Recession or Depression?

[Ldyluck88]

I appreciate all your replies and insights to our nation in general. It is not easy in todays environment to survive, and yes, I do believe it will get better, but not anytime soon. Obama needs to figure out how to create new jobs, and helping the middle class people, before I see any turn in employment.
Until then..I think we all are in survival mode and need to help each other.

[AtLast]

I know that what is upon us does not fit the technical definition of an economic depression, but this recession depresses me! I mean it, it does affect my moods.

I have seen a lot of local businesses closing down here, yet, I know that there are several other areas of the US that are far worse off. Thinking of Michigan as one. There are certainly others

I have never felt anger as deeply as I do right now with such institutions as banks and Wall Street. Its a very different kind of anger... more personal. I'm part of the Baby Boom generation that has contributed throughout my working life to the Social Security System and supported those that retired before me. I paid in for the previous generations to have security in old age- Now, this is being threatened. Of course, I developed other sources of retirement income- and that was pilfered by the banking industry and stock market! And my current tax contributions were used to bail-out these assbites that make millions!!

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for what I have. However, there is something really wrong in this picture! Truth be known, my kid and his kids do owe me the same economic contributions that I (and the rest of us) have made. There are no exemptions due anyone! I'm tired of the whinning!!!

Billions of dollars have been spent on a war that has been the main source of our deficit rising as it has. We were lied to about that war and are now being fed BS about Afghanistan! Do not take this as any ill will against our troops. They do not make policy and I have no problem with backing up what they need financially now that we have put them in harms way. We need to help them out after leaving the military as well. But, I'm tired of all of the belly aching about the younger generations not deserving our debt. Those before them deserve what they worked hard for in contributing to. Also, the majority attend publically funded schools, drive on publically funded roads, etc. They have reaped the benefits of past generations. They are as responsible as we were, to maintain these systems. No, there is no free lunch…

I am absolutely outraged at particular congressional members halting unemployment benefits! This in an insurance system, that workers pay into so that during times like this, there is something to fall back on!! It isn't an entitlement! The money is from the labor of workers that need it at this time!

Yes, I’m ranting…

[Ldyluck88]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

I am absolutely outraged at particular congressional members halting unemployment benefits! This in an insurance system, that workers pay into so that during times like this, there is something to fall back on!! It isn't an entitlement! The money is from the labor of workers that need it at this time!

Yes, I’m ranting…

I totally agree with your whole post Atlast and it's ok to rant because these are hard times and yes, we paid into the unemployment for years, and now we are left with empty pocketbooks!!
Thanks for sharing your views.

[AtLast]

In reading the thread, I am thinking a lot about organizations like Kiva.com (http://www.kiva.org/) and how this concept could be applied to the queer community at large.

I remember a time when small personal loans by family members, friends, church organizations, community programs, etc. were made to support small business enterprises and this actually got the business going in the right direction.

I am so ticked-off with the big banks not lending to small business during a time when it really could make a difference for so many. People who have fantastic ideas and a good business sense (which I don't) that just need a little help.

There are countless people like this right here!

If anyone has links that could be of benefit to the queer community entrepreneurs.. please post them. I can’t plunk down a bunch of cash, but what id my $5, $10, etc. could join forces with others and give a much needed boost to someone here or part of the larger LGBTIQ populations?

[weatherboi]

hey everybody!!!
great thread!!

long story short

i own a buisness i bought back in 2005
i was doing great up until the bailout of October 2008
then the consumer panic button went off and the service industry took a turn
i have been fighting this recession for almost 2 years now and i am running out of cash to keep it afloat *shrugs*
my life is too short to keep swinging

are we in a recession or a depression??
i think we are in a recession heading towards a depression...why??

because i think wall street's greedy philosophy is partly to blame...i read an article a few years back that explains it fairly well...i am gonna go find it

do i think it is gonna happen in 2011?? i dunno
what i do know is that we will continue to be told "it is gonna turn around soon", but I don't see it.

here is the article *this is not the only one i based my thoughts on*
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wel...ression-2-2011

i am all about SLOW MONEY Capitalism/Natural/Nuture capitalism
i feel it is a start

[Apocalipstic]

I am lucky, I have a job, but my G/F lost her job with General Motors. She is back in school and I am paying the bills. We are making it work and I feel very lucky to live in an area not as heavily hit as many others.

Luckily, I have some money in the bank or we would be mega screwed.

[Ldyluck88]

Originally Posted by weatherboi

hey everybody!!!
great thread!!

long story short

i own a buisness i bought back in 2005
i was doing great up until the bailout of October 2008
then the consumer panic button went off and the service industry took a turn
i have been fighting this recession for almost 2 years now and i am running out of cash to keep it afloat *shrugs*
my life is too short to keep swinging

are we in a recession or a depression??
i think we are in a recession heading towards a depression...why??

because i think wall street's greedy philosophy is partly to blame...i read an article a few years back that explains it fairly well...i am gonna go find it

do i think it is gonna happen in 2011?? i dunno
what i do know is that we will continue to be told "it is gonna turn around soon", but I don't see it.

here is the article *this is not the only one i based my thoughts on*
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wel...ression-2-2011

i am all about SLOW MONEY Capitalism/Natural/Nuture capitalism
i feel it is a start

Originally Posted by apocalipstic

I am lucky, I have a job, but my G/F lost her job with General Motors. She is back in school and I am paying the bills. We are making it work and I feel very lucky to live in an area not as heavily hit as many others.

Luckily, I have some money in the bank or we would be mega screwed.

I hear ya weatherboi..we keep hearing that it's "turning around" but all I hear about is more people losing their jobs or home!! ugh I hope things turn around for you and everyone!! Thanks for sharing your story.

Apocalipstic..I'm happy you and your g/f are making it. Sorry to hear your g/f lost her job and hope she finds one again. I wish you both good luck!
Thanks for sharing.

[Daywalker]

Gonna share a quote:


"...sometimes it seems our Gov't tries to 'help out' the Middle Class, but then
the results are...less and less Middle Class folks to help out. Perhaps focusing
on the folks caught up in the Poverty level would be the better approach,
then there could be less and less folks...living in Poverty" ~ Sir Day Walker

[Ldyluck88]

I was just checking out the Employment website and this is what they said:

As of March 19, 2010, approximately 3,300 individuals in California have run out of all available benefits and EDD estimates a total of 100,000 to 130,000 unemployed workers could run out of all benefits in the next few weeks.

With all these peope being unemployed, I hope someone comes up with a scathingly brilliant idea to get the nation back on track!

[Linus]

Eep.. And we're about to move to California this summer. K will be looking for work in the social work field and has connections so we're hopeful for that. I'm lucky because my work can be pretty much done from anywhere (and the company is going full steam ahead with a work visa). I know some might view me as taking a job away from someone else; the reality is, however, that I'm pretty specialized in my knowledge and skills so puts me in a bit of a unique situation.

That said, I'm leaning towards more of a split: some areas are in a recession while others depression (e.g., Michigan and California have both been suffering extensively for a while now, especially Michigan). I think more support for the smaller businesses (traditionally the backbone of any nation and the driving force behind pushing recession/depressions away) would go a long way, regardless of where in the country someone is. The past is what put us here but we need to move beyond that and find ways -- if necessary -- on our own to support ourselves and get beyond where the world is now. Kiva is one and I'm sure there are others as well.

What small business ideas can we toss around to help each other get on our feet using skills we have?

[Sachita]

Thankfully I own part of my land free and clear. I did this in the beginning, refinancing the mortgage on the house and a few acres leaving me lots free and clear. You never really know what's going in the world today and the trends are all over the place often crumbling.

I have fantasies all the time about living with no impact. No electric, simple, free, grow my own food and completely sustain. I play it out in my head all the time. How could I live happy with very little? Is my health good enough to make it? If not what do I need to do to make it so?

I have this wild hair up my ass. I work three times harder to make less. Sometimes I feel like a hamster on one of those wheels going around and around. It's just fucking insane and I've decided that come hell or high water I'm going to do something about it. I just cant wait for the government or anyone else to make me happy or take care of me. Screw 401K, putting money in banks (if you have it) and screw SS. I'd rather be spending my money on learning how to escape it all, sit by the creek, ponder, connect with the earth and watch the rest of it go by. What would it really take? what do you really need? Could you do it if you had to? I mean live as people did 100 years ago.

[MsDemeanor]

Originally Posted by Ldyluck88

I appreciate all your replies and insights to our nation in general. It is not easy in todays environment to survive, and yes, I do believe it will get better, but not anytime soon. Obama needs to figure out how to create new jobs, and helping the middle class people, before I see any turn in employment.
Until then..I think we all are in survival mode and need to help each other.

The House and the Obama administration have a multitude of ideas to help people. The problem lies with 41 Republican senators who refuse to let any legislation pass unless it benefits big business. 41 people who don't give a damn about working people and struggling Americans stand between our country's current situation and any hope for improvement.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

The House and the Obama administration have a multitude of ideas to help people. The problem lies with 41 Republican senators who refuse to let any legislation pass unless it benefits big business. 41 people who don't give a damn about working people and struggling Americans stand between our country's current situation and any hope for improvement.

And I think that this number is going to grow in November..... brace yourselves.... or get out there and start fighting!! Mid-term elections are so damn important!

[Ldyluck88]

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

The House and the Obama administration have a multitude of ideas to help people. The problem lies with 41 Republican senators who refuse to let any legislation pass unless it benefits big business. 41 people who don't give a damn about working people and struggling Americans stand between our country's current situation and any hope for improvement.

Overall, I feel the economy sucks!! So many illegal aliens who are taking jobs and not paying taxes, etc. I would love to have any job at this point!! Big business are the survivors, while the small businesses suffer. It is not easy to even find a minimum wage job now, trust me, I have tried!! I am not giving up, as my survival depends on it, or I will be out in the street soon.

[MsDemeanor]

Thank you for bringing racism in to the discussion.

[Bit]

Originally Posted by Ldyluck88

Overall, I feel the economy sucks!! So many illegal aliens who are taking jobs and not paying taxes, etc. I would love to have any job at this point!! Big business are the survivors, while the small businesses suffer. It is not easy to even find a minimum wage job now, trust me, I have tried!! I am not giving up, as my survival depends on it, or I will be out in the street soon.

Ldyluck, I understand your frustration about not being able to get a job right now, and I wish you luck--may you find what you need!

Your assertion about taxes is dead wrong, though. Illegal aliens from any country DO pay taxes; they're held out of their paychecks just like everyone else's are. Think about it--these businesses would all be shut down by the IRS if they didn't pay the payroll taxes for their employees!

What happens is that since people have to use fake social security numbers to get the jobs in the first place--employers are REQUIRED to have social security cards on file for every employee--they pay the taxes but can never collect the benefits, not retirement, not Medicare, not disability, not unemployment, nothing.

I know this by direct experience; there are many illegal aliens connected to my family through two different branches. My one nephew's father, as a matter of fact, has been laid off and will soon be homeless himself if he cannot find another job.

These are hard-working people who ask for little other than a chance to make a living, and who receive even less than those of us with the proper birth certificates do. These are our neighbors, who only want to live safe lives with enough food on the table and a way to pay their rent every month. In a booming economy, we would hardly notice them; the suffering economy impacts them as much as it does everyone else. The solution is not to focus on them, but on the economy itself. The solution is to create more jobs to replace all the ones that big corporations have taken overseas.

[UofMfan]

Originally Posted by Ldyluck88

Overall, I feel the economy sucks!! So many illegal aliens who are taking jobs and not paying taxes, etc. I would love to have any job at this point!! Big business are the survivors, while the small businesses suffer. It is not easy to even find a minimum wage job now, trust me, I have tried!! I am not giving up, as my survival depends on it, or I will be out in the street soon.

Do you really believe this?!

Oh and the correct terminology is undocumented individual, FYI.

[UofMfan]

Originally Posted by Bit

...
Your assertion about taxes is dead wrong, though. Illegal aliens from any country DO pay taxes; they're held out of their paychecks just like everyone else's are. Think about it--these businesses would all be shut down by the IRS if they didn't pay the payroll taxes for their employees!

What happens is that since people have to use fake social security numbers to get the jobs in the first place--employers are REQUIRED to have social security cards on file for every employee--they pay the taxes but can never collect the benefits, not retirement, not Medicare, not disability, not unemployment, nothing.

I know this by direct experience; there are many illegal aliens connected to my family through two different branches. My one nephew's father, as a matter of fact, has been laid off and will soon be homeless himself if he cannot find another job.

These are hard-working people who ask for little other than a chance to make a living, and who receive even less than those of us with the proper birth certificates do. These are our neighbors, who only want to live safe lives with enough food on the table and a way to pay their rent every month. In a booming economy, we would hardly notice them; the suffering economy impacts them as much as it does everyone else. The solution is not to focus on them, but on the economy itself. The solution is to create more jobs to replace all the ones that big corporations have taken overseas.

Thank you!

[Ldyluck88]

I apologize if I have offended a few people by my post. Where I lived in the desert, many were paid under the table and did not pay taxes, etc. I should not have generalized, my fault. But, I am entitled to my opinion, like anyone else, and I will try to watch how I state things from now on.

[UofMfan]

Originally Posted by Ldyluck88

I apologize if I have offended a few people by my post. Where I lived in the desert, many were paid under the table and did not pay taxes, etc. I should not have generalized, my fault. But, I am entitled to my opinion, like anyone else, and I will try to watch how I state things from now on.

The employer did not pay taxes, social security pension fund, health insurance, disability, etc. In addition, the employer gets the pleasure of having the worker do whatever or else report them, These people work in inhumane conditions.

If this wasn't a good deal for those honest employers, then this would not be a problem.

I am sure if you go to this place you speak of they would hire you. I say go for it.

And yes, we are all entitled to our opinions. But "I" prefer that racist remarks be left in the confine of our homes.