Two recent surveys, along with numerous other studies and data, reveal most American households to be living on the brink of catastrophe, but continuing to act in a reckless and delusionary manner. There have certainly been economic factors beyond the control of average Americans that have resulted in real median household incomes remaining stagnant for the last 36 years. The unholy alliance of mega-corporations, Wall Street and bought off corrupt politicians have gutted the nation of millions of good paying jobs under the guise of globalization, while utilizing debt, derivatives and financial schemes to enrich themselves. The malfeasance of the sociopathic privileged class does not discharge the personal responsibility of citizens for living within their means. A lack of discipline, inability to delay gratification, failure to understand basic mathematical concepts, materialistic envy, absence of critical thinking skills, and a delusionary view of the world have left the majority of Americans broke and in debt.
The data that captured my attention was how little the average American household has in savings. Roughly 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings and 21% don’t even have a savings account, according to a new survey of more than 5,000 adults conducted this month by Google Consumer Survey for personal finance website GOBankingRates.com. This dreadful data is reinforced by a similar survey of 1,000 adults carried out earlier this year by personal finance site Bankrate.com, which also found that 62% of Americans have no emergency savings for a medical crisis, car repair, or unanticipated household expenditure.
The fact is these are not highly unlikely scenarios. They happen every day as part of our routine existence. Everyone gets sick. Every car eventually needs new tires or an engine repair. Every home will need a new hot water heater or roof at some point. It is foolish and short sighted to not expect “unexpected” expenditures. Living in the moment and fulfilling your immediate desires may feel good today, but leaves you susceptible to disaster tomorrow. Gradually building a rainy day fund over time is what adults should do. Only immature children operate with no safety net. Everyone has an excuse for why they end up living on the edge, but the data exposes us to be an infantile nation of spendthrifts incapable of distinguishing between wants and needs. It might be understandable for young adults who are burdened by student loan debt and entry level jobs to have little or no savings, but the data for older Americans is most disturbing.
It seems 51% of all Generation X adults between the ages of 35 to 54, in the prime earning years of their lives, have ZERO savings, the highest among all age cohorts, with over 20% of them not even having a savings account. This is incomprehensible and reveals an almost juvenile approach to life. Approximately 70% of all 35 to 54 year old households have $1,000 or less in savings. These are people who should have been working for the last 10 to 30 years. To not have put aside more than $1,000 is beyond irresponsible, and the justification of earning no interest on savings is disingenuous as they could have earned 5% up until 2008. This shocking state of affairs can’t only be laid at the feet of the evil bankers and rich corporate titans.
Every person has to accept personal responsibility for their own life. There is one sure fire way to accumulate savings and that is to spend less than you earn. It sounds simple, but the vast majority of Americans have chosen to live beyond their means by allowing themselves to be lured into debt by the Wall Street debt peddlers and their Madison Avenue media maggots selling dreams to willfully ignorant delusional consumers. Consumer dependent corporations hawking autos, electronics, glittery baubles, fashionable attire, toxic processed sludge disguised as food, and other slave produced Chinese crap, require a vast unlimited supply of easy money debt to keep profits rolling in. And the Federal Reserve has been willing and able to accommodate them.
Those who control the levers of this perverted economic system utilize Fed easy money, propaganda advertising messages, and the susceptibility of an oblivious populace, suffering from delusions of grandeur, to create generations of debt enslaved hamsters running on the wheel of life. But, we were not forced into this enslavement. Millions have chosen to live lives of quiet desperation in order to keep up with the Joneses. They would rather portray themselves as successful and wealthy, rather than make the necessary sacrifices required to achieve success and wealth. Everyone has the ability to live beneath their means. Millions have made the choice to do so. The chart above shows 10% to 20% of people do have $10,000 or more in savings, including young people. Many are average middle class Americans, not the despised 1%.
It is certainly not easy to accumulate savings in an economy stacked against the working middle class, but it is possible. It requires self-discipline, deferring gratification, patience, budgetary skills, staying employed, and not coveting your neighbors’ possessions. The lack of short-term savings is not an isolated data point. It is representative of a nation of narcissistic live for today ne’er-do-wells who rarely concern themselves with the future or the consequences of their actions. They haven’t been putting all their spare cash into their retirement plans either. When you realize the typical household between the ages of 35 to 54 has less than $10,000 saved for their retirement, the mass delusion becomes clear. How could Boomers, who have worked for 30 to 40 years, and experienced the greatest bull market in history (1981 – 2001) have only $12,000 of retirement savings as they approach retirement?
These are median figures, so half the households have even less retirement savings. It requires decades of living above your means to accumulate such little in savings. The apologists for the non-saving masses often argue Americans were utilizing their homes as a store of wealth to be used in retirement. This is just another false storyline, as the savings poor public used their homes like an ATM machine from 2001 through 2008, extracting hundreds of billions to spend on granite countertops, exotic Caribbean vacations, home theaters, BMWs, Olympic sized pools, bling, and new boobs for mommy. Equity in homes plunged from 60% to below 40% in the space of a few years and has only recovered to 55% after the Fed induced faux housing recovery. There are still millions of homeowners underwater, with the next leg down guaranteed to add millions more.
The millions of American households living on the edge and headed for a poverty stricken old age have a million excuses for why they never saved a dime. These are the same people who will demand the government save them from their own foolishness and irrational life choices. They will demand the rich (anyone who worked hard, saved, and planned for their future) be taxed more, so they don’t have to live with the consequences of their reckless disregard for common sense and self-discipline. These people should have read some Shakespeare in high school, and maybe they wouldn’t be in this predicament.
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
We are all responsible for our own lives and our own decisions. It isn’t complicated regarding how to save money. But it is hard. It requires simple math skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – concepts not thought too important in our government controlled educational system. It requires self-control, acting like an adult, and distinguishing between what you want versus what you need. It’s OK to splurge once in a while, but since around 1980, multiple generations have been binge spending in an orgy of debt debauchery unmatched in human history. Since 1980 the U.S. population has gone up by a factor of 1.42, GDP has expanded by a factor of 6.3, and consumer debt has exploded by a factor of 10. The amount of consumer debt per person in 1980 was $9,300. Today, the total is an astounding $65,200 per person, a 700% increase in 35 years. We owe $21 trillion of mortgage, credit card, student loan and other debt to the felonious Wall Street bankers. This nation has gone insane.
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
With a median household income of about $56,000 and median net wages per worker of $29,000 it is fairly easy to grasp the monthly inflow of a middle income household. In Median World, taxes will take about a 16% chunk out of those figures, so the median household ends up with about $4,000 of take home pay per month. If they own a median priced home of $189,000, their monthly mortgage payment would likely be about $850. Add another $200 to $300 per month for property taxes and you are on the hook for $1,100 per month. A median rent figure would be in the same ballpark, unless you live in SF, NYC or a few other overpriced markets. This is where many people go off course, allowing themselves to be lured into more house than they can really afford with low down payments guaranteed by the government, driving the monthly housing burden north of $1,500. McMansion envy has destroyed more lives in the last ten years than any other delusion.
Food, clothing, utilities, and home upkeep expenses could total $1,500 per month for a family with kids. If one or both parents are stuck with student loan debt, a monthly payment of $200 to $400 would be normal. There isn’t much spare change left to fund their remaining needs, wants and desires. But their neighbors and coworkers are all driving new cars. They can’t be seen driving a used 10 year old clunker. People will think they’re poor. Shallow appearances are all that matter to a vast swath of America. According to Edmunds.com, the average monthly payment on a new vehicle is $479. We can’t have one spouse driving a new car, while the other slums it on public transportation, so two newer cars will add another $900 or so of expenses to the monthly budget.
Wall Street and the automakers are only too glad to offer those with good credit a 7 year 0% loan, guaranteeing a permanent status of being underwater on your loan until you must have that new model after four years, rolling the underwater loan into the next purchase. The permanent leasers convince themselves they are making a good deal as they sign their lives away every three years without understanding the financial implications of the leases. And then there are the 20% subprime auto buyers who pretend to pay until the repo man shows up in the middle of the night. This delusion of debt is how annual auto sales have soared from 10 million in 2009 to almost 18 million today.
I’m on the road every day and it is mind boggling to see the number of newer $30,000 to $50,000 vehicles cruising the highways and byways of America. Even in the poverty stricken neighborhoods of West Philly, brand new BMWs, Cadillacs, and other $25,000 or more vehicles are parked in front of dilapidated hovels and low income housing complexes. Virtually none of these vehicles are owned outright. Americans are essentially renting their luxury wheels so they can appear successful. The way to become financially successful on a modest income is to buy used cars and drive them for ten or more years. The years of no car payment can be directed into savings. Very few people chose this path. That is why auto loan debt has now exceeded $1 trillion, up 40% since 2010. Wall Street wants you in perpetual debt and millions have bought it hook line and sinker. But at least they appear prosperous to their neighbors, while they’re really in debt up to their eyeballs.
The choice to indulge in driving over-priced ornamental transportation basically leaves the average household with little or no discretionary income at the end of the month. But that doesn’t stop spendthrift nation from becoming addicted to their mobile phones and binge watching reality TV. The average American, who had never heard of a mobile phone in 1990, now can’t go 20 seconds without checking their phone. And they are paying through the nose for the privilege of staying terminally connected. We have smart phones for dumb people. Even welfare recipients without jobs, living in low income housing and dependent on food stamps, somehow find the funds to have a smartphone in their hand 24/7. Maybe directing those funds towards books might give them a better chance of exiting poverty.
In one survey, 46% of Americans with mobile phones said their monthly bill was $100 or more and 13% said their monthly bill topped $200 per month. The average individual’s cell phone bill was $73 per month last year, a 33% increase since 2009, according to J.D. Power & Associates. When they aren’t texting, tweeting, or facebooking on their iGadgets, they are watching basic cable boob TV at average price of $100 per month, up 39% since 2010. But our connoisseurs of crapola need the NFL Package, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and on demand porno. Tricked out smart phones and cable packages are not necessities. They are wants. Wasting $200 to $300 per month on narcissistic compulsions is a choice.
Possibly the largest squandering of resources occurs on a daily basis, as Americans spend money they don’t have on $5 lattes, toxic fast foodstuff, craft beers, and whatever else strikes their fancy. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer expenditure surveys, the typical household spends $2,625 each year, or around $219 per month, on food away from home. Those in higher income brackets spend the most on restaurants at around $370 per month. Millennials, with the least amount of discretionary funds, view dining out as a social event, and choose fun and frivolity over finances. The concept of brown bagging your lunch for $1 rather than spending $10 at Paneras, or brewing a pot of coffee for 25 cents rather than paying $5 at Starbucks is inconceivable to the live for today credit card cowboys and cowgirls.
Dining out is the ultimate personal choice and a huge factor in the non-existent savings of American households. Over the last two decades Americans have abandoned the frugality of buying food at the grocery store on sale, using coupons in favor of eating out at a hefty premium on a daily basis. The result has been a $10 billion gap in spending between groceries and dining out being obliterated by an army of live for today for tomorrow we can make the minimum payment on our credit card juveniles. Not only has this penchant for satiating their hunger contributed greatly to their lack of savings, but has been financed on their credit cards. That $25 Applebees dinner, financed at 18% interest over the next ten years ends up costing $54. Multiply this foolishness hundreds of times per year over decades and you understand why Boomers have less than $1,000 in savings accounts and $12,000 or less in retirement savings. It’s just math.
The expenditures detailed above don’t include healthcare, entertainment, vacations, government extractions (tolls, fees, fines, taxes) and assorted other miscellaneous wastes of money. It is pretty clear the monthly outflow exceeds the monthly inflow for the majority of Americans. That is why the average household has credit card debt of $7,500 and those carrying a balance pay an average interest rate of 14% on their $16,000 ball and chain. This is on top of an average mortgage obligation of $155,000 and average student loan commitment of $32,000. The Wall Street hucksters are only too happy to help you finance a lifestyle well above your true means. They borrow from the Fed at .25% and charge you 10% to 20% for the use of credit created out of thin air. They always win. The willfully ignorant are thrilled they can now pay their IRS bill, property taxes, utilities, and just about every daily expense with a credit card. They fail to acknowledge the insanity of their chosen lifestyle path.
I still remember something my sophomore English teacher Mr. McGrath taught the class, based upon the writings of Aristotle. Human beings are rational, sentient, living, corporeal substances. What separates us from animals is our ability to think and act in a rational manner, rather than just on instincts and urges. Based on what has occurred in this country over the last 35 years, I’m starting to question the rational part. It’s almost as if a mental illness has befallen a majority of Americans. The Deep State and their minions on Wall Street and the corporate media certainly attempt to mold and manipulate the minds of the masses, but at the end of the day people are free to disregard those messages and live meaningful lives on their own terms. Even though living above your means has become “normal”, it is only normal in relation to our profoundly abnormal society. Telling people the truth today is meaningless, as they don’t want their illusions destroyed. But destroyed they will be, when this teetering edifice of debt comes crashing down on their heads.
“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does.” They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness. These millions of abnormally normal people, living without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted.” – Aldous Huxley – Brave New World Revisited
“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Karalan
250 posts into thread and we have figured out that it is all llpoh fault.
Got it!
I’m not part of 1% and I have fucked up a little bit now and then but I don’t think lloph hates me. And if he does
so the fuck what…
and yeah I’ve been to that court you speak of. Not pleasant but how is that anyone else’s fault other than mine. Took me ten years to get back on track.
Why does this keep coming up in this thread. Holy shit I knew when I got married, the first time, the odds of it turning out. I did it anyways. You weren’t standing there with a gun to my head telling me I had to do it. That is the fucking problem with all these butt hurt trolls. We live in a free society. We can do whatever we want.
I was 40 years old before I made 30 grand/year. Here I am ten years later making about 25 grand more per year. You know what I am doing now. I have a surplus of about 1000 dollars a month after expenses. What say I do with this. Well I’m paying off my mortgage and saving the rest.
The point of this article is that the vast majority aren’t doing this. Rather they are drowning in debt. Hoping that if things go to shit someone else will buy them lunch. But I got news for all them they will be on the street holding a sign. Asking strangers to kick them in the balls for 20 bucks.
Stucky’s Rule Of Asshole-ishness; the number of dumfuk assholes visiting TBP is directly proportional to the length of Admin’s original articles.
Ya hit the JACKPOT with this thread, Jimbo.
Hilarious amount of butt-hurt in this thread.
If only more people would realize how empowering it is to be out of debt (or nearly so), and what a wonderful feeling you can get from watching your savings grow; they would realize that filling their lives with more, more, more just doesn’t compare. Yet, when I speak of these things to others, I am mostly met with glazed eyeballs.
By living below our means, the hubs and I were able to pay off our mortgage and his student loans from Chiropractic school 15 years early. This helped take the pressure off when our health insurance premiums more than doubled under the ACA. It has also allowed me the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom- my son has autism, and me being available for him whenever he needs me is priceless. I can’t imagine the pressures we would have if we had the weight of debt upon us.
Matty sure is a pompous long winded gas bag who clearly doesn’t read my articles. If he did read this blog on a daily basis, his bloviating bullshit would be obliterated.
I love it when individuals can not separate personal instances of people living the right way from an avalanche of facts that PROVE the majority of people (I said majority – not all) have lived far above their means for decades.
It’s douchebags like Marty the Marine who are so bitter and angry about how they fucked up their lives and need some bogeyman to blame, they NEVER take any personal responsibility for their plight.
As I stated unequivocally in the article, Wall Street is bad, politicians are bad, big business is bad. Tough shit. That’s life you pussy. Put on your big boy pants and deal with it.
Noooo. Marty will just rage against the machine and blame others for his woes.
If you don’t like the truth Marty, hit the fucking road. We prefer commenters with IQs above 85.
Francis Marion
Should I take Marty under my wing and mentor him?
@ Jim.
I knew you’d say that. And you’re mostly right.
Anger’s hard on your blood pressure though. Don’t stroke out on us.
Francis Marion
My blood pressure has never been better. I love these threads. My purpose for this blog is to provoke and make people mad. It’s articles like this one that piss people off and bring out the hate. I love it.
This thread is like every day back when Smokey was around in the 2011 – 2012 time frame.
Most days are pretty boring on TBP. So the last two days have been refreshing and invigorating. I love thrashing dumbasses.
I think I missed Marty’s post. There’s more than I care to read.
But you do what you want. It’s your blog and your life. You’re a big boy too. I’m just sending the same message to you as the rest of the schleps around here. We reap what we sow. Some times the damage is financial – some times its something less evident and mathematical. You have a lot of information (wisdom?) to impart on the world. You owe it nothing of course but some times I figure what we do to others is a reflection of who we are and in turn what society is around us. If you want a just and civil society to live in then maybe the civil should start with you?
Francis Marion
I have a simple rule. I never treat a commentor badly unless their initial comment is not civil. If they make a derogatory comment to start, the gloves come off.
I treat everyone with the respect they deserve.
This is a libertarian anarchist blog. Civility is not going to help when the shit hits the fan. It’s overrated in my book.
Wow, wow, wow. Is this place like the MOST special, different, awesome place EVAH’?!?
Yes, I think it is.
Thanks Bea for both the “lovely” comment and the shout out to AnarchoPagan. I concur, it was awesomely smooth. And your (AP’s) bend/comments have had me mostly intrigued too. There are not many of us – here – that see the “more worlds than these.” If we can’t meet on this plane/dimension, maybe the next, no?
Ah Stuck, don’t be that way, your are my first, longest and best TBP love. If not for a really, really, messed up train schedule and incredibly high cost, I would have been there with you all in NY. I spent most of the preceding Wednesday night trying to figure out a way to get me there, and home, without upsetting the ole man. $400 and 30 hours of trains and I couldn’t do it without also finding a hotel room. So it goes…
Oh Chuck, so sorry we offend your precious little sense of righteousness. I was just reading an excerpt of an upcoming book written by Carol Two Eagles, a lifestory that makes most of our whining about problems and fairness seem like walks on easy street. She is a non-denominational, non-secular (her words) NDN (Indian) whom said a couple things that resonated with me right down to my toes. 1. She is not a “Native American” as NONE of us here are “native” to this continent, we ALL came from elsewhere. She (again, her words) is not an American Indian as that was not the wording her ancestors used for our country. Turtle Island, is what I’m remembering her calling it. and 2. she admitted to the fact her language offends many. According to Carol we should just get over ourselves because “if God didn’t want us to use the language, he wouldn’t have given it to us.” I’ll bet she feels the same about tobacco and (some) drugs too. Anyway, so sorry to offend, I’m sure there is some scrubbed clean, politically and Religious sites you can go forth and get your knowledge from. Have a blast with the old “acceptable” trains of thought.
As for all the whiners about divorce, YOU choose your fate mates. As did I. I walked away from two marriages, with one child and NO support. The first marriage I got $1100 in our asset split and no child support. He got everything else, including a nearly paid for home, two cars, a harley, etc., and my lawyer cost me more to tell me I was screwed than the measly $1100. SO WHAT. I chose him and his consequences. But my sanity, and the mental health of my son, was worth more than anything he could have “given” me. My second? Less than half the assets I bought (all his money was going to things like his car payment and his IRS and State tax debt), AND the loss of the over $50,000 cash I had paid to keep the IRS off his ass. So, by the time I was 32, I had been forced to start over, in the hole, three times, but left with (most of) my sanity. It’s only money, I can always earn more.
As for the comment that those proclaiming “personal responsibility” MUST be from “privileged” backgrounds, what CRAP! As many others here have attested to, many of us were NOT born with families with money, we still figured out where the buck actually stops.
Would I be further ahead financially had I aborted, or given away, my son? Maybe, maybe not. Would I be further ahead had I stayed in an abusive marriage? No way in hell. One of us would be dead, the other in prison, I’d say that no amount of money would overcome those real costs.
Currently I have traded my ability to make scratch for my daughter. Swallowing so much shit from this man that I picked, that there are days I swear my eyes have turned brown and I’m going to explode. So it goes. Not only are there worlds other than these, there are more important things in this one than the peace that I will eventually return to. The #1 most important thing is my daughter. I’ve been allowing my plate to be filled and my being stuffed to the gills with shit, for her, and her alone. The ONLY reason I don’t run like my hair is on fire is that I made a vow to myself that I would NEVER bring another child into this world if I were in the position like I was with my first one. TWENTY TWO years between the two, and I really thought I had the “good” guy I was always told I “deserved.” Well, if wishes were fishes, we would all cast nets.
PJ has always tickled me with her “don’t have kids.” She is right, and wrong. Yes, many of us find ourselves poor through reproduction (though, be honest, many ‘Murkins are living the good life precisely because they were good at sex, well, good life for now). But I believe there is more to life than the “right” neighborhood, or the “right” bank account/savings, or the “right” any material thing. That is what is so great about our time on this planet, there are NO “right” ways as long as you are not intentionally harming others.
I’ve been asked, many times, if I could go back and “do it again,” if I would change things, not get knocked at 15, not get married, not whatever. And I have thought about it long and hard. I would not. If going back meant not having my kids, or changing them, it would not be worth any of the horrors that I could have avoided. I’m really Karmic that way.
Lately it has been occurring to me that some force, somewhere, while appearing to give me the shaft, really had my back.
There is NO doubt in my mind that had I not had my son I would have ended up working for some evil corporation like the Federales, or Goldman Sachs or GE. I’m cute (or was), I’m really book-smart/test positive and I have the heart of a salesman/communicator.
Had I not “ruined my life” by having a child as young as I did, or had I not chose to hang with the druggies and dropouts, I would BE the evil we rail against here. And I would think all you plebes were nothing but sour grape growers and throwers.
Had I not believed the bullshit my now hub spread, I would not have been blessed with my daughter and again, I probably would have taken my innate and learned talents to run forth and loudly “protest” the system. Thus gaining me a big ole bullseye and in light of what went down with OWS, Manning, Greenwald and Snowden, maybe even a one way ticket to dead or exile.
Funny how the world works in hindsight.
I believe we are ALL exactly where we are “supposed” to be and exactly WHO we are supposed to be.
Admin is great, maybe even one of the best, of breaking through the propaganda and showing us the myriad ways we have been screwed over by those that wish to control us.
That in no way means I agree with everything he says, thinks or writes about. Instead of getting all butthurt and taking my toys and running away, I’ve decided that sticking around to LEARN more, throwing my ass into the fray sometimes, is more than worth the meager bits I give back to his cause.
People that eat a bad steak and then swear off beef have always amused the hell out of me. What short-sighted, narrow-minded, inconsequential existences they must lead.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled whine/shitfest. What a hoot! And, way to go Admin, I see you have crossed over to the coconut oil darkside. Yeah Avalon!
A comment mentioned cutting the cellphone bill by going premodern, but I found a trick for free “cellphone” use.
1). There are VOIP apps like Talkatone that provide you with a phone number and the ability to make and recieve calls. Incoming are free, outgoing are $0.99 per hour prepaid.
2). I bought a refurbished ipod touch ($150) and installed the XFINITY hotspot profile of a friend, since companies like Comcast provide free automatic access to hotspots w/ the customer email and password. As a practical matter, the ipod touch is a free “cellphone” whenever it is in hotspot range (a network which is rapidly growing).
I was able to save the gold and silver I mentioned in a previous comment because I have a zealous devotion to cutting fixed monthly expenses.
As John Stryker USMC said, “Life is hard, but it is a lot harder when your stupid.”
“The Paradox of Risk” by Charles Hugh Smith–” “…Limiting Risk Actually Increases Risk…”
With all the social safety nets, think welfare, where risk is moderated in a progressive socialist society, where foolish risky behavior is prevented from experiencing its logical outcome, people take on more risk. Of course, consistent with previous outcomes, they want to be indemnified if things go awry. The Banksters are a perfect example. So, our fearless leaders in CONgress provide the rhetoric and superficial programs for the ‘unwashed many’ lulling them into thinking all is well, all the while, taking care of the really important welfare recipients, the corporations and the 1%.
The CONgress can’t steal enough money to indemnify the 99% and have wisely chosen the source of their ‘bread and butter’. So, it all fails when the demand from the 99% becomes too great. We are at that point, now.
Progressive Socialism enriches the 1%, Free Marketism (Capitalism) enriches the 99%, the middle class. It is worth noting that Free Marketism isn’t really Capitalism. Capitalism was a term coined by Karl Marx and used by the Progressives to mitigate and obscure the clarity of the concept of ‘Free Marketism’.
So, why is Socialism embraced by so many? It is embraced by the 1% because they make out like Bandits, stealing the productive efforts of generations of people. The 99% embrace it because it plays to a fatal flaw in humanity, the idea of something for nothing. In reality, it’s stealing from your neighbor.
The history of Mankind, it seems, is one of conquer and plunder. Not one of co-operative productive effort that enriches all.
I’m still awaiting the time when ‘swords will be beaten into plowshares’.
My .02, 45 self employed, pulled down $170k last yr, wife doesn’t work, 1 kid, have made 6 figures for almost 10 yrs. Have no debt. None, zero, zip nada. PM’s, cash, paid off vehicles, home, little amount in the checking account just to pay bills.
Read the millionaire next door yrs ago, maybe 4-5 times, have always been an ant, like to party like a grasshopper but knew that was foolish and of little value. We live off of 40k and “bank” the rest, some is out of the country so in case we need to bug out. Businesses appraised at $500 +k, am in the process of trying to sell before the tsunami, had 2 fish in here this morning, nice guys, they have no clue.
If I can’t sell before then, I figure business will eventually collapse, the “value” will be gone but I should be ok. I worry about the general public and about my family. I pray a lot, I seek Gods guidance and hope I can reach others before it’s too late. I feel like the fallout will be worse than any of us can imagine.
Good luck to everyone.
thejerkstore
Can you talk to Marty? He is sure others are to blame for his plight. Love your name. Did you call?
Jim,
Mostly agreed. Mostly. I’ll leave it there.
Enjoy your ass kicking (the giving there of).
Francis Marion
I respect your opinion. Let me know where you don’t agree. I think I know already, but let me have it.
@ Jim,
ROTFL!
No way buddy. You don’t get to own my time and energy that easily!!! if you think you know then you do.
Have fun today.
Cheers,
Francis
Administrator,
Your defensive and mentally-challenged (not to mention abusive) response is worthy of any 8-year-old.
And, for a start, you are wrong on virtually every one of your assumptions about me. Virtually. Every. One. Not least your assumption that I must be a Marine – just because I happen to know (and understand the meaning of) “Semper Fi”.
My motivation (not “rage”) to Overthrow the The Machine is not even close to the “reasons” you pluck so readily from out of your ass. They are instead some very well-known and laudable ones, steeped in our history and (particularly American) heritage, and I will not further elaborate on them here – because my personal situation is none of your goddamned business, Fuck You Very Much.
Which brings us to the relevant issue of your fundamental dishonesty, in resorting to Ad Hominem in the first place – trying (and failing miserably) to attack the person, when you can’t (think your way out of a paper bag to) defend your point. (Reader’s note: simply screaming “avalanche of facts that PROVE” your point does not qualify.) DipShit.
Years ago, I wondered what you would ultimately do with all your angry blogging – and now we can see:
Jack shit.
So, “read this blog on a daily basis”, and “take (me) under (your) wing” – what are you Fucking Kidding me??! How about you just stop Talking Shit – I’d be satisfied with that!
And my name is “Matty”, not “Marty”. Get it right, JackAss.
Semper Fi,
– Matty (living quite well) in Florida
Did Marty the shithead drop another turd on TBP.
You have a knack for bloviating without saying one fucking thing worth reading.
I wonder why you come to a knife fight with your dick in your hand.
You see Marty, while you wallow in pity for yourself, I walk the talk. You seem quite defensive about your personal situation. You must have really fucked up big time. Right Marty the troll?
Marty – you are going to be late for the early bird special at the old folks diner.
Just to let you know what a failure I’ve become with my angry blogging, this site gets 6.5 million visitors per year. This particular article got over 50,000 reads on Zero Hedge and is currently going viral on a myriad of other websites.
Is your name Marty or Shithead? I get so confused.
Stucky said:
Secondly, all three gals in NYC gave me their private cell phone numbers when their husbands weren’t looking. ”
Does anyone else see the irony of Stucky trying to romance the ladies in NYC while some dude was trying to romance HIS lady back home?
🙂
Matty Marty in FL
Trying to sound all smart and sophisticated and reasonable … like your shit doesn’t stink. Except, it DOES. I can smell it all the way here in NJ.
I know what’s going on. We ALL know what’s going on. You just BUTT-HURT. A little fag-boy whining for attention. Here, take one of these;
[img[/img]
Karalan – I know your ass is burning due to your ex bending you over and using her 18″ black self-satisfier on you in family court. Sucks to be you.
This thread s not about the ills of family court. You want a thread on that, write an article, and I am reasonably sure Admin will post it.
This here thread is about dipshits who marry bimbos, get butt-raped in family court, and then scream that none of it was their fault.
Sound like anyone you know, karalan? Anyone at all?
You sought out the bitch, you wooed her, you took her down the aisle, and YOU chose poorly, or were unable to make it work.
No one else did that shit. YOU did that your own self.
Your mistake, your fuck-up, your bad decision, and no one else’s. You paid your money and took your chances. And it was snake-eyes. You were responsible, and no one else. Sure, family court sucks. People need to stay out of that place. You did not. Oops.
You want me to feel sorry for you? OK, I feel real bad for you. Poor guy. Really wish things went better for you. Feel better now?
But next time, make a fucking better choice. Or just pay for some A grade, and do not get married again if your pecker does your thinking for you.
Well Monty you really don’t him.
You complain complain about ad hominem attacks then proceed to launch one of your own. As Bugs Bunny would say…….
What a maroon!
Fuck man you’re awesome!
Matty – that was truly pathetic. Really. Your real name is Matilda, right? I mean, it takes a series case of PMS to generate a whine that high pitched. Am I right?
By the way, using “semper fi” but not being a marine is a tad pretentious, don’t you think?
Marty goes into a spit spewing tirade when he sees this sign and realizes he hasn’t saved a fucking dime his whole life.
Hey Stuck – you are the TabP counter. How many newbies have we run off so far on this thread. I scalped that pinhead clegg (called me uninteresting, and then did not like my response. Go figure).
Admin has chased several. Just curious as to how many have scarpered off. I think karalan may vamoose next.
Admin – I bet there are thousands of casual dropper-by that are reading this as their first exposure to TBP. They must think they have stumbled into the bowels of hell.
Llpoh
I only do counting when it involves regulars on TBP. These pussified little faggot boys, like Marty, who bail out at the drop of a hat … well, they ain’t worth my fuckin’ time to count.
BTW, I really enjoyed your response on my thread (about hypocrisy). You a funny guy.
Matty/Marty Mudfuck professes to having read TBP for years and knew that admins angry blog would amount to nothing. (well isn’t that special)
It takes a special kind of AssClown to spend years visiting a blog he doesn’t like. Move over bb, you’re about to share your village idiot crown with an even bigger (ubelieveable, I know) idiot than yourself!
@Quinn,
When are you going to stop vomiting and simply demonstrate how lack of consumer savings – or, was it too much consumer debt – is the cause of falling real wages and no fucking jobs: i.e., WHERE THE MONEY comes from, in the first place?
Is that being a “troll” – to expect you to have a valid explanation for relationship?
And this is a Top 10-Percenter talking to you. JackAss.
Who now offers the following, little common-sense correlation, for your readers:
If the productive economy continues in downward spiral, with Wall Street ever-more exploitative, government ever-more corrupt, justice increasingly subverted, etc., etc. – while at the same time, some blog addressing these issues rises in popularity to “6.5 million visitors per year”, with “over 50,000 reads on Zero Hedge (a gaggle of Truly Flaming JerkOffs, making my point right there)” – if these trends are all happening simultaneously, does it then appear more likely or less likely that said JackAss Blog has been offering any Solution – or, might it rather perhaps be Part of The Problem?
You have no basis for bragging about “success” with your contributions into this escalating mess, and really should reconsider just whose side you have been Aiding and Comforting. Unless of course, you are already well aware of (maybe even compensated for) that.
Call me a “troll”? Based on the tonnage of your verbal abuse and attempts to bait me, that accusation means nothing at all.
Meanwhile, above I make a far better case that you could well be a Shill – certainly, in any case now you are performing the same function.
I challenge you to prove otherwise.
Semper Fi,
– Matty in FL
I seem to have gotten Marty’s goat. Again, I wasted 2 minutes of my life reading his utter nonsense. Does your pea brain just jumble your thoughts that badly or are your really as stupid as your comments sound? I swear to God you have written twenty paragraphs and said absolutely nothing.
Marty you are free to hit the fucking road at any time if you fail to understand the message of this blog. You’ve got it all figured out and will surely lead the revolution. Once you cure that bad case of verbal diarrhea and take the proper dose of lithium, I’m sure things will work out real swell for you.
I challenge you to prove to all the fine folks of TBP that you really don’t have a sub 85 IQ. I think it’s gonna be a real tough task.
Matty- I have to ask. Who or what are you “always faithful” or “always loyal” to?
Marty, if this so bad, perhaps you could point us to another website where civility reigns in the way you deem appropriate, and you can post wildly divergent opinions and not get your legs cut out from under you by some anonymous gink moderator? Doesn’t exist. So this is the best we’ve got. And it’s pretty darn good.
Jim’s data points don’t exist in a vacuum. No information does. Doesn’t render them meaningless. Just something else to ponder. But the worst part of your critique, marty, is dismissing jim’s accomplishments as an author. In a country of 300 million people, a Regular dude, leading a regular life, has managed to be heard. To make something out of nothing. Let me know when you pull that one off.
@ Munty
Well I know Jim can look after himself but I can’t help but have a go at you. Besides you are lumping us all in as a gaggle. We are crows, as in a murder of crows. You sir are just butt hurt because we don’t bow down before your Yoda-like wisdom.
I’ll never a be rich man in terms of money. I am going to plod along with my middle class life. Here’s the deal.
There are millions of people who live beyond their means. Math is hard for people like you. You claim to be in top 10% yet write like a low IQ retard. And yes that isn’t PC. I don’t care as soon as someone stands up and says my wallet is bigger than your wallet my douchebag-o-meter goes to 11.
You say you come to site on regular basis. I don’t believe you. If you did you would know that Admin rails against all sorts of injustice financial and otherwise.
Most of the time is is easy to post on this blog because we are talking about latest bailout of TBTF banks or government fuck-up. We can project our deficiencies in our own lives onto whatever topic is at hand. As soon as Jim writes something that requires us to look inward at what we are doing with our lives people like you come aboard. You stomp around a bit say nothing that really adds anything to debate then storm off like you are still in grade school.
I don’t understand what you are getting at. Yes Jon Corzine belongs in jail. Yes Jamie Dimon is a waste of Oxygen. Yes wages are falling. So basically what you are saying goes something like this.
The world is fucked up. The top 1% are fucking over everyone else but I’ll show them by going out and buying something I can’t afford while talking on my overpriced I-phone, waiting with baited breath for the next I-con, sipping Starbucks and driving car you can’t afford to a house that is to big.
Well shit that is what we as a society have been doing for last 40 years. Perpetual debt is what keeps us enslaved.
So your solution is to whine and complain. Some solution.
We can either decide to break free of consumerism or continue to do what you suggest.
I am going to break free.
Semper that
rob in Nova Scoita
Jim may be bombastic at times, but he has a humble side. What kind of man, after suffering a few halfhearted jabs from me, is smart enough to retreat, and willing to post a picture of himself licking his own nuts in contrition? I don’t possess that kind of humility (thank god)
Aha! Finally, I was trying to figure out who the Fuck Marty was and then realized that Admin was punning on Mattiepants down in Florida who has come here to enlighten all us STMs on TBP about how much smarter he is than the rest of us.
Thank goodness. I thought I had missed something worth reading.
@Copperhead:
The Truth.
Thomas Jefferson famously pledged “Eternal Hostility to all forms of Tyranny against the Mind of Man” (or words to that effect). It’s inscribed in the marble under the dome of his memorial. And I subscribe to it, as profoundly American. Eternally – Semper. Truthful – Fidelis.
Nobody rewards me for this – except for all those who sweated, bled and died to Pay it Forward, to all of us, today. I am not going to presume to tell you some Right Way to live. I will, however, point out and advocate for any truth(s) – on any) blog (including this one, with which I have no prior beef) – if it appears capable of bringing anything(s) positive.
Already I can see from the attentions evoked from both the Administrator (as well as the usual minion of sycophants, aka: Ass-Kissers) at my posts, that I have indeed hit on some nerve(s), somewhere. Thus leapfrogging – a very promising sign – right over the usual, “First they Ignore You” step, and going straight to the second, “Then they Ridicule You”, phase.
Next should come the “Then they Fight You” step – however, all the verbal bullying, and purported joy at “ball kicking”, is disappointing. Because, Scratch a Bully you will find a Coward.
But if (and I do hope) this proves not to be the case, then we can get down to the “Then You Win” stage – in which some REAL IDEAS are exchanged.
Which interchange I cannot help but win – not the debate, but because, should anyone convince me of any BETTER solution to the current mess than revolution (note: NOT the same thing as civil war – even though a very real war is already long in progress aganst us), then I can assure you, I will be the first to admit and to shout it, from the rooftops.
In Solidarity,
– Matty in Florida
Here is an actual photo of Matty preparing to open a can of semper fi whoop as on the Admin and all TBPers:
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThrnrmfqNoIOWcNRlWGPbCOnXrUYDobuVruydLu5aLV35rESFE[/img]
munky
Where do I begin there are so many strawmen in your last post.
Fuck man lowIQ retard doesn’t really describe you. It’s also an oxymoron. Maybe that would be better to say oxygen deficient moron. Yeah I`m going with that.
When I look at your circular logic my head spins.
I shouldn’t really call you a douche. Douches are useful.
Okay I’m going to try this one last time.
Banks and Government wants to keep the underclass poor and in debt. I really don’t care what is happening on wall street at end of month when I am paying my bills. All I am concerned about is whether I have more money than I had when I started month.
Too many people don’t do this. The charts Jim provided show this. You sir are the ass kisser. You go all Obamatard then talk about some nebulous Hope and change bullshit.
You can start a revolution just not buying all the shit that is being sent from China.
Get it through your thick skull
But no you go for ad hominem attacks then stand back with pride when someone takes you on.
I’m done with you, maybe some else would care to comment.
You sir are proof once again of the old axiom
Don’t argue with an idiot he will take you down to his level then beat you with experience
I mean it. You assholes are just jealous. You don’t know shit. You just hate me because youse is all stupid. If youse was smart youse would be on my side. Fuck youse all.
@uncomfortably numb my son autistic I live this every day
@TE wow ive never seen you but your soul shines , I often think we all are angels with only one wing and we can only fly when we are joined , I mean nothing inappropriate by that , just that without others I think we are less than we can be? My code is god first then family then friends then work I have no time for anything else , altho im an idiot ( be well in all things you can be
@ Matty in fla really ? a privately owned central bank is in control and you think that individuals are possibly in charge of their finances? When Mr. Yellen said that the US dollar was not a store of value ? Ya its my fault for not saving a currency that the privately owned central banks create out of thin air ? are you batshit stupid? Im a long time reader of various financial blogs including zerohedge and beyond the particular article the firstperson comments pertaining to individual circumstances are very valuable . Why would anyone save fiat currency when other options are available ? Let me guess ? You are also a proponent of ZIRP/NIRP and any other program to stimulate unending growth when we live in a finite world? I stop here tho if you learn some history about the privately owned central banks and I mean really learn the history then maybe you can have a leg to stand on wtf do I know? im just a fucking chef
Matty the ignorant shithead defines fidelis as truthful. Gee, that is a new one on me. And here I always thought it meant faithful and loyal.
Maybe Matty is defining it under the pig Latin, rather than the more common regular old Latin. That would seem appropriate.
gm – what about me? Does my soul shine too? Why does TE get all the love (I know the answer to that – she is hot and lovable!), while I get none? I am lovable in my own kinda way, you know. Here is an actual picture of me. I am cute, and really am and old softy at heart:
[img[/img]
Mattie’s panties are in a wad because he was serious about trying to enlighten us here, you stupid Shit Throwing Monkeys. Mattie probably has a cool condo on the beach we could have had our next get together at…
Dammit.
@llpoh, LOVE the picture of Mattiepants in boxing gloves.
Semper Fi fellas
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Marty, please. i just ate dinner
Admin… have you seen this?
https://youtu.be/uqyG_PzUyJI
Maggie
Good stuff. I’ll post it.
Maggie saying she likes my post gets more likes than my post. Go figure. Ingrates.
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkj6yy1e5EkZ1mLUkpPHg7Vz0QJvfhsppPwphgOwh_vtcv_-KR[/img]
[img[/img]
[img[/img]
[img[/img]
Sorry, LLPOH, remember, I had my kid disable my thumbs on the laptop. I went to the basement to even the score.
I like being thumbless and blind to thumbs most of the time here on TBP. I’ll try to be more sensitive.
Colonel Wilkerson shedding light on the Legislative branch
JQ,
You ignore my challenges – two, so far – and lose credibility accordingly.
As for your challenge to me: To what “fine folks of TBP” shall I prove my IQ – that aren’t already accusing me of trying to show off my IQ? The one calling me a Fag? Or the one calling me an Obamatard (at a site with disturbing indications of being PaulTard)? Or the one who wants to nitpick my use of “Fidelis”? (Who knows exactly what the fuck I mean, and can Go Fuck Himself.)
Or would it perhaps be the Shit Throwing Monkey(s), absolutely correct in her assessment that she will not (as no STM ever will) be admitted into my cool beachfront condo?
I hear and acknowlege your (repeated) invitation(s) to “hit the fucking road”, and respond: Fuck You, I’m not ready to. Meanwhile I’m pretty sure I “understand the message of this blog” – which is exactly why I attack the more bullshit part(s) of it. Namely, once again: you can’t blame consumers (and who TF set you up as their judge, anyway?) for losing a game stacked and rigged, from top-to-bottom, by Wall Street. Being stupid – not to mention mentally ill – is not a Crime. Exploiting that stupidity, and/or disability, in order to steal their fucking money IS. And we should implement Regime Change on those motherfuckers – on Wall Street and anywhere else – who have, and continue to do so.
If you have “(read) twenty paragraphs and (still understood) absolutely nothing” I’ve said, then perhaps you should re-read, more carefully. Just like the one fine TBPer excoriating me for “think(ing) that individuals are possibly in charge of their finances” (YOUR very argument, Big Jim (LMAO))!
I am sure I am every bit “as stupid as (my) comments sound”. I am equally sure that is nowhere near as retarded and juvenile as almost all the responses so far directed at me – including your own.
No, you have not “gotten (my) goat”. You can Go Fuck A Goat (if that’s the way you want to play it) – but you haven’t gotten mine.
Meanwhile, so far it is only Shit-Throwing Maggie who has come even remotely close to recognizing who I even am. (Too bad she has already blown any Chance of Getting into MattyPants…)
Semper Fi,
Matty in FL