, the only thing that trickles down from the rich is BS and fear.

AlwaysOneMoreProject

Yes... and a Mandarin in Ten Minutes per Day audio course

nealtw

There are two things that keep the econimy working. When everyone thinks life is good and spend money they don't have or fear of what ever, I guess we know which side your on.

Underdog

Absolutely, wasn't it great when so many people bought houses they couldn't afford? I know it helps my family's finances when we spend money we don't have.



Amen again... after all, who ever remodels for the rich? I only work for poor people. And when people buy cars, the best thing to do with the old car is to give it to the cash for clunkers program and destroy it.