It's working, it's working!

[nemo]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

The comment on poverty is spot on, there is no better motivator than insuffient money to keep lights and power on to conserve, if your too stupid they get shut off.

There is a lower level of "ownership" and property rental today than there has been in many decades, the number of persons per residence is higher, plain english people can't afford their own places and this saves money as it IS much more efficient to live communally than individually.

"People can't afford their own places" I don't buy into this. This is a choice. While many maybe priced out many more choose to spend their resources in other areas cell phones, cable, new cars, dinning out and the list goes on. My neighbors are such a family ( multi-generational ) 3 ford f-150s and a mustang, only one economy in car the bunch ( Fiesta) it's new and driven like an F1 on race day.

There is also the trend that ever one must start out with a Mc Mansion and start renovating it the day after they move in.

[Frank Lee]

She was an Avocado Green GE beauty that matched the green GE range and green linoleum (not to mention the green shag in the living room), all from 1968. I'd still have it if I would have caught on sooner to the failing circulation fan (which I finally did figure out and replace but too late) which caused the compressor to run constantly and eventually burn out.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by nemo

"People can't afford their own places" I don't buy into this. This is a choice. While many maybe priced out many more choose to spend their resources in other areas cell phones, cable, new cars, dinning out and the list goes on. My neighbors are such a family ( multi-generational ) 3 ford f-150s and a mustang, only one economy in car the bunch it's new and driven like an F1 on race day.

There is also the trend that ever one must start out with a Mc Mansion and start renovating it the day after they move in.

True that. ^

The media- drama queens that they are- constantly run hard luck stories about the jobless, the homeless, the dwindling standard of living, the paltry retirement savings rate, the decline in Social Security retirement benefits, etc., etc., and they all have one thing in common: they focus on INCOME while barely- almost in passing- mention people's EXPENDITURES. Yes some people really did do the right things and still had bad outcomes, but the vast majority of the time when they interview the bozos for these stories, it is clear that said bozo was living for the moment and spent their way into oblivion. Gives me schaudenfreude every time.

Oh, poor, poor Uhmericans. Everybody has a new SUV (with an overused Autostarter), a big screen TV with cable or satellite, wireless service, cell phones, the McMansion (all 4000 sq ft of it perfectly climate controlled), and every free moment is spent tearing around in that SUV to malls and restaurants. Waaaaah, poor, poor Uhmericans.

P.S. I am working on an itemized accounting of my expenses for '13- even though I've always kept a close eye on my expenses, this is something I've never done before. I can say one thing now: I spent $98 on groceries in '13.

I'm doing pretty well for living individually not communally.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by nemo

So I need to buy a new 40" TV to help out?

In an economy that is built upon consumerism, that is expected of you, both by our government (which prints the "money" that you think you have) and media, the handmaiden of government. It's the great government + media mind f---.

The rich are unaffected.

The middle class will pay. (They will pay dearly IMHO, to pay for both the rich above them and the poor below.)

The poor (those who have saved nothing and have nothing) will be subsidized to buy their allegiance to subsidies, and their votes to grant them continued sustinance. To quote president Clinton, (IMHO the most astute politician of recent times) in his comments about welfare, he said: We have ended welfare "as we know it".

The working poor are hit the hardest - because they have few or no subsidies and are considered idiots for continuing to work.

[Xist]

One big problem is that we do not only have "the rich" purchasing smart phones, it is nearly everybody, as well as the aforementioned televisions, cars, and everything else.

Somebody explain to me why college students have new cars? If they can afford new cars, why do they "need" college?

How many people keep lights on in unoccupied rooms? Both of my roommates, and one gets upset when the porch light is off, even during the day.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Xist

One big problem is that we do not only have "the rich" purchasing smart phones, it is nearly everybody, as well as the aforementioned televisions, cars, and everything else.

Somebody explain to me why college students have new cars?

You probably already know the answer. Because it is now the expectation throughout society (that is promoted by our government controlled economy) that mommy and daddy would do so. This is relentlessly reinforced by the media. Can you turn on your TV or radio without hearing a commercial touting the purchase of a new car? Mommy and daddy were/are brainwashed into doing whatever the media promotes - and so they did. What used to be done by governments with bullets and bombs is now done with suggestions. It is much cheaper, easier and more highly effective to control people that way. Once programmed to do so, the targeted audience will even pay money to watch commercial advertising. The medium is the message.

We can say NO to this. We have the power to say NO. But most of us can't, and most of us don't. That demonstrates the power of suggestion and mass persuasion over the masses. No more bullets. No more bombs. Just 82 channels of the latest version of PRAVDA - that we now willingly pay to receive, and cannot resist watching and hearing.

Admittedly, unlike bullets and bombs, this government and business sponsored media affront does not do any physical or immediate harm to people. It just sets them and their children back economically and mentally. It's hard to make rational decisions in your best interest, once you have lost the ability to do so.

If they can afford new cars, why do they "need" college?

I think you might know the answer to that question, too.

Once you have been programmed to pay and participate in the cultural milieu, you will be willing to pay even more, for the brainwashing of your children.

[Xist]

Can they actually afford new cars while in college, or are they spending their money before they earn it?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Xist

Can they actually afford new cars while in college, or are they spending their money before they earn it?

Cheap and easily-available credit is too tempting for weak-minded folks.

[nemo]

Beginning in January, the production of traditional 60- and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs will cease

incandescent 60 watt
halogen 43-watt
CFL 13-15 watts
LED 8-12.5

“Changing the lighting has the fastest payback in any house,”

Is this an example of good government intervention or just the free market being trampled? Changing of bulb in my house has led to a decrease in consumption.


Reference
Production of 60- and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs will cease in January » Business » The Norman Transcript

[Frank Lee]

Somebody explain to me why college students have new cars? If they can afford new cars, why do they "need" college?

I had the same question 500 years ago when I was in college and it was the same then as now: row upon row of new chariots in the college parking lots. I wondered what they knew that I didn't??? Because all I could ever do was work really low paying jobs that in no way, shape, or form could support a new car purchase. So it was from the very beginning that I had beaters that were at the very end of the hand-me-down list.

It was much after graduation that it was revealed to me that not only were Mommy and Daddy buying many of these cars (my suspicion all along) many were funded by student loans which at that time were defaulted upon with amazing regularity and minimal consequence to the borrower. But that's OK, the taxpayer is always there to suck it up.