[Desdemona]

People in first-world countries are starting to think for themselves and take charge of that part of their lives they can control. That is the root of the problem.

They also can control consumerism and materialism and in the US choose not to. THAT is a BIIIIGGGG part of the problem. The "I want my cake that somebody else baked and eat it on fine china with a vintage Sauterne and not gain any weight" attitude that pervades the US today.

I know a lot of Catholic families with a lot of kids and they always seem to be able to make it. When I was little, there was a parish clothes exchange system of sorts. We passed stuff amongst ourselves. There was a young girls dress coat that I wore in the seventies that's still circulating. That's one of many things that we did.

The big thing is that people today spend too much money on stuff they really don't need and don't have basic skills that would save them money in the long run, like sewing, knowing how to put up summer fruits and vegetables. That sort of thing.

[Aliska]

I do agree with you and wish we could roll back the clock to where things didn't take as large a portion of paychecks to obtain the basics. People don't want to live in bad neighborhoods where rent and home ownership is cheaper, especially in the big cities, and I don't blame anyone for wanting to escape that. Still, just to send a lot of kids to catholic school is very costly for a lot of catholic couples.

I'm so p**** about something else. I have a friend who is handicapped and she goes to catholic church every Sunday and is trying to be a good girl (28 years). She dreams of a beautiful wedding and having children and it is hard for me to imagine that it could happen for her, but nothing is impossible, of course.

She lives in subsidized housing and the handyman (60 yrs) has been using his passkey to get into her apartment and take liberties with her late at night when she is tired after having worked at a pizza place to supplement her SSI. It may be consensual or not, but the b*** crossed the line and I am going to report the situation on Monday. He told her that if she told, she would lose her apartment. Sound familiar?