The American Public is at It's Limit

This administration has pushed the american public to war and now we are headed to another depression. Most american's can't even make ends meat anymore. We are flat broke and are just getting broker. There is no such thing as a middle class anymore. If we don't do anything soon the nation is going to fall. I'm sick of this crap. You are lucky just to have a job that pays decent anymore in the US. And those jobs only pay like 12 dollars an hour. When gas is 4 dollars a gallon it costs you more to go to work then you actually make. I am so ready for the federal government to fall. All they have done is fail us in every way. The american public needs to stand up and make changes in the way OUR country is ran. Good Luck to everyone on this forum in making a living in a dieing country.

Please post here if you are experiencing the same troubles as me. I want to hear everyone's opinion on this ongoing struggle in the United States of America. I just can't bear it anymore. I am tired of being run over by all of the power hungry rich that could care less about the oil price or the blue collar wages. Please give me your opinion.

i think we are like the frog in the boiling pot of water. They are slowly turning up the heat and the masses wont stand up for REAL change unless something major happens. We are presented with false hope by the MSM with candidates who want to "change" things, but real change won't come about until people snap out of this illusion we call our reality and wake up!

reply to post by eric52081

I am in total sympathy with you. But I don't think we are at our limit. No.

As depressing as it may seem, I am sure we will have to take at least triple the current troubles before we are all done Things are going to get much, much worse before any action takes place.

I am reminded of seeing someone very, very sick in a hospital. You think they might be near death. But then, in retrospect, you realize that they were actually quite healthy compared to the deterioration that followed.

It is a long drop to rock bottom..

Edit: (Ouch. I don't mean to be so depressing. Sorry.)


[edit on 9-6-2008 by Buck Division]

I've been homeless for almost a year now, if that makes anyone feel better.

The country has been sapped by tons of giant scams one after another. The FIRE industries, finance, insurance, and real estate have played one scam after another. The corporate leaders, and those at the top of the pyramid in those respective industries have been able to make a lot of money. To some extent, the top of those industries still come out well.

However, this has destroyed America's real economy. While these people have gotten richer and richer, everyone else has gotten squeezed. Who wants to learn how to make something or do something useful for peanuts, when you can make millions working for a hedge fund?

I think the scams are finally coming to an end. However, taxpayers are being burdened with bailing out the fallout, and we are provided no protection for competing on the global market.

With lower wages, America can once again compete on the global market, but it is tough market. The economy will need to transition to producing which is wanted OUTSIDE the United States as well as within. Those businesses which can make a product for export can do well.

However, this will require a massive shift in the US economy, and the politicians are doing nothing to help. The old paradigm of producing everything for the American market cannot hold with a weakening middle class.

I was homeless after 9-11 took my decent job away. My son and I lived in a tent for almost 9 months...he was so proud of his wood choppin momma who cooked on the big open fire.........

Took hard work to pull out of THAT horrid tailspin......and now I desperately fear that happening again so MUCH I bet I would jump off a cliff it i looked like it was coming at me again......

Before the homeless bout I had a paid for house in a nice town all lost to me by the jealous scheming of the ex husband....
Today I am in a 2 bdrm apartment, and by using a magic trick I learned on ATS I was able to manifest my son an ipod this very morning.

This site is a home for me in MANY ways......and you invisible online people are like family.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by theRiverGoddess]

reply to post by eric52081


Sorry, but I just came back from traveling through out Europe. Even though our economy sucks right now. U should feel lucky to live in the states.

The guy at my hotel made 2.85 euros and hour. He worked 11 hours a day. And a bottle of water on average is 3 euros. He looked like he was going to cry when he told me this. He said, it took him a year in a half to find a job.

The supermarkets are small, they don't have much.

There are not much oppurtunities in Europe. It's not corporate like the States. People own their own small business and their family members work for them and take over when they die. Pretty sad if u ask me.

Every shop and restaurant is focus on tourism. Without the tourist, they would become a third world country - Ok, maybe a little exageration, but it seems like it.

I always say that it would be nice to retire in south of France, but now that I seen it. Hell no... A vacation once in a while is cool.

Most people don't have internet and there are a lot of poor people. I never seen white kids beg for money in the states, until I went to Rome.

The only job u can get from what it seems is by helping the markets and shop. Equivalent to working at a Supermarket at best in the States.

Trust me, the quality of living in the US is very good compared to most of Europe. The 4 stars hotel is like 2 stars in the US.

I never been to Canada, but if u are unhappy in the US. I suggest u move to Canada. It's probably your best option.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by amfirst]

[edit on 10-6-2008 by amfirst]

[edit on 10-6-2008 by amfirst]

Originally posted by amfirst
Every shop and restaurant is focus on tourism. Without the tourist, they would become a third world country - Ok, maybe a little exageration, but it seems like it.

Gee. That's a bit scary considering the way fuel prices are going and how it will affect the cost of travel.

I've seen this coming for a while. I pulled out at the last moment from buying a house, and it was the best decision of my life. I refuse to buy a modern car, or luxuries that involve finance. If I haven't got the cash, I consider I can't afford it.

This (along with a good job, fortunately), has led me to a much simpler life, and now I find myself happy, while those around me who indulge in their "luxuries" are suffering terribly.

I feel so sorry for those who haven't the opportunity to have a secure income, for this automatically makes life extremely hard. But for those who have, I strongly recommend not being tempted by expensive "nice" things. It's only a matter of short time before the novelty of these things wears off, and you're left with your life costing more. It will only lead to suffering.

You'll have your answer about America at it's limit in just a few months. This is a watershed moment in history with politics.

It is truly an election of more the same or change and unknown. I'm for change and unknown as it can't get much worse from where we are heading.

reply to post by jackinthebox


Is that homeless because you want to be or because you were forced to be?

Even if we are not at our limit we are pretty close. Pretty much the whole city of Detroit is jobless. Companies are laying off people in the thousands because even they cannot afford it. If this continues even for another 3 months there will be many people that will be homeless. Don't forget the whole housing thing that has been going on as well. Many people have lost their homes just to foreclosure itself. As the price of goods go up it seems our wages stay the same no matter what. The government is the ones who allow all of this to happen without taking any action. They are too worried about a war over oil that us as the american public will never see. It seems like its steal from the American public to give to the Iraqi's. As far as Im concerned we need to take care of the major issues in our country before trying to take care of the rest of the world's problems. I'm not saying that we shouldn't help but, maybe take a less direct approach. No I don't want to live in Canada. Not saying its a bad country but, man it is too cold up there for me. I live in Louisiana so I am used to the heat. I put a jacket on if it is 60 degrees outside.

I don't think most Americans know what their limits ARE, but tend to focus on current living conditions as compared with those of the past. I think as humans we tend to glorify past times, all the while forgetting how hard we struggled during the "good ol' days."

It's kind of like physical labor, or sporting competitions.... if you've been to the wall before, you know that you can catch a second or third wind and push through it. If, on the other hand, a person has never really challenged themselves physically, upon getting tired, they might think they're through.

I think there's benefit in being challenged, if we try to learn the lessons and better ourselves.

Growing pains.

Originally posted by hinky
You'll have your answer about America at it's limit in just a few months. This is a watershed moment in history with politics.

I personally think this is a watershed moment in history for us in all respects, not just politics.

I agree that things are not very good right now. Just wanted to post an anecdotal though. My grandmother was a second generation plantation worker in Hawaii, before it became a state. She grew up during the Great Depression, completed school only up to the 6th grade because she had to take care of her siblings when her mother died, made minimum wage her entire life, becomes extremely excited just to have juice and small luxuries instead of tap water at home, is amazed at how crowded and full the stores are, and to this day owns nothing (house, car, etc.).

This was the norm for families in Hawaii, during those times, and I feel during the times of all individuals around her age that weren't "rich". Those were hard times. We are nowhere near this level of living, while we don't have the healthiest options (fast food, candy, soda, etc), we still have worlds more luxuries to lose before we can ever compare to that type of disparity. A tent out in the middle of nowhere is like the Ritz compared to the cramped plantation houses these people put up with. When people in mass have to start tieing coffee filters on the water hose outside, because they don't have water inside of the house that they can drink, we'll begin to have an understanding of what "hard" living is. As for right now, we are sitting pretty.

The Rights you have are not given to you by any government.

You are endowed with these rights by the Universe; your Creator

The Right to Privacy is a Freedom you have, though King, Dictator and Democracies have all endeavoured to take them away. Sometimes all at once and with violence, but is normally accomplished via a process of incrementalism (Like in the US nowadays), whereby freedoms are slowly taken away - one by one - and always in the name of security...

'Those who give up liberty for security will get neither' Says Ben Franklin and he was right.

America is Not a Democracy, It is a Republic and a Republic Cannot vote away the rights of it's people or refuse to acknowledge them in a time of manufactured crisis.

A Democracy is a Dictatorship by the majority of the minority. America is not a Democracy, and as such no law or bill can remove or invalidate the constitution or Bill of Rights; a crime that the Bush Administration has committed repeatedly... A Crime for which they will eventually receive a fair trial before handed over to the Hague for their Violations of the Nuremberg Laws.

America just pulled out of the UN Human Rights Body today. They refuse to acknowledge it because if they did, they would be subject to thousands of charges of Human Rights Violations - also known as War Crimes

The Refusal of America to issue a Declaration of War against Iraq in 2003 means America has launched and Waged an Illegal War of Aggression. absolutely in no way different than those war waged by the Nazis (which were pre-emptive wars designed to prevent further terrorist attacks against the Homeland).

Even if you have nothing to hide, Even if you are a raving psychopath, You have the Right to be as free as Anyone else. No One can take that away from you and rest assured that the day those rights are taken away from you - The American Republic will have officially Fallen....The Pax Americana Ended.



[edit on 10-6-2008 by doctormcauley]

Well i live on the east coast in a state that has one of the highest cost of living and poor wages,no jobs,everything you can imagine is getting taxed beyond belief.So yeah i feel you.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by alienstar]

[edit on 10-6-2008 by alienstar]

There is not too many job creators because there is not too much money in the economy. The government needs to tip in a steady supply of money into the economy by paying for things for us to pay at discount or by generously providing the non-upperclass with annual money direct deposited into their bank accounts.

What really needs to be is that money should ALSO be back by labor. The worthy labor would depend on what kind of labor it is. Is it physical or more mental?, is it hard or more easy?, is it under a long duration or a more short duration?, is it under hazardous conditions or more safe conditions?, etc.

^^Money being back by faith only is bullcrap when there aint enough money in the economy to go around fairly when there is stuff getting more costly.

We also need one statehood for Americans instead of a federal government/united states. That way the law of the land would be equal for everybody no matter where they dwell.

I think you're pretty much right OP we're beginning to reach our limit. Yes things are impacting the citizens noticeably. I think people are going to try for some change (and hopefully we'll succeed without violence). Things are going to have to get much worse before the incentive to go to any extreme measures are worthwhile.
For a lot of us taking care of our children and/or elderly parents are our first priority. When that becomes impossible you'll see more populace getting behind the changes we need.
Hopefully, people won't roll over and become ward of the government for the sake of the next meal.

Things will get worse – but you have to believe that they will get better. No country avoids hard times. No nation lives in perpetual prosperity. Yes, things are tough now, but this nation has seen itself through far worse.
Whenever I start to feel gloomy about the whole situation, I look around at my fellow Americans: hard working, basically honest and good people who want to see their future be plentiful and wish for even better things for their children. We ARE a good people, a strong people, a free people. Granted, there are those amongst us and about us that work to destroy what we have. But I cannot believe that the great, silent majority of Americans will not do everything they can to preserve our country. When the time comes, we shall rise and stand with honor and dignity to face our perils.
We will suffer and we will survive. And we shall endeavor to perservere against all dangers, whatever the nature. WE ARE AMERICANS, and we will not allow this great Nation to “perish from the Earth”.
Believe in yourself, Believe in your fellow man, Believe in America.


[edit on 10-6-2008 by passenger]