Depression

[riptides]

Back in the late 1800s I am sure the people who made buggy whips were whining along with the horse and carriage industries. Back then, people looked inside themselves to get through such times while today they look to government. If the government back then was like the government today, there would have been The Buggy Whip Protection Act of 1891 along with the Confiscate The Obscene Horseless Carriage Profits Act.

Ha!

You are darn right I am looking towards the government to help me out. But maybe NOT in a way you think.

They bail out banks and brokerage houses now, don't they? They lend at discounts to banks and then rescue that very institute on bad loans. Well how about lending directly to me? Give ME a break.

My local government continues to raise my taxes. In this economy when every other house sits vacant awaiting foreclosure. How about giving ME a break? Cap my taxes or reassess at CURRENT market rate.

So yes, I want government help. Give ME a break, I am sure other feel the same way.

 

[WTA]

We have to contest our property taxes every year. The form they sent me a couple months ago said they estimate my property value went up 32%. Yeah right. Not in this market! SInce the max increase allowed by state law is 10% that's all they can ever try to get us for and this year I'm telling them they are on crack if they even want that much.

The government should bail us out too. By giving us a break in unrealistic taxes.

 

[LMTC]

We/You ARE the government.

Ummm......isn't discussion of the government "politics"? 'cause if not, I'd call to mind Alexis de Tocqueville's cogent and increasingly applicable comment about the public trough.

 

[ultrarunner]

New Trend in Real Estate...

Due to the Housing Depression, more people than ever" Buy and Bail..."

They buy a house similar to what they have for 40 to 50% less than what they owe... Once the loan closes, they move into the new home and Bail out of the old... a reported commented it's the American Way...

I never thought I would see so many scamming the system.... I can only imagine how life would be if there were no honorable people left.

 

[Sigarms]

We/You ARE the government.

Ummm......isn't discussion of the government "politics"?

Nice to see I'm not the only one who notices this.

That said, I guess the difference is that no one sent a nasty notice to one of the mods complaining about the topic yet.

 

[ultrarunner]

My Father was born in 1927 and both he and my Grandparents would tell me stories of the Depression...

From my earliest recollection... a Depression is when money is tight or scarce...

Seems there were lots of people that found themselves in the postion of no longer being able to pay their bills to the point of even loosing the roof over thier heads or feeding their family.

My Grandfather's words of wisdom to me were, "People can only own you if you owe them"

My Grandmother's words of wisdom... "If you don't have the cash, no use looking... you can't afford it"

Even as a child, her monthly shopping trip always started and ended at the Bank... she only paid cash and thought I was on the road to financial ruin when I told her I applied for a credit card...

I have lots of respect for those that lived through the Great Depression... too bad that generation is now fading...

 

[alchemysa]

[*]There are segments of the economy that are hurting. So, what else is new. [*]There are segments of the economy that are doing well. So, what else is new?[/LIST]



Whats new is China and India. Nearly 80 posts here and i think I'm still the only guy mentioning it. Whats new is that the forces effecting the economy are external, not 'simply' internal changes in technology. And those forces will get much stronger not weaker. Car ownership in China is growing at an extraordinary rate. If you think gas is expensive now, wait til every family in China has two cars!

The possible solution is to stop competing with china and india for the commodities they desperately need. For example we need to get REALLY serious about electric powered cars. You can't tell me Ford or GM couldnt have put a decent all-electric car on the road by now if they really wanted to.

 

[Bird]

For example we need to get REALLY serious about electric powered cars. You can't tell me Ford or GM couldnt have put a decent all-electric car on the road by now if they really wanted to.

I don't really know whether they could or not, but I suspect they could. The trouble is that they have also probably figured that there wouldn't be enough of a market for an electric car. Maybe that will change now. And perhaps the Chevy Volt will be a good start. I'm just sorry it's a couple of years off anyway. If the price were not too high, I'd love to buy an electric car, even with a range of only a hundred miles or so, if it would do a top speed in excess of 60 mph and had air-conditioning.

 

[alchemysa]

I don't really know whether they could or not, but I suspect they could. .

Of course they could Bird. I know of guys who have converted their cars to all-electric in their back yard for $5000. And we have just had an all-electric car released in Australia. Its a legal, low-volume, after-market conversion of a small 4cyl petrol model. I think it sells for around $35,000. Image how cheap it could be if it was made in big numbers in a major plant. We also have someone over here trying to import and sell Indian made all-electric cars but they cant get approval. I think it has something to do with passing the crash tests.

We have two cars. A 4x4 and a mid size station wagon. They can both tow trailers and do 400ks between refills. We simply dont need that. If one was electric powered and could do just 50ks between charges it would probably suit 80% of our driving needs.

 

[Bird]

We're in a similar situation. We have a minivan and a pickup truck. If I kept the pickup for any long trips (which we'll seldom do) or to pull a trailer or haul things, we could do very well with an electric for well over 90% of our driving. Almost all our shopping is within 10 miles of the house; most of it within 5 miles.