Powell Endorses Obama

Hm. Again, just asking for clarification on your statements, Koreberg...

Why 50hrs a week instead of 40? I agree that we shouldn't be "required" to have two income households just to get by. :ccry:

Are you then proposing some sort of cap on earning to avoid people becoming "rich?"

 

OK, my responses to all this-

koreberg-
Most semi-skilled/professional jobs Do pay enough for the scenario you laid out. Maybe Not at starting salaries, but certainly after a few years, when you would expect to have to support a family.

It may be a basic life, without all the "entitlements" expected in modern America, but you can do it.

Wayne-

you can get by OK on $40. You're gonna eat a lot of cereal, pasta, occasional veggies, rice, PB&J, hot dogs, and whatever milk you throw in.

1 person is easy, 4 is doable if you watch as you shop.

I Speak from experience.

 

+1 on the $40 limit -- I used to get by on less than half of that, though my diet wasn't the best.

 

Oooh. That would provide no end of entertainment. It would give neocon Republicans something to do, which will stimulate the economy. SNL should prepare for it by having a Hasselbeck Lookalike Contest!

 

Our family went on the Food Stamp diet last year, in support of our governor who was also doing it (along with thousands of other Oregonians). Our budget was $53 for the three of us for a week. Which is actually slightly harder than $40/wk for two people, because our child easily eats at least a third of the food. My wife and I sacrificed part of our own meals several times so that he would have enough -- a choice that millions of families make week after week.

We had just enough food to stave off hunger, but certainly no "extra". I suppose that was partly because we tried to limit cheap crappy processed foods (no ramen noodles or Banquet frozen dinners) and prepare healthy meals. We had to REALLY limit the meat and produce, though, to far less than we usually eat because "real" fresh food is expensive compared to processed "food," and we really had to focus on the cheapest meats and vegetables. We are fortunate enough to have a good pressure cooker, which allowed us to make up some of that difference by easily incorporating rice, beans and other high-value (for the dollar) foods into our diet.

Also, we found we went through a LOT of spices to keep the meals from getting monotonous. That alone took $3-4 out of the week's budget, even buying spices cheaply in bulk. The most time-consuming part of all this was that I baked a lot of my own bread (my son and I are both gluten intolerant, and commercial gluten free bread is typically $6-8 per loaf) to stretch things, which still ended up costing a few dollars for 3 loaves.

It would be very hard for us to sustain this diet week in and week out. Possible, but not pleasant, and would be very difficult to do long-term without ultimately compromising our health. All in all, it was a very eye-opening experience.

 

And this was before the huge price increases we have seen in these types of goods.

@Right Lane Cruiser

I would put a cap on earnings, but it would be a floating cap, based on a percentage of what your employees make. Pay your employees more, and you can make more too. I would also like to see a move to 100% consumption based tax, away from income tax.

@warthog1984

IMO the "entitlements" should be part of the deal, it should be an average size house/dwelling for that area, with average amenities. We had this before the 70s came around. Since the 70s it has become almost impossible for most families to have the average american lifestyle without 2 bread winners. Mostly because wages for the majority of americans quit going up at the rate they had been for 50+ years before the 70s. At the same time wages for the wealthiest 5% started increasing at a much faster rate, after the 70s, than they ever had before. Could be coincidence, however I believe if the labor is the same, then the fruits of that labor would be the same, the 1 difference is how the fruits were spread around. Thicker at the top, and thinner on the bottom.

 

Its funny out the cheapest diets tend to be the healthiest. Nothing like lots of fresh fruits, vegs, grains, etc. If you can just cut out all the cans, bottles, and frozen things that tend to get into our life, the cost goes down. Cut out all but the recomended amount of meat or other protien and the cost goes down even further.

Maybe its something everyone should try at least for 2 months, just to understand how difficult it can be with a modern lifestyle and how easy it can be if you eat a little healthier. Loosing a few pounds doesn't hurt either.

 

Having lived on campus for a year I beg to differ... the cheapest food out there is top ramen, followed by the 99 cent cans of luncheon meat (enough for two or three meals when combined with the marked-down bread!), and McDonalds Dollar Menu...

 

There are a lot of ways to reduce your grocery bill. If you are not using coupons now then you are spending double or more then double what you could be using coupons.

My son has really gotten into couponing and is now not only saving money on coupons, but he is no longer paying anything for his weekly grocery bill, in fact he is gaining money each week. I know it hard to believe, but it is true.


For the past coupole of months, my wife has taken his advice and with her trips to the store, she has not only reduced our food bill 50%.

If anyone wants to know how we are doing it PM me.

 

I've seen how much jello, Velveeta, and salsa you've got in that house.

 

Good article:

THE former American secretary of state Colin Powell has revealed that he spent 2� hours vainly trying to persuade President George W Bush not to invade Iraq and believes today�s conflict cannot be resolved by US forces.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3bd_1184018220

GaryG

 

It's a bit out of date: July 8, 2007. Here's the original article, link found in the article you posted:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2042072.ece

 

OK. Having done the campus thing myself, I'll agree that for some the cheapest way is how you said. But for those in a home with a decent sized freezer. Twenty bucks will get a ton of veg & some chicken too (if you need it). And you can easily produce 20 meals worth. Hard to beat a buck a meal. In some ways families have it easier. Cooking at home for one, tends to produce a lot more waste per meal that cooking for 2 or more, so cooking for multiples usually is cheaper per person than cooking for one....even more so when you include the energy cost. Producing your own frozen or left-over meals being an exception...

On the news a few years ago was a sad story about a women who decided to go back into the work place to help support her family of five (husband, 3 kids) because they had been living on the edge. However they seemed to be having more problems keeping up with the bills once she did this. The news program hired an expert to look at their finances. Being a nearly first job, it only pulled in about 25k. When they looked at the added expenses of a new wardrobe & then maintianing it, additional take out instead of the cooking she had done, the additional gas, additional babysitting, etc, etc...the family lost more money with her working that she made. If I remember right, they judged her value in the home at 30/35k, and that didn't include the major reduction in family stress caused by having no time left to get things done. When they showed the numbers to the family, the wife broke down & was crying with a combination of grief & exhaustion. The husband was crying too. Like I said...a very sad story.

Ultimatly they showed that homemaker, be it man or woman, usually had a value of around 5/10k (no children), 20/25k (older children who don't need daycare/babysitters), and 30/40k+ (small children). They strongly recomended that all families look at the cost of working and seeing how to reduce it or seeing if maybe only parent working was better. They did have one point in the other direction. She only made 20k because she had no recent experience. In the event of a divorce or death, she could find herself in the situation of making that little and having that be nearly the only source of income. If she kept working for another 1 or 2 years, they might reach the break even point...sooner if the older children wer able to help out with things around the house (like making dinner or babysitting the smaller children). After that, she would start adding to the family wealth. Now that a tough call for anyone to make.

 

The elections are over and there is still much discussion and debate about: What if, What will, He will, He Won't, etc.......

I did not vote for him due to the stance that he has had on some issues that I am morally opposed to.

With this being said, my daughter sent me this taken from a blog and this portrays my sentiments exactly. Others reading this may lambast me, but please take it for what it's worth. The election is over. The residents of the United States of America have elected a new President. As residents, we should abide by the wishes of the majority and accept and respect the new President Of the Greatest Country in the WORLD!

This was posted on a blog and is something ALL Americans should abide by. Things happen for a purpose.

Romans 13:1
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

Regardless of how I feel about the outcome of the presidential election, or any other election for that matter, the instructions for those of us who claim to be Christians are pretty specific. We need to be respectful and continue to make our voices heard in a positive way. Sure, I disagree with President-Elect Obama on many issues, but I respect the office he holds and think it's time to focus on what we all hold in common.

The same God who ruled the universe yesterday rules it today and I stand justified in His Son. What's more, I live in a country where I can shout that from the rooftops without fear of government interference or retribution and even with the many problems that exist here, that still makes us the greatest country in the world

 

Don't cut off Paul's letter too soon....... .

Romans 13:6-7
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes................

 

I'm sure Mike will agree on that as well...

Guess the thing to note in American politics is massive or long-lasting mandates are not very common. The GOP took a beating, but McCain still got 46% of the vote. I tend to agree with analyst that the election is more of a statement GWB did a bad job - let's move to the center or center-left, than a move to the left. Still, this is an opportunity to have a generation of voters lean to the Democrats....2010 and 2012 will hint if that is the case.

The Obama Administration now has to seize the moment, while the GOP has to learn from this beating.

 

Oh, you have the same sin as Joe the Plumber???