Worldwide Protests

I think you all have heard the saying, "I'm fed up and can't take it anymore"! I believe the whole world has exploded in protest over what the rich and powerful have done to our world. There's no middle class anymore. Corporate greed has taken the job market to the lowest bidder, China. It's so very hard these days to buy anything in the United States that isn't "Made In China". As a result we have no jobs. The banks have made a killing and are raping what little capital is left.

We now have hundreds of major cities across our huge country with protests that are turning more violent each day. Young people feel they have been robbed of their chance to prosper after enduring years of higher education. There are no jobs for them when they graduate.

I just retired a few months ago and am living in abject poverty. I must choose my medications over living well and soon must give up heating in the Winter & cooling in the Summer. Food prices have skyrocketed to the point where there isn't any meat in my diet. I refuse to pay $7.50 a pound for simple bacon. Just two years ago that would have gotten you the very best cuts of beef.

I have no medical insurance. I am falling behind on my credit card payments which are all from Prescription drug refills. I can't afford doctor's visit, eye exams and dental care.

Something must change. Our elected politicians are protecting the ultra wealthy from paying their fair share of taxes. Major corporations hire slick tax lawyers to guarantee they don't pay their fair share. That leaves the little guy to bear the burden.

This phenomena is not unique to the United States. The news if full of reports of foreign economies failing in Europe. There are riots in Greece and now Italy. Where will it end?

Re: Worldwide Protests

I agree Bob. In my city I see a lot of North American cars with bumper stickers that read "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign" yet if I were to stop the driver and ask them to turn out the labels on their clothing they'd all read "Made in China". Same with the big TV they have at home, their kids' toys, and the bowl their dog eats from. I made the effort to find Canadian-made winter boots one year, ages ago, and had no luck.

And the banks! It now costs me $1 to print out the last 20 transactions on my account if I want to check them. I almost switched banks when that was implemented. Seriously? They need to take a dollar from every customer who wants to retrieve their own information? I already pay $33.95 monthly for service charges.

Hydro (my monthly electrical bill) has almost doubled since 2007. Same with gas for the truck. We're all falling farther and farther behind and there are more pawn shops and payday loan businesses opening up.

I called one of my credit card companies to ask for a lower interest rate (it's 21%) and they said they "no longer have programs" to allow that.

I understand the protest, but what will it change? How does one rouse social conscience in those who can make a difference when they are comfortable with their wealth and power?

Re: Worldwide Protests

I tend to agree with you Bob but if you look at it another way you will see that a lot of those protesting and spending their night on the steps of St Pauls Cathederal had mobile phone Blackberry.s laptops etc. They are not the ones that the cuts are effecting, they do not know what poverty is.If they were living in poverty they would not be able to afford these gadgets.

Also, if the money making people(ultrs rich) made more money then more money would trickle down to us downtrodden people.
If you have more money at home then you tend to pass some of it on to charities or buy thinks you dont really need but want to own because it looks cool to own them.

How much money is enough?

Personally, if I have money left over at the end of the month I am happy. Money can not buy you happiness and contentment, from experience it tends to bring misery.

Re: Worldwide Protests

Bob I am really sad to read of your predicament thank goodness we do still have health care here to a point although free dentists are a thing of the past.

I feel the protests will do little. Money has been frittered away and the stable door firmly shut behind the horse.

I had a hint of the financial problems to come some years ago. In the 1990s when my son left school to go to university he was inundated with companies offering him credit cards. As he didn't have any income other than a student loan (and what I could afford to give him) offering him credit was a pointless exercise.
I was told the offers were made because the banks anticipated he would have a good income in years to come and wished to secure him as a customer .
If you multiply these offers of credit to the young across the nation you can see the beginning of a credit problem. This was compounded some years later by the credit card companies offering a facility to switch the debt from one card to another and offering a 'payment free' period. The personal debts of many in this country were mounting.

Then came the offers of mortgages many times the amount of a person's income, complete foolishness on the part of the companies making the loans. Anyone with an iota of common sense could see where all this would lead. The banks and financial institutions must have seen this too but those in positions of authority in the institutions were making plenty of money out of it so said nothing

Those of us who have been prudent and gone without that which we could not afford are now paying the price for the profligate as services are cut and interest on savings becomes almost none existent.
Our children will be paying for the greed of others for generations to come

Re: Worldwide Protests

I agree with some of what you said AB but must point out that I had most of the electronics and camera gadgets way before I was laid off 15 months ago now. I've lost my motorcycle and sold both my laptops to pay for the iPad I now use. It does upset me to see Americans driving luxury cars and now luxury SUVs while they complain about gas prices. I own a 40MPG Smart car and a Piaggio BV250 that gets 72 MPG. I use a pay-as-you-go cell phone off the rack at the grocery store for $19.95 so I have no monthly phone bill. I did not wait in line all night for the latest Apple iPhone. Those people deserve to be on the unemployment line. I've cut everything to the bone but medical costs for non-generic medications don't change. Just two of my 7 prescription drugs cost me $600 every 3 months. I've watched my final investment drop 12% of their value in just a month. That's my emergency fund and there's nothing to replace it if our stock market continues to crash.

Re: Worldwide Protests

Bob, have you checked your medication costs at Canadian Pharmacy? I get my Spiriva there, much much cheaper than my Stateside pharmacy.

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It's good to see the young people making a stand, we did it when we were young, if you do nothing the fat cats will squeeze the life out of the planet, and the young have more to lose, it's their future they are protesting about. Good luck to them.

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I too have cut everything down to the bone. I no longer have a mobile phone, and no TV package. I've cut out unncessary insurances, no matter how cheap they were.

The cost of petrol (gas) for the car over here is unbelievable, and much more expensive than in the USA and Canada, but I'm lucky in that I don't travel far. I only use about £10 a week on fuel ($20) but that's for only about 5 litres of fuel, if that, at almost £2 a litre, not a gallon.

It is so hard for people to maintain a certain degree of being independent, when the powers that be make it so difficult.

I never thought I'd say this, but I am to some degree lucky in that I finally managed to pay of my car purchase, and my mortgage but I should have been able to retire two years ago when I turned 60, but I can't do that living alone, so I have to continue to work whether I like it or not so that I can keep my car on the road, and maintain a reasonable life-style. I love my job, but oh, if only I had the the choice to retire completely, but would I?

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Mollie darlin' - at least you have the choice to retire or not - my health won't allow me to work anymore and I live entirely on Pension Credit and my Disability Benefit.

Those dissatisfied with the 'state of affairs' across the globe because of the internationalisation of capital and profits need to do more than just 'protest' but do as the Arab countries have done - REVOLT and overturn their respective governments. Regrettably, my days of banner-carrying are now long past (albeit my heart and mind is still rigidly 'Socialist' in conviction and principle).

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When we bought our house in the 80, interest rates were 14 and a half %. We struggled. But were lucky to both be working. We had 2 children, worked child care between us. No holidays, if we did not have money. If we needed new, we saved for it before we bought it.

To many people for years have been spending money, they do not have, for holidays, gadgets. Also getting into debt for Christmas, to buy toys and other things which are not used for long. This is also part the reason, we are in this mess. Though the banks are the most to blame.

Now we have put money aside for when we retire. For the interest to drop to next to nothing. We might be better off putting it under the bed.

So we have paid the highest rates, now we get 1 to3% on savings. Don't know about all you, but I feel like we have been ripped off all the way.

My husband just missed out being made redundant, then got told he will be losing £2000 a year on his wages. This on top of not having a rise for the last 3 years.

But we are a lot better off, than a lot in this country. For this I am grateful.