The Number Of Americans Living In Their Vehicles “Explodes”

a reply to: Aazadan

I take it that you are offering me a challange ??
Well, how about something which I have done and let's see how well you, and any number of friends, may be up to the task.

Be given, or should I say, pick out a target to be secured. Lay out a plan of action which involves travel through 20 kilometer of hostile territory. Pick a secure location and wait for approx. 30 hours without being discovered. When the target passes, along with 250 associates, snatch said target from among the others without being caught; and hold them, in place, because discovery will be a terminal mistake. When movement is again possible, transport the target back the 20 kilometers to your base for questioning. From the time you are given this assignment, you have 12 hours to bring it into operation. (plan and start)

Or, would it be simpler to ask that you "teach" a machine to dig and clean a ditch 76.2 cm X 76.2 cm X 1219.2 cm. Tolerance of these deminsions would be +/- 10%, as this impacts the cost and integrity of the work. The sides must be straight and the bottom level. The top edges, on each side, must be clear enough so loose debri does not fall back into the ditch. Clean the bottom of all lose debri and assure us of a uniformity in the wall's and bottom's moisture content and stability. Tie the appropriate number of the proper deformed reinforcement bars in the proper pattern along the longitudinal bars provided. Lay this structure into said ditch, with consideration for clearaces on all sides, and fill the ditch with concrete. This must be done without leaving any debri or voids within the newly poured foundation beam. Also, consideration must be made for future work to be attached to either end, and possibly the top, of this beam. Since this is not to be an isolated structure, it must be done in a timely manner while other, similar, work is being carried out within the immediate area.

Yes, both of these assignments involve getting dirty and sweaty, and have inherant risks involved. Let me assure you, both were carried out with my involvement. I use the first to illustrate the need for timely thought and decision making and the second for the manner of attention for detail needed even when the work is just done in dirt.
While my heart goes out to those who are caught up in an ever changing economic environment, I am stressing the need for many people to be flexible and willing to change their work skills as demands for various skills change. I see no real difference between those who digs ditches and those who write computer code, so long as they are content in their work and providing for their families. Having been involved in a wide range of occupations, I can attest to the satisfaction of being proud of the work one has accomplished.

Oh, and as for your post about Einstein. You are aware of his "working" as patent office clerk before he came up with his "break though" theories. A position where he was exposed to many technical papers and proposals. A little research will also show many of the things which he "proposed" had been set down in various journals before he published anything. I am not saying he was not a smart man. I am just saying, things should always be considered with in the nature of their context.

originally posted by: Aazadan

originally posted by: nOraKat
a reply to: Aazadan

$299 a month?! For a house?

You can barely pay for a car with that.

Correct. That means you're either underpaid, your house is more than you can afford, or both.

For reference, your car should also take no more than 5% of income (8% of income on transportation is recommended, so 5% car, other 3% on maintenance, gas, etc). Though, unlike with a house, it makes little sense to make multiple payments per month on a car.

Your housing/mortgage numbers aren't based on any kind of reality. I work in the business.

The typical underwriting guideline for home ownership is 28% front ratio & 36% back ratio. The front ratio is the total housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) / gross monthly income. In other words, people generally shouldn't spend more than 30% of their GROSS on their house. So if you make $5,000/mo then you really shouldn't spend more than $1500/month.

The 36% is with your other debt. So housing plus student loans, cars, credit cards, etc shouldn't exceed 36% of your gross monthly income.

While having lower ratios is fine, I assure you that very few people can spend only 5% of their income on a house or apartment, especially in a big city.

$300/month barely pays for monthly parking in Chicago.

To put things in perspective, a $100,000 mortgage would have a principal & interest payment of $521.65 for a 30 year amortization at 4.75%. Factor in property taxes and insurance, you'd probably be close to $1000/mo in most areas. $100k is hardly living in luxury in most areas of the US. Maybe in rural Mississippi.

a reply to: tinymind

So your examples of thinking reverted to brawn not brain. Thinking means getting work done asymmetricaly 1 person figures out how to do the work of 20. You did the work of 1.

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: tinymind

So your examples of thinking reverted to brawn not brain. Thinking means getting work done asymmetricaly 1 person figures out how to do the work of 20. You did the work of 1.

What?
You have been at this work how many years and yet you can not recognize the various stages of work involved with meeting each of these situations.

I don't care how much money or what title your position affords you to claim, you had best hone a diversity of other skills in order to survive if the SHTF during your life time. I am afraid computer skills won't carry a person very far after such an event takes place.

I could explain further where I see some need for improvement, but I am at work and do not have the time.

originally posted by: tinymind
What?
You have been at this work how many years and yet you can not recognize the various stages of work involved with meeting each of these situations.

Not one thing you listed made you a force multiplier. Can you dig your ditch in such a way that you can make the guy pouring concrete behind you 20% faster? Can you continuously improve on your ditch digging skills so that the concrete guy is 20% faster this year, and 30% faster the next year?

originally posted by: tinymind
I don't care how much money or what title your position affords you to claim, you had best hone a diversity of other skills in order to survive if the SHTF during your life time. I am afraid computer skills won't carry a person very far after such an event takes place.

I would much rather prevent SHTF than try to survive it. As I've said here many times over the years, if such a scenario happened, I would gladly kill myself. If for some reason I didn't do that though, I would make an excellent banker, or with a bit more study a lawyer. Could probably make a fairly decent politician too.

What would you do if we no longer needed manual labor?

You people who keep talking about how it's the homeless folks fault like you know their situation need to spend more time listening and less time spouting crap.

As a member of the working poor I can tell you that I am one paycheck, one car repair, one medical bill away from my family being homeless. My wife is a full time student and I have a four year old daughter. I am a paramedic in a major metropolitan area and I make 50k a year and my agency is the highest paying in my state.

We do not spend money on "things" we do not buy alcohol. We spend money on rent, car insurance, food, power, water, and cell phones on a discount carrier. I do not have cable. I do not have internet. When we run out of money before payday i don't eat so my wife and daughter can. This narrative that people are poor because of bad decisions is really old. The system is broken. Wages are not enough to live on. Until we get politicians on office who will stop pandering to the wealthy and actually try to help everyone else it is only going to get worse.

a reply to: mus8472

Inflation has turned 50k into near poverty in most areas

a reply to: mus8472

To be blunt, many people on these boards live only in their own reality and do not have the capacity to see from another person's POV .

a reply to: Aazadan

What would you do if we no longer needed manual labor?

This, in itself is a very good question.

The one thing I would not do is give up and kill myself. To do that means "they" have won by default. "The man" might beat me to my knees, but he had best not be around when I get up.
In the event the SHTF and society was cast back to square one, I suppose I would fall back on the farming skills which I learned as a lad. I, along with my family, would "scratch out" a living by hunting, fishing, and tending our garden vegetables. I trained my daughters to hunt and skin game at a young age and, even though they have degrees from collage, I am sure they could still do very well on their own.
I am not limited to one narrow skill set, as I became self-reliant at a young age. I am also fairly versed in many aspects of the arts and academia. I don't think I would make a good politician though, I have an aversion to being too self absorbed as many of them appear to be. I have always bee the type who teaches a guy to fish, so I can have one more fishing buddy.
I once ask my father and grandfather how they made it during the "great depression". They both said they had to admit; if they had not read about it in the paper, they would have never known it had happened. I guess if you don't have much to begin with, you don't miss it when it's gone.

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

For myself; I have said before that my heart goes out to those who have troubles in their lives. I doubt very much of the problems which most people have is self inflicted.

I do, however, continually encourage people to always continue to widen and diversify their sets of skills. I am blessed because I was raised up in an environment where I had to make it on my own and for my self. Yes, there were adults around but never any real support except for a share of the food I could fight for. I say I am blessed because of a "rough" childhood which I swore my kids would never know. I made certain they would never have to depend on anyone but themselves to live well.
As for MONEY. I doubt you will find as many happy rich people in this world as you will happy people who have learned to live on far less money but much much more than wealth.

a reply to: tinymind

I fully agree with your statement there, I learned differently, I was the son of a rich man, who cared far more about wealth and lifestyle than anything else, boarding school sucked but I was catered for, never went without anything and TBH I could nag and cry to get anything I wanted, at least when parents were actually there. Anyways I rebelled against it and was cut off at 17 and left without recourses, like fully cut off, had no one or anything, and we'll that taught me a thing or 2 about life.

One thing is for sure life has a way of getting in the way of the best layed plans... It's funny though I can relate to your sentiments, I would never let my boy feel the way I did, I just now have to work on keeping us financially viable...

originally posted by: tinymind
The one thing I would not do is give up and kill myself. To do that means "they" have won by default. "The man" might beat me to my knees, but he had best not be around when I get up.

So you would rather maintain a stalemate? Winning means taking control over TPTB. Your path doesn't give you the opportunity to do that.

I am not limited to one narrow skill set, as I became self-reliant at a young age. I am also fairly versed in many aspects of the arts and academia.

Are you? When I asked if you were, you weren't able to give any examples of using that academic knowledge at all. You reverted to grabbing a shovel and digging a hole in the ground.

They both said they had to admit; if they had not read about it in the paper, they would have never known it had happened. I guess if you don't have much to begin with, you don't miss it when it's gone.

Or they had a lot. It was the poor who felt the greatest effects of the depression, the upper pecentiles (say top 30%) didn't even notice it.

We should have drones going around not with bombs killing people but with technology to locate the homeless and mentally challenged with an offer of help to get on their feet.

And if by some chance their alright with being homeless then so be it, leave them alone.

There should be a healthy and safe place for the homeless in every location in the country with social workers, psychologists, employment and housing experts to assist people in getting back to normal

a reply to: Willtell

The problem with homelessness is that it often leads to mental disorders, and once damaged there's no known way to repair these people. If drugs don't get them, homeless still tend to be very distrustful of a system that betrayed them, and they don't want to go along with it. They're people that just want to disappear from society.

How do you help people who don't want help, and are in many times incapable of receiving help, any outreach program fails, and anything forced has serious ethical issues at best.

a reply to: Aazadan

Well, you have to try because there are many people who will be able to be helped back to a normal lifestyle.

originally posted by: Aazadan
How do you help people who don't want help, and are in many times incapable of receiving help, any outreach program fails, and anything forced has serious ethical issues at best.

Stop importing millions of immigrants every year to bid-up the price of housing so that the low- or no- income have no place to go.

originally posted by: Willtell
a reply to: Aazadan

Well, you have to try because there are many people who will be able to be helped back to a normal lifestyle.

I'm not so sure. I'm not saying I like the idea of just ignoring the homeless, or making life harder for them, or anything... outside of the short term/recent homeless though, it's a very difficult problem to fix.

If we can help people right as they become homeless, we might be able to stop the growth of the homeless population, but that still leaves a lot of people on the streets. And even doing that much is going to require a serious investment. I think it's one that we as a society should make, but just saying that doesn't make it happen.

originally posted by: starviego

originally posted by: Aazadan
How do you help people who don't want help, and are in many times incapable of receiving help, any outreach program fails, and anything forced has serious ethical issues at best.

Stop importing millions of immigrants every year to bid-up the price of housing so that the low- or no- income have no place to go.

Immigrants aren't creating homeless people.

originally posted by: Aazadan
Immigrants aren't creating homeless people.

Actually they are. You can't import two million people every year and not have a constant, ongoing housing crisis. It's a simple question of supply and demand.

a reply to: starviego

Immigrants create jobs, that leads to more income and less involuntary homelessness.