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[JustRalph]

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Last edited by PaceAdvantage; 04-09-2024 at 04:25 PM.

[PaceAdvantage]

He's not wrong

dead country

[thaskalos]

Like George Carlin said: "They call it the 'American Dream'...because you have to be asleep to believe it."

[Inner Dirt]

There is a lot of wage stagnation in many of the trades, due to off shoring, illegal immigration and automation. Also due to automation a lot of business models were changed. A lot of manufacturing business will not longer train or accept mid level skilled employees. They want a handful of top people and a bunch of so called button pushers. The plant manager that started pushing a broom 25 years ago is a thing of the past.

[thaskalos]

There is systematic discrimination in this country, but it's not against the blacks or any other race/creed...as it gets widely reported. The most sinister discrimination is against the common working man...whose wages haven't been keeping up with the rising cost of living for many years now. The millionaires and billionaires keep increasing in number with each passing year...while the working men and women keep falling further and further behind. In the grocery stores, they are now selling half-loafs of bread...so the people who can't afford to buy a full loaf can still keep some bread on their dinner table.

And, what are we doing about all this? We are blaming each other for our voting choices...when the sad truth is that BOTH our main political parties are full of shit.

[tucker6]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

And, what are we doing about all this? We are blaming each other for our voting choices...when the sad truth is that BOTH our main political parties are full of shit.

I would have a hard time believing that anyone could disagree with this, but it is PaceAdvanatage. Someone will.

[lamboguy]

i was just watching CNN, they showed COSTCO selling $200 million a month in gold bars. last year they only sold $100 million in a quarter. Suzie Ormond gets on to tell you its not a good idea to own gold. she wants you all in with the S+P ETF's.

[fast4522]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

There is systematic discrimination in this country, but it's not against the blacks or any other race/creed...as it gets widely reported. The most sinister discrimination is against the common working man...whose wages haven't been keeping up with the rising cost of living for many years now. The millionaires and billionaires keep increasing in number with each passing year...while the working men and women keep falling further and further behind. In the grocery stores, they are now selling half-loafs of bread...so the people who can't afford to buy a full loaf can still keep some bread on their dinner table.

And, what are we doing about all this? We are blaming each other for our voting choices...when the sad truth is that BOTH our main political parties are full of shit.

The system is setup so anyone can become a millionaire or a billionaire. It is not setup for low skilled anything. The prime example is Mark Zuckerberg and this story tells how he is now in the lead.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ma...-2020-ebfc31f9

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by fast4522

The system is setup so anyone can become a millionaire or a billionaire. It is not setup for low skilled anything. The prime example is Mark Zuckerberg and this story tells how he is now in the lead.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ma...-2020-ebfc31f9

The system is set up so anyone can become a millionaire or a billionaire...but the citizens are drowning in credit card debt...and the vast majority of the retirees in this country would starve if they didn't receive their social security checks.

[thaskalos]

Let me show you guys how the averages get skewed because of the super-rich people in this country.

If you do a google search on "how much does the average 65 year-old in this country have in retirement savings?"...you will get an answer of $426,000...and you are going to say, "not bad...the 'American dream' isn't dead after all".

But if you dig a little deeper, you will discover that 50% of the American households have no retirement savings at all...26% have $100,000 upon retirement...and only 10% have the "average retirement savings" of $426,000.

[fast4522]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Let me show you guys how the averages get skewed because of the super-rich people in this country.

I really do not believe that you can blame rich people.

By your standards I fall into super rich because I will have Social Security plus a decent Pension that I can start drawing on by the end of the year. And 401k and stocks (for both of us) that I am no day trader with but managed to have dividends because of what I invested in. How many start out and not save for retirement because there is plenty of time to do that later? How many own something because the effort enabled them to move up nearing retirement instead of moving down into less square feet. It is all about choices and how hard you work to be where you are instead of being forced into less. The choices you make are infinitely more important than what others choose in life.
I always suggest the middle class is picking up its share maybe too much, but the super rich are also picking up too much. Your heart is with the peasants for a reason.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by fast4522

I really do not believe that you can blame rich people.

By your standards I fall into super rich because I will have Social Security plus a decent Pension that I can start drawing on by the end of the year. And 401k and stocks (for both of us) that I am no day trader with but managed to have dividends because of what I invested in. How many start out and not save for retirement because there is plenty of time to do that later? How many own something because the effort enabled them to move up nearing retirement instead of moving down into less square feet. It is all about choices and how hard you work to be where you are instead of being forced into less. The choices you make are infinitely more important than what others choose in life.
I always suggest the middle class is picking up its share maybe too much, but the super rich are also picking up too much. Your heart is with the peasants for a reason.

My heart is with the" peasants" because my parents lived that kind of life, and it made a strong impression on me. Plus...I doubt that the "super-rich" need any emotional support from me.

[fast4522]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

My heart is with the" peasants" because my parents lived that kind of life, and it made a strong impression on me. Plus...I doubt that the "super-rich" need any emotional support from me.

I will give you another example, I attended Rockingham Park and often sat with 4 or 5 other guys during the end of Clinton's second term. At work someone who always a decent friend and guide suggested to a few of us to get out of the riskier funds setup at work and plank it all into the guaranteed fund because this is not going to last forever. I can tell you without doubt we all took that advice and the returns we were all getting in the Clinton years did in fact come to an end. Anyway back to Rockingham Park some at the table lost 40k to 50k in retirement like poof, and some at the table lost nothing period. Half of the table lost jobs during the downturn including myself. One gent I will call Joe not real name bought a new home in Phoenix Arizona for half of the money he sold his home in Chelmsford Ma. having a nice nest egg to be able to fall back on. It does not matter what your parents were or did as you did not think as small as they did. It is the fellow who is able to land on his feet no matter when that counts, always thinking small will have anyone agreeing with you 99 % of the time. I am not rich, and when I drive by someones house that is better I never say negative things that mean absolutely zip.

[fast4522]

We have in our membership a gent who I believe grew up poor in the deep south, went to business school and is now an operations manager. Besides the breadcrums that some of us know of him I believe him to be a middle of the road kind of guy. That being said I hope that he chimes in for perspective because yes the economy is hurting but blame is a funny thing and it would be interesting to hear if he has invested for his retirement days. In no way a MacDonald's burger flipper has a chance, but those are choices they decide.

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Let me show you guys how the averages get skewed because of the super-rich people in this country.

If you do a google search on "how much does the average 65 year-old in this country have in retirement savings?"...you will get an answer of $426,000...and you are going to say, "not bad...the 'American dream' isn't dead after all".

But if you dig a little deeper, you will discover that 50% of the American households have no retirement savings at all...26% have $100,000 upon retirement...and only 10% have the "average retirement savings" of $426,000.

i am proud to be in the 50%, i am busted disgusted and can't be trusted and nobody will hire me.