Posted on 05/24/2011 8:29:47 AM PDT by mamelukesabre
This paper examines households’ financial fragility by looking at their capacity to come up with $2,000 in 30 days. Using data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey, we document widespread financial weakness in the United States: Approximately one quarter of Americans report that they would certainly not be able to come up with such funds, and an additional 19% would do so by relying at least in part on pawning or selling possessions or taking payday loans.
(Excerpt) Read more at papers.nber.org ...
44% of Americans are incompetent imbeciles and deserve to starve to death. If and when a complete collapse of the US dollar happens, this country is not going to survive. There is no way it can if the 44% figure is anywhere near accurate.
Maybe if the average US family was not paying nearly half of its income in TAXES this might not be such a problem. Maybe if the half of US households which currently pay nothing in federal taxes were made to pay something this burden could be reduced on the rest of us.
The “Great Society” is a wonderful place, isn’t it?
Are those 17 million folks Baraq has added to the food stamp ranks guaranteed votes for him, or for the opposition?
Tune in Nov 012 to find out.
How’s that “hope and change” working out for ya? =.=
The percentage of the population that would “acquire” the funds by harming their neighbor in some fashion has exploded.
I don't know, but I tend to think that the government intervention of the Great Society and beyond has really impoverished this nation and created a large class of people without means or hope.
I don’t believe that is a valid excuse. People who spend every dollar they earn as quickly as they earn it will do so regardless how much they earn.
Yes it can, that is about the percentage that is neither on govt aid or works for some level of govt. We are tapped pal.
Part of the problem is that if they DID have 2,000 “handy” they’d buy stuff with it - I-pads, tattoes, Kias, computer games, etc......
I believe gold was under $100/troy oz in 1970...and the average skilled blue collar working man made about 20k/year(which was more than a college professor made at that time). I believe the average wage for a skilled blue collar man has merely doubled since then while the price of gold is up 15X. So in 1970 a man earned 3 to 4 ounces of gold per week, in 2011, he makes half an ounce of gold per week.
IMO, that’s not part of the problem. That’s ALL of the problem. You adjust your expenditures to match your income if you have any sense in your head...which 44% of americans do not.
I have a portion of my paycheck deposited into a savings account every pay... but my wasteful spending on luxuries such as groceries, electricity, gas, not to mention the occasional major expensive car repair get in the way of building up any long term savings. Perhaps if over half of my income wasn't being paid out in various taxes, I could save some more money.
Of course at the end of the day I'm the chump because most of all that tax I pay ends up going to people who have no intention of ever supporting themselves. Why am I doing this again?
Productive people usually can find a way, even if it means additional temporary work, spot jobs, or dipping into savings.
Most of the 'poor' people I have seen are that way for a reason, either through sloth, lack of desire or initiative, or spending habits. Some genuinely have suffered unavoidable misfortune, but most have been the source of their own economic problems.
You are aware that the price of gold was fixed by the government and individuals could not own gold in that time frame.
Maybe this thread is rubbing me the wrong way because I just had to dip deep into my savings and sell off a bunch of stuff to help pay for some major car repairs. Over time, hopefully, my savings will grow back... but not all of us who have a hard time building savings are spendthrifts.
Actually, in 1970 an average skilled worker was making something more in line with $14,000 a year. In 1974 as a union carpenters apprentice, I made $6.98 an hour, which was a little over that, for 4 years later. I know some made more, but we are talking average. A house went for around $14-$20K, so about the average wages of one year. Now the average house sells for 4 times the average wage of a year, and we are told that our living standard is better than ever, because the houses are nicer, we have more TV's and unnecessary toys. The reason we seem to have a higher standard of living is, we are borrowing to buy. Without credit, and the free usage of it, we are worse off than 1970's. That is the essence of the fiat money system. It gives a false impression of opulence. It allows a short term fantasy of being wealthy, when in fact we are indebted for nearly all that we call ours to someone else. Those someones we are indebted to are not even our countrymen.
There is always a way to cut back.
I keep my house at 55degrees in the winter and don’t use the AC in the summer. I have a 1940s era kitchen and a 1950s era bathroom in a one story 2 bedroom house. I do not have a shower(only a tub). I do not have a garbage disposal or a dishwasher. My refrigerator was made in 1960 and my spare refrigerator is older yet. My washer and dryer is 25 years old and my furnace is the original coal fired unit converted to natural gas in my 100 year old house. I don’t have cable tv or a car payment. I also can’t get tv reception so I have no tv whatsoever unless I rent a movie or use the internet. I havn’t been on a vacation(not counting a 3 day weekend) since 1994. My house has never had new siding or new windows installed. All are original. My back door still uses the original skeleton key. I have a one-and-a-half car garage with the old fashioned door you actually have to lift up with your hands...no automatic garage door opener. When my house needs new paint, I do it myself. when it needs a new roof, I do it myself. When the plumbing leaks, I repair it myself. My drapes are all homemade from old bedsheets. I have never in my life bought a single new piece of furniture...all is second hand and worth very little and at least 50 years old and most of it 70+ years old. I do not have carpet. I do not use credit cards or debit cards and seldom write checks.
In my basement I keep approx $4k in silver coins, $5k in paper currency, $3k in ammo, $5k in guns, approx $1k in canned and dry goods, $1k in jewelry, $3k in tools, and who knows what in camping equipment, spare parts, hardware, and materials.
Then there is the stuff in my garage...I can’t get a car in there. Its basically a workshop with enough room to get a motorcycle and my two lawnmowers in there.
And then there is the stuff at my place of business(a shop and an office and a few large sheds)
To be truly self reliant, there is a WHOLE LOTTA stuff you need to acquire, and none of it has anything to do with interior decorating or entertainment systems. The main thing you need to be self reliant is a brain between your ears and a plan. It seems pretty dam obvious to me that 44% of americans have neither.
I have zero sympathy.
An apprentice is hardly the average SKILLED blue collar worker. Skilled would be a journeyman, and a carpenter is probably a little below average for a blue collar profession. Try a welder, machinist, or plant mechanic. They all made nearly double what the average college professor made in 1970. When college professors were making 12k/year, a journeyman boilermaker/steamfitter was bringing home(net after taxes) $1000/week with overtime.
You are talking about a narrow set of skills as an overall average. My point being trying to postulate an average wage for a working man. A person making $50K a year in 1970, would have been considered quite wealthy. That was at least 4 times what was needed to live a middle class lifestyle. I would think it would be the equivalent of $250K a year now. Although taxes on the 250 would pare the take home down quite a bit. As a matter of fact, taxes would be the most money spent by a person making 250K. Nearly as much as all expenses combined.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.