"America's Money"

[ziggy29]

Part of the problem is that there are always people like this. In ALL economies. People who made dumb choices and now lie in the bed they made. People who had bad luck and were downsized and/or restructured out of a job through no real fault of their own. People who are injured and were not adequately insured. It happens in the best of times just as it happens in the worst of times.

But they are actively sought out for sensationalized news stories when the economy starts to falter, making people think this is proof that We're Doomed [tm], which leads to the self-fulfilling prophecy of recession.

Yes, there may be a few *more* people in this situation now, but how many *more* will there continue to be as long as stories like this continue to scare the hell out of people and businesses?

Can you tell I have a little bit of contempt for the financial media?

 

[Razor]

I think the problem is that most people are optimists. They figure the future will always get better and everything will work itself out, so they live for the moment.

 

[W2R]

My theory is it's easy to talk about other people 's back luck and how you can be prepared for anything until something truly devastating happens to you . There is no way on earth you can be prepared for all of lifes twists and turns .

Well said!! You can prepare for many things, but not for everything. Both well prepared and poorly prepared were devastated (financially and otherwise) by the floodwall failures and consequent flooding following Katrina.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Well said!! You can prepare for many things, but not for everything. Both well prepared and poorly prepared were devastated (financially and otherwise) by the floodwall failures and consequent flooding following Katrina.

Then again most people have a choice of where they decided to live.

 

[W2R]

Then again most people have a choice of where they decided to live.

Let's get real - - Maybe everyone in Arkansas shouldn't have lived there, because of the tornados. Maybe nobody should live on the Big Island because of the tsunami that devastated Hilo in 1958 or so. Maybe nobody should live in San Francisco due to the huge earthquake a few years back (not to mention the one in 1906). Do you think that that San Francisco earthquake did not affect anyone who thought they had planned for an earthquake? I don't.

Maybe it is different in your social circles, but most people that I know live where they can find work or ended up due to having found work there. It constantly amazes me that people feel so much fury and animosity towards New Orleans. I suppose it is a racial thing. How can you blame UncleMick for living in New Orleans, for example? Do you hate him for that? Do you think it was due to poor planning? Do you blame CuppaJoe for poor planning since he lives in San Francisco? Do you honestly think you are doing so much better than either of them in your planning?

 

[ziggy29]

Then again most people have a choice of where they decided to live.

I don't really think too many people had an idea of just how pathetic local, state and national readiness were.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

An entire third of a state? Let's get real - - Maybe everyone in Arkansas shouldn't have lived there, because of the tornados. Maybe nobody should live on the Big Island because of the tsunami that devastated Hilo in 1958 or so. Maybe it is different in your social circles, but most people that I know live where they can find work.

It constantly amazes me that people feel so much fury and animosity towards New Orleans. Maybe it is a racial thing. How can you blame UncleMick for living where he did, for example? Do you hate him for that? Do you think it was due to poor planning?

So you got all that from one my statement? Racial? Animosity?

 

[ziggy29]

It constantly amazes me that people feel so much fury and animosity towards New Orleans. I suppose it is a racial thing. How can you blame UncleMick for living where he did, for example? Do you hate him for that? Do you think it was due to poor planning?

Wow. Playing the race card? W2R, I like ya and all, but I think this was a bit much.

 

[unclemick]

Then again most people have a choice of where they decided to live.

Not hardly in some careers. There are only so many 'rocket plants', wind tunnels etc in America.

However that does not excuse setting up a plan and working the 'the plan.' When something happens - well duh! - adjust the plan.

Agile, mobile and hostile.

I am still mildly pissed that they layed me off after 20 yrs(quite common in Aerospace) and I was forced, FORCED, mind you to thoughly enjoy 14 years of ER!

heh heh heh - blind confidence is a good thing - 5 blocks from the local tornado siren(none here since the 70's) - on a hill, with a basement. Party now! - males in the family tree die young(heart, TB). Besides I could get creamed driving to the doughnut shop - but it doesn't keep me up at night. Now if things look shakey - drink the cheap stuff and lower your SWR a tad til the Sun comes out. .

 

[ziggy29]

I am still mildly pissed that they layed me off after 20 yrs(quite common in Aerospace) and I was forced, FORCED, mind you to thoughly enjoy 14 years of ER!

My dad worked in aerospace after leaving the Air Force in '66. He could have retired at 55 (1990), but decided to stay on. His bosses were really nice to him and didn't dump crap work on him because they wanted him to stay. He said the last couple of years were the most pleasant he ever had there.

Of course, aerospace was reeling in 1992, industry employers were shedding jobs like a Siberian Husky sheds its winter coat in April, and they offered a sweet early retirement incentive that was too good to pass up -- a lump sum 6 months' salary, five extra years of credited service for pension purposes, and what is now the Holy Grail of early retirement -- full health insurance coverage until age 65, offered to anyone at least 55 with 10 years of service.

He thought for about a second an a half as to whether or not he should take it.

 

[kombat]

It constantly amazes me that people feel so much fury and animosity towards New Orleans.

I don't feel any fury or animosity, but at the risk of sounding insensitive, how could anybody possibly think it's a good idea to live in a city that is below sea level, right next to the ocean?

 

[Milton]

I think the emotional process of looking down on others can be gratifying. Better to pass on this source of pleasure.

I wouldn't worry about it. It is self-evident that the people profiled in the series are craving attention (good or bad, they don't really care): "look at me, look at me! I am important!".

Our condemnation is probably gratifying for them, since it reinforces their self-proclaimed victim status.

 

[W2R]

Not hardly in some careers. There are only so many 'rocket plants', wind tunnels etc in America.

However that does not excuse setting up a plan and working the 'the plan.' When something happens - well duh! - adjust the plan.

Agile, mobile and hostile.

I am still mildly pissed that they layed me off after 20 yrs(quite common in Aerospace) and I was forced, FORCED, mind you to thoughly enjoy 14 years of ER!

heh heh heh - blind confidence is a good thing - 5 blocks from the local tornado siren(none here since the 70's) - on a hill, with a basement. Party now! - males in the family tree die young(heart, TB). Besides I could get creamed driving to the doughnut shop - but it doesn't keep me up at night. Now if things look shakey - drink the cheap stuff and lower your SWR a tad til the Sun comes out. .

I think most people go where the jobs are, like you did. I could never blame you for that, or for staying here given that you had lived here many years before the layoff. And like you said - - when the plan blows up in your face, you adjust the plan.

I couldn't agree with you more about blind confidence (especially the blind part). We try as hard as we can to plan away all risks, but to be honest I do not think it is possible. Nobody knows what life can bring.

 

[unclemick]

My dad worked in aerospace after leaving the Air Force in '66. He could have retired at 55 (1990), but decided to stay on. His bosses were really nice to him and didn't dump crap work on him because they wanted him to stay. He said the last couple of years were the most pleasant he ever had there.

Of course, aerospace was reeling in 1992, industry employers were shedding jobs like a Siberian Husky sheds its winter coat in April, and they offered a sweet early retirement incentive that was too good to pass up -- a lump sum 6 months' salary, five extra years of credited service for pension purposes, and what is now the Holy Grail of early retirement -- full health insurance coverage until age 65, offered to anyone at least 55 with 10 years of service.

He thought for about a second an a half as to whether or not he should take it.

Yep - you don't always know - I was 49 in 1992.

Plus - growing up at the foot of Mt. Saint Helens - fished Spirit Lake, Y Camp, and Boy Scouts, going tubing on the Toutle River in High School and JC - nothing.

Left the State in 1969 - then along came 1980.

We humans often think we control more than we do - which in some ways can be a positive.

heh heh heh - Save some, party a little, grab a little bit of life today.

 

[Milton]

Maybe everyone in Arkansas shouldn't have lived there, because of the tornados. Maybe nobody should live on the Big Island because of the tsunami that devastated Hilo in 1958 or so. Maybe nobody should live in San Francisco due to the huge earthquake a few years back.

Good suggestions all.

 

[Walt34]

Need I say more? There are people who are willing to take responsibility for creating their own luck, good fortune, AND ability to weather hard times, and then there are those who are not willing (or are just plain stupid - my sis included).

I think that's what the case is, most of the time. A friend of mine is so optimistic he doesn't even see the need for health insurance. He thinks all insurance companies are scammers who prey on people's fears. Well, if one looks at it that way I suppose he's right. To be sure there are excesses in the marketing of insurance products but I do have house & car insurance and an umbrella policy.

But he's also the one who said that I have a "controlling personality". We're good enough friends he can say that and I don't get insulted. It came about when DW and I were getting her a new car and one of the options was the side-impact air bags, but to get that at the time I also had to buy the package that had the leather seats. DW didn't want leather seats, thinking they'd be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. To me, the side-impact air bags were not negotiable, so the only question was "What color leather seats do you want dear?" (I was a little more diplomatic about it, but that was the bottom line.) She could see were I was coming from on it so it wasn't really an issue.

I've seen enough car wrecks that it got to the point I could tell who was wearing a seat belt and who wasn't by looking at the injuries and the vehicle damage. Insisting on air bags was not about control. It's about protecting someone I love from what to me is a very real danger.

So it is with finances as well. One could say I'm pessimistic, but DW will live comfortably, if not lavishly, if/when I get "the big ache." And she is more "financially conservative" than I am. That's one reason I'm going back to work to buy a travel trailer. We certainly have the resources to write a check for a nice one, but doing so would draw those resources below her "comfort zone", and her trust, confidence and respect for me is more important than any trip or travel trailer.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I don't feel any fury or animosity, but at the risk of sounding insensitive, how could anybody possibly think it's a good idea to live in a city that is below sea level, right next to the ocean?

Personal accountability in this country is getting less and less each year.

 

[W2R]

Personal accountability in this country is getting less and less each year.

Yeah, all those people in San Francisco, sitting right on a huge geologic fault, in a city that has been devastated not once but TWICE by earthquakes, must have a terribly low level of personal accountability. Probably shouldn't even visit the place, much less live there.

They should live where YOU live, somewhere in California. Where is that, anyway?

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Yeah, all those people in San Francisco, sitting right on a huge geologic fault, in a city that has been devastated not once but TWICE by earthquakes, must have a terribly low level of personal accountability. Probably shouldn't even visit the place, much less live there.

They should live where YOU live, somewhere in California. Where is that, anyway?

I live in an area that used to be a swamp. The Sacramento area has many levees that if they fail could flood terribly. Guess what I made the choice to live here. So if they do flood I take personal responsibility for being the genius who wanted to live in a flood plain. So lady go bark up another tree with your insinuations of me being a racist and having animosity for the people effected by Katrina. I never said everyone had a choice of where they lived. I said most.

 

[ziggy29]

Personal accountability in this country is getting less and less each year.

There's nothing wrong with living in a high-risk area as long as one is willing to accept the risk...or pay a lot of money to an insurer to make them assume the risk.

 

[Khan]

Let's get real - - Maybe everyone in Arkansas shouldn't have lived there, because of the tornados. Maybe nobody should live on the Big Island because of the tsunami that devastated Hilo in 1958 or so. Maybe nobody should live in San Francisco due to the huge earthquake a few years back (not to mention the one in 1906). Do you think that that San Francisco earthquake did not affect anyone who thought they had planned for an earthquake? I don't.

Maybe it is different in your social circles, but most people that I know live where they can find work or ended up due to having found work there. It constantly amazes me that people feel so much fury and animosity towards New Orleans. I suppose it is a racial thing. How can you blame UncleMick for living in New Orleans, for example? Do you hate him for that? Do you think it was due to poor planning? Do you blame CuppaJoe for poor planning since he lives in San Francisco? Do you honestly think you are doing so much better than either of them in your planning?

34 years ago yesterday, part of the town of Xenia Ohio was wiped off the map.

Super Outbreak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There have been 2 or 3 tornadoes since (nowhere near as nasty), following the same path.


Where else not to live:
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ziggy29]

I live in an area that used to be a swamp. The Sacramento area has many levees that if they fail could flood terribly.

Not to mention that a very powerful earthquake will create liquefaction that could make the house behave as if it's floating on water.

 

[W2R]

Wow. Playing the race card? W2R, I like ya and all, but I think this was a bit much.

Well, you are right. It was and I sincerely apologize. I try not to talk about the hurricane much or engage in threads about the recovery down here, because I get emotional and unreasonable when I do. It is still hard for me to handle gracefully, though I really do try (but failed in that in my prior post). I am truly sorry.

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever come to terms with it and be able to talk about it more reasonably.

Maybe after I ER and move to Springfield, all of this will seem like a distant memory.

 

[Art G]

I don't feel any fury or animosity, but at the risk of sounding insensitive, how could anybody possibly think it's a good idea to live in a city that is below sea level, right next to the ocean?

How can so many more people live right near a major fault line in California? Or an active volcano in Hawaii? Or tornado alley in Oklahoma and Texas?

 

[Notmuchlonger]

My goal was certainly not trying to offend or insult anyone. I wanted to bring up a different angle on it and obviously I touched on a sensitive subject. I apologize for that.