Replies

I think those girls are scared out of their minds.

My kids are. We are about to be foreclosed on, our income has dropped by 2/3, neither of us can find a real job, we are both over 50 years old, and we are self-employed. One of our businesses’ had a revenue drop of 50% last month — the first drop ever; until last month it had increased every month and every year. Sadly, that’s the business we rely on to support ourselves.

My kids are worried because we don’t have enough money to move to a place where the jobs are. We’ve target one spot, and we are trying to save money from our meager resources to move our family there. Trouble is, aside from saving the huge amount of money needed to move a home and a business, what happens if after we get there, our financial picture doesn’t change.

My kids are worried about being homeless. I thought of lots of options, from camping throughout the summer, to farming them out to several different relatives (and paying the relatives for their keep), to going to a family homeless shelter. Then I found out that the shelters don’t take boys over the ages of 5, 11, and 14 — depending on the shelter — and most of my kids are boys.

Yes, we made more money in the past, and we used it: to pay taxes, to support our family. We don’t have anything we can sell. No boat. No car less than 8 years old. No fancy furniture. An older house that is now worth less than the mortgage.

So many people on here think that when someone faces financial hardship it is their own fault. They assume the family was living a life of luxury, or isn’t trying hard enough to find work.

Well, sometimes, that is not how it is at all. Sometimes people are in circumstances not of their own making. Sometimes people have to tell their kids no to every little thing. Sometimes people are just screwed. I can handle that, but I can’t handle that happening to my kids.

I feel badly for you. It's scary for many people... particularly those with young ones.

The thing I have a problem with are the attitudes many folks have in expecting government to "help" them (I'm speaking in general and not to you personally, of course). The government is the reason for these economic problems. It's like asking the person responsible for robbing you to give it back. It's either the government or the market... there's no other option.

Our side needs to persuade the people of this country that *they* are the bosses of their own prosperity and The State needs to back off. Our GOP has been unsuccessful in conveying ideas that promote freedom for the individual. They need to get their *hit together quickly. We need to win in the "arena of ideas" as I believe Rush calls it.

I’m really sorry for your family’s struggles. Have you considered moving to a lower-cost small town somewhere in rural America? Your older boys are almost old enough to work, and even with jobs in retail stores and restaurants, your family could work to make enough money to afford an inexpensive house in a small town. I’ve seen large older homes for sale in smaller towns for dirt cheap. You could fix it up yourself, and maybe even make some money on it in a few years if/when the market ever turns back around. But, hey at least you would have a roof over your kids’ heads.

Sometimes people need to rethink their idea of what it means to ‘get by.’ I don’t think camping all summer is a great idea. Kids need stability, and while it might be fun for a few weeks, all summer would be a waste of time you could be using to get jobs and get into another house. Even if the foreclosure makes buying impossible, you might be able to find a landlord who needs some handyman work done on a house he owns and would be willing to work with you on the rent in exchange for some work on the house. Think outside the box. Get creative.

Do what you have to do to make your kids feel secure and like they are a part of the family’s solution. Look to the small town, particularly college towns which always have thriving economies because of all the money being spent by college students.

Good luck.

I understand exactly what you’re talking about and the problems that you and your family are going through. And you’re right, these kinds of problems are not always the problem of the people themselves. There are outside circumstances that are beyond the control of the people involved, no matter what they may do or can do or have within their abilities to affect, one way or another.

It’s a troubling time for many and there are also many people who don’t seem to realize that (as long as they, themselves are still doing okay, they think everyone else should be too...).

I think what is going on, overall in this country (and around the world) is a judgement of God, and that it will also affect a lot of Christians in the process. This is what does happen with “corporate judgments” of God, upon a nation. It does spill over and affect others, very widely, even those who didn’t have anything to do with the causes of the judgement.

I’ve had to adjust, too, but it’s been a bit easier for me, since I don’t have a big family to take care of now, at my age. They’re grown up now and having to deal with this stuff on their own, having been doing that for quite a while now.

And yes, it’s troubling to see your young ones have to suffer through these troubling times...

There may be major adjustments to be made, but never give up on God showing the way, whatever way that is, that He wants to direct you to. He always has done that for me, in all circumstances, and He promises He will do that for any of those who are His.

The pity isn’t that they are terrified and afraid, the real pity is that they believe BO can solve their problem with his socialist agenda.

Pretty much all BO has to do is make tax cuts permanent and lower the corporate tax rates so jobs would come BACK to the US and unemployment would be on the mend. But he won’t do it because he’s creating this crisis to take over as much as he can.

That’s what is sad.