Americans Are Truly Suffering

[RawAlex]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/10/09...rpt/index.html

Financial worries also forced Zaharris to take her daughter out of gymnastics classes and stop the lawn service.

Oh boo fucking hoo. Give your daughter a lawn mower and she can get her exercise and take care of the lawn at the same time.

If this is suffering, than America needs to appear on Doctor Phil for some help.

[ali25extreme]

I can not believe that she claims that to be suffering. OMFG ...i have to make my own coffee now ...such a shame..o the pain...lol

[DannyCox]

We had to cut our housekeeper back to 3 days a week!

[RawAlex]

It's like Krusty the Clown:

Oh, yeah. You mean like when your lazy butler washes your sock garters and they're still covered with schmutz?

[Dravyk]

I can no longer afford to make my homemade whipped cream out of Baily's now. *sniff*

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

It's like Krusty the Clown:

Dont bring Lawrence Conner into this.

[Greg B]

Laugh all you guys want but if we go down, everybody goes down. Right now Iceland is tinkering on the brink of bankruptcy. Other countries that relied on the income of American consumers are in for some serious hurt.

[sarettah]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/10/09...rpt/index.html



Oh boo fucking hoo. Give your daughter a lawn mower and she can get her exercise and take care of the lawn at the same time.

If this is suffering, than America needs to appear on Doctor Phil for some help.

You are a twit.

Show me one fucking place in that article where anyone claims to be suffering.

Unlike you (and most of the folks in this thread) I bothered to read the article. It is talking about adjustments people made because of the economic situation. I didn't see much in there that sounded like whining.

But, don't let facts interfere with your bashing.

For those of you who are so feeble minded that you can't figure out how to click a link, I will paste the text below.

Faced with a nationwide financial crisis, a volatile stock market and rising unemployment and inflation rates, many Americans are making changes in their personal spending habits.


Single mother Ingrid Zaharris said financial woes forced her to take her daughter out of gymnastics classes.

Ingrid Zaharris started cutting back drastically in May. She and her 6-year-old daughter moved into a smaller home in Allen, Texas, after realizing that she would be unable to afford the summer electricity bills coupled with the cost of rent for her house.

Financial worries also forced Zaharris to take her daughter out of gymnastics classes and stop the lawn service.

"I'm just trying to get back to basics," she said, adding that she has considered even getting rid of her car. "I'm just trying to get rid of those extra things just to get by."

Zaharris is one of many iReporters who shared stories of dealing with a worsening economy. Like many others, she wonders how she wound up in such a tough financial situation. iReport.com: Read more of Zaharris' story

"Every day I ask myself, why does someone who has a salary over $80,000 struggle so much?" Zaharris wrote on iReport.com. "Gas costs more, groceries cost more, there are always checks to write for things at [my daughter's] school. The money just trickles away."

Molly Zolad of Woodbridge, Illinois, said she's trying to simplify her life and make smart financial decisions. She stopped using credit cards and has made small day-to-day changes such as brewing her own coffee.

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Economy has some in despair
"I had no idea how much waste I truly had in my life until the crunch of everything hit at once," she wrote on iReport.com. "Medical bills for myself, my two dogs, and the pay decrease from my company ... it all adds up."

Zolad says the biggest sacrifice has been her time. She began a second part-time job at her church to earn extra money and avoid paying a baby sitter. She said her new lifestyle has made an "amazing difference." iReport.com: Read more of Zolad's story

Kathleen Fallon shared on iReport.com a list of several luxuries that she gave up such as cable, land-line phones, dining at restaurants and allowances for her children. She told CNN's Josh Levs that the sacrifices have been "a gift in some ways."

"We're having more conversation, we're finding things to do as a family that are free, we play basketball, we play tennis. Homework's getting done better too." Watch Levs' interview with Fallon »

John Stevens, on the other hand, is "scared to death."

"I'm currently in a Chapter 13 to save my condo, but I don't even think that will work for me," he said. "The payment to the trustee every month is too high and along with the mortgage payment."

Stevens works in the automotive industry and said his pay has been decreasing around $200 per month lately. He is considering changing careers, but says that many companies in his home state of Connecticut aren't hiring.

According to a nationwide report released Tuesday by the American Psychological Association, as many as 80 percent of Americans are stressed about their personal finances and the economy.

Nearly 7,000 Americans responded to the survey between April and September of this year. Within five months, anxiety about the economy rose from 66 percent to 80 percent.

"I'm tired of what's going on and how the average citizen is suffering and our top leaders are more concerned with the big corporations and Wall Street," Stevens said. "I'm sad right now because I don't know how my future or even the next day is going to be." iReport.com: Read more of Stevens' story

iReporter Peter Cabrera also expressed anger about the Wall Street crisis because of the financial struggles affecting his parents.

"Both my parents did everything the right way," said Cabrera, a doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. "They worked hard, they saved." His father has retired early, Cabrera said, "and he's now watching his 401K disappear." iReport.com: See why Cabrera is 'terrified' for his parents

Mia Cole of Memphis, Tennessee, is making a major sacrifice because of financial struggles: She's giving up her ideal wedding. "Our dream wedding has turned into just that ... a dream," she wrote on iReport.com.


"After months of no dinner dates, salon appointments or name-brand condiments, we managed to save a few thousand for a low-key dream wedding," she said. But in the two months since Cole and her fiancé were both laid off from their jobs, they have used that money to pay for everyday expenses.

"More than likely we will go to a justice of the peace and say our vows and pray that in a few years when we are better and the country is better, our dream will come true," Cole said.

[helix]

Michigan has been in the shitter for the last 5-6 years with the automotive downturn.
Auto plant layoffs, local tool shops closing, any and all support (which is damn near everything in metro Detroit) for the auto industry is dying a slow painful death.
Many of my friends have lost their houses/condos and they can't find any work that will pay the bills.
It's really sad to see that poor woman actually had to stop the lawn service.....the end must be near.

[tony404]

No big picture thinkers here? the lady stops lawn service, gym class. Those businesses have to lay people off and there are less porn buyers in the world.
The banks keep cutting open credit on credit cards, it will be hard to be smug when your income dries up and it wont matter if its mainstream or adult.If its online and involves a credit card there will be a problem.Im seeing a steady trend of rebills not going thru,this isnt a good sign.
I think for our industry, if things dont get better soon. Wont be fast and its over. It will be a slow sink to nothing.

[helix]

The big picture tells me to keep one foot in mainstream and one foot in adult.

[Forest]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/10/09...rpt/index.html



Oh boo fucking hoo. Give your daughter a lawn mower and she can get her exercise and take care of the lawn at the same time.

If this is suffering, than America needs to appear on Doctor Phil for some help.

alex

once again you fail to see the obvious.

how about the owners of the lawn care company that is loosing customers left and right and has now had to lay off workers stop paying taxes and maybe go out of business. Same goes for the gymnastics school.

People cant pay taxes, services go down property values plummet even worse more banks going into failure

get the point now?

[RawAlex]

Originally Posted by Forest

alex

once again you fail to see the obvious.

how about the owners of the lawn care company that is loosing customers left and right and has now had to lay off workers stop paying taxes and maybe go out of business. Same goes for the gymnastics school.

People cant pay taxes, services go down property values plummet even worse more banks going into failure

get the point now?

The point is just out of your grasp, I think.

The problem comes back to the unnecessary stuff of life. The US went from an economy of production to an economy of service. Services are often "extras", the whip cream not the pie, as it were. When you have an economy of nothing but extras, it takes very little to make the dominoes fall.

Quite simply, the US (and much of the western world) became complacent, lazy, and willing to pay people to clean up behind them, and in turn, it has created an economy dependant on nobody doing anything for themselves.

It sucks when people think that "financial woes" means losing their lawn service. It tells you everything you need to know about it all ended up happening.

Ohyeah, Sarettah: "financial woes" means suffering, no? The woman is speaking about cutting lawn service like she is making a huge cutback in her life. As far as the interview goes, he sure sounds like she is suffering. Real "financial woes" happen when you lose your house, your car, your job, and your family. Until then, it's just one less scoop of ice cream for dinner. There are plenty of people out there actually suffering, for this women to even suggest that cutting back her lawn service even qualifies as a news story is beyond understanding.

[TheEnforcer]

The ignorance in this thread astounds me....

"Real financial woes happen when you lose your house, your car, your job, and your family" is happening all across the country. Retirees or near retirees who have busted their asses for years have seen anywhere from 30-60% or their retirement income go up in smoke depending on their invetments. Jobs are being lost, homes being forecloed on all across the country. Wages on the DECLINE, etc. etc.

[gonzo]

As a side issue I see on CNN that people are starting to fight back a little.

Sherrif that refuses to evict renters of homes where the owner hasnt paid their mortgage.

[RawAlex]

Originally Posted by TheEnforcer

The ignorance in this thread astounds me....

"Real financial woes happen when you lose your house, your car, your job, and your family" is happening all across the country. Retirees or near retirees who have busted their asses for years have seen anywhere from 30-60% or their retirement income go up in smoke depending on their invetments. Jobs are being lost, homes being forecloed on all across the country. Wages on the DECLINE, etc. etc.

No ignorance. I wouldn't complain about people who are losing their houses and whatnot complaining. What galls me is someone who's biggest problem is cutting back thier lawn service and feeling they merit some sort of special report because they are feeling the financial pressure.

People are losing everything, losing all they have worked hard for, and this woman feels special because she gave up the (probably illegal mexicans) that were mowing her lawn?

I guess this thread was just a little too subtle for many of you.

[TheEnforcer]

No, you didn't go for subtle. You presented the artricle in a way that tried to portray it as that is the extent of the suffering people are experiencing... Instead of critisizing the article for using a poor example you used it as a blanket shot about suffering and how the USA is whining. Big difference.

[RawAlex]

The blanket statement is exactly that: I am sure that there are plenty of people who think they are suffering because they can't have a double expresso or the extra scoop of ice cream, while millions are ACTUALLY suffering and these people don't have a clue. I personally think this woman is a perfect example of a false panic that has hit many people who would normally not be directly (or so quickly) touched by what is going on right now. Not only is this woman not news, but she is showing how the "instant media" world that we now live in has made someone in a fairly acceptable position somehow feel like a (potential or actual) victim. Her story entirely belittles the reality of what is going on.

People are losing their homes, their lifestyles, and in some cases taking their own lives because of this. It is amazing to me that CNN would run it. I guess they needed a panic story and this was all the could find, because everyone else they wanted to interview had already been foreclosed on and moved.

[DannyCox]

Reminds me of the early 1980's and the insanely high interest rates we had up here in Canada. At that time, I was living in Alberta, and Carol and I bought our first home in 1982. We purchased it through Alberta Home Mortgage Corp. (Government Institution)which was subsidizing the 21+% interest rates. That went fine for about a year, then the bottom fell out of the housing market, prices dropped, and AHMC stopped the subsidy. Our mortgages tripled, and we, along with over 20% of the home-owners in Alberta, lost our home.

The good thing was Alberta had the Homesteader Law which allowed owners to walk away from their homes without further liability. Due to the huge amount of foreclosures, it didn't even affect your credit rating! We ended up renting for a year, and then buying a bigger, much nicer home that had been foreclosed for half the price of our first one!

That did teach me a big lesson, and to not ever live beyond my means. Sub-Prime mortgages were obviously going to fail, and it was just greed that drove people into them. I know, as 26 years ago, I was one of those who thought I could get a lot for a little.

[sarettah]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

No ignorance. I wouldn't complain about people who are losing their houses and whatnot complaining. What galls me is someone who's biggest problem is cutting back thier lawn service and feeling they merit some sort of special report because they are feeling the financial pressure.

No. she answered a question. The exact question she answered was:

http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stor...?topicId=88415

With a struggling economy and rising gas and food prices, many Americans are cutting back expenses to save money.

We want to know how the current Wall Street crisis is affecting you. What are you giving up? What lifestyle changes are you making? Are you worried about your retirement, your college funds, your mortgage?

Send us photos and video, and share stories of how the economic crisis is impacting you.

The "woes" was put in there by whomever compiled the story, and then you turned it into

Oh boo fucking hoo. Give your daughter a lawn mower and she can get her exercise and take care of the lawn at the same time.

If this is suffering, than America needs to appear on Doctor Phil for some help.

and then several sheep (some of whom I would have thought were better than that) followed you right down your twisted, bash Americans at every opportunity, path.

And thus, you are still a twit.

[sarettah]

Sheep number 1

Originally Posted by ali25extreme

I can not believe that she claims that to be suffering. OMFG ...i have to make my own coffee now ...such a shame..o the pain...lol

[sarettah]

Sheep number 2

Originally Posted by DannyCox

We had to cut our housekeeper back to 3 days a week!

[sarettah]

Sheep Number 3 (and a gay one at that)

Originally Posted by Dravyk

I can no longer afford to make my homemade whipped cream out of Baily's now. *sniff*

[Hell Puppy]

Americans are a long way yet from 'suffering'. When lots of people are homeless and you start seeing huge bread lines because people dont have anything to eat, then we're talking "suffering".

We just sometimes have screwed up priorities. Alot of the people clamoring for socialized healthcare because they cant afford health insurance CAN afford multiple cartons of cigarettes per week, beer, cable TV and a cell phone. Chris Rock had a good observation, in lots of places in the world they do not have fresh water. We have it on tap nationwide. Perfectly good water. But we drink our water from bottles we pay for, the tap water is only used for shitting and pissing in and washing our ass with.

It's all a matter of perspective.

However, I really wouldn't want to own a small business right now that is providing what most people would consider a "luxury" or at least expendable product. Those are the first things to go when people lose their jobs or tighten their budget for other reasons. And the reason you then get a recession is the spiral that creates. As people reduce their spending, more and more jobs are lossed from things people are no longer willing to pay for.

[sarettah]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

However, I really wouldn't want to own a small business right now that is providing what most people would consider a "luxury" or at least expendable product. Those are the first things to go when people lose their jobs or tighten their budget for other reasons. And the reason you then get a recession is the spiral that creates. As people reduce their spending, more and more jobs are lossed from things people are no longer willing to pay for.

Tell me about it. The Monday a couple of weeks ago when they started yelling PANICCCCCCC, our jewelry sales tanked. Slowly recovering but still taking a killing. Assholes spreading doom and gloom predictions do not help the situation.

I'm not asking that they lie to us, but put more reality and less sensationalism into it and it might be able to be worked through.

Instead they come out on Monday and tell us that we are in breadlines Tuesday unless.........

Fucking assholes, you gotta wonder what the agenda actually is.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by sarettah

Tell me about it. The Monday a couple of weeks ago when they started yelling PANICCCCCCC, our jewelry sales tanked. Slowly recovering but still taking a killing. Assholes spreading doom and gloom predictions do not help the situation.

I'm not asking that they lie to us, but put more reality and less sensationalism into it and it might be able to be worked through.

Instead they come out on Monday and tell us that we are in breadlines Tuesday unless.........

Fucking assholes, you gotta wonder what the agenda actually is.

People wont calm down til after the election I fear.

[tony404]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

Americans are a long way yet from 'suffering'. When lots of people are homeless and you start seeing huge bread lines because people dont have anything to eat, then we're talking "suffering".

We just sometimes have screwed up priorities. Alot of the people clamoring for socialized healthcare because they cant afford health insurance CAN afford multiple cartons of cigarettes per week, beer, cable TV and a cell phone. Chris Rock had a good observation, in lots of places in the world they do not have fresh water. We have it on tap nationwide. Perfectly good water. But we drink our water from bottles we pay for, the tap water is only used for shitting and pissing in and washing our ass with.

It's all a matter of perspective.

However, I really wouldn't want to own a small business right now that is providing what most people would consider a "luxury" or at least expendable product. Those are the first things to go when people lose their jobs or tighten their budget for other reasons. And the reason you then get a recession is the spiral that creates. As people reduce their spending, more and more jobs are lossed from things people are no longer willing to pay for.

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/g...ent?oid=578027
Aid agencies already are feeling the pinch. Susie Ivy at the Center for Family Services (the Cobb nonprofit helping Brooke and Solomon) says the center expects to serve 1,450 families this fall, compared to last year's 1,100. The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which provides dozens of metro groups with food for needy families, issued an alarm last month that its cupboards were nearly running bare.

"We have never seen what we're seeing now," says Bill Bolling, the food bank's executive director. "I'm having people call me who are saying, 'I have donated to the food bank for a number of years, and I'm embarrassed to say that I need help now.'"

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by tony404

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/g...ent?oid=578027
Aid agencies already are feeling the pinch. Susie Ivy at the Center for Family Services (the Cobb nonprofit helping Brooke and Solomon) says the center expects to serve 1,450 families this fall, compared to last year's 1,100. The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which provides dozens of metro groups with food for needy families, issued an alarm last month that its cupboards were nearly running bare.

"We have never seen what we're seeing now," says Bill Bolling, the food bank's executive director. "I'm having people call me who are saying, 'I have donated to the food bank for a number of years, and I'm embarrassed to say that I need help now.'"

Wonder how many of them have cable tv....

[tony404]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

Wonder how many of them have cable tv....

why do you resent them? they came up on hard times and they are mocked. i dont get it.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by tony404

why do you resent them? they came up on hard times and they are mocked. i dont get it.

I dont.

Dont get me wrong here. I feel for anyone without a job in this economy.

And until right now, I've never talked about my own views toward charity. To me if you brag about what you give, you cheapen it. I dont give anything for the glory of doing so. But I do participate in a lot of charities, I always have. When I didn't have money, I gave time. Now I have little time, so I give money or goods. And I'm very selective about where it goes. Although I give some to the big charities, my favorite is small local stuff where you can actually have a direct influence on people's lives.

Anyone who really knows me, knows this. My favorite every year is Christmas. I typically "adopt" 3-5 kids who wouldn't otherwise have anything from Santa. I take great pleasure in looking at their lists and buying carts full of goodies to make sure they have a memorable Christmas morning.

I also do the food drives. Not only do I buy a trunk full myself, you'll find my fat ass at Perimeter Mall one afternoon during the holidays helping sort and load all of it onto the truck. It's exercise that makes you feel good in more ways than one.

So dont for an instant think I'm a total cold blooded bastard....

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by tony404

why do you resent them? they came up on hard times and they are mocked. i dont get it.

But now for the other side...

Why am I critical of some charity cases?

The ones I have no sympathy for are the ones looking for a hand out instead of a hand up. Again, it's that pesky southern upbringing and sense of responsibility.

If you dont have a job, you should be looking for a job if you need the money. I've always said I would go work at any menial job before I'd go hungry or even ask my parents for a handout. And I mean it.

Some people are victims of their own bad decision making.

Things like cable tv, cellphones, cigarettes, booze, etc, these are not necessities of life, and all are fairly expensive. You can feed a small family off of what a lot of people spend on this. I have very little sympathy for someone asking for a food handout while watching HBO on a plasma smoking a ciggie and having a beer.

Likewise, you have two kids you cant feed or clothe. Not a lot of sympathy when you continue to get knocked up and now have 6 of them.

For these people, being hungry is a byproduct of bad decision making.

Now, jury is still out for me on the mortgage portion of this equation. I have not yet made up my mind where the blame belongs for people who bought more house than they can afford. There's the question of how big of a role predatory lending and government encouragement played. Like it or not, many people are too stupid to understand even simple amortization.

[MRock]

... was the part "She and her 6-year-old daughter moved into a smaller home" missed by the OP? Taking from the context of the full article this sounds like a single mother that has made a drastic move in housing AND cut lawn service and gym for her daughter.

I read this post a while back and it rubbed me the wrong way. After seeing more comments, I thought I might point out the above observation because it is a big one no one else mentioned ...

[Dravyk]

Originally Posted by sarettah

Sheep Number 3 (and a gay one at that)

Baahhhhhyousuckdick. Baaahhhhh!

[RawAlex]

Originally Posted by MRock

... was the part "She and her 6-year-old daughter moved into a smaller home" missed by the OP? Taking from the context of the full article this sounds like a single mother that has made a drastic move in housing AND cut lawn service and gym for her daughter.

I read this post a while back and it rubbed me the wrong way. After seeing more comments, I thought I might point out the above observation because it is a big one no one else mentioned ...

Nope, didn't miss it. But that would be normal, par for the course things that people would normally do when they realize they are living beyond their means. It isn't even like they went from living in a big house to a carboard box, they still have (and are still clearly affording) decent shelter for both of them, witness that they apparently would still have used a lawn service at the new place, if they weren't cutting back because of how bad things are.

A house to street or house to crack whore monthly rate hotel might be news. A house to house move is just one of those things, certainly she isn't suffering, otherwise I can list you tens of millions of people who would love to suffer her way.

[Toby]

Please point out exactly where in that article it says that anyone is suffering.

[RawAlex]

Toby, please. The lack of the specific word doesn't change the meaning:

"cutting back drastically "
"financial woes "
"Financial worries also forced "
"Every day I ask myself, why does someone who has a salary over $80,000 struggle so much?"

Etc.

keep going.