NT1100

Coyote Chris said:
I dont get Americans. 1 trillion dollars in personal debt. Credit cards loaded to the max. Many families making over 100k a year one paycheck away from disaster. Yet everyone seems to think they have the money to get the family on an aeroplane and travel for T-day or XMAS and they buy homes and cars and trucks way out of their means. And they line up on Black Friday to buy junk they dont need that will go into an expensive storage facility.....And they think the feral govt should bail them out when they poor choices......
The thing of it is, most really cant afford a $20 k bike when you figure in the cost of maintenance and insurance and gas, etc.
Click to expand...
Some of us did not get in that situation simply by poor choices.
I my case; I became unemployed within a year of buying a house, right before the housing crash during the Bush Jr./Obama recession.
I had no where to turn if I lost the house. ie. If evicted; I would be homeless.
So during two years of not having income; I lived off credit cards. I'm still paying them off. :mad:
I started out with over $60k, got down to mid 30's; then was victim of hit-n-run, and am now back in low 40's. 😥

Although I do have savings and am not ONE paycheck away from disaster. I am by no means comfortable.
 
ST1100Y said:
Well, over here the youngsters moan that they will never be able to build an existence, assets, house/home with a halfway decent vehicle in the garage, so why bother to begin with, hence refuse to start any job/career (while violently demanding state founded "unconditional basic income for everyone"...) and blame boomers and gen X for this... :rolleyes:

What they ignore totally is that we too had to build our existence first, no gifts, no such thing as a free lunch, it took us all at least till late 30ies/early 40ies to build our current life-standards...
Click to expand...

mikesim said:
Building an "existence" takes time and determination. It is not handed to you. Young'uns' need to learn this lesson. The sooner they do, the better off they will be.

Mike
Click to expand...
I can see both sides.

Yes one does have to build their existence. But the financial environment for the younger generations is different than what it was for boomers and gen-X.

I'm a boomer; but by only two months. I was born in late '64. So I started attending school a year later than most boomers; and basically grew up as gen-X'er.
WHY the experts and government consider me the same generation as people who were born in the 40's, raised in the 50's, went to high school and/or served in NAM in the 60's, and started a family in the 70's; is beyond me. :shrug2:


Anyway; to get ahead in life; in my late 20's, I had to quit listening to my parents, live for a few years in an illegal one-room shack with no running water or bathroom, and go back to school.
That allowed me to almost immediately triple my income. And after about two decades, I was able to buy a house in my 40's.

What I'm seeing with the younger generations is; currently a large disparity between incomes and cost of living.
ie. Jobs are paying squat and rents are higher than mortgages.
While us boomers and gen-x'ers could afford rent; and still have some left over for savings; with an entry level job.
Of course they are not helping themselves by always needing the latest iphone. :p
 
ett said:
Of course they are not helping themselves by always needing the latest iphone. :p
Click to expand...
or Starbucks lattes... which is the point...

And there is decent money in the trades...
But instead they all think their entitled, superior beings thus deserve a massively overpaid office job whilst manual work is only for the low-life migrants; the new form of slavery if you ask me...
 
Last edited:
On this side of the pond, those who work in the trades often earn considerally more than those "entitled" folks with non-STEM degrees! When a student enrolls at a university in a degree program, it should be required that the school inform the student as to what to expect income wise and the likelihood of obtaining a job in his chosen field.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
On this side of the pond, those who work in the trades often earn considerally more than those "entitled" folks with non-STEM degrees! When a student enrolls at a university in a degree program, it should be required that the school inform the student as to what to expect income wise and the likelihood of obtaining a job in his chosen field.

Mike
Click to expand...
I think everyone should serve in the military out of high school...
 
Mellow said:
I think everyone should serve in the military out of high school...
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more! They would not only serve their country, but it would also make them better citizens..... Lord knows, we could use better citizens...

Mike
 
mikesim said:
I couldn't agree more! They would not only serve their country, but it would also make them better citizens..... Lord knows, we could use better citizens...
Click to expand...
And I'd definitely include the females in this... want equality? There you go... mandatory...
Either armed forces or the "community service" alternative they have over here (paramedic, nursing, geriatric care, disability assistance, social worker...)
a) learn how to work/behave within a hierarchical system (just like in the job-world)...
b) do something for the society you live in... (and demand so much from...)
 
ST1100Y said:
And I'd definitely include the females in this... want equality? There you go... mandatory...
Either armed forces or the "community service" alternative they have over here (paramedic, nursing, geriatric care, disability assistance, social worker...)
a) learn how to work/behave within a hierarchical system (just like in the job-world)...
b) do something for the society you live in... (and demand so much from...)
Click to expand...
I agree that females should be included, however, I dont feel that they should be assigned to combat infantry billets. IMHO, nothing should be done that compromises the lethality of the unit. USMC testing has found that females do not have the physical capabilities of males. The prime parameter of a military unit should be lethality. Im glad to see that the goals of sexual accomodation and DEI are being abandoned in certain MOS's.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
I agree that females should be included, however, I dont feel that they should be assigned to combat infantry billets.
Click to expand...
Between us: yep, we're quite aware of the possible "issues" ...

OTOH am I pretty sick of the constant pounding that "fems are better in everything anyway!"... so go ahead, show me, be "the living proof"...
 
Mellow said:
I think everyone should serve in the military out of high school...
Click to expand...
Good idea. I would like to modify that to "government service" instead of military. Instill the same work/mission/teamwork ethics but not necessarily in the military. Required mandatory service (2 years?) in hospitals, prisons, national parks, national forests, Corps of Engineers would qualify also. In addition to the work habits, perhaps they could pick up a valuable trade. Want to go to College? No problem, mandatory 3 years after and put that education to work for the greater good.
 
Interesting posts above. Certainly times have changed in my lifetime. Born during WW II the culture of the USA was quite different then.

I had a deferment from the military draft to go to college. I worked nights, summers, and one year in a factory during that time. Of course I was drafted 2 months after college graduation and served in the Army. I made Sergeant inside of 2 years and that never would have happened had I not gone to college first. The life skills and maturity I got in my 5-years of college was quite helpful.

Then after my short military life I went back to grad school on the GI bill and got my MS. only then did I enter the real workforce. I bought an old farm complete with old equipment and a rundown house for $17,000. In the next few years I built a new house, starting with a chainsaw, cutting the trees, milling the lumber, and doing almost all the work myself. I’ve been debt free since about 1983 (40-years old). That’s a luxury few people have. But also during my career job I worked as a part time farrier, and firefighter and emergency medical responder.

Our economy seems to run on debt. People make a lot of money on interest paid by other people. I think that is a key factor in the huge disparity between the rich and the poor. I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunities that I had. Capitalizing on them was hard work.
 
junglejim said:
People make a lot of money on interest paid by other people.
Click to expand...
True words...

i.e. KTM (yep, Austrian motorcycle MFG), who'd cashed € 11 Million on grants by the state (tax money!) during COVID, their CEO "celebrated" by gifting himself a € 7 Million bonus for that; the rest probably seeped into share holder dividends...
And just yesterday they "declared" it bankrupt... over 300 people loose their jobs (unemployment checks -> more tax money)...
In reality a planned long term strategy, they'd already opened sites (hence "moved production" to) in India and China...

CONTINENTAL (German car tire MFG) pulled a similar stunt while taking over our SEMPERIT tire MFG company...
First cashing Millions on financial support under the false pretext they'll keep the location in operation, not even a year later they closed it plus "stole" all the machinery, transporting it into a newly build site in Slovakia...
 
junglejim said:
Interesting posts above. Certainly times have changed in my lifetime. Born during WW II the culture of the USA was quite different then.

I had a deferment from the military draft to go to college. I worked nights, summers, and one year in a factory during that time. Of course I was drafted 2 months after college graduation and served in the Army. I made Sergeant inside of 2 years and that never would have happened had I not gone to college first. The life skills and maturity I got in my 5-years of college was quite helpful.

Then after my short military life I went back to grad school on the GI bill and got my MS. only then did I enter the real workforce. I bought an old farm complete with old equipment and a rundown house for $17,000. In the next few years I built a new house, starting with a chainsaw, cutting the trees, milling the lumber, and doing almost all the work myself. I’ve been debt free since about 1983 (40-years old). That’s a luxury few people have. But also during my career job I worked as a part time farrier, and firefighter and emergency medical responder.

Our economy seems to run on debt. People make a lot of money on interest paid by other people. I think that is a key factor in the huge disparity between the rich and the poor. I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunities that I had. Capitalizing on them was hard work.
Click to expand...
I think that the operative words in your success story was "hard work". I don't see the willingness to work hard in many young people today. If there is not immediate gratification in any endeavor, they want no part of it. They have not learned that failure is part of being successful and if they do fail at anything, it is someone else's fault.

Mike
 
Really good stuff reading all the comments of days gone by...almost rofl..we sound like grumpy old men reminising when some of us got our girlfriend pregnant..could never afford it but somehow managed to survive the onslaught of things to come...in reality most of us and some very lucky or privileged ,managed to eke out a very handsome lifestyle and secretly wish and hope the next generation will do likewise....food for thought....:confused:
 
  • Like
Reactions: ett
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom