America Rising

Talking about 'taking america back' is cheap, actually fixing something isn't likely to happen.
Just look at the whole tea party movement. There's nothing constructive, except declarations and conflicting interests. It's relatively easy to take the power, what is hard is to be able to do good afterwards.
Look at all the populism out there. Solving the problems of america is hard and from what I've seen americans balk every time when it comes to making the actual hard choices.
No different from most other nations BTW, that's why I am fairly pessimistic. When I see ordinary americans actually reject the cheap political populism and propaganda and be willing to accept that they personally need to sacrifice then I will start believing something can change.

When I hear ads on the radio that the gov't allows people to walk away from either significant parts of or their full credit card and health care debts, I"m amazed. Health care debts are part of a problematic system, but the fact that someone is allowed to walk away from one's own stupidity (yes, I consider unpayable credit card debts stupid, no matter the underlying reason) astounding. This gives people the easy way out and "someone will cover my hiney".

Avoiding responsibility is what I think fits under "unamerican".

That includes the widespread phenomenon that you have to spend what you earn.

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Originally Posted by Hillie

That includes the widespread phenomenon that you have to spend what you earn.

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The problem is that this is a big cultural issue in US. Way too many people have this as a lifestyle, and you cannot just change it overnight. I mean you can do it but then the US economy will be in a depression with huge unemployment and really unhappy population.

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Originally Posted by gugi

The problem is that this is a big cultural issue in US. Way too many people have this as a lifestyle, and you cannot just change it overnight. I mean you can do it but then the US economy will be in a depression with huge unemployment and really unhappy population.

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Well, I'm spending for just over half of what I'm making, so I guess I'm safe. ;)

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Originally Posted by Hillie

Avoiding responsibility is what I think fits under "unamerican".

That includes the widespread phenomenon that you have to spend what you earn.

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+1 insightful

this is entire root of the problem. people wake up wondering what the world is gonna do for them instead of just being grateful they woke up and leave it at that.

Is that by any chance related to the phenomenon of expecting respect, in the gangsta-sense of the word, when/wherever one goes, without the need to give it? ;)


Over the years I've noticed that the more I make, the more I think before I spend. When I was 16 and worked weeks to make that $400 for my first bass guitar, I jumped on my bike and raced to the shop to buy it when the final buck came in. In uni it was skilled planning for food expenses before the next pay day so I could buy some cds and upgrade my bass.

Now I have a big CD collection and only buy when I really want it and if I can get it affordable (since all CD shops seem to disappear, I just score from the cheapest internet source) and my bass is still the upgrade I did in university. :) But I make loads of money, compared to the earlier days. I'm even weary of getting a car loan, as I'd rather show up with a wad of cash that was in my account to pay the thing straight away.

Maybe smart to be more sensible about spending, as my first child was born 6 days ago. ;)

I think the US economy may be based on spending every dollar you earn, and then whatever your credit limit is.

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Originally Posted by gugi

The problem is that this is a big cultural issue in US. Way too many people have this as a lifestyle, and you cannot just change it overnight. I mean you can do it but then the US economy will be in a depression with huge unemployment and really unhappy population.

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Originally Posted by Hillie

When I hear ads on the radio that the gov't allows people to walk away from either significant parts of or their full credit card and health care debts, I"m amazed. Health care debts are part of a problematic system, but the fact that someone is allowed to walk away from one's own stupidity (yes, I consider unpayable credit card debts stupid, no matter the underlying reason) astounding. This gives people the easy way out and "someone will cover my hiney".
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Unpayable credit card debts are stupid, I fully agree.
However, as has already been established, health care insurance wouldn't even need governmental involvement if the current system worked.

It doesn't. many people here can testify that getting coverage is hit and miss, and can depend on many external factors as well, as your employment. Many people are being screwed over by the current system.

So if even mundane things can bankrupt a family, I find it hard to argue that this is about people not wanting to take responsibility. This is about the current system being totally broken except for the rich and people with good jobs, and the private sector refusing to do anything about it.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Unpayable credit card debts are stupid, I fully agree.
However, as has already been established, health care insurance wouldn't even need governmental involvement if the current system worked.

It doesn't. many people here can testify that getting coverage is hit and miss, and can depend on many external factors as well, as your employment. Many people are being screwed over by the current system.

So if even mundane things can bankrupt a family, I find it hard to argue that this is about people not wanting to take responsibility. This is about the current system being totally broken except for the rich and people with good jobs, and the private sector refusing to do anything about it.

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True, the system is not good, which is what I underlined in my statement. This is why I think that it's OK that people can sanitize their health care debts in some way. Perhaps some people took crazy credit card debts to pay for health care. Understandable, and I can imagine that will be covered in ways too. The majority of credit card debts in my opinion are just frivolous overspending of one way or another. This where one should sit on the blisters when one burns one's behind, to paraphrase a dutch saying. ;)

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Originally Posted by billyjeff2

That's the funniest thing I've seen in ages!
The Great Recession started under Bush and the Republicans.
They left a financial mess of monumental proportions.
And thanks to those "socialist" Dem policies, workers at GM and Chrysler still have a company to work for.
Bush and the Republicans launched this nation into a war that turned out to have been based on wrong information, the cost of which is still mounting.
Yeah--that video's a real laugh and a half....

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Wrong, it may have been Nixon that opened the door to China, but it was definitely Clinton that gave them our factories, machines and jobs that create wealth, the economy was already going south when Bill left office, 911 popped the economic bubble and until we bring back the manufacturing that creates the wealth, we are damned. It wont matter which puppets rule, left or right. As for the war, Obama is looking more like tricky Dick everyday.