Is it really all that bad?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Is it really all that bad?
40
Tue, 03-24-2009 - 10:08am

I just read someone's post and it sounded so hopeless with regard to the economy.


Folks - 90% of people ARE STILL employed!




iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 1:31am

Guess I will jump into this little discussion. First I want to say I thank God every day that unless the state and the federal government goes down the tubes we got money. I am glad that I don't have to worry about not having money to buy food or worry about losing my house because I had the wisdom to buy a house I could afford. I am also thankful that at some point I learned to save money even if it was only a few cents at a time.. I am also glad that from my mother I learned to shop wisely at some point in my life.


I pity the people out there that have lost their jobs and have no money for food. I feel mostly for the kids that go to bed at night hungry. My birth aunt who is a nun runs a food pantry for the Catholic Church in the poor part of town and they can't keep food on the shelves anymore until the end of the month. They have to go to other bigger food banks to ask that they give them food to help by the middle of the month now because there are so many more families needing help. If

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 8:03am
Pax.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 8:46am

I'm glad that things are looking up for you in this economy, but I hope you realize how rare that is right now. I do think things are very bad, for a lot of people. While I agree with you that the media does tend to focus on the negative in these times- that's the story after all- they can't make up the numbers,and the numbers are bad.


Perhaps you're right that even though more people and a higher percentage of people are unemployed, since there are more families with dual wage earners, there are fewer unemployed families. But I think it's unfair to assume that just because one person in the household is working still, things aren't that bad. A lot of families need two incomes just to get by- and other families need two incomes to do just what you're planning on doing (fix up the house, send kids to college, etc). I think most people work because they have to- so it doesn't matter if they have a spouse employed, times are still hard.


I suppose if "that bad" means no one has a job and everyone is homeless, then yes, things aren't that bad- like you said, 90% of people still have jobs. But when you think about it, you realize that unemployment doubled- that's double the amount of people who are unemployed. Also, you have to look at how long people are staying unemployed. And, you have to see who's unemployed. It's not just manufacturing jobs, which we have been losing for a long time. It's service jobs (even professional services jobs, like lawyers and bankers, etc.). We had shifted from a manufacturing economy to a service economy, and now those jobs are not-so-slowly disappearing too.


Also, you can't ignore the fact that this is a world-wide crisis. It's not just a US recession. Everywhere else is hurting too. And that of course will affect the speed of recovery, which means things will continue to be bad.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 9:36am
So besides being a realist, and since you have been not hit by the bad times, what are you doing to reach out?



iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2009
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 9:49am

"If I could be president for one day and make any law I wanted to make I would out law every 401K and every credit card in this country."

Well, I am glad you are not president! ;-) Don't blame the 401Ks and credit cards. Most 401Ks give people a choice of investment vehicles. One can choose something that is safer (bonds, etc.) with generally lower return, and one can choose something higher risk but with potentially higher return. And nobody FORCES you to participate in 401Ks - it is still legal to put your money under the mattress. People have choices, and some made poor choices. Same with credit cards. You can outlaw credit cards, but there are payday loans, loan sharks, etc. People have been lending and borrowing money for thousands of years. And if somehow you succeed in outlawing every single "financial ills", what next? Outlaw sodium? Because it causes high blood pressure? Sugar? Because it can cause cavity? The president of the United States' job is not becoming everyone's mother.

We do not live in a bubble, and there will always be "bad things" out there. The important point is not removing these things, but teach people to know their limits (i.e., don't invest in things you don't understand), be responsible, and make good choices.

There are many people out there who benefit from having 401ks and credit cards, you just don't hear about them because they do not come to this board (for obvious reasons).

Edited 3/25/2009 9:54 am ET by marie_1229




Edited 3/25/2009 9:54 am ET by marie_1229
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 9:50am

Jan -


I am in Michigan too - I was one of the folks who sold a house after prices plummitted and lost over $65k - not in equity - in CASH.




iVillage Member
Registered: 07-05-2006
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 10:18am

OHHH - I have so been where you are right now! I have been struggling with this situation for 4 years now and I remember those weeks where my grocery trips consisted of macaroni and cheese boxes and soup. Those days where you wallow in knowing you don't make enough money to cover your bills and sometimes you just don't know where to turn. We have been sick lately and a friend of mine offered to make us dinner and all I can think about is..."That would save me the cost of a dinner." My whole life revolves around our money problems and I'm so ready to be done with this! This is a really hard time, even for those of us with stable jobs because no one really knows what the future holds.

Another friend of mine let me know of a church in my area that gets the leftovers from some of the local supermarkets and sells them to people from their church on Saturday mornings for deep discounts. I'm thinking of going there this week.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 10:26am

Sounds like you have made reasonable choices and were prepared for a rainy day, many folks were not.




iVillage Member
Registered: 07-05-2006
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 10:36am

I agree that the media makes this situation even worse than it has to be. It's hard to not get into a panic when you start listening to the news and some of the books that are currently being written and you think "Ahhh - I better start stockpiling my cash just in case!" I don't know if most of the predictions out there will truly come to pass. I mean, they weren't predicting that this disaster would happen and now they are telling us what to expect for the future? Seems a little fishy! But I still want to be prepared for my husband possibly losing his job, or gas prices going up again and grocery prices rising etc. I'm trying to be proactive and think about every possibility in this world of confusion!

We are also doing extremely well during these times. My husband has never made so much money as he does now and I just recently got a new job with a small raise and we are almost out of debt, but I don't want to take any of that for granted. I am worried about the direction this country is going and I think many people are really in for it. We are lucky in that we own a home and actually put a downpayment on it so our home is worth now exactly what we took out a loan for, but they are predicting that housing prices are going to tank even more! I don't think the worst has come yet. I think we are just experiencing a small break in the recession. And the reason I think this is because I know from personal experience and from statistics how many people are in the same boat as us, but haven't even admitted it to themselves yet! So many people are in debt. Half the country is in debt! We are the smart ones who have finally decided to tackle our problems. There are so many people out there that still haven't dealt with the elephant in the room! Like my SIL and BIl for instance! They have mountains of debt and spend like drunken sailors and ignore the lawyers and debt collectors that call.

Anyway - I try to take the news with a grain of salt but I'm also trying to prepare for the worst! Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That's my attitude at the moment!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Wed, 03-25-2009 - 10:46am

Mary Ann -


I agree with much of your post about living within your means, but what made this country through time is the dreams associated with capitolism.