The American Dream? 2 Jobs = $10,080 /yr

One of the things that really frustrated me about trying to make a go of it in this country is all the regulation. I was thinking about using my skills in cake decorating to start a small business out of my home to supplement our income. In IL, you are not allowed to use a home kitchen for business purposes and we can't afford to open a store of our own. Everything here has to be licensed or regulated and the only money made is to the state. It's so sad all the dreams that have been killed because government requires testing and licenses for everything. Gone are the days of mom and pop starting a small business from their home that grows into something big. I read somewhere that Marie Callender started her business in a converted Army tent with just an oven and some baking supplies. I don't see how that could ever happen now. The government would shut you down. It's all about money- in someone else's pocket. My family of four barely makes it as it is. My poor husband works his hind end off for $22,000/year in a factory. These used to be considered "good jobs". In contrast, his dad sits in an air conditioned office selling insurance and has everything a man could want, goes on countless company and personal trips, and lives in a world where he can't understand why we can't seem to make it on our income, we must be *&%ing away our money. H#@% no we aren't!! We just don't have any left after taxes, bills, expenses of raising children. Everytime I hear someone spewing about laziness and hand-outs, it seems to be someone from the boomer generation. I understand many of them worked hard to get where they are and if so they deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor, but in a lot of ways, they had things easier than we do. And look at the people running our government and creating these policies. What generation are they predominately from? I'm really not trying to make this a generation vs. generation thing, but from what I've seen our generation isn't all that lazy either and we are the ones who will be helping to care for their generation, although probably not in the manner in which they have become accustomed. Who will take care of us when we are old? I figure our children will have us living with them like families used to do. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing. Maybe kids will grow up with better morality since they will have a caring grandparent(s) there for them while mom and dad work.

i have a question. according to the info i'm reading, the gov will shutdown in 9 hours and so many minutes if the repubs and dems can't reach a compromise. i looked up the info and found the guardian was updating the information live or as live as the internet can be when it is reporting on events in congress, etc. one of the comments on it was extremely odd and i'd really appreciate anyone's explanation of what it means. read:

1.43pm: Federal employees have been told not to even turn on their Blackberries if there is a government shutdown, according to the National Journal:

White House staffers face the threat of up to two years in jail if they use their work-issue BlackBerries during a government shutdown, sources told National Journal.

Staffers have reportedly been "read the riot act," warned not to use the devices.

"People are VERY clear on not using BlackBerries [if they're nonexempted] after a shutdown," one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity in discussing an internal White House matter with the press.

"Same with nonexempted [employees] using their personal BlackBerries [for government work]. Total nonstarter."

On the plus side, it might be possible to work on the sidewalk in Washington DC without having to dodge the "Blackberry blind" pedestrians going to and from work.

what do blackberry devices have to do with gov shutdown? anybody?

www.guardian.co.uk...

reply to post by undo


Sounds as if one of the "perks of the job" is a blackberry, paid for by the taxpayers....
Probably includes the monthly bill as well I bet.

Originally posted by TKDRL
reply to post by undo

 

Sounds as if one of the "perks of the job" is a blackberry, paid for by the taxpayers....
Probably includes the monthly bill as well I bet.

but why would the white house (ya know, obama and friends), want their own staffers to not use their blackberries?
i must be missing the point.

reply to post by Komaratzi11


Lol, baking is one of things I looked into and you're right, no baking in a home kitchen for resale goods. Actually, at my kids school you can't even bake for birthday's or party's everything has to come from a store.

It is a lot tougher for us than our parents or our grandparents, and I really do not think I'm embellishing. Both my parents and grandparents were married, had families, and a house all while the moms stayed home (in their 20's).......all of that was accomplished on one salary. Today, that is not feasible, or is often not the case, especially if you don't want a mountain of debt. I don't think the older generation really understands that, and I'm not talking about just a 30 year mortgage payment, which was the only debt anyone in my family had.

Most families I know, both parents work and they still are one check away from being homeless. Maybe it's just the state of IL, I know there are cheaper states, but it also seems wages go down with the cost of living, so I think it is proportionate to the area.

reply to post by undo


My guess is that government issued phones are for government business, if you are furloughed you're not working and don't need your phone. To me, it seems a little silly and too much focus on a phone, we all have cell phones and we all know your provider doesn't stop charging you just because your phone is off, it's just no the way contracts work. If they were really serious they could suspend the service and save us a few dollars.

Wow...That sucks man...I hope that you can find the job you got the education for and the money that should go with it.


I got lucky, with not even a grade 12 I managed to get myself a 60g a year job. I now have my grade 12 education because I went back to school. I've been in the same job for 14 years and planning an early retirement in 6 years.

Tell you what...Move to Canada...I might know someone at J&J that could get your hired at 60g a year !

Originally posted by undo

Originally posted by TKDRL
reply to post by undo

 

Sounds as if one of the "perks of the job" is a blackberry, paid for by the taxpayers....
Probably includes the monthly bill as well I bet.

but why would the white house (ya know, obama and friends), want their own staffers to not use their blackberries?
i must be missing the point.

The President is not considered nonessential, so he still get's his blackberry. I'm also not too certain how much of his staff would be considered nonessential as well.

reply to post by searching4truth


ohhh (little light bulb goes on over blonde head).
it's only for those federal employees who are not allowed to work.

reply to post by undo


Here's some staff info.

Normally 1,781 people work in the Executive Office of the President, which staffs the White House offices, the residence, the vice president's office and residence and other critical departments like the National Security staff, the Council on Economic Advisors and the office of the National Drug Czar. If the government shuts down Friday at midnight, only about a quarter of those staffers will remain because their positions will be deemed "excepted" or "exempted" which is bureaucracy speak for people essential to allow the executive offices to continue to run. But it's a bare bones staff. In the White House itself, only about 120 people will report to work after Friday night’s deadline. That's fewer that one quarter of the regular staff. The people who will be reporting to work are higher level officials including special assistants to the president, commissioned officers and those whose positions required Senate confirmation. According to the contingency plan for the Executive Office of the President, this staff “will support the President in the discharge of his constitutional duties including staff required to work with Congress in the enactment of appropriations."

whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com...

The bulk of white house staff that will go home are maids, chefs, and such, people that actually work with Obama will stay, ie secretary and such.

You're blond too? hahaha

My education: Bachelor of Science, Multidisciplinary Science. 3.7 cumulative G.P.A.

In other words, you screwed up. What is "multi-disciplinary science" and how does that qualify you for a "position"? You also took on a tremendous debt. Did anyone force you to do that? I can't tell for sure, but it sounds very much like you didn't have any particular goal except to graduate in "multi-disciplinary science." You did not do a very good job of integrating a potential job with your degree. You were just winging it and lost. It's like you graduated, looked around, and said, "I'm a COLLEGE GRADUATE! So WHERE is my reward?" You're disappointed now that you've figured out there isn't any so now you blame the "American dream" for misleading you.

The "American Dream" is not an entitlement program that you accept when you graduate. It means you have a goal and are allowed to pursue it. There's nothing stopping you, but you are the one who is responsible. You have abilities and skills to apply. If you choose to use them delivering pizza, meh? Your choice.

reply to post by searching4truth


eek, fed gov employees deemed non-essential, will be essentially laid off without pay of any kind, without recourse to get assistance in the form of unemployment, but must still file and pay their yearly income taxes (but will not receive refunds in the event they are owed money instead of owing money)

oh.my.gosh. the fed gov is the biggest employer in the usa right now. the economy is gonna CRASH!

reply to post by schuyler


take a hike mike.
that's about the most ridiculous, blame the victim,
double speak, i've ever read on ATS, and that's saying alot.


i apologize for being less than gentle in my assessment of your comments. it's just rough seeing
people blame each other when the problem is not as clear cut as you're implying.

Easy to obtain, non-dischargeable student loans are why your education cost what it did.
They got your money, you are on the hook (forever, until paid) and no one cares what ultimate employment you land. They don't have to.

Just be glad you did not go to law school.

Here in Greece we say: "if you want to make money, don't study..."

reply to post by 30_seconds


First off congrats on your education and your GPA, don't discount what you've achieved. Success is rarely a straight line, especially now. I don't know you, but I've heard this story so many times now. Hell I have my own version of your story, but I'm not here to 1 up you. The real world isn't like college, where you're told what to study and what to do to achieve success. Corporate is a lot more fluid, more grey, and driven to generate profits both private and publicly traded entities.

While it sounds like working in the service and medical industry isn't your choice, perhaps it would be if the money was better, figure out ways to make the company you work for better, more profitable, more efficient, and step up to ANY additional responsibilities. Quantify the improvements and make this a habit. Whatever it is you do, own it, make it yours. Understand the organizational goals and how you fit into it. Do you know what is imporant to your bosses? If not, find out and work towards setting them up for success.

Simply putting bullets down saying you did ABC means nothing on a resume, everyone does that. You wanna have a resume that stands out? Quantify what you did. What did you do and how did it impact the organization? I don't care if you making license plates, success is an attitude and ultimately a habit. Demonstrate you can step into a position and add value to the company either by making more money or saving money.

If you want absolutes in life, join the military. Serve our great nation. Be part of history instead of watching it on the news. As an entry level officer, you'll start at just shy of 50k/year. Do a short 3 year commitment and you'll have learned leadership and management skills that will get your foot in the door of several Fortune 500 companies. It wil also get you closer to knowing what you want from life. You may even like it. After working at Jiffy Lube and Pubilx(grocery store in the south) for 3 years earning an honest pittance, this was the route I choose. I now work for a Fortune 250 company earning a comfortable salary. I asked the CIO why he choose me (I don't have an MBA nor did I graduate with honors) over the MBA applicants. His response "Several reasons, 1. you've led men and women when it counted, leadership cannot be taught in books 2. knowing that you struggled for so many years and didn't give up and kept trying to make things better for yourself tells me you're not a quitter."

www.billgeorge.org...

money.cnn.com...

Bottom line up front, at some point you'll get sick of being sick and tired and asking/wondering what you need to do to get to XYZ destination. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and expecting "the life" to happen to you. Make a tough decision, commit to it and run your own race. The only regret you'll have it not trying.........ok i'm off the soapbox now

Before the flaming starts, my objective was to offer solutions and not simply blame "the system".

the trick to 'getting by' is MULTIPLE streams of income.

i know its crazy, but i sell stuff on ebay to suppliment things. now, ebay is about to belly up, because the internationalists in charge are about to withhold pay for 21 days. which means, im out. no way am i letting them hold my money for 21 days.

BUT, there are a ton of ways to make money with collectables. i will be jumping to a new auction site, as soon as i find the best alternative out there.

want to make some mad cash? go wait on line for new air jordan releases. you buy the shoe for 120 bucks, you sell it for 300 or more. you might have to wait for 2-6 hours, but its pretty cool waiting on line for collectables, cause you are on line with cool people too!

i screenprint, sell stuff on ebay, and im about to start a comic book. [my third comic project will be my thesis on ancient history!!! ATS is perfect research for that, all about the internationalists and chozen and how they rose to power!]

i also take bouncing jobs when i can get them. i used to be a full time bouncer, but i quit when the head bouncer got too annoying, and i only do it freelance now.

do i work alot? sort of. but i like working. i do not mind being up till 8am writing and doing research. or up all night listing things on ebay! i also do not mind waiting on line for impossible to find rare items. [sort of like that show AMERICAN PICKERS.]

but if you hear of any 'wealthy' person, they have multiple streams of income. i could care less about being rich, because you have to play the chozen game. they are chozen, so they will get all the best jobs.

me, i just need to pay my mortgage, pay my bills, and have fun around here. i will be tripling my income by the end of this year, but i do not make a lot now! ha.

do i make doctor or lawyer money, no. but again, i am not looking for that. if i wanted to sell out, i could write a project glorifying the rich, and it would get sold, published, etc. but again, i refuse to play that game.

my only goal right now is to buy a building, a cheap building, that i will remodel into a live/work space.


so there are lots of ways to make money. damn you can get PA jobs on movies making 100 bucks a day, no skills required other than a driver's license.

again, so many jobs out there that make money. not 'rich' money, but again, i could care less about gold. i was never programmed to worship gold.

If u r a college student and are reading this get the F out of the USA...

This is what i did:

Got a 90% scholarship to go to Syracuse University as a Computer Science major....2009, everything was fine then 2010... DISASTER... School cost when up etc.. u guys know the deal.

I decided to withdrawal and pursue my education in another country.. Third world country in Central America. Where i am now.

First thing i did, Opened up an IT service company. (partially Zero investment and just my skills)..

Second, went back to school. U still get the "benefit" of borrowing money overseas for education from the federal govt. So, the limit up to a graduate degree is. $137,000 dollars. Guess how much i will spend out of that???? just 40K and the rest to my pocket.

Third, Lending money to people here is a big business (everywhere!!). Like being a personal bank . 1 dollar = 38 pesos. And 120 pesos can get u a cab from any location to any location withing the same city. so money is not so devaluated. it's just people dont make money here but if u exchange currency is like going to china whit 1k u get 100K...... same principle

Im lending money to a 3% a month. by the time a graduate from my masters. i will be probably be 28 with my own business and massive amounts of cash. Probably, have 2 to 3 times the amount. pay off completely and keep the cash and a business that already supports me. making 40K pesos a month, on average. And the best part there is no Geek Squad to compete with me neither people with the potential to design websites and or fix a PC etc..... and technology just started to emerge down here. So i will hopefully be successful...

And im going for accountant. So i learn how to do manage money while i make money.

Also, u dont get the all the money at once, is by semester. which is excellent so the money has time to grow.

Look it up. and really consider the idea of getting out of the U.S because i dont know if u guys already realized this but, there are NO JOBS in the U.S and China likes that...

PEACE and LOVE and if u can follow my advice, do so. u wont regret it.


PS.: also being American in another country is dope. people respect u. and women love u.... Sorry if i had grammar errors or didnt spell properly. I just don't speak english any more down here.. HAHAHA

I've been lurking in these forums for years, but have neither registered nor posted... until now.

The fact that anybody feels entitled to something in return just because they spent time in school and got a degree is pure BS. Getting an education is not a guarantee of anything whatsoever other than time and money spent! Stop playing victim and pick yourself up and move on. Be creative. Break out of the mold that you have contained yourself in. You are not a victim - you are the cause!

You are unable to see the opportunities within and around you simply because you are either afraid or hesitant to break yourself out of the mold. Stop knowing what you think you know and let your mind come to a new understanding of the world.

I know how you feel. We the people need to orginize and revolt. If it gets bloody so be it. I'm down right sick of the system. Vote with a bullet I'm sure it will be heard.