Topic: Economy Crisis in America

i think people only get stressed if they watch tv and listen to other peoples opinions, because for 99% of americans there is nothing to be stressed about

if you make more than 50k a year, and you are still stressed, then you are stressing yourself out

also there is no "bailout" all it is is the american government is giving billions of dollars to people who are already filthy rich, how this is happening is beyond me

i guess it's because instead of saying what it is (giving a lot of money to rich people), they call it "rescue package" or "bailout" and stupid people nod their heads and try to look smart

That guy is a typical product of the consumer society. We are what we buy. That's the whole purpose behind marketing and publicity. We've been conditioned to think that more material things and more consumption will make us happy, and now that he doesn't have these posessions anymore, it threatens his idea of what happiness is. When in fact, this is a totally redundant and paradoxical statement. So, in times of a crisis such as this, people can only stand to think of themselves and how things will affect their own personal wealth and stability. Now, this would be a normal thought process for someone living a middle to lower class life, or someone below the poverty line, who can't afford to lose their jobs, their homes, their lives. But I think it's just disgusting that through this crisis some people have the nerve to complain as if they've got it all that badly, when in actuality, they make up the 5% of the world's wealth. I sincerely hope that man loses all 5 of his houses (who really needs that many?) and his wife leaves him (god forbid he should have to make his own food... oh lord no) and learn what life really is about.

@thelittleone

my dad is like this he lives in a 300k house, drives a 30k car, and works for himself making 100k a year. and all he does is bitch and whine about how the economy is so bad and life is so horrible

thats why i hate rich people, i hate everybody

Honestly, if you have enough money to survive, feed your family, sleep in a warm bed, get to work, and maybe send your kids to school, then you really have nothing to complain about. We're just so brainwashed into thinking that we NEED more material things and possessions to make ourselves happy, that we're constantly obsessing about money. This product will make me prettier, this product will make me more attractive, bigger house means people will see my wealth and know that I'm successful. It's all a tiring game of facades, where there is no real winner except for the industries who gain from our money. Do these things in actuality make us happier? No. I can honestly say a tube of lipstick has never elated me to the point of personal euphoria. And yet I'm conditioned to believe it will. It's all marketing.

@thelittleone

god dam you are smart

@flikr

lol I try

What about having money to prepare for the future or for some emergency that might arise life is more than the here and now. The financial institutions fuk up and leave us with the bare minimum to live on while one of the directors walks away with a quarter of a billion dollars and says hes sorry. He doesnt give a fuk theyre not suffering at all fukn cunts.

I don't know how much my dad makes a year but at least he doesn't whine about the economy, he hasn't even shown the slightest of interest in it yet.

@thelittleone

I agree with everything you just said, I live in big house, got 3 good cars (im 15 so those cars arent mine and I live with my parents), got all this shit but the happiest I've been in like 5 years was 2 yrs ago when I spent 2 weeks visiting my 25 yr old brother in his crappy house where he just got enough money to get a regular xbox, the comp he has was the 10 yr old one which he got from us, most expensive meal we had was a pizza, no car at all, the best car he's ever driven was my great-granddads incredibly old and beaten up one. And it was amazing, I had so much fun there. I don't know if I'd be able to live there for years but it had everything I actually needed, and now that I'm back home in a pretty good house, fairly new laptop, learning to drive in a pretty dam sweet truck, I have no where near as much fun here as I did there. I'm not trying to complain about my life and how bad it is because I have all this stuff I'm saying how wealth can make you a lot less happy. I may find living here is much better than living in a small apartment or a very small crappy house when I'm older but for know that's all I really need. My goal in my financial life isn't even trying to get to where I am now, it's to have enough money that I don't need to be in constant worry over it, if I ever do become rich then I really don't want to live the rich lifestyle, I'd rather stay at around middle class and send the rest to charity.

If I ever get 5 houses and don't use them for helping ppl, bitch about spending money so my wife can see her dying friend, and do any of that shit then please someone shoot me. I don't like spending money really which means I only actually buy necessities anyway.

One question, if your parents force you to go on holiday with them to somewhere you don't want to go and you pretty much beg them not to spend all that money on you seeing as you don't even want to go there, does it still count as being spoiled for not enjoying it?

@cabinet70

I stand corrected. You reminded me of a point I forgot to mention. You should also be able to set aside money for the future or for emergencies. The point I was trying to make is that if you can satisfy the bare essential needs of yourself and your family, then you're considered a hell of a lot more well off than the majority of this world. I mean, right now we're talking about the economy in America being bad, but what about other 3rd world countries? Places where they can't even afford to put roofs over their heads or food in their mouths? All I'm saying is people who are significantly wealthy (enough to own 5 houses) have NOTHING to complain about when it comes to poverty and economical crisis.

@pringletot

I wasn't suggesting that those who do have should feel ashamed for having what they have. If hardworking parents have spent their lives working hard to provide for their children, I'm all for it. I'm not saying we should never enjoy luxuries now and again. It's nice to go on vacation. All I'm saying is that in a time of crisis like this, it's a little ignorant to complain about a life that is so much more well off than others appear to be. It's cool to have money and be successful, but at the end of the day, does one truly know what happiness is? Will buying 5 houses really make you happy? Or will finding someone to share your life with make you happy? Will having a child make you happy? I'm saying the consumer society has warped our ideals about products, consumerism, our self images, and happiness. That guy from the original poster's story was an insensitive ass, who deserves to lose what he has because he doesn't seem to appreciate it.

Like someone said you are very wise littleone a nice name too but I dont care if people are rich or poor we are all going to lose big time. Welcome to the site BTW hope you like it here

@cabinet 70

Thank you very much :)

@thelittleone

I know it's ok to enjoy this stuff, i just don't really enjoy all this shit that much, I prefer the crappy run-down house the the massive mansions really. My dad does work incredibly hard for us, I appreciate him doing all this stuff for us but I was just saying how all this stuff doesn't really make me happy and I'm sure some ppl must feel the same way. Just if I had a lot of money then I will rather spend it helping other peoples lives than getting something else for me. That's my main want for money, so I can spend money helping the less fortunate. I'm want to be an engineer and apparently there's good good money in that, so I'm hoping I can reach my goal quicker than it took my dad to reach where I want to be.

Yeah that guy V was talking about was a complete douche, I hope he does lose everything, if he's bitching about letting his wife see her dying friend and then bitches even more because no one will cook for him then he deserves to lose everything.

No buying me 5 houses won't make me happy, going down to a pub after coming home from work and before I go to a crappy house will tho.

The reason you feel that way is because society is so material-driven that we're desensitized to it now. Nothing is ever special anymore. We're constantly buying and consuming, so that we don't appreciate these things anymore because they've become commonplace and we take them for granted. Take for example, I know the univeristy I go to, the girls all carry these Coach purses. They're pretty expensive. But EVERY girl has one. And not just one, many of them. And I see these girls throw these bags around and drop them on the floor, get them dirty, whatever. Because they know that daddy will just buy them a new one. So it becomes that our constant buying of stuff makes these things less special to us, and we no longer see their value. Those girls don't understand the work their parents do in order to afford those expensive purses. All they understand is that they'll get another one. Now, don't get me wrong, I love these Coach purses. But I'm not exactly made of money either. I'm a student after all, I can barely afford cereal. But the point is that when I turned 20, my boyfriend went and bought me a very small Coach purse, not obnoxious, not crazy. And I absolutely love and cherish it. Why? Because it means something to me, and I understand it's value. Does it make me happy, yes...but for different reasons other than just having it. Someone I love bought it for me, and I cherish it's value. And I only have ONE. Not one hundred.

It's refreshing to hear someone like yourself at your age talking about helping the poor and wanting to donate your money. It's very admirable. But you will find a lot of people who won't understand you. Please, don't listen to them. You'll find yourself going against the status quo. There's nothing wrong with that!

@pringle

until you get a lot of money then you wont want to donate it

and if you become poor then youl all of a sudden think being rich makes you happy

Well I think it is very nice how you cherish that one bag because someone you love bought it for you, even though every girls has hundreds of them. Those girls will have a very hard time in later life I think, unless their dads help them a lot, my parents only helped my bro when he was in debt and on the verge of losing everything and when he first went to college and had absolutely nothing, other than that he got everything he has by working. My bro doesn't give a shit about money, he said he has been offered a job which doubles his pay but he refused it because he'd have to move and he loves where he lives right now. I want to be more like that instead of going to where the money is staying somewhere I love and actually be happy, even if it means I have a hard time making ends meet.

Thanks, though I don't really like doing other charity work, once I did Oprah's big give which helped homeless children get an education but the way we did it seemed pointless I stayed there with my hat out trying to raise money for it, but I could've got more if I worked at McDonald's for the same amount of time and just donated the money I got from that. I'm doing another charity thing on thanksgiving, well I don't celebrate it anyway (Im English but I live in America, so I don't really celebrate thanksgiving and Independence day)so I might as well try helping people out.

What was your financial situation when you were around my age? like right now I think im in middle-upper middle-class

@flikr

Being rich doesn't make you happy, sure if you go from homeless to a billionaire over night youll be the happiest guy in the world for a while, but after a while you'll start to become miserable unless you do something with your money and your life.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels so strongly about this subject. Sorry I noticed I had some grammar errors in my topic, I was trying to hurry up to catch the debate, and my son was playing with his loud trains and whining for me to give him a cookie. =)

@Pringle
I'm glad to hear you want to help people, I'm sure you'll be very succesful when you get older, and contribute to various charities. Just remember to give to those in need or come up with ways to solve problems as you see it, try not to pay someone else to do it for you all the time.