January 17, 2008

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day


Will modesty, saving money, living below your means and valuing experiences and people over possessions now be "in"?

What else will be "in" and "out" thanks to the housing crash?



69 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bicycles. Electric cars. Smaller packaging for retail products. Going for a walk instead of going to a movie. Earning a buck vs winning one.

What I would like to know is, Will hobos be making a comeback???

Anonymous said...

Ex-Urbs and Suburbia will be out. I'm not sayin' everyone will flock to inner city loft living, but the allure of more rooms in the mcmansion will die against the price of gas and the loss of outlier jobs at Applebees and Make Your Own Candle stores. We'll have a lot of ghost towns.

Anonymous said...

Modesty? The "progressive" people are almost as equally stupid as the "bling bling" crowd. They think if they drive a hybrid and live in the city they are saving the world. BTW, manufacting of a hybrid vehicle consumes as much energy as a conventional used car will use with 4-5 years of additional use.

Modesty, conservation, and value given to ideas is the cool new fad that is just as stupid as the now lame get rich quick in real estate thing.

BTW, we don't value people in America. Children throw their own parents into dumpsters (retirements homes) so they can spend their final years soiled in their own filth as the end approaches.

Frank R said...

I don't think they'll be a shift to the other extreme where people are living like paupers and eating ramen when they could afford a steak, but on the other hand there will definitely be an end to the out-of-control consumerism and debt we've seen this decade.

Well, I was predicting that until the 401k ATM card replaced the housing ATM. Gonna have to wait for those 401k's to get wiped out before the unchecked consumerism comes to an end.

Anonymous said...

Have these things EVER been in, keith?

No matter what the situation, people will still try to keep up with the Joneses, even if that means having bigger solar panels on the house than the next guy.

Anonymous said...

It will become trendy as long as people who were saving and holding back arent screwed further by any attempted mortgage bail out program. If that happens then people wont know which way to jump.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? That's what I think the USA will look like in a couple of years.

Go to 3:55 minutes in to see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqa4LpdtOD8

Peahippo said...

We have a permanent Corporate Government. Therefore, consumerism will always be promoted over prudence. Massive consumption will occur no matter what, since people will bankrupt and then load up on sources of credit.

Wait until the government starts ENFORCING consumerism. You really haven't seen anything yet. For example, take credit checks ... having them for jobs and housing is only the beginning. Credit checks (which is a way of telling citizens to become indebted or suffer) will become part of government interaction. People with "bad credit" (note this means NO CREDIT) will not be allowed into government buildings, or to fly on airplanes, or to use trains. It's all for your protection, of course, since those damned terrorists are the only ones with no credit history!

Etc. The government has to keep up the Myth of Growth. Once a level of growth is reached, no matter how unsustainable it is, too many rich f*ckers are dependent upon the cash flow. Since the rich own the US government completely now, that means they are using (and will be increasing the use of) government power to make such levels of growth permanent.

I'm only 40, but I can see the end of the US government in my lifetime from all this crap. You can't keep pushing off liquidation of bad debts eternally ... eventually, the holders of the debt must acknowledge their bankruptcy. Those who are wealthy from debt-holding must get up and leave their offices and mansions, since their bankruptcies demand that they lose these things. Eventually, people have to walk away, since even the maintenance costs on their properties will be beyond their means.

And then the real violence will begin. Burglaries and muggings and home invasions will happen in broad daylight. In the Rusty Cities, this will become a daily occurrence ... while city and state governments will do all they can to disarm the responsible citizens to leave them even more open to victimization from the criminal classes.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to break the news but nothing changes for better in America anymore. Just look around you.

Anonymous said...

In: "Conservation". I put this in quotes because too many of the things in our civilization are not sustainable over the long haul.

Out: Conspicuous consumption. Cheap oil. Cheap food.

Anonymous said...

They will be "in" but only because of necessity and not desire. People will decide they're going to have tuna sandwiches for lunch instead of eating out because "they decided to start eating healthy". People will keep clothes for much longer because they read it was a new trend.

Anonymous said...

They think if they drive a hybrid and live in the city they are saving the world. BTW, manufacting of a hybrid vehicle consumes as much energy as a conventional used car will use with 4-5 years of additional use.

Have you ever stopped to think that perhaps people who buy hybrid cars are trying to support changes in technology, even if the product's not perfect the way you want yet? Some people prefer to sit on their fat asses and complain about people supporting any new initiative, because it might be a "liberal thing" or because it should be perfect from the get-go. This attitude reminds me of all those idiots who always complain about anything that Apple brings to the market every year, even though it sets the pace for new trends or invokes the spirit of innovation that America used to have before the conservatives took the country hostage. So what if the concept of hybrids or solar are not perfect yet, what's important is setting the pace, challenging the minds or competitors to do it better.

Anonymous said...

Nothing will change - it is Human nature to want more than your neighbor. We are programmed to believe that *stuff* makes us happy.

This is why Communism doesn't work.

It sounds real good in Theory & on paper, but bottom line, we want more than the guy next to us!

Anonymous said...

In: Furthering the science of taking advantage of minorities, extreme debt collection tactics, dreaming of that '05 home sale price.

Out: Appreciating dollar, low interest rates, lifetime, low skill manufacturing jobs that pay more than 15/hr for high school graduates, suburbs.

If any one out there looks at America's future as grim, please look at the wasteful excess that your average 12 dollar an hour schlepp takes part in. America could use a good wake up call, things like planning communities around cycling and public transport will rise. If the average American lifestyle dereased 25% in consumption, they'd still be better off than 95% of anyone else living.

If you've got your health, know where your next meal is coming from, and have a warm bed tonight, thank the god of your choice and give those around you a hug.

Anonymous said...

We are governed so poorly that the entire premise of the government must be called into question.

Both "parties" are talking stimulus to get out of an economic maelstrom caused by excess stimulus.

We continue to attrit money overseas (I would mention lives also, but nobody gives a damn about life) on dead ends like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; while Arabs are buying up our banks.

This is called "victory".

We are doomed.

Anonymous said...

Hobos have made a comeback.

http://www.theseuncertaintimes.blogspot.com/

Ed said...

I doubt anything will chance. People will continue to be slaves to materialistic goods and the Hollywood tastes. The very same people who drive a Prius spend $4K on a TV. "Green" is the new black. It is a fashion statement. If Leonardo DeCaprio were driving a dump truck, people would be lining outside dump truck dealerships to get one. Instead he drives a Prius, so the sheep are at the Toyota dealership instead.

I drive a 20 year old car and don't give a fuck who I impress. I used to be a slave myself. I used to own a $45K car. I could afford it OK, but one day it dawned on me what a waste of money it was. Today I pay less on insurance and registration for the **YEAR** than I used to pay for just the car payment per month.

BTW news out today that rents across the land are falling like crazy. Rents in Atlanta and Houston down 13%. Down 7% in Phoenix. With prices like that on rents, why in the world would anyone want to buy right now?

debtisslavery.blogspot.com

Bill said...

Marijuana, cocaine, heroin, (in)

Harley, cable, cell phone, (out)

Oh hey for the long standing members here at HP, you might recall me mentioning my brother inlaw a few month back, about me telling him to refi is 05 over bought ballon, and his reply was " Na ill wait housing rates will go down and values will go up"

Well it went up alright, his ARM just adjusted to the tune of $800 large for a grand monthly mortgage nut of...$3200 a month...My jaw almost dislocated from my skull...but i maintained my composure, and just said..." sorry to here that"...but under the same breath i was yelling and swearing at him for not taking a little advice...........TOLD YOU SO MOTHER FU@KER!!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't care if being frugal is "in". I am doing what I feel is best for me. I am too old to care about being "cool".

Anonymous said...

Americanos are f**cked whichever way you look at it. If they don't spend, the economy is tossed. If they do, they will be slaved to the Chinese and Middle Easterner soon. What interesting is the government keeps telling them to continue spending even though everyone know the current economic problem is caused by overspending.

Anonymous said...

"BTW, we don't value people in America. Children throw their own parents into dumpsters (retirements homes) so they can spend their final years soiled in their own filth as the end approaches."

I agree but who should we value more the caretaker or the old person? Have you ever taken care of an ageing person? Most caregivers burn out.

There's a reason why people put their parents in old folks homes. It's because society is not structured to accept ageing, dying and there is no support system for the caregiver.

Anonymous said...

Really though, besides the kink in easy credit...I try to limit what I consume, always, because really, why do people need all this bling bling? For the most part, I can't seem lower my housing expenses, grocery shopping, necessary utilities, and other "needs"...but, I can choose not to go to Starbucks, eat out every day, avoid all convienence stores, have someone wash my car, mow my lawn, etc...basically I refuse spend my money on this crap...try going to the park, library, have BYOB's, have garage parties, take your kids to the park, play outside with your kids, forget Chucky Cheese...have a an skool kids b-day party, yeah, at your crib!....oh wait, I know, how about ...save money! This is more empowering than spending...watch the 4 part series of "Century of the Self" on you tube...it's kinda boring at parts but the message is clear.

consultant said...

In: remodeling your home will mean energy upgrades like more insulation, efficient windows & appliances, low-flow toilets, ambient heating and cooling, landscaping your lawn with local, drought tolerant plants & bushes. Smaller homes with better floor plans that don't waste space.

Out: remodeling your home with granite counters, travertine floors, stainless steel appliances, huge open floor plans with lots of "ooh-ahhh" wasted space-McMansions.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"BTW, we don't value people in America. Children throw their own parents into dumpsters (retirements homes) so they can spend their final years soiled in their own filth as the end approaches."

Not all Americans are cold ‘white Christian male Bucananites’

There are huge subcultures all across this country that have a sense of family and culture.
Yes: including Latinos and Mexicans.

Anonymous said...

paris hilton will be out.

Miss Goldbug said...

It's going to be hard on most people, but as far as I'm concerned...things are going to change for the better.

Advertising & propaganda has turned this country into a bunch of shopping bling-bling zombies.

People will stop dining out as much and learn to cook PF Chang's and other restaurant receipes at home.

Shopping will be out, replaced by hobbies and getting back in touch with nature.

Cruises and trips to Havwaii and the bahamas will be replaced with camping or just skipping vacation all together. The main factor: can we afford go a on vacation every year?

Bartering will become the way to obtain a new items.

Saving money will become popular again with banks getting creative with various savings accounts and Christmas's Savings Clubs (remember those?)

Layaway will be back in style.

People will have to learn patience and discipline. Compulsive, overbuying of valueless material items will be out- anything vintage will be appreciated and in demand.

People will learn to do more with less, and learn the art of being frugal and practical.

It's about time.

Anonymous said...

America is a nation of joiners.

One Depression-Chic gets well underway, you wont be able to give away your Hummer H2 or Rolex.

How tacky.

Personally, I will breathe a big sigh of relief if/when sentiment ever returns to creating rather than consuming.

Brian

Anonymous said...

I can't seem lower my housing expenses, grocery shopping, necessary utilities, and other "needs"...but, I can choose not to go to Starbucks, eat out every day, avoid all convienence stores, have someone wash my car, mow my lawn, etc.

----

So you are a cheap SOB in other words. I'm all for not recklessly spending money. But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.

My time is more valuable to me than doing manual labor to save $15 to $20 an hour.

Anonymous said...

Small but efficient houses will be in...death to the f'ing McMansion...I hate them.

Anonymous said...

I've been frugal as long as I can remember. Maybe because of a lack of faith in the future or partly as a reaction to the spendthrifts around me.

I'm 54, I was semi-forced to leave my IBM code monkey job 8 years ago, with my job going to India.

I live in a $600/mo apt. in a less-than-affluent town in the middle of Florida and drive a 2000 Mits. Mirage. I've eaten out twice in the last 3 weeks.

I've saved and invested and lived below my means and now spend my days trying to wisely invest the 1025K I have, worried it won't hold its value.

This debt soaked world makes me crazy.

Miss Goldbug said...

Ed said:"BTW news out today that rents across the land are falling like crazy. why in the world would anyone want to buy right now?


I agree. Yesterday, I check out our local on-line real estate rentals.

There are more empty places for rent than a month ago. Prices here in Alameda are still expensive for the most part, however, I have seen prices dropping and pets are now being allowed by some landlords.

By Spring I suspect rental prices will fall off a cliff.

Anonymous said...

We will have to accommodate ourselves to fundamentally changed conditions. The era of cheap resources are over. The attempt to extend this subsidy through cheap credit and money has induced inflation. The reality of Haltusian Economics will replace the fiction of Keynesian economics, as real shortages of food supply, arable land, potable water, and over population and in migration of illegal pasitites from the third world destroy the one time US standard of living.

Anonymous said...

No, hell no.

The thrifty and cautious will be punished.

The debt junkies will be rewarded.

The bankers and Wall Street barons will retire in style.

Anonymous said...

> Will modesty, saving money, living below your means and valuing experiences and people over possessions now be "in"?

Not yet. Not unless we see banks advertising their savings plans more aggressively than loans. This is the way it used to be in 1990s Russia (despite the generally FUBARous banking and a "freeze" on Soviet savings), now it is the other way round: credit cards, mortgages, financing, buy-now. "Oh, by the way we also offer term deposits at below-inflation rates. Not interested? Huh!" It might even take more time/paperwork to make a term deposit (thanks to all that money-laundering prevention) than to take a consumer loan.

As for experiences and people, sorry. There's "premium content" to replace them.

Anonymous said...

The average American still has and will never have any idea of what is going on around them. They only know how to spend and motor around in their urban tractors (SUV's)driving down the road to nowhere.

They will continue to find creative ways to borrow more money to by more stuff they do not need.

Remeber the only economy this country has is consumerism and debt and the assh@les at the top will make sure this continues.

Anonymous said...

"My time is more valuable to me than doing manual labor to save $15 to $20 an hour."

It's not all about saving the money...

In my professional career I sit in front of a computer for upwards of ten hours a day and read and write, and read and write and read and write.

The only time I really feel alive is when I exercise and/or do some type of manual labor.

Right now, in fact, I think I would like to be chopping some wood.

Anonymous said...

what is coming is that america will become a nation of enclaves.......races will not mix. it will be racial in nature, white with white, black with black and mexican with mexican. it will be a time of shortages and bartering. people will have to learn how to grow their own food again and this should be done immediately. any strangers coming around the area you are in, will be killed. anyone with a uniform on will be a enemy. county governments will not function because no one will pay for their upkeep. the police and the sherrifs will refuse to go out in many areas for fear of getting killed. so they will attempt to pacify areas, one at a time. this will not work either for their armored columns and supply columns will be attacked again and again. america will not go down peacefully. so they will attempt to send in united nations troops and blackwater security types to try and quell the rebellions. this will not work either. it will only make it worse. this is your future america, albeit only a small part.

Anonymous said...

Never, not with MTV, and the Bling culture hammerig the brians of un supervised children. Jesus, they don't even teach kids the basics like COMPUNDING INTEREST, how to balance a check book.

Anonymous said...

Bling will be bigger than EVER!

J5P (deflation donja know) will do ANYTHING to avoid looking like a loser.


You thought illegals raped the health system?

Watch J5P drop his health insurance and dump his medical problems on the county.

Anonymous said...

None of what you said will be in.

IN: Libs Loudly Demanding handouts from Gubmnt, Political Blowhards throwing money at everyone, Name-your-new-get-rich-quick-scheme, Race Bating, Dumbass Municipalities failure to analyze risk and making Lawsuits against Banks/RE to try to get their $$ back.

OUT: Flippers, Harleys, Bling, HGTV, Paris Hilton, Personal Accountability.

Borkafatty: love the story of your Bro-in-law. Real stories are my favorite part of HP.

Anonymous said...

Surburbs will always be around. In many major metro areas, there are just as many good jobs in the surburbs as downtown. It's hard to get people to take a job downtown unless you pay them more money for the traffic, parking, crime etc.

What I don't get is the people buying postage stamp sized lots in the exurbs. If you're going to live that far away, get a couple of acres.

Anonymous said...


So you are a cheap SOB in other words. I'm all for not recklessly spending money. But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.


So you are a lazy fat ass American in other words. Keep stuffing those Cheetos down your piehole while sitting in front of the idiot box.

Anonymous said...

In or out, it doesn't matter because it has always been our way and always will be. Being frugal is so much more than just careful use of your resources, it promotes sound thinking and attitudes in one's entire life. One knows the difference between need and desire. One does not overvalue objects compared to health and relationships. One is mentally prepared for ups and downs in the economy and one worries less.

As for a couple of other comments:
BTW, we don't value people in America. Children throw their own parents into dumpsters (retirements homes) so they can spend their final years soiled in their own filth as the end approaches.

Some do, many don't. When one is in the last stages of life one should be surrounded by people who love one, there is no substitute for this. Currently, my mother-in-law lives with us and even our youngest daughter helps her around the house everyday. When I was a boy we did the same for my grandmother. There are no guarantees but hopefully our children will care for us in the same way one day. You can't get that at any retirement home no matter how wealthy you are.

It's because society is not structured to accept ageing, dying and there is no support system for the caregiver.

There is and always has been a support system, it's called the family. What's missing here and now is that many people either don't know or ignore this. Grandparents-parents-children, it is a bond which requires lifeling nurture and which one breaks only at one's own peril.

Anonymous said...

Ha ha......spend it while its worth something.

Anonymous said...


In: Furthering the science of taking advantage of minorities, extreme debt collection tactics, dreaming of that '05 home sale price.


You must be talking about poor Jesse Jackason and Al Sharpton

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...


So you are a cheap SOB in other words. I'm all for not recklessly spending money. But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.


So you are a lazy fat ass American in other words. Keep stuffing those Cheetos down your piehole while sitting in front of the idiot box.

January 17, 2008 5:01 PM<<

5 will get you 10 , this guy has a major budweiser tumor working. fat boys who are too lazy to do their own work. oh this will change too. you will get your fat ass out and do work or you will not eat.....make no mistake about it. the days of real housewives of orange county are over...

Anonymous said...

So you are a cheap SOB in other words. I'm all for not recklessly spending money. But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.


So you are a lazy fat ass American in other words. Keep stuffing those Cheetos down your piehole while sitting in front of the idiot box.

January 17, 2008 5:01 PM

-------------------

Nice try but oh so wrong.

Instead of spending my weekends washing my car or cutting my grass, or cleaning my house (which I also hire someone to do), I play golf, I go hiking, I canoe/kayak and every 2 or 3 weeks in the winter go ski. I also spend it working often where I can make 4-5 times an hour what I pay my gardener.

I can afford to have someone else do the things I don't want to do myself in order for me to better enjoy life. Has nothing to do with cheetos dumbass.

Understand a little better now Cletus?

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I don't think frugality will ever be "in". I get all kinds of weird looks when people see my used paperback copy of the Tightwad Gazette collection. (Some of that stuff is extreme, but there's some good things in there!) Nobody's ever asked to borrow it, and I doubt any of them went to the library to look for it, either.

I'll just be happy when I stop hearing about $500 parties for one year olds, 16 year olds demanding expensive sports cars, and the worst offender of all....freakin' "My Super Sweet 16".

I damn near fell off my chair when this woman I know said that her son couldn't possibly have his next birthday party at home. They needed to hold it somewhere "dramatic", like Disney or Sea World. Her son is two freakin' years old! I mean...shit....the kid ain't gonna remember it anyways!

I mean, really....WTF?

Anonymous said...

nonymous said...

So you are a cheap SOB in other words. I'm all for not recklessly spending money. But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.

My time is more valuable to me than doing manual labor to save $15 to $20 an hour.

January 17, 2008 3:06 PM

Ah yes it is so all about you. Bet your lousy in the sack. Bet your fat as a stuffed Hippo. I would keep an eye on those "buff" Mexicans and your wife. Do you have portraits of yourself taken every Xmas to send to all of your "friends" who you know want to be just like you? We received a Costco calendar this year that allows us to gaze upon our superiors and their brood every single day of 2008. What more could we ask for????

We draw bad things on their faces.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous happy homeowner in the stix said...
I'll just be happy when I stop hearing about $500 parties for one year olds, 16 year olds demanding expensive sports cars, and the worst offender of all....freakin' "My Super Sweet 16".

The ex-husband bought my daughter a Rogue Nissan SUV for Xmas. $24,000 worth of SUV.(I tried hard to raise this kid that there was no free lunch, but what do I know) This car was on the used side of the lot because it had 2000 miles on it. It had been given to another young lady by her Daddy for Xmas but it didn't have leather interior so she took it back to the lot and insisted that they put grey leather interior in the car. The car came back with the grey leather interior but the girl didn't like the red stitching around the edges of the seats, so her Daddy traded the brand new Rogue for a brand new XTerra. Can't have the daughter driving a car with leather interior with red stitching can we? So my daugher inherited the inferior Rogue with the red stitching. I hope she can survive this humiliation.

Almost enough to make one sympathetic to snipers in crowded malls.

Anonymous said...

I've been doing that all my life. I'm very very happy. I don't care who gets elected, or what happens. I have always worked hard (Construction labor) for every dollar. I always saved and invested my money. Now, I have more than a million dollars in the bank, and investments that pay me more than two hundred thousand dollars a year. 1 employee for my maintainence and yard work, one wife, one kid. Got an old '73 pickup truck we all love and an '82 stationwagon, no debts, and we spend alot of time out doors doing physical activities of all kinds. We're all heathy, eat only the best food and happy, and never depressed. Life is good in a two bedroom house, with a 19" TV, no SUV, a big back yard and a map of the United States of America!!! And the big plus is that if anything happens to me I get to give it all to my family and they in turn can leave it to their family!!! My gift to everyone reading this is: "Believe in the bible, it works!!"

Anonymous said...

Gold will be in. It will be revered in a way that it was in the past as it will represent 'wealth'.

Gold will be in rap videos and infomercials.

Anonymous said...

holy fuck people, paying someone to do yard work isn't the end of the world, take a Valium

Anonymous said...

In: Scamming money from the government to invest in "eco-friendly" alternative energy projects.

Out: Scamming money from mortgage companies to buy overpriced houses.

In: Expatriates and expatriated capital

Out: Being rich, or as it will be defined, making more than $80k a year

In: Emerging markets

Out: Emerging markets lending money to US consumers for "bling"

In: Forced unionization of service sector

Out: Jobs and affordable services

In: Baby boomers looking for additional welfare payments

Out: The economic well being of their children

I could go on and on...

Anonymous said...

But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.
So, how do you send you time? Seating on your fat ass, eating and watching commercials how to loose weight?

Anonymous said...

hey losers,

mow your own lawn and clean your own toilet shit stains. if you want to live like 3rd world peasants be my guests. i'll be out enjoying my weekends while you perform manual labor even blacks won't do anymore.

Anonymous said...

Nothing will change until we get rid of all these Baby Boomer pricks.

Anonymous said...

No

Anonymous said...

in: strippers, middle class girls becoming escorts to make ends meet or to buy Coach bags, ramen, identity theft, all kinds of fraud and theft committed by Mexican illegals and Cubans, riots, New World Order plan right on track, new bubbles and phony wars, new bogeyman or emphasizing of old ones (the supposed terrorist who lives under your bed while the borders stay wide open in purpose), more phony videos of Bin Laden from the CIA inventory, more dumbing down of Americans, corporate fascism system, etc, etc, etc

out: your ass

Anonymous said...

"So what if the concept of hybrids or solar are not perfect yet, what's important is setting the pace, challenging the minds or competitors to do it better."

That does not change the fact that 4-5 years of energy is spent to build one so nice try. ANY new car expends about 3-4 years of energy use and at this point hybrids are worse. The byproduts of the additional battery/electric motor produce 2 barrels of toxic waste that will NEVER be eliminated from the equation no matter how great "technology" is. Stop living in your pretend world of "I'm leading the way and I am so progressive be like me".

You sound like the idiots in the 1980s that went out and bought a beta max player the day it was released.

Anonymous said...

"Almost enough to make one sympathetic to snipers in crowded malls.

January 17, 2008 6:12 PM"

Marry Me. Please.

Anonymous said...

Weed in
Beer out

Miss Goldbug said...

Anon said:"Gold will be in. It will be revered in a way that it was in the past as it will represent 'wealth'.

Gold will be in rap videos and infomercials."

I totally agree! Today I went to Costco, I browsed past the jewelry counter and was surprised to see not one-but four cases displaying hefty 14k yellow gold necklaces and bracelets. They were not there last month...

When gold goes mainstream, the masses will wear their accumulated 'wealth'...we're not there yet, but its starting to happen.

Flashback...back to the 1970's with heavy gold, coin and nugget jewelry.

Right on!

Anonymous said...

So you are a cheap SOB in other words. I'm all for not recklessly spending money. But jezuz I'm not about to spend an hour plus washing my car when I can pay $12 and have an army of mexicans wash it isnide and out for me in 10 mins. Same with mowing a lawn. I pay a mexican $40 to mow my yard ever 2 weeks and it takes him over 2 hours each time including trimming, raking etc.

My time is more valuable to me than doing manual labor to save $15 to $20 an hour.

THEN YOU WROTE:

Nice try but oh so wrong.

Instead of spending my weekends washing my car or cutting my grass, or cleaning my house (which I also hire someone to do), I play golf, I go hiking, I canoe/kayak and every 2 or 3 weeks in the winter go ski. I also spend it working often where I can make 4-5 times an hour what I pay my gardener.

I can afford to have someone else do the things I don't want to do myself in order for me to better enjoy life. Has nothing to do with cheetos dumbass.

Understand a little better now Cletus?
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You do spend recklessly and also sound like a little boy whinning to his momma about chores...I think we hit a nerve with your guilty concious from having it too easy for what sounds like way too long...it's not about how much money you make either, you said you "work often", try working a little less and do some manual labor in lieu...you might feel better about yourself

Anonymous said...

In: I'm hoping to see "Don't Laugh, It's Paid For" bumper stickers again someday...but don't really think I will;
The Joneses will say they're putting 10% into their savings account every paycheck...but won't admit they pull it out the next day and blow it.

Out: The Christmas card from the realtor who sold you your house (if you were lucky to buy before the bubble) will either not arrive, or will no longer be signed by the "assistant" the realtor hired two years ago to deal with mere mortals.

Anonymous said...

Re: hey losers,

mow your own lawn and clean your own toilet shit stains. if you want to live like 3rd world peasants be my guests. i'll be out enjoying my weekends while you perform manual labor even blacks won't do anymore.

DOPES! Where've you been buddy. The dows been kinda spanking you this week.

As far as manual labor goes maybe when your REIC related job dries up and blows away with the rest of the fake economy you can get your landscaper to give you a job mowing lawns.

Oh wait you don't do manual labor and you want everybody to know that you don't do manual labor because you want to think you're to good to do manual labor but THE REAL REASON YOU DON'T DO MANUAL LABOR IS BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO FAT, LAZY AND STUPID TO DO ANYTHING USEFULOR TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND AND DO MENIAL TASKS LIKE CLEANING UP AFTER YOURSELF.

Jesus was a carpenter not a stock broker you stupid f*ck. Maybe that is some kind of message the guys who wrote the bible were trying to send about the value of physical labor and having a useful trade.

Anonymous said...

mow your own lawn and clean your own toilet shit stains. if you want to live like 3rd world peasants be my guests. i'll be out enjoying my weekends ...bla bla bla
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This is why we Americans are in this consumer based society...because of this type of "enjoy" mentality. Trying to convince these people of the underlying message is like banging your head agaist the wall...most people are irrational sheeple I think

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but I couldn't help but think about this Seinfeld dialogue:

G: "Maybe this will become a cool thing... Living with your parents."

J: "Yeah, and then maybe baldness will catch on. Things will all be turning your way."

Anonymous said...

Seriously, though, I do remember in the mid '80s a lot of people were bragging about how much interest they made by keeping money in their savings account. I was young at the time but did have a savings account with a few hundred dollars in it. Every month I'd get like 5 or 6 dollars in interest. I know it doesn't sound like a lot of money now but I was young (this was shortly before high school) and to get a few dollars in interest every month just for doing nothing more than having a few hundred $ in a savings account was pretty cool then. Of course, nowadays, if I had that much in a typical savings account I'd get a fraction of what I used to get in interest.