By now everyone is feeling the effects of the economic situation at some level so I would like to pose a question to all of you. If you or your spouse were to lose your job how could you immediately reduce spending and how much could you save? what are the greatest expenses (Medical, Food, Insurance, Credit Card Debt, Communication to include home, cell, cable and internet, Energy, etc.) for your family? Like me, do you really know how much you are spending and what that spending is for?
It didn't take me but a few minutes to realize that my wife and I probably spend far more money than we should on communications such as cable, internet, cell, home phone and monitored security. I can tell you that if one of us lost our job that many of these items would be either greatly reduced or eliminated entirely.
We eat out more than we should even though we have reduced that expense greatly. Still, the price of groceries have really increased and even eating at home has become very expensive.
We have three cars that are all financed with full coverage insurance that cost more than our house. If push came to shove I would try to sell at least some of them and drop my insurance coverage to just liability.
Luckily, we are fairly healthy but I realize that many American's health is such that simply paying for monthly medications is pushing them to the brink of financial collapse. As we get older I understand that this cost will increase especially if we don't do something to reduce our weight and increase our fitness levels.
Thank goodness no one in our family drinks or smokes. I am certain that the cost of alcahol and tobacco greatly affects the budget for many Americans and that's just the cost of the product. Facts prove that these same people who drink and smoke will incur greater medical cost. The cost of this bad habit is just too high.
So, I guess my real question is what would you eliminate in your life if push came to shove and are there specific industries that stand to be affected by a common decision to reduce when family members lose their jobs?
I'm fortunate, in a way that I've done alot of different jobs, so I can say I'm flexible when it comes to employment options. But I've got to tell you, even I cannot find a job. Now I'm self employed, and I have to tell you that I am barely making any difference in our household income. And I'm "doing" 3 jobs.
I lost my "career" job in 2002. About 6 months after 9/11...and 6 months in a new home. Thankfully we did not buy "all the house" that the mortgage company told us we could, we bought what we could afford on one salary.
I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. One sister is working part-time (15 hours a week) at a grocery store. They don't employ anyone full time except management. The other sister has been told that her job will be gone in less than a year because they are "outsourcing" their R&D jobs. One brother received his layoff notice last week..2/3 of his company got them, and the other brother? His company came to his group this week and asked for Volunteers before Friday's layoff notices come out. 5 siblings...all losing their jobs...
How about cancelling the "outsourcing" contracts? All the Imported workers get sent home, so AMERICANS can keep their jobs. I think that should have been one of the first steps...Rather than laying off your AMERICAN workers, and bringing in FOREIGNERS on VISAS to do our jobs. There is no way that they are cheaper. We are willing to make concessions to keep our jobs. ARE THE COMPANIES READY TO MAKE CONCESSIONS?
Ok, that's my rant for today...
Doing Less with Less, that's the working class reality today. Massive unemployment, home loss, no or inadequate healthcare, inflation. Lives and Dreams put on Hold. Eight years of Bush economics shows what an average Joe mentality can do to a once war free and prosperous nation. We need to elect an educated and thoughtful President, one who will keep an open mind and heart, who surrounds himself with knowledgable and experienced advisors and works together for the common good. If we know anything, we know, and are living, an economic nightmare brought on by Republican ideology and excesses. We need to CHANGE our government, and move in the opposite direction of George Bush and John McCain. Look around at your nation, your state, your community, your neighbors, and your family, and you can see the suffering. This isn't right, and we can right this wrong by voting for CHANGE. Get out, take a stand, vote for Barack Obama.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27461847/
Your economy stinks and it is getting worse. It is in no small way being influenced by The Big Three US Automakers. And it is about to be made dramatically worse. This is either going to be because GM or Chrysler or both go bankrupt or they merge. Merge is a kind word, it is really that Chrysler will be bought and the lives of people who have dedicated their careers to Chrysler will be devastated.
First, let me say that I agree with Governor Granholm that the merger is the lesser of the two evils and because that is true, it is what is going to happen.
Why is this happening? I know people will point to Wall Street and the financial crisis and the corporate greed and all of today’s headlines and there is some truth to that, but the truth is that both of these once great companies have been in decline for a half of a century and today’s headlines are the corporate equivalent to bird flu – the weakest of the population die. Period, end of story.
The truth is all of the indicators have been there and every one of you has examples in your area of companies that have done the opposite. Think Toyota and Honda. What is different? Three factors –
1) Toyota and Honda have a local supply chain to a much greater extent than the Big 3. The Big 3 have “saved” billions by going to an Asian supply chain. Wow, some savings. What they have really done is avoided the hard work of building a competitive supply chain locally. You, nor the leadership of the Big 3 can do anything about the sins of our forefathers, but you can make sure that any concession is you grant in the future guarantee the rebuilding of local supply chains. Read The Machine that Changed the World if you are unclear about the concept.
2) Toyota and Honda don’t have the “legacy” costs of the Big 3. True, but this should have been “pay as you go” and it wasn’t. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are on the hook for promises made decades ago and not funded or funded and lost in high risk investments. Toyota and Honda are paying a living wage to their workers; in fact you will find they are preferred employers everywhere they go. You, nor the leadership of the Big 3 can do anything about the sins of our forefathers, but you can make sure that any concessions you grant in the future come with a guarantee to “pay as you go” and low risk investment.
3) The cost of the leadership overhead. This comes in two forms, number of layers of management and executive compensation. Go look at the org charts of GM and Toyota, notice any difference in the number of levels? Five is ideal and has been documented thousands of places. The Big 3 (still) have a lot more. Executive compensation - G Richard Wagoner Jr. Total Compensation: $8.5 million 5-Year Compensation Total: $22 million – Alan Mulally $2 million base, $18.5 million bonus – Robert Nardelli reportedly $1, but let’s see what happens at the sale. Sorry Rick, Alan, and Bob - I believe that you deserve to be paid well but that’s obscene while you are presiding over the destruction of people’s lives that have dedicated their lives to your companies. In a reflection of Toyota’s team-oriented approach, its executive pay is paltry by U.S. standards. Analyst Ron Tadross at Banc of America Securities estimates the total annual compensation ofToyota’s CEO at under $1 million - about as much as a vice president at GM or Ford Motor Co. makes. At the risk of being rude, it’s time to stop the bullshit.
Governors Strickland, Daniels, Granholm, and Premier McGuinty; you are going to be asked for concessions by these companies. Think about the concessions you should be demanding of them. The Buck can stop here (in the mid Americas) and also not in just a few hands.
Gary
I am a 55 year old American who just lost his job due to lay offs. I had been with the Company for 7 years (after losing my job with an Airlines on 9/11). The CEO of this company has personally profited more than $25,000,000.00 in the past three years. I suffered a serious illness in 2006 which left me with physical challenges and medical bills (even though I had medical insurance), but now I will lose health coverage in 90 days. My credit was ruined due to the prohibitive medical expenses from my copay. I have an 86 year old mother who just lost $8,000.00 of her modest "nest egg" due to the financial crisis brought on by wealthy Wall Street executives. My car is on the blink, but although I live in the third largest city in the state...the only form of mass transit is buses and to travel a mere 4 miles it takes some three hours.
I am starting this blog as a forum to ask some direct questions and give some direct responses to the mounting 'dribble' being presented by the Republicans. Perhaps, thoughts, ideas and responses from WE Americans who are so desperate for the CHANGE Obama & Biden will bring might assist the remarkable team that Barack brought together.
Let me begin with this...
Since when did Tammy the Teacher, Nancy the Nurse, Mike the Mailman, or Wilbur the Waiter make more than $250,000.00 a year? I called a few plumbers in my area and can't find a one that makes anywhere near that amount. But, PALIN the POLITICIAN keeps spouting off about "Joe." Heck, a member of the U.S. Congress is only paid $169,300.00. I have had my fill of Sarah the (would be) Soothsayer!
Please take a moment and go to this site to see the report released last week by the ODP. This is what Ohio looks like with George Bush at the helm, and how things may look in the future if we perpetuate this kind of administration.
http://www.ohiodems.org/site/c.mhLRKZPCLmF/b.4567627/#SlideFrame_1
I'm 29 years old, and for this campaign, this election, I would have to say is the first time I feel like I've been involved. I've voted before, but it was more of a vote to vote and not a vote because I believe in something - Obama changed that for me.
I've tried to do my best as a citizen to inform myself of both parties, try to use fact checker, feed off many sources...but at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, I am at the mercy of someone *else* providing my information - I mean we have to believe SOMEONE right? I go with my gut, I go with my heart, and from what I've seen and heard about Obama, there is no other choice.
Does Race play into it? Sure it does. I feel Obama's background can relate on levels that the other candidate cannot.
Does strength play into it? Yes. He invokes strength. If he makes me feel empowered through a TV screen I can only imagine how I'd feel in his presence.
Confidence - a major role. He holds his head high, and projects his words. Outshining Mccain in every possible way when they are debating.
Action - Either directly through or influenced by Obama is encouraging me to write this blog. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be writing this. Look at this site - it's amazing. The campaign gives a sh*t about the people.
I just got an email as I type this informing me that the job I was patiently waiting for, wouldn't be available for the forseeable future. But I'm not too dissapointed, because even that is petty to the bigger problems this entire country is facing - We ALL need change not just one particular person.
Obama, you have to land this one sir. I feel if you don't, we are headed down to internal destruction.
24 days left...
Yesterday, an all-star line-up of Ohio's biggest political figures hit the road in the Heartland Change RV, to bring word of Barack's rural and small town policies right to the people who would benefit the most. Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, Treasurer Richard Cordray, and Congressman Tim Ryan all got the chance to speak out for Barack in Southern Ohio yesterday.
The day started with canvass kick-offs and economic forums in Circleville, Chillicothe, and Waverly. The group reiterated that with the economy in such peril, Ohioans--and especially those in rural and small town areas--could not afford to give George Bush's policies four more years to play out under John McCain. Below is a picture of Congressman Ryan, Mr. Cordray, Gov. Strickland, and Sen. Brown (in that order), talking shop in the Heartland Change RV as it pulls out of Waverly:
By all accounts, jobs (or lack thereof) are the biggest issue in this area, and Barack's Plan for the Heartland to invest in infrastructure and green energy would provide plenty of them. The foursome brought this message all the way to Governor Strickland's birthday party in Lucasville, in his home county of Scioto. (The Governor's actual birthday was August 4th--the same day as Barack's!) With the Governor as Master of Ceremonies and his wife providing musical accompaniment, each speaker pressed the need for change in this election season, and the crowd was all ears, proudly waving Obama-Biden rally signs. Scioto County may have gone for Hillary in the primary, but with Ted (and Hillary herself!) on board, the region stands poised with potential to swing blue for Barack on November 4th.
It was a family affair, with many of those in attendance personal friends (if not actual family) of the Governor. He stayed to chat with every last one before heading to the Jackson Apple Festival, while local supporters posed for pictures in front of the Heartland Change RV.
It seemed that at Ted's birthday party, the support for Barack at was as overwhelming as the beautiful vistas in Scioto County.
September 18, 2008-09-18
Dear Mr. Obama
After watching the news and the pundit’s last night weigh in on the state on the Presidential race so far I decided to make my way to bed. After tossing and turning for a few minutes I realized that wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon as thoughts of the economy and the day to day concerns not only for my family but for every American were keeping me awake.
On the road with Barack for his double-header of Town Halls--in Youngstown and now in Berea--the enthusiasm is contagious.
The crowd at the Austintown Fitch High School in Youngstown was riled up and ready to go, ever since the doors opened at 7:15 am. A diverse crowd packed into the gymnasium, fanning themselves as they waited in anticipation.
Here in Berea, Barack has just taken the stage. More to come soon!
Nope,, doesn't need to be one or the other!!
Sen Obama has a plan to attack both the energy problem and the loss of manufacturing jobs problem with a unique proposal to have each be part of the solution for the other.
By Christopher Hass - May 14th, 2008 at 12:47 pm EDT
I am appalled by the "reprimands" poured upon Obama for his accurate and astute observations of displaced workers. YES!! There is anger, there is bitterness, there is grief, and the entire 'cycle of grief' that accompanies any major loss. And, let's face it -- losing your livlihood is a major loss! I speak with the experience of one of the first counselors and instructors for "dislocated workers" in Allegeny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, at the crumbling of the steel industry which devastated the area in 1982-83. The truth is: Obama is right! One of the strongest and most recognizable emotions that these workers feel is anger. I recommend that you visit the website below for a more detailed description of the entire grief cycle:
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/kubler_ross/kubler_ross.htm
Individuals reach the various points on this emotional roller coaster in their own time and we, as observers, and/or victims, would do well to understand the process so that we don't expend unnecessary enegy railing against the truth and those who tell it. Addressing the problem that caused the loss of work will go much farther in helping this country heal than standing back throwing rocks at anyone who correctly identifies the resulting emotions and their manifestations. Let's get real, people! If you can't see and recognize the truth, how can you begin to solve the problems?
Hillary Clinton Lied About Outsourcing, Too By Paul Rockwell 2008-03-25 Job security is the foremost domestic issue for working people in Pennsylvania, where Sen. Hillary Clinton is expected to win the Democratic Party primary. For many months, as a candidate for president, Senator Clinton has cultivated a pro-labor image. She claims to be an opponent of NAFTA, and she often denounces the outsourcing of American jobs. Before a crowd of students in New Hampshire, she claimed that she hated “seeing U.S. telemarketing jobs done in remote locations, far, far from our shores.” Newly released White House records demonstrate that Clinton lied about NAFTA. (See “Clinton Lie Kills Her Credibility on Trade Policy,” John Nichols, Common Dreams, March 22.) NAFTA, however, is but a single thread in a web of deception regarding globalization and free trade. Clinton is lying not only about NAFTA, but about outsourcing as well. And the evidence comes, not from Obama, but from official records, video tapes, quotations and recordings of Clinton speeches abroad. Consider this. In 2005 Sen. Clinton visited New Delhi, India, (“far, far from our shores”), where she met wealthy business leaders, venture capitalists eager for U.S. investment. A few years prior to her visit, Enron gained a foothold in India’s economy. Enron uprooted local communities, fleeced the public coffers, then pulled out of India with the profits of unregulated greed. In a speech promoting globalization and free trade, here is what Sen. Clinton said in New Delhi: “There is no way you can legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue....We are not against all outsourcing, we are not in favor of putting up fences.” The India Review, a publication of the embassy of India, commented April 1, 2005: “Senator Clinton allayed apprehension in India that there would be a ban on outsourcing.” Siddharth Srivastava reported in Asia Times, March 1st, 2005: “Hillary Clinton made it apparent where she stood on outsourcing during her India visit...Hillary has been at the forefront in defending free trade and outsourcing. She faced considerable flak for defending Indian software giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for opening a center in Buffalo, New York.” (TCS provided hundreds of special visas for foreign employees to work in New York for substandard, non-union wages.) She praised Clinton’s “strict adherence to the principles of free trade and outsourcing that affect India directly.” Outsourcing is inherent to global free trade, the attempt of corporate goliaths to move resources, jobs, money, capital in search of profits anywhere in the world without accountability. If a video clip of Clinton’s outsourcing remarks in India were played on TV before the upcoming primaries in Indiana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, she would lose the elections, despite current polls. Not only because working-class voters oppose outsourcing, but because the duplicity of Clinton would become obvious. Clinton’s globalization speech in India would hardly be noteworthy today, except that, in her current campaign for the nomination, she is saying exactly the opposite of what she said in India. She was a globalizer in India. Now she’s a protectionist in Pennsylvania, and voters have a right to ask: Which is the real Hillary Clinton? The U.S. media, however, is presently experiencing a bout of amnesia. Pundits forget that Bill Clinton, with Hillary at his side, made huge campaign promises to labor in 1992. Within months of their victory, the Clintons rammed two Republican-initiated free-trade bills—NAFTA and GATT—through a Democratic Congress. Outsourcing of jobs to sweatshops in Mexico and Indonesia actually accelerated under the Clinton globalization agenda. The Clintons increased subsidies for corporate mergers and relaxed regulations that protect the public from the abuse of corporate power. The Clinton administration also passed the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, repealing the Glass-Steagal Act of 1933. That historic New Deal legislation made working-class home ownership possible and safe. The Jimmy Stewart film It’s a Wonderful Life idealized the New Deal arrangement. The savings-and-loan system—a system of small, often family-owned banks—was a bedrock of stability until the deregulation trends of the ’80s and ’90s transformed the U.S. economy into a high-risk casino. The Republican-sponsored, Clinton-backed Modernization Act deregulated the financial sector and encouraged the merger of business and commercial investment banks. Clinton’s “modernization” (he called it “reinventing government”) carved a path to the current sub-prime mortgage crisis. The current anarchy in housing and banking is, in part, a direct consequence of the Clinton deregulation legacy. As banks are failing, working people losing their homes, it takes a lot of gall for Hillary Clinton to take credit where blame is due for her White House experience. Shame on you, Hillary Clinton!
The Berkeley Daily Plannet
James Carville got it right: There's Philadephia, there's Pittsburgh -- and there's Alabama in between. Having grown up in a small town in the "Alabama" section of Pennsylvania in the Jim Crow days, I have vivid, and somewhat traumatic memories of my time living there.
We probably won't win Pennsylvania, but I don't expect to. And I'm sad about that, but realistic in my expectations. I highly recommend reading this excellent piece of reporting by Krissah Williams in today's Washington Post.
In Parts of Pa., Racial Divide Colors Election (By Krissah Williams, The Washington Post)
