The only effect it's had so far is; all my '09 classes have been canceled. I had an explosives detector and patrol dog class scheduled. The administration is concerned about the explosives class more than the patrol. Perhaps they will find some Homeland Security money to conduct that class. Working for the state, the budget is as austere as I've ever seen it. We've already had one buy-out and there are talks of layoffs. Certainly is an interesting time.

DFrost

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

My BIL is job hunting and finally settled on part-time work at Tim Horton's...putting his college degree to good use.

That's where my brother is working (2 jobs), putting his university education to good use, after the company he was working for went bankrupt.

Still, at least he's working.

 Quote: Will Rambeau

 Quote: Tommy DeVito

Things will get better, especially when the media quits scaring the crap out of everyone.

Actually........the media doesn't report on more than 1/4 of the problem. There would be riots in the streets if people knew how close to the edge we are right now.

Want to really worry? Check this site out on a periodic basis and read some of the links that they provide from various economic sites.........most reasonable people will really have something to worry about then.
http://www.survivalblog.com/

The more fear is preached and spread, the worse this is going to get. It's a domino effect.

A big part of the problem was all the companies and industries banking on people spending all of their discretionary income, at least in the States. The party is over, and consumerism is going to take a huge hit.

 Quote: tommy devito

The more fear is preached and spread, the worse this is going to get. It's a domino effect.

A big part of the problem was all the companies and industries banking on people spending all of their discretionary income, at least in the States. The party is over, and consumerism is going to take a huge hit.

I disagree. Warning people what's coming, isn't preaching fear. It's providing them the opportunity to brace themselves.
Perhaps if we'd "preached fear" prior to Pearl Harbor or September 11th, we wouldn't have been sucker-punched. But in the great tradition of the American Sheeple, we pretended it wasn't coming, couldn't come.

We have created a society where it is in bad form to take up a lantern and let the townsfolk know "the British are coming". In short, a great Nation founded by Sheep-Dogs has become a Nation ruled and composed of Sheep.

As LTC Dave Grossman says, "Denial kills you twice."

It's not fear-mongering. It acceptance and preparation. The choice is simple- be the ant, or be the grasshopper.

Well said, Alyssa!! I agree, better to be informed.

If people stop and think a little before plunging headlong into debt to buy crap made by little children in other countries, then great! Consumerism SHOULD slow a little; better yet, let's start supporting our neighbors and our own country.

You make a good point Alyssa, and I agree to an extent. I do think the media blasts this stuff more in a negative manner, than in an informative manner. If they'd propose more on what people can do to prepare for this, or ways to save money, etc etc, right after the reports of all the jobs lost... I think that would be a much better way of handling it.


Edited by Alex Corral (12/17/2008 11:31 AM)
Edit reason: Spelling

 Quote: alex corral

You make a good point Alyssa, and I agree to an extent. I do think the media blasts this stuff more in a negative manner, than in an informative manner. If they'd propose what people can do to prepare for this, or ways to save money, etc etc, I think that would be a much better way of handling it.

Good point. But the mainstream news media has always had a policy of extremeism. "If it bleeds, it leads."

They've taken that approach with the Global War on Terror (look at their coverage of returning Vets with PTSD as a perfect example), and now they take it with the economy. They could easily present a more balanced, rational approach, but that doesn't sell. Making people feel helpless and angry, without giving them any tools to improve their situation, keeps people watching. It perpetuates the Sheeple mentality.

You see it all the time. The coverage is blatantly skewed.
That's why I recommend folks avoid the mainstream media and focus on different sources for information.
The link that Will posted, http://www.survivalblog.com is a great source of info. I have also enjoyed Glen Beck's advice for preparing on his talk-radio show.

In the end, though, I would rather the news media point out the dire future and provide little to no advice, than simply pretend it isn't coming. At least by telling people what the future holds, people can then seek their own answers and preparation. By pretending it isn't coming at all, they can't even do that.

Just to lighten things off a little...I know it seems off topic, but read on down to the end and it is right on point !!!!


HOW BIG IS WALMART?

This should boggle your mind!!
And scare you as well!


1 . At Walmart,Americans spend $36,000,000 every hour of every day.

2 . This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3. Walmart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

4. Walmart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.

5. Walmart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private employer. And most can't speak English

6. Walmart is the largest company in the history of the World.

7. Walmart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years.

8. During this same period, 31 Supermarket chains sought bankruptcy (including Winn-Dixie).

9. Walmart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10. Walmart has approximately 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 years ago.

11. This year, 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur at a Walmart store (Earth's population is approximately (6.5 billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Walmart

13 . Let Walmart bail out Wall Street

Snopes actually addresses (and verifies as truthful) this email.

I will add that this line (the bolded portion)

 Quote: Marj Remland

5. Walmart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private employer. And most can't speak English

isn't part of the original email, and was probably a bit of political satire added in.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/bigwalmart.asp

This was one of the worst years financially for me in the music business. Touring was way down, corporate events were way down, and individuals and private businesses have scaled waaay back on entertainment.

I'm seriously considering another field of work to offset the loss of income in my own profession.

Health care for my kids has doubled, literally.

I know I'll make some folks mad, but we're getting what we deserve. Low voter turnout, ignorance on issues, and rampant apathy when it comes to holding our elected officials responsible for their action/inaction is going to bankrupt our nation. We owe over 50 trillion dollars in unfunded mandates...and no one in D.C. says a word.

I believe there's no getting out of this mess. We will look like France in 10 years. Socialized with old money being the only "rich" people left to run everything..the rest left to fend for themselves under miles of taxes and regulation. No manufacturing, no job creation, no ingenuity.

We are in for a big, long hurt.

My advice: pay off bills, save money, get rid of anything that you don't really need and buy a few guns and lots of ammo if you don't already own a few--seriously.