sunshine229 wrote:High_Side wrote:What it comes down to is this: Everyone is currently looking for someone to blame and the institutions are an easy target. Really though we are surrounded by people everyday who ARE the problem themselves but just can't see it. And it cannot get any better until all the players recalibrate their expectations and entitlements.
+1!!!
Everyone is responsible for their own success or lack there of... Make your own choices and live with them. Spend knowing what the full cost is. Save for a rainy day. And ask yourself, "Do I really NEED to buy this item???"
I know there are things out of your control but if you keep control of what you can and make level headed decisions in your life you will be far better off then just throwing your life to the wind or even worse turning into a bump on a log.
Problem is, a lot of what you thought was under your control is not. A lot of people here in Canada and the US are now facing a rather bleak retirement and have seen their life savings all but wiped out by those in the financial and stock industries playing it fast and loose. Those at the top will not feel one iota of pain, expect for a select few scapegoats, however you and I are expected to bear the brunt of the damage and pay to fix things though lower wages, higher cost, less service and having our hard earned tax money being diverted to Big Corps. Meanwhile, the sods at the top along with their bought and paid for political lapdogs are still swilling deep from the trough.
Now don't get me wrong, I am all for profit and growth, however I am also concerned that the profits generates are fairly earned and are not of a usury scale. Which is why when I can, I buy locally to support local producers and industry even though it cost me a few pennies more then to save a few pennies and contribute to the wealth of the like of the family that owns Walmart. Same for buying petrol for my bike. I live a 10 minute ride from Point Roberts in Washington State and it would be no big deal for me to run across the border and fill up. However, I still buy my petrol at my local Canadian Chevron station then buying it at the local US Chevron station. At least my money and the taxes I pay per litre are staying in my country and I am helping to keep a fellow Canadian employed.
But one thing most people seem to forget, its that business' are also suffering. Now I am not talking about the big boys and Banks, but the small firms, the ones that have perhaps 100 employees or less. When things go sideways for them, the banks don't want to know and are loathe to help out, unless of course said business owes them a couple of few million. What most people are angry about is not the profits of the small business person, but rather the rather obscene profits made by the big Corps and Banks while shipping our jobs overseas and raiding our taxes. That is what has gotten people around the world up in arms.
And there is a lot to get angry about if one was just to open ones eyes and do a little honest research. Truth is, we have always been getting screwed, however never so badly as today. And while many here may feel it doesn't apply or affect them, who is to say that you wont be tomorrow statistic. As I see it you have only two choices, 1) sit back and let the status quo be and pray like hell that the dodo doesn't splatter to badly on you when it hits the fan or 2) stand up now and make a stand before its too late......which I sadly and firmly believe it is.