Tent cities have sprung up outside Los Angeles

I know I should feel bad for all the people who are losing their homes right now, but I just can't.

There's no excuse for people not doing their homework, and that homework includes taking a realistic look at what they can and can not afford. My husband & I were approved for a much larger home mortgage (after 10 years of working hard, saving and paying off debt), but we "settled" for a mobile home at about a third of the cost of a "real" house. We also choose to keep our cars as long-term investments rather than purchasing new ones every couple of years.

Meanwhile, all of our friends went ahead and bought huge homes with monster mortgages, lease new cars every other year and buy every new toy that hits the market... If any one of them loses their job, their respective household will collapse. These people (our friends) all looked down their noses at my husband & I. The "trailer trash" jokes were hurtful (to me) and merciless.... BUT ....

If my husband & I both lose our jobs tomorrow, we can maintain this trailer, pay the mortgage, buy food and live just fine on what we'd make on unemployment. Yeah, we're trailer trash all right.

So no, I don't feel bad. I'm sick of being looked down upon because I don't spend $125 bucks on a haircut, and $50 for a shirt that I'll only wear once. I'm sick of being called "Trailer Trash". Our home is clean & well cared for, and so is the Trailer Park that we live in. We choose how we spend our money. We work hard for it, and we choose very carefully. So if some joker gets a government handout to keep their huge house and support their superiority complex......

I say..... Let them live in trailers!

reply to post by WageSlave71


How would you maintain anything, when your money is going to worth nothing within weeks, huh Genius? You cannot understand this, right? Your USD is not accepted already in most of the European countries, because it's worth nothing. And the collapse is imminent.

[edit on 15-3-2008 by Dark Crystalline]

reply to post by Relentless


In regards to schooling and student loans. Yes you do start your life in debt. However with that education you can easily find a higher paying job than someone without it. Which, if you live below your means for a few years, you can easily take care of.

I also have student loan debt myself, and quite a bit of it. However with student loans, they can be deferred, this can take a lot of strain off of a person while they get their financial affairs in order.

reply to post by enddays


Yes it is EndDays.. and I apologise for not reading your last post carefully enough. The US Government is in a state of transition right now, it would probably only respond if this situation developed into a national emergency. Until then it is a Social Services issue (or whatever the US equivalent is). If the 'Social Services' work as slowly in the US as they do in the UK, then their assistance would be relatively ineffectual in comparison to the potential growth of these tented camps.

The problem is not endemic and there is no 'quick fix'. This is a result of the way society has been heading for decades. Over-consumerism, spending beyond our limits.. and the US Government is trying to encourage the people to spend more!! I guess it's an attempt to prevent the economy from stalling, but it's going to be as much use as a chocolate tea pot (coffee pot).

Your suggestion is a relatively long term one EndDays. Affordable housing has to be agreed in principle, planned, financed and built. It would take years to achieve. Though it will probably be needed. In the meantime, these camps will expand.

I was made redundant at very short notice just before Christmas. I thought the house would have to go. I would have been perfectly happy to live in our caravan (trailer), but it would have been the end of the world for my wife. Just after Christmas I found work again, and we're back to normal. Things can change that quickly and I can clearly see how these camps could spring up in areas where employment is falling.

By the way, as you live in Scotland. How are the 'Hippy' communes coming along?

reply to post by anxietydisorder



You NEED to be very careful with what you say, although I see it's coming from your stone cold heart-you might eat your own words.

The Word say's that in the latter days the love of many would WAX COLD.

As for the reality of that situation, my soul is pierced to the bone for those people, whoever they are and whatever caused them to resort to living in tents. But hey! The good new is this; The bible say's the children of Israel also lived in tents prior to reaching the promised land!
OUR KING IS COMING!!

Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.


Luke 6:20
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

I know this is very simplistic and easy for me to say, but why does the US Government act as the most powerful country on the world stage, but not seem interested in the well being of it's own tax paying, and soon to be homeless, population ? I have heard all the arguements about spending $12 billion a month on war to protect the US from terrorism, but surely this is a seriously wrong policy ? I would think that the best thing the US could do at the moment would be to immediately bring it's troops home for a well deserved R&R, and then use these reguvinated swinging dicks to re-generate the working economy. I suspect that the OPEC countries could be persuaded to drastically reduce the cost of oil given the possibility that their main buyer was no longer going to down the tubes.

reply to post by Dark Crystalline


You sound pretty bitter, Dark Crystalline. Rather than list my overseas investment portfolio for you, let me just say that I have done my homework.

You seem to know that the American dollar is losing value. Did you think you were the only one who knows that?

reply to post by WageSlave71


They ought to put you in a museum. An American who lives within his means! Hang in there and save your money. As an aside, I actually knew a doctor who lived in a trailer home here in Calfornia. She just graduated medical school and that was the trailer home was the only home she could "afford."

The silver lining of this whole thing is that people like you (and me) will be able to buy nice homes for ourselves at a cheap rate when all is said and done. Have you thought about looking into entering the market for a house today? You might be able to get yourself a better deal that is within your means.

reply to post by WageSlave71


Well said, and I feel the exact same way. I'm a fairly young guy, but I can already see friends of mine falling into that trap. Asking me why I don't get a house and a car newer than 15 years old. Or when i'm going to buy the latest video game console or what have you. Apparently no one taught them long range planning methods.

reply to post by enddays



You are right, it is wrong policy, but it is what is going on. The government allowed this housing crisis to occur, there is no excuse for them not knowign this was going to happen, and yet it did. Go figure. So if they allowed the middle class to get inot such a mess, and deemed to bail out the banks, and leave the people homeless, I guess they just don't care about the people. Sadly, the masses don't realize this yet.

reply to post by Myrdyn


I apologise for not reading your last post carefully enough.

Accepted mate

reply to post by rcwj75


Spoken like an informed citizen. "Take full responsibility for your actions." I fully agree. However, many folks believe that they are taking responsibility by taking on more responsibility than they can handle. America's culture at large zealously promotes living beyond one's means. It's supposed to be a big party of freedom loving Americans. Baseball, football, basketball, Coors Light, and a big phat plasma TV hanging on the wall of $350,000 worth of sheet rock. The message is that those who do not subscribe to this are worthless and are to be ignored. Money promotes this nonsense. And people who are broke and desperately trying to keep up promote it as well.

I have been in situations where I've forcefully spoken and argued this, made casual comments, dropped a hint here and there, and the general response is disbelief. I've thought, well, damn I should be in a movie getting paid for this because they are treating it like first rate entertainment when I'm telling them the truth. Many folks are completely twisted about whats going on and their values are made to match.

Blame doesn't accomplish much. However, identifying the causative factors should be pursued even if blame occurs as a result. Folks need to recognize and take full responsibility. And as much as is known nothing will be done unless one makes the necessary changes of his or her own accord. Problem is most won't recognize until they are themselves living in a tent or under a bush. Even then it would be questionable. Who on an empty stomach makes an effort to understand the root of their problems?

Originally posted by PlayeR87
Its sad to see people in America of all countries living in tents when their government spends billions on space exploration

Its even sadder to see better off people in this thread not giving a #

On the contrary, if there was a chance for pushing a government to choose between leaving even half a country in modest housing conditions and redirect funds to a real space program (not like what we have now), with the option in 20 years to recover the costs and have created millions of jobs, saving future generations from misfortune, and the option of leaving things as they currently are and leave every new generation appearing in permanent misfortune, I would honestly go for the first choice.
There are no magic recipes in fixing a damaged economy when stretched too thin and the only strategy that is being pursued is about more spending on old and failed tactics and stricter laws that in order to work they meed to be extended globally, and that being only a temporary fix, this economy WILL go down in time.
How many empires failed to predict the future and failed?
We now have an edge through technology, why not use it?
There's plenty of land out there, FREE land, like it used to be like it was when originally had been given to us, I don't suppose God was holding a mortgage deal waiting for us to sign it?
Lets end misfortune for our future generations right here. There is no other option but space unless the plans to end the half of the human population seem like a good idea for some people. When a few start living in tends then many will fear for their wellbeing and point a gun to someone else, who can predict when will it end when it begins?

[edit on 15-3-2008 by spacebot]

reply to post by WageSlave71

You forget one little thing. The 2/3 money of the world is in USD. If it's collapse, you may have anything abroad, when the other currencies are going to fail, following the USD. You believe that your money is able to protect you? Think again.

There will be few things in the next months, years, which are going to change this world once and for all. But that's sure the truth will be reveal and those ones, whose are praying for money, false God, spreading that they're the Chosen One... those ones will fail. Count for this. Don't put your faith in your investments, because it's going to worth nothing.


[edit on 15-3-2008 by Dark Crystalline]

Originally posted by Dark Crystalline
Fellow men and women in the U.S. Thanks this to the Jews what you will experience in the next weeks.
[edit on 15-3-2008 by Dark Crystalline]

Don't know why I bothering to respond to this.. but get your head out of your arse (ass) and grow up! This is a serious discussion.

Originally posted by Dark Crystalline
Fellow men and women in the U.S. Thanks this to the Jews what you will experience in the next weeks. [edit on 15-3-2008 by Dark Crystalline]

Preach brother preach. I knew a guy who made a modest $45,000 a year. He happened to be walking near an open house when a Jew dispatched a gang of gypsies to grab him and forcibly drag him into the open house. The Jew made him buy a $650,000 house. He did not want to sign the usurious mortgage contract, but he had no choice. They jew threatenned to slash the man with his claws and bite him with his jew fangs. He was also under the influence of some hypnotic jew potion made with matzah and the blood of a youngling.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint




Wow that's rich. Wonder if the person will actually get the sarcasm of that.

You know what? Better idea. Protect them and when they're going to backstab you, will collapse your country, your economy, as they're always doing, where they're, please remember for this pretty nice conversation. Remember, that there are many, whose tried to warn you and others, but you was a fool, such as many. Remember. My country have experience this, because we're a bit ahead of U.S. in this. App. with two years. They almost bankrupted my country as they're doing with yours. But we had the bravery to fight back, take back what is rightfully ours.

Have a nice day.

P.S.: About that Gypsy method. Do you believe it's a joke? It's happened in my country few times. So, that's a direct hit, even if you wanted to present it as sarcasm. You will see one day, that everything what I written down is correct. But maybe that will be late for your country.

[edit on 15-3-2008 by Dark Crystalline]

reply to post by Dark Crystalline


Intelligent response. I live in Europe, not the US. No Jewish people bothering me here. Still, in your world you obviously know best. Now do what the men in white coats tell you.