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Let me ask you this, R2 — what would be likely to happen if a large number of Americans were to make a commitment to start living within their means (which an overwhelming majority of Americans don’t do but probably should) and to start buying less — which if things continue as they are, many people will probably be forced into doing? One of the things it will mean is that there’s less money going into the economy, which to say the least won’t exactly help. The fact is that our economy is at this point to at least some extent built on a shaky foundation — and not just because our country is currently borrowing money hand over fist from other countries in order to pay for the War In Iraq. The fact is that our economy seems to be at least partially dependent upon people living on credit because they buy more — and not only because they buy more, but because they often have to pay the consequences in terms of interest on their credit.

The fact is that if most Americans were and had been living within their means over the last couple of decades (and the overwhelming majority, Democrats and Republicans alike, have not), our society might be quite different from what it is now. If you live within your means as I do (and that’s by no means a small feat where I live in NYC!), you simply don’t buy things you don’t have money for which means that you don’t contribute as much to the economy. I live an extremely simple life, I dare say, in comparison with the vast majority of people my age — and some of that is by choice, but not all of it. Unfortunately, Roger, you can’t have it both ways!

And there use to be a time when people actually ran their finances with an actual budget and were responsible.

There used to be a time when people actually thought before they spoke too. Obviously you don’t feel obligated to follow those simple guidlines.

Empathy for the poor is a false sense of compassion that liberals like to project on others because of their inherit need to control the masses thru promises they talk about but never deliver on. It’s all smoke and mirrors.

Comments by Tracy2

as far as your republican projection on the poor…..I guess you mean things like social security that we didn’t deliver….oh yeah we did….or maybe unemployment insurance…..oh yeah we did…..how about the war on poverty, I guess that was just a scheme too.

All you do when you make such statments is show your bias, ignorance and distain for those who actually care about others. You are a fool.

And there use to be a time when people actually ran their finances with an actual budget and were responsible.

Comment by Tracy2 — March 7, 2008 @ 9:35 pm

Yes, indeed. We all miss the Clinton Administration; hope we can do as well during the Obama Administration, although if we are saddled with a Republic debt and Congress, it will be almost impossible.

Don’t hold your breath. rr doesn’t answer question. It just comes here to take a crap, stir things up and then run away. It is an odious troll and should be ignored.

I am so glad that I learned a long time ago to pay off my credit card every month and to not buy something unless I had the money to pay for it. But, then, I am lucky in that I have a job and a small mortgage which means I can live on my income and don’t have to charge necessities. All bets will be off, though, if I lose my job.

Comment by Cal Malenky — March 7, 2008 @ 5:00 pm

Cal Hussein, that is, for my money, the defining characteristic of conservatism. A severely underdeveloped sense of empathy.

Comment by DieNowForPeace — March 7, 2008 @ 4:58 pm

And don’t forget we’ve had about 25 years of deregulation of the mortgage, banking and credit industries. There used to be more safeguards protecting the vulnerable, naive and uneducated from preditory lenders and other shady, unethical and greedy characters.
Maybe someone with a little better memory than me can elaborate on this.

Cal Hussein Malenky

Comment by Roger_Roger

I’m gonna yell so even with your head rammed up your arsehole you’ll still hear me:

Bush told consumers to “do their part, and go shopping”.

You and Dumbya have much in common, based on simple minded sound bites: You’re both tremendously idiotic fcukers, and rotten to the core.

***Had Hussein Enough***

When I worked at Starbucks, you wouldn’t believe the amount of Hummer owners that would put a Triple Tall non-fat, two and a half pump of vanilla Latte on credit.

.

Comment by Roger_Roger — March 7, 2008 @ 3:52 pm

THIS is your knee-jerk reaction to this item? There could be any number of reasons for this statistic, and you have already come to a conclusion. Amazing.

Let’s examine some possible reasons:

1) Americans are bad with their money. They are out indulging every whim they have — plasma TVs, cruises, new furniture — without giving any thought to price tags.

2) Americans have followed Bush’s directive and have all gone shopping to stimulate the economy.

3) Americans are having to use credit cards to pay for basics such as groceries and gasoline, as prices soar higher than wages and stretching a paycheck gets harder and harder.

4) Americans are having to use credit cards to pay for medical expenses and prescriptions, as health insurance covers less and less (if they have it at all).

5) Americans who have been forced to use credit cards to pay for necessities and can’t pay their bills are seeing the interest charges pile up, increasing their debt.

Because the news hasn’t reported an upsurge in consumer spending lately, I think that might rule out 1) and 2) — leaving 3), 4), and 5) the likely culprits for the high consumer debt figure.

Exactly.

Being “bad” with money has very little to do with it.

Comment by Zooey

It fits their agenda. They always accuse the poor of getting on welfare to get rich….you know have enough kids to have lots of money rolling in…….

What they won’t admit and what we all know is that every person…..even the lowliest poor person, black, white, yellow it doesn’t matter……they all want the same things. A living wage, happieness that comes with security that you have medical care, food, education for you children……jobs.

Remember and I know the trolls will try to deny this but when JFK was president the unemployment rate was…1%……and that didn’t include the military. People are the same….they want jobs, respectiblity, opportunity, etc.

If the best you offer your citizens is what they have in SC LA……a job at the Colonels…….McDonalds, etc. or sell drugs then you have to expect the worst. It’s the same reason the Latino’s are coming here, they can do better here than at home for their families and you would do the same thing.

Oh and RR….I can remember when anyone who was offering 20% was a mobster…..a criminal…..and they still are.

Hea Hussein Zooey,
Don’t know if you saw this…

McClinton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOytXkCw0NY

Max-Hussein-1

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“Having no job, no money and no protection from predator creditors: Priceless.”