[tanner]

http://www.theatlant...t-shame/476415/



Long article but worth the read. It cannot be copied and pasted.



Things are more worse than it seems in America. My opinion is that Elites now control most of the wealth. America is a country of winners and losers. The elites financially backed feminism bc having women enter the work force allowed them to reduce labor costs. They also encouraged women to turn on men as it put men into enormous personal debts and made men wage slaves. Men are the biggest threat to the elites bc men by nature are competitive and leaders and want access to the wealth. Hence American women have never been the problem, it is their behaviours and attitudes that have been the problem. The boat is sure to sink sooner that later. The elites will never let go of their control, even though they are forcing the ship to sink and eventually they will lose most of what they have. Men and women have been busy fighting with each other while the elites look on in amusement. Until wealth concentration is not reduced then circulation of wealth through out the economy will stagnate and individuals will have less money to spend which kill local and small businesses. Hence when nearly half the population in America has trouble finding $400 for an emergency, it is a sign that wealth is not circulating but stagnating -- into the hands of the few.

[General Stalin]

Fixed your link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...me/476415/

I don't think this is a circulation-of-wealth issue but more an issue of Western materialism and poor financial management practices.

Granted cost-of-living is high in many parts of the US, most younger people (and even older people) don't save money. They spend their disposable income on bullshit like eating out, material things, and entertainment.

[samsamsam]

GS is right. I understand it is fun for some to hate on wealthy people like it is for me to hate on fat attention whores. But if an average American just looked through the shit they own which they regret buying it would easily exceed 400 bucks. Expensive clothes never worn, that stationary bicycle they never use, etc.

One less fast food meal a week for a year would get you 400.

If I could discuss one marketing aspect that seems to really fuck up the average consumer it is this idea they deserve something. Marketers always use that angle to get you buy shit.

"Don't you deserve a new car?"

But I can't afford it.

Don't worry we can finance it. Bad credit, no credit, no job, no problem.

Ok let's get me a new car I deserve.


There is some commercial on tv about investing and one line in it says, "so you daughter can afford college like she deserves." Maybe if she got good grades and was going to get a useful degree. But not just because she is my kid. I'd rather toss that money into a trust that she couldn't access until 40 so she grows up smart about life than some shit degree that she get through a for profit college.

Bottom line, no one deserves shit just because they wake up at some point in the morning. This is the problem with Sanders supporters they think they deserve good things in life. How about less whining and more working?

[tanner]

(04-23-2016 10:17 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Fixed your link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...me/476415/

I don't think this is a circulation-of-wealth issue but more an issue of Western materialism and poor financial management practices.

Granted cost-of-living is high in many parts of the US, most younger people (and even older people) don't save money. They spend their disposable income on bullshit like eating out, material things, and entertainment.

Western materialism is encouraged by the elites, that how they concentrate wealth. Good financial management practise can be taught at school when students are young. I don't think it is a coincidence that schools do not teach such subjects as it benefits the elites that most have poor financial skills.

[Geomann180]

I do two things:

1) I deposit about 20% of my earnings a month into a savings account. That way, I can loan my own money to myself.

2) I don't really use credit cards (until last week Monday). I recently applied for one after I had an emergency where my 5 year old computer went completely down and I was unable to repair it. The producer of said computer, Sony, to my knowledge no longer makes computers and no spare parts could be found for it. So I had to buy a brand new computer. Bought one in the $400-500 range with a three year no-shit warranty that covers everything. With a credit car, I was able to divide payment into paying half of total cost on Monday night (I needed computer immediately) and half of total cost next week Thursday or Friday when I get my next pay check.

In my opinion, credit cards are supposed to be for emergencies, but it seems like a lot of people use credit cards normally. And then use credit cards to pay off credit cards.

3) Despite a slightly-rocky 2016, financially, I have a plan for my savings. Goals.

1. Half a month's salary
2. A whole month's salary
3. Six month's salary
4. A year's salary
5. And beyond
   

Once I get to a year's salary, or beyond, I'm effectively able to weather most financial storms or droughts and loan to myself as needed without worry about needed to rely on anyone else, credit cards, or luck.

G

[tanner]

...

[samsamsam]

(04-23-2016 10:35 AM)tanner Wrote:  

(04-23-2016 10:17 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Fixed your link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...me/476415/

I don't think this is a circulation-of-wealth issue but more an issue of Western materialism and poor financial management practices.

Granted cost-of-living is high in many parts of the US, most younger people (and even older people) don't save money. They spend their disposable income on bullshit like eating out, material things, and entertainment.

Western materialism is encouraged by the elites, that how they concentrate wealth. Good financial management practise can be taught at school when students are young. I don't think it is a coincidence that schools do not teach such subjects as it benefits the elites that most have poor financial skills.

Why must everything be taught in schools? How about good parenting? Or just plain old common sense. I get it the wealthy want to destroy good parenting. The wealthy want to destroy common sense.

Regardless of who people want to blame, you still suffer the consequences. So people need to ask how do I make my life better and then start the process.

I am not a one percenter. But that expression hate the game not the player. You don't know what goes through their minds when they have all that time and resources. And you can't say well I woild do xyz if I was them. You can but it doesn't count because you are not them.

I always love those comments by people who say if I had a lot of money, I would just retire. Well you probably never will have a lot of money because those that do just have a different mindset.

It is like pretty hot things we want to fuck. They just do what the game lets them do. We say shit about them but if you were some 1 percent stud, model looks and money. Wouldn't you want to bang all the girls you could and keep them away from the rest of us guys?

Anyway, my rant is over. Just work on yourself, build your resources. Control what you can control. And realize you don't comtrol much.

Edit: anyone happier than me to see a legend like DOBA posting?

[General Stalin]

(04-23-2016 10:35 AM)tanner Wrote:  

(04-23-2016 10:17 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Fixed your link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...me/476415/

I don't think this is a circulation-of-wealth issue but more an issue of Western materialism and poor financial management practices.

Granted cost-of-living is high in many parts of the US, most younger people (and even older people) don't save money. They spend their disposable income on bullshit like eating out, material things, and entertainment.

Western materialism is encouraged by the elites, that how they concentrate wealth. Good financial management practise can be taught at school when students are young. I don't think it is a coincidence that schools do not teach such subjects as it benefits the elites that most have poor financial skills.

Elites buy mad unnecessary shit too - difference is that they can afford it. The 1% are not immune to Western materialism.

I also think it's incorrect to point a finger at the education system for not teaching fiscal responsibility. Schools don't teach you life shit.

[Days of Broken Arrows]

Taking into consideration that most people we're discussing earn a salary, it comes down to "Who's doing the spending?" Because this, to me, says Americans are spending too much and not saving enough.

According to many sources (like this article at Bloomberg News) women make a whopping 85 percent of all consumer purchases.

Adding in my own power of observation (because you can't live by articles and studies alone), what I see is a society in which spend-happy, materialist women drive their families into poverty through massive debt and credit.

This is where men's diminished influence these days really comes in. There is no effing way my father or grandfather (or me, for that matter) would have allowed their wives to "max out" credit cards and the like. Yet this is exactly what I see happen with those in my family born after about 1970.

The wives need the fancy car and big house. They need it NOW. The husbands bend to their demands and everyone suffers in the long run.

I could give you all an insane list of examples here. There's the wife who insisted on a head-to-toe "remodel" of the house, racking up $100K in debt and forcing her husband to delay retirement. Then there's the wife who needs a new kitchen floor every few years. And also the wife whose vacation budget is bigger than most people's salaries. And so on.

And then there are the single women who live by credit cards. More than once in my life I've realized I didn't want to be involved with a woman because that would mean taking on her bills and her debt -- and having to attempt to "control" her spending habits. Not a job I want.

Before about 1970, the image of single women was that of frugal spinsters (go to the final verse of this song for an example). The culture changed and it's not for the better. We warn men to watch out for women with high notch counts when settling down. Maybe we need to add bad credit ratings in too, since I've read it's money issues that break up most marriages.

[EDantes]

(04-23-2016 10:17 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Fixed your link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...me/476415/

I don't think this is a circulation-of-wealth issue but more an issue of Western materialism and poor financial management practices.

Granted cost-of-living is high in many parts of the US, most younger people (and even older people) don't save money. They spend their disposable income on bullshit like eating out, material things, and entertainment.

This is true, many people live above their means; even some people who are outwardly "well off" are living paycheck-to-paycheck juggling mortgages, 2 cars, student loans, dining out regularily, etc.

Lately my philosophy is to worry less about aquriing "more money" and focus on managing what I make well for the time being.

Compared to those of the WWII and early Baby Boomer generations, we don't live within our means, which is part of what has put us in the economic mess we are in now.

If anyone is interested, Dave Ramsey has a good book on financial management; I don't totally agree with his philosophy though (he advocates complete avoidance of credit and paying cash for everything, even a car, college, and possibly a house) but for Americans with a spending addiction it is definitely worth a read.

[JSnow]

Yeah, I'm not saying there is no problem with inequality as it stands today, but this problem is not the reason. Almost everyone should be able to save a few thousand dollars, especially over the course of years. Even minimum wage workers ought to be able to do it. This is just the product of poor planning, plain and simple.

[BassPlayaYo]

If this statistic is true, that means that every other member on this forum that lives in the USA has trouble finding $400 for an emergency.

[monster]

So what?

Since when it is that as Americans we're entitled to have $400? We're not entitled to shit.

We're not entitled to fuck hot women. We're not entitled to healthy, strong bodies. We're not entitled to happiness. And we're not entitled to wealth.

If we want any of that we have to work for it. And we have to work hard.

Americans - and most of the developed world - have developed this toxic belief we're entitled to all sorts of shits that are really in fact the hard-earned fruits of the seeds we sow.

[JacksonRev]

Forum Results: 6% Difficult, 94% Not Difficult

This forum is decidedly better than average.

[Ensam]

I actually read that garbage. Buried deep inside is this gem:

Quote:

We have no retirement savings, because we emptied a small 401(k) to pay for our younger daughter’s wedding.

Financial literacy isn't something that needs to be taught - it's basic common sense. Earn more than you spend and life will generally work out well for you.

Just follow the Micawber principle:

Quote:

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.

[fortysix]

These people must be budget geniuses if they are able to run their personal operations each month to such a t that they have have exactly $0 left over each month.

[The Lizard of Oz]

If you read that Atlantic article, one thing jumps out more than any other: the insanity of the American education system, American college in particular:

Quote:

And then, on top of it all, came the biggest shock, though one not unanticipated: college. Because I made too much money for the girls to get more than meager scholarships, but too little money to afford to pay for their educations in full, and because—another choice—we believed they had earned the right to attend good universities, universities of their choice, we found ourselves in a financial vortex. (I am not saying that universities are extortionists, but … universities are extortionists. One daughter’s college told me that because I could pay my mortgage, I could afford her tuition.) In the end, my parents wound up covering most of the cost of the girls’ educations. We couldn’t have done it any other way. Although I don’t have any regrets about that choice—one daughter went to Stanford, was a Rhodes Scholar, and is now at Harvard Medical School; the other went to Emory, joined WorldTeach and then AmeriCorps, got a master’s degree from the University of Texas, and became a licensed clinical social worker specializing in traumatized children—paying that tariff meant there would be no inheritance when my parents passed on. It meant that we had depleted not only our own small savings, but my parents’ as well.

It you take a minute to think about what this paragraph really says, it is this: the entire savings of two generations of a family -- some hundreds of thousands of dollars -- were wiped out to put two sluts through "college". For one of them -- and this is an unusually favorable outcome -- it took all these years to finally get her to Harvard Med School, so there is a chance that in some more years she will start earning some money and be a halfway decent doc. The other wasted close to a decade of her life including slutternships in organizations like "WorldTeach" and "AmeriCorps" to finally acquire the precious skills to become a "licensed clinical social worker specializing in traumatized children". Again, this is the return on investment of the entire savings of two generations -- hundreds of thousands of dollars -- going down the drain.

This is just madness. There is no racket in the US more outrageous than the "college tuition" racket and nothing even comes close in its ruinous effects on the American middle class. These places realize that normal people may -- sometimes -- pinch pennies when it comes to themselves, but they will never deny anything to their precious children; the young dudes and sluts must have the best schools, the best colleges, the best everything. The government enables all of this with endless loan programs. As a result, the savings of one generation are depleted, and the next one starts out its life with a debt burden that it struggles to repay for many years if not decades. And of all this money goes to sponsor innumerable Year Zero studies departments, where dykes and manginas while away their days thinking about how to transform "consent" and "harassment" laws in such a way as to make the lives of normal men into a living hell -- and how to permanently ruin the lives of some of the students of those very universities while they're at it.

The US higher education bubble needs to burst, and this needs to happen yesterday. And the only way this happens will be when parents and students come to their senses and stop buying what the universities are selling. The field is ripe for competition, for educational and vocational institutions that are lean and tightly focused and that offer to train kids in specific skills cheaper, faster and more effectively than the disgusting bloated SJW fiefdoms American families are handing over their life savings to.

The romance of the American four year college must end, the spell must be broken; the sooner the better. The result will be normal middle class American families having more dollars in their bank account to spend on products that drive the real economy forward; and endless hordes of malignant SJW parasites being less assured of a cushy and untouchable sinecure from which to spread their evil. That's what I would call a win/win.

[samsamsam]

(04-23-2016 12:42 PM)JacksonRev Wrote:  

Forum Results: 6% Difficult, 94% Not Difficult

This forum is decidedly better than average.

It could shift - waiting for the Sanders voters to wake up.

[John Michael Kane]

Everyone needs an emergency stash fund. Additionally, this is a good reminder as to why you want to have excellent credit. If you hit a rainy day and have great credit, it isn't hard to get approved for a $5000+ credit card with zero percent interest for 12 or more months. Providing you only put the actual bare necessities on the card, you can use it to leverage the power of time to pay down the debt and work harder on increasing your income in the meantime.

[churros]

(04-23-2016 10:17 AM)General Stalin Wrote:  

I don't think this is a circulation-of-wealth issue but more an issue of Western materialism and poor financial management practices.

Take as given the disparity in wealth distribution from cerca 1900 in comparison with today.

How do we explain this?

1) Cast personal judgement on the spending habits of the poor.

2) Economic analysis.

[philosophical_recovery]

(04-23-2016 01:41 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

[Brilliance sprinkled with neologisms like "slutternships"]

[The Black Knight]

Days of Broken Arrow and Lizard of Oz both hit two major points very well (entitled women/spineless men and the Higher Education-Industrial Complex) so I will focus on other random thoughts:

1. The economy has been shit for a lot young people for a long time. All the this "work hard and you will succeed" stuff is mostly a lie these days. There is simply not enough well-paying jobs to match the demand; especially for those that aren't willing to take the risk of going into questionable debt for a degree; even a STEM degree. The thing is, the vast majority of jobs created since the 2008 crash have been service sector minimum wage garbage; NOT white collar professional well-paying gigs. Guys now have to look at growing 2nd/3rd world countries like China for actual decent opportunities. For a whole host of reasons, it isn't practical for everyone to emigrate to another country for work.

Furthermore, you really can't even survive on a American minimum wage/near minimum wage job these days unless basic expenses go down (average rent being a big one) and/or wages go up. Today, we subsidize corporations profits via welfare programs. It shouldn't be surprising that a lot of people have no money and are living on credit; they don't have a choice. One major car repair, medical bill, period of unemployment and you are pretty much fucked; especially as a young man with no support structure. Women can at least use the pussy pass to get out of poverty; good looking guys with game can to (to a some degree) as well but it's a far more difficult thing to pull off and maintain.

2. Basic spending self-discipline/money understanding is non-existent in the US. The sense of entitlement is rampant and no one can do basic financial analysis anymore. For as important as money is, the fact that many high schools offer no basic personal finance course is pathetic. I can waste 4 years learning about ancient history, Shakespeare, and high level math that has no practical application but there isn't universal agreement to have at least a mandatory semester course on money? So stupid.

3. I find couples/individuals that make 100k+ (in most places; not NYC/SF obviously) but are living to living paycheck especially pathetic. Life is such a struggle. Every little bullshit thing for themselves and their kids is indulged. You tell these people to stop buying so much shit, maybe live in a slightly smaller home with way lower tax/utility bills and they look at you like you're crazy. The real comedy starts when they might be looking at a real pay demotion in the near future and when the awful reality sets that they might have to cut back down from a 175k salary to 125k. God. Forbid.

4. Furthermore, many kids are being raised with no sense of struggle. Every little thing material they want, they get. This will not end well. We are already seeing the ramifications of this sort of upbringing combined with helicopter parenting in the present day libtards. "GIVE ME. GIVE ME. GIVE ME. WAIT? I PAY?! FUCK YOU YOU ENTITLED WHITE MAN AND YOUR WHITE PRIVILEGE!!!!"

5. Illegal immigration and out-sourcing has done devastating damage to the middle class/lower class. If you weren't born with money or resources, it is extremely difficult to find a lower class job that has some potential but still pays a livable wage due to the aforementioned factors. The military is the only way out for many young people. Despite having a steady paycheck, I saw MANY young people in the military buy 60k vehicles on a 30k salary. As I alluded to before, we need to start having mandatory classes on money in high school. All it takes is one bad financial decision at 18 (college, car, etc) and that person is pretty much fucked unless they declare bankruptcy.

[Wuking]

Not surprised. This is worsen with the introduction of social media where people flaunt their belongings.

Old school values of hard work and saving are dismissed while people with the latest iphone are considered the "in" crowd.

[churros]

(04-23-2016 03:52 PM)The Black Knight Wrote:  

2. Basic spending self-discipline/money understanding is non-existent in the US. The sense of entitlement is rampant and no one can do basic financial analysis anymore. For as important as money is, the fact that many high schools offer no basic personal finance course is pathetic. I can waste 4 years learning about ancient history, Shakespeare, and high level math that has no practical application but there isn't universal agreement to have at least a mandatory semester course on money? So stupid.

Hang on – you are blaming this on ancient history and Shakespeare? Please. Since I moved the US, I get credit card offers in the mail every other day. The whole financial system is geared towards debt and credit, and eradicating the last remnants of culture will not change that one bit.

[n0000]

I have posted this before, but this graph shoes the increase in wages vs increase in cost of medical care and college.



Housing saw a similar increase due to the explicit policy of the fed to prop up housing and print large amounts of money. It is not a surprise that Americans are impoverished. Terrible fiscal discipline + easily available credit + massive increase in the prices of basic items.