Root Cause of Our Economic Probems Not Economic at All?
Here’s a good article found at Cultural Offering about the problem with today’s economics that is widely overlooked. It has to do with good men being shunned in a country that is sure it doesn’t need them anymore.
Possum Living. An Interesting Old Book About Living Cheap.
I recently found a book called Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money
It’s a detailed how-to book where an 18 year old lady writes about how to survive without a real job. Considering it’s from an 18 year old’s perspective, the book is very insightful. It covers how her and her father lived on the cheap and survived with very little income. They raised their own food, created their own heat, owned their home, and managed fairly well.
In my opinion, the book doesn’t live up to the title for the average person. Most are not willing to go to the extremes that Dolly and her father did. In some cases, they were breaking the law. What this book does do is make you ask the question, “What would I do with no job?”. Could you raise your own food? Do you have the basic skills to survive? Could stay away from government dependency? Dolly provides some ways that they did it in in a rural area in 1973, but what would you do in a modern suburban environment. Are you using your resources wisely that you have now? Are you using your skills to save money now?
After reading the book, I’ve reconsidered my lifestyle. No, I’m not planning on getting off the grid, but I do think that the more capabilities one has to do without it, the better off they are in general. When you consider that our entire lifestyle is tied to a system of wires and pipes and that system is tied to an complex grid that few of us understand, I don’t think it’s out or the realm of a reasonable person to consider wise alternatives. Not only does it explain how to live off of the grid, there are some ideas about health, education, cooking, and how nearly every area of life can be simplified when the desire or need is there.
It’s a great book for the money and it’s sure to spark some ideas. The first idea it sparked with me was that I needed to get organized. I actually have some of things that are mentioned in the book, but I can’t even find them. In the process of cleaning the house up, I’ve been throwing out some things that I could have done without and that’s money that could still be sitting in my bank account. Lesson learned and onto a simpler way of life.
Example of Supreme Stupidity That the Unemployed Must Endure
Florida's Idea Of A Job Hunting Uniform
If you have a job, treasure it. If you’re been unemployed recently, this story about red capes handed out to the unemployed in Florida will help you explain to others how the process goes and the types of government employees that you’re dealing with.
Unfortunately, I went through the Ohio unemployment process lately. I’m not going to tell you my unemployment woes because I would just sound bitter. I’d sound bitter because I was and had more than a right to be. Enough about that though, you just get on with it. The thing is, I wouldn’t be as bitter if I had not have visited Ohio’s unemployment services nicknamed “One-Stop”.
I’ll summarize the newly-unemployed’s visit.
- You sign in.
- They talk to you like you’re a child and show you around the place.
- They explain how to use a computer and a telephone and show you stack of jobs that either pay $10/hr or require a skill set that nobody on the planet would have.
- If you’re a Vet, you get to talk to another Vet who tells you of a grand scheme he’ll work on to show that your Infantry experience actually means something special if you attend his class.
- After this, they disappear. If you have further questions, sign into the book and they’ll be more than willing to talk to you like you’re a child again. If your questions are anything more complicated than, “Where’s the restroom?”, they’ll refer to the telephone and give you instructions on how to used it.
- They will make sure that you have a packet that tells you how to beg for government handouts.
After all of this, you leave really depressed that these folks have work, but you don’t. You wonder which wrong turn you made in life that has denied you the opportunity to make money showing people how to use a telephone.
Florida has gone all out. They’re going to tell you that you’re a superhero! They’ll even give you the cape to prove it! Wow! What an insult. I couldn’t believe it when I read it. Now, the unemployed don’t just have to settle with the stigma currently given that you were just let go because you were not performing, they also give you a cape to pretend that you’re a cartoon hero.
This how it works. Whether you get a cape or not, it’s a demeaning and ridiculous situation. Do anything and everything to keep yourself away from these morons. You do not want to end up here. If you’re doing ok, get a backup plan. If you’re already in a bind, get out of it any way that you know how.
Related articles
- “Your Tax Dollars at Work: Florida Agency Gives Superhero Capes to the Unemployed” and related posts (dougpowers.com)
- Labor officials probe capes for unemployed (upi.com)
- Problem Solved? Florida Agency Spends $14,000 For Superhero Capes For the Unemployed (jonathanturley.org)
- No Joke, Government Gives Unemployed Superhero Capes (caseyhendrickson.wordpress.com)
- Officials Say “Capes For the Unemployed” Plan Not Super (idle.slashdot.org)
The Great Real Estate Myth
I spent part of my day going through areas of blight. There’s a lot of it these days. Grand old houses that are falling apart, empty strip malls, and a huge number of “For Rent” signs on industrial properties. On the radio, I hear an advertisement telling me of the riches to be found in foreclosures! Really? They must be talking about stripping them out and making money from the scrap.fd
Don't put all of your money here.
So what caused this? According to what I’ve been told, the economy. Yeah right, I’ll believe that. Rent is still high and the prices on real estate are not as low as a bad economy would dictate. If the economy was the cause, the prices would drop as demand dropped. So how can the economy be in the tank, but not be a part of the real estate market? An aging population is the only reasonable explanation.
Currently, the baby boomers are aging and sadly, even dying. Their demand for housing and every product except medical goods and services is decreasing. They fueled the rise in prosperity and that fuel is starting to run low. As they began to withdraw from participation in the economy, real estate investors are left holding properties that they fully expected to keep appreciating in value. They invested with expendable income and they’re holding onto the dream that someday the market will return. If I’m right, I don’t know what they expect to occur to make that happen.
When I suspected that the aging population’s low demand was the problem with real estate, a Google search for “aging population’s effect on new housing” returned a wealth of information. The ignored warnings have been out for many years. Long enough that everyone should be been considering the effects that the situation would bring. When I listen to the news say that the housing market is unexpectedly still down, I’ll no longer wonder what is going to reverse that trend. It’s not going to reverse in my lifetime.
Related articles
- Are You Considering Getting Real Estate (pro2sell.com)
All of Our Jobs Going to China? Really?
Don’t you hate it when you believe something just because it’s easy to take news outlets at their word. I can’t say that I’ve heard it on Fox, but I’ve watched and read numerous stories on mainstream news and I’ve even seen an entire documentary on PBS telling me that all of the jobs are going to China. I’ve talked to friends that explained that they designed processes at companies where they worked, only to have it all shut down and shipped to China. I don’t spend days pouring over what goes to China, so I just accepted this as at least a little bit factual. All of that changed when I found this graph.
Production Output Of The U.S.
I started looking for facts on China after listening to an unrelated story on the radio. There was a gentleman from the Reagan administration era who said he was a member of the intelligence community. I didn’t catch the exact info on the guy. He was stating that Russia was never much of a threat at all. He claimed that they could barely feed their people and had been teetering on collapse for a long time. It’s certainly believable with Communism. Of course, all that Reagan had to do was call them out on it and the game was up. My suspicion is that any leader we had before could have done the same, but it’s always handy to have an enemy if you’re in the defense business.
I thought, “Maybe history is repeating itself. Isn’t China supposed to be our competitive threat? Maybe even a potential military threat?”. If all of our jobs are going to China, how are we producing more now than ever before in history? There could be reason for this that I don’t understand. I’ve read that the bulk of this industrial output is military, but I’ve found no stats to support that.
So why is the output higher than ever? I’ll make my bets on technology and population. More technology and people than ever would certainly explain it to me. It would also explain why the output is through the roof yet unemployment is too. If the military output is the major part of this high output and we’re buying it all on borrowed money, we’re in a for a hard fall.
Signs of the Times at the Horse Auction
Friends of mine wanted to buy a horse, so I borrowed a horse trailer and went to Sugarcreek, Ohio to a livestock auction with them. There were some sad folks there selling their horses. More than a few times, the auctioneer would say,
Young lady sells her horse due to financial situation.
“This is a good sold horse used for trail riding. The people just can’t afford to keep it anymore.”.
I don’t know much about horses. In fact, they scare the crap out of me because they’re 1500 pounds of animal with a mind of their own. I’m sure lack of knowledge is the problem here. The people here did know and love everything about horses. Equestrian pursuits are expensive, but I can see where people would fall in love with these noble beasts. Seeing these good people losing their horses was like watching someone parting with a loved one. I seen beautiful horses selling for $500.
On a less emotional level, this is where where start to see the effects of long term unemployment and a down economy hits everyone. They’ll sell the horses and no longer buy feed, riding gear and clothing, trailers and trucks to haul them, riding lessons for the kids, excursions to other places where they would buy lodging and food, and everything else that goes with the horses.
How many other worthwhile enjoyable pursuits are being foregone and the same effects further crippling the economy? Is this just an adjustment from a previous time when people were to lavish with their spending on things like this?
Here is a picture I found humorous. A pony and cart next to Amish buggies.
Pony with cart next to Amish buggies.
Top 10 Things I Wish I Never Bought
Remember Andy Rooney? What an annoying SOB he was. Mr. Rooney was a cranky old man full of observations that were many times on the edge of lunacy. I remember watching him say the most ridiculous things when I was younger. You would get ready to hear some wisdom from an old man and then, out of nowhere, he would come up with utter nonsense. The last time I watched him, he was pulling trinkets out of his desk drawer and droning on about them. They probably pulled the old man off the set after that.
I decided to do a long overdue clean-out of my desk tonight and I had an Andy Rooney moment myself. I was pulling out old warranty papers and I was remembering the stuff I had bought over the years. If that’s not an Andy Rooney moment, I don’t know what is. I thought of turning on the camera and trying my own Andy Rooney styled video piece. Probably not a good idea. Instead, I’ve decided to write article I wish I could send back in time about 20 years. If I could I’d be setting on a pile of money right now.
I would guess that all the people who could benefit from this the most don’t care. I know I didn’t care at 20 years old about how to spend money wisely. At 20, you already know everything. It might still be good for us old folks to compare notes.
The Top Ten Things I Wish I’d Never Bought Are -
- Ford cars and trucks. Feel free to replace Ford with any brand you personally don’t like.
- Cars from used car lots.
- High End Electronics
- Software
- Printers
- A House
- Anything I don’t have room for.
- Anything new where used would have sufficed.
- Anything Chinese
- Low End Tools
And here’s why -
- Fords, or any other brand you don’t really care for will not hold your attention for maintenance. Since vehicles tend to keep costing money, you’ll get a sick feeling every time you put money into a vehicle you really don’t like. My biggest regrettable vehicle was a 1997 Ford Ranger Flareside. It had a bed made of fiberglass! Most useless truck every made, and the Firestone tires would blow up for no reason at all.
- I never had a used car from a lot that was a good car. If a car made it’s way to a used lot, it’s there because somebody didn’t want a buyer coming after them for selling the lemon.
- High end electronics that serve no immediate income producing purpose are something you simply don’t need. They’ll be as outdated as whatever you are using now in a few months and they rarely live up to their hype.Go for what you can afford and be happy. Cell phones seem to be replacing computers in this tech race.
- Nearly every software title I’ve ever paid for could have been done on a hacked version or an Open Source replacement. The only exception would be mapping software. Anything Microsoft has been a waste of money.
- Printers suck. I haven’t found a way around this yet. You rarely need one, but when you do, there is usually something wrong with it.
- Houses – I suppose you have to live somewhere, but houses are just to much damned money. Don’t buy one of these things unless you’re really sure about it. Don’t expect anyone else to be on your side in the buying process either.
- Big stuff that doesn’t do much will always be in the way. Don’t buy it, rent it.
- Used stuff is great. You can usually talk the price down and when something happens to it, you’re not out much money.
- I’ve never had anything Chinese that worked out well. The clothes never fit right, the tools break, the motorcycles are dangerously bad, and the list could go on and on.
- Low end tools are only good for loaners to friends. There’s nothing good about them, but you get the obligatory “loaning” thing out of the way. Tools rarely make it back to the house anyhow, so why not give them something cheap and useless that they can identify with as it lays unreturned at their house?
