Unemployable? Yep, that's me!

You wrote: 

I want you to pretend that you are unemployed. Not only unemployed, but unemployable, as in there are no jobs available. How long would it be before you reached third world status?

No need to pretend, already there. My husband's retirement and my own small business have been all that stands between us and third world status. When my income fails to reach what we need to keep afloat, we fall behind, and catch up when we can. We are relatively unemployable because of our age and where we live. Moving to the city is unacceptable, so we grow our own vegetables, raise chickens and geese for eggs and meat, have a few sheep for meat and wool. We have worked hard at becoming debt-free, but the one debt that we have not been able to get rid of is our house payment. If we can pay that off, I believe we might just stand a chance of survival when everything comes crashing down.

by Barbara Peterson (46 articles, 80 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 416 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 11:34:47 AM
 

Keep Swinging

Barbara, Thank you so much for your reply. Nothing says it better than real people with real stories. America lives on inflation, our government survives on inflation, and our citizens who are on Social Security and try to live a simple life are ruined by inflation.

Your simple lifestyle is commendable and should be the goal of any who want to survive our changing economy. I truly hope that you can pay your home off, live simply, and live well.

Best regards, Mike Folkerth, King of Simple.

by Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 11:44:00 AM
 

Read, write and scare yourself

I just scared the snot out of myself with an article on indebtedness and suicide.  Most of my 50 something friends are living on the edge--of sanity and underemployment.  Being alleged conspiracy theorists (ain't no theory if it's reality, but that's another story), we see a massive manipulation of social psychology that is leading this nation to suicide by consumerism. 

But, what do I know? Only what me eyez and earz tell me. 

by M. Davis (43 articles, 2 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 152 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 12:50:56 PM
 

some sense some not

the author mirrors my thoughts that America is headed for 3rd world status.no country has remained great or prosperous that has no industrial base or runs a deficit every year as we have done since letting Regean and the Republicans ship our factories overseas.i am a former teacher who thought i would be set for life after working hard all my life,not rich just fairly comfortable.The Republicans with democratic help took away my social security which i had paid into most of my life with their double dip law.Every year my teachers pension in Michigan is threatened by new Republican measures to cut our pension plan and heath care.To stupid Americans who think it can"t happen to them wait until your job is outsourced or privatized by Republicans.i do disagree with the authors statement that Ron Paul can be the only one to save us.He is the best of the worst for Republicans but from what i have read he has a libertarian attitude of little government and let business do what they want.The only man that can save us is dennis Kucinich with a single payer health plan not tax credits which will do little as most dumocrats suggest.He wants to end the free trade global arrangements responsible for so many middle class no longer belonging to that class.I doubt if Paul is against global free trade or any of the other dumocrats.I get tired of hearing Kucinich is not electible give him the money and the news coverage and support and he is not only electible but the only democrat who has a plan to save America.If not you can continue to watch America rot and turn into a third world nation i guarentee it.

by liberalsrock (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 117 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 1:08:17 PM
 

3rd world country

I agree with  Mr. Folkerth and the sad part is no one seems to care. It' like come day,go day,God send Sunday. So sad to see how our country will be like in a few years.

by betty webb (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 1:21:05 PM
 

My friends and I have been in the third world for years

Most of my friends and both my daughter and I have lived a third world life for years. For some periods I had a reasonably decent wage but being a woman in the bad old days, it still didn't keep up with the cost of living. Then I committed the unforgivable sin of getting older and here I am in my sixies and not enough to meet the cost of living due to low social security from low wages and not enough savings. My family in the Midwest always lived well, but now they can't meet the cost of living either and are quickly slipping out of the Middle Class. Some of my friends don't even have enough for a healthy diet and some are on the verge of homelessness. Since my daughter and I live in a cheap, somewhat crummy rental and I am already used to no car, thrift shop clothes, very little furniture, bartering, etc etc we are getting by and not too miserable but the ex-Middle Class folks are really hurting. Maybe we could make some money by teaching them survival skills.

by memary (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 70 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 1:34:10 PM
 

I wish it wasn't true, but it is

All of this is true and so what. For years I have been saying all of this and more. I am always talking about this and all the other issues that are relevant to us all, everywhere I go with everyone I meet. I know by their reactions that they and my friends see me as a wild-eyed radical and a real bring down because I wont let it go. Nobody wants to think about it or talk about it. The reality is that if you don’t think about it and talk about it nothing will ever get better. To me there isn’t a time or place that is inappropriate to talk about these vital issues.  I am always getting comments like “what good is it to think about this stuff there is nothing I can do” or “I am to busy with more important things”. This is the indoctrination we are up against and in all of my 55 years I have found no way to break through this shell and frankly I am certain at this point it is to late to stop it from happening.  

by arlen custer (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 247 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 2:10:02 PM
 

Arlen, you are absolutely right

I have had the same experience with people.  Although some of us are willing to face reality, most people won't do so until it comes up and bites them in the butt.  This reality is going to be a really big bite, too.  All we can do is prepare as best we can and try to surround ourselves with a few loyal friends and family.  I fully expect to end up camping in the woods and scratching to survive, while hiding from marauders.  Thank goodness I live in California in a mild area. That's why I moved here 8 years ago...it's easier to survive off the grid.  We have the equipment and my friends have the truck.

by memary (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 70 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 8:26:03 PM
 

A couple of corrections

Liberals Rock,

Just a couple of corrections to your comment. Bill Clinton and Al gore ushered in NAFTA and the WTO in back to back years (1994 and 1995) Not Ronald Reagan.

I also said, Ron Paul OR the candidate of your choice that you believe could save Middle America. You admit that you don't know what Dr. Paul's policies are, but are sure they are wrong.

So long as we blindly take political sides and continue with the liberal and conservative one size fits all monikers and promote the unsubstantiated blame and bashing, you are aiding and abateing the enemy exactly as they planned it.

by Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 3:15:32 PM
 

YES!!!

So long as we blindly take political sides and continue with the liberal and conservative one size fits all monikers and promote the unsubstantiated blame and bashing, you are aiding and abateing the enemy exactly as they planned it.

YES!!!

by Barbara Peterson (46 articles, 80 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 416 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 3:39:14 PM
 

Hey, Hey!

Thank all of you who have commented on my article. A special thanks to those who told their stories that demonstrate the points that I make far more graphically than I can possibly write them. Please continue to post if you have a story to tell.

It requires a lot of pain to get people's backs up and as we can see, far too many people are involved in that pain needlessly. Sheer greed, unchecked capitalism and a corrupt government have brought us to this point.

Together, left and right Middle Class Americans merging to the middle, have the votes to make a difference. I saw signs in Indiana while I was there recently that were prominently placed in yards everywhere that read, "Don't re-elect anyone" I think I like it.

Again, thanks for telling your stories, that is what real news is about.

by Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 3:26:32 PM
 

America Decending to 3rd World status

What we are talking about here is nothing new. this was all planed along time ago. we are part of the NEW WORLD ORDER. this was done by REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS and other world leaders. AND IT ALL LEADS TO (GREED) by wealthy americans and others in the world that want part of the PIE. if all americans remember back in 1992 ROSS PERIOT WAS SAYING that the N.A.F.A. world trade agreement would create a SUCKING EFFECT OF JOBS LOST. HE WAS RIGHT. AMERICA HAS LOST OVER ONE MILLION JOBS AND CONTINUES TO LOOSE JOBS EVERY DAY. I say we are in deep do,do. and can not get out. OUR POLITICANS DONT WANT US TO GET OUT OF LOOSING JOBS. (CORPORATE AMERICA AND WEALTHY AMERICANS HAVE A STRANGLE HOLE ON AMERICANS.) cheap labor is what they want. that is way we have so many mexicans coming across the border. no jobs for our people. the only way to stop this MADNESS IS A REBELLION HERE by america and its people. but this will not happen because most americans are very passive, they dont care from one day to the next what happens to them. THEY WOULD CARE IF THEY SAW WHAT HAPPENED IN WORLD WAR II when people had nothing but the clothes on there back. EVERY BODY WAS HUNGERY, they ate what they could get. and it was not much. we are very close to this state.something must be done and fast. if Bush and cheney start another war with IRAN . then maybe we will see WORLD WAR III. and Bush will use his power to declare MARTIAL LAW. america will be back to the 1930"s. LIKE Germany. we will be realy hurting.

by vincent passiatore (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 168 comments) on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 12:05:06 AM
 

Descending and getting worse

What bothers me more than anything is not only the degree to which our country is degrading, but how China is loaning us billions.  Eventually they will start to acquire so much of America that one day they'll move in and slowly and quietly start evicting the residents from their property.  Another thing is they have a port in Mexico, but they want the inspection station in Kansas.  That's an awful long way for trucks to travel without anybody else really knowing what they're transporting.  They could acquire storage areas capable of holding an armored division and weapons and support gear for infantry divisions in order to prepare for the invasion nobody here is expecting.  So what if a couple of hundred thousand Chinese tourists visit the country and just happen to descend upon those storage areas.  They could leave one tank and infantry gear per truck, go back to the port, get more and not have to worry about inspections.  Our Army will still be engaged in the CheneyBush's wars of Oil, and even if the troops are home, their heavy weapons would still be over there, so most of the resistance would be minimal.  Resistance is futile, and if you remember Tiananmen Square, they didn't mind mowing down a few thousand of their own, so it wouldn't bother them in the slightest to use flame throwers, machine guns and other delightful devices as crowd control.  The crowd would be dead, but very much under control.  This may be just a worst case scenario, but I wouldn't put it past them.

I just know there is a map of the world in Beijing with North America as part of their new empire.  China was once the preeminent power in the world and they want very much to regain that position.  They know they can push our government around, because they already know they are gutless and too busy infighting to notice anything outside of our National Nuthouse.

I have no reason to trust the Chicoms (Chinese Communists) at all, especially when they purchased a Russian aircraft carrier and told us they were going to convert it into a gambling casino.  You'd have to be pretty stupid to believe that, but apparently someone did.  The Chicoms weren't asking our approval, they were only trying to see how gullible we were, and it looked like we met their expectations.  And how many of you remember that EP-3E their idiot pilot played tag with and forced them to land on Chicom ground?  I was Naval Aviation.  I can't forget that.  Nor will I ever forgive them.  If one of their aircraft landed on American soil, we wouldn't dare cut it in half and have it shipped back at their expense.

I'm not saying this will happen, it's only a possibility, but it could happen if we let them continue and we can't pull ourselves out of this nosedive.  

This is all the more reason to reestablish our former infrastructure of steel and other extractive materials, as information and service economies generate absolute nothing.  While they serve to push existing currency around, they do not generate anything new, which is what put us in the hole.  The idea that knowledge is power only goes so far as currency must be based on something tangible, which is as bad as the federal reserve speculation based economy, where you get to make it up as you go along.  

I support Bill Richardson 100%.  He's a democrat (I'm a registered Green) who can run a predominantly republican state and can generate more than enough bipartisan support.  He's not only a leader, he has gone into hostage situations and negotiated for their releases without being in a position of power or trying to intimidate them and managed to negotiate their release. He is the diplomat America desperately needs.

http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/

by Dave Kisor (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 136 comments) on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 10:26:48 PM
 

I have been unemployed in America much of the past 3 decades

You wrote, "He explained that once a person loses his or her job, it’s a short trip to 3rd world status. That being said, employment then, is all that separates us from that unfortunate state. That, and the social safety net that currently exists to supposedly create a floor for the level that one could sink. But wait…who supports that safety net? The remaining job holders; so with no jobs is there a safety net? The short answer is no."

First, there are roughly 30 million Americas plus their families who have to work out the USA already--due to lack of good work and other life chances at home.  This means that at least one in ten Americans are forced to go abroad to support their standards of living--or even to just find employment.

The USA thus, without lack of good safety net, forces more Americans to work abroad than there are 3rd world illegals in the uSA.

Second, quit worrying about over extending the safety net--when more than 10trillion dollars have been wasted on wars and the war regime over the past 35+ years

by ALONE (130 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 286 comments) on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 11:05:37 AM