war on the middle class

[duke62]

i dont know what everyones financial business is but all i know is that i make a pretty good living along with my wife and we are barely holding our heads over the surface of the water.the price of gas,the taxes on long island,home owners insurance,the price of food and clothing have all tripled in the past 5 years.the way things are going here in ny middle class americans will be priced out of there homes and gone.think about it,everything has gone through the roof yet me and im sure many others are making around the same as 5 years ago.its getting to the point where i hurt myself and i was forced to get my ass back to work in agony.the only way to deal with the pain is to take pain medicine which i promised my self i would never do .im sure many of you are wondering why im writing this here its just that im feed up with the way the middle class are being attacked and i just needed a place to vent.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I am making less than 5 years ago. Oops.

 

[jejton]

Yeah I hear your pain. Before we know it, we'll have to pimp out our wives to buy frags...not even LE ones....


But seriously, I hear you. I'm in school right now and most of my classmates are worried about what we'll face when we graduate in three years with at least a couple hundred grand in debt as a parting gift.

The problem is that most people who are affected dont vote and those that do tend to vote out of ignorance. Most middle class people dont have enough time to research issues and candidates so even when some vote it often doesn't make a difference. Politicians listen to those who vote. Get out the vote, but be an educated voter.

 

[jhale]

My dad told me it just cost him $800 to fill the oil tank in their house in westchester.
Based on that number I'm sure there are familys deciding whether to eat or be cold this winter. I'm with duke, I think it sucks what's happening.

 

[jejton]

I'm renting a house on natural gas with brand new insulation. There are storm windows and I still put on plastic over the windows and I just got a bill for last month and almost passed out. As it is I keep the house at 66 and 68 when we are home and awake. You'd think with our army sitting on one of the world's largest oil reserves that we'd at least get cheaper oil.

What really pisses me off though is how the gobamint has the gall to say it doesnt have enough money to provide health coverage for Americans. What we spend in one month in Iraq could have insured every uninsured American for a year at least. I think we should all move to Denmark. The Danes have consistenly ranked as the happiest people on the planet.

 

[jackson6745]

I'm f*cked this year! My business is entirely dependent on fuel...

 

[jhale]

Rich what if all the charters raised their prices?
not that it's a good thing, but as my supply costs go up I pass it
down the line to my customers.

 

[jackson6745]

J, besides the fuel prices, we also got hammered with the regulations. Now people pay more for less fish. Not good for anyone. Everyone has already raised their prices.

 

[jejton]

Not just charters - party boats too. Maybe in the long term it will be good. If less people are fishing for a short while maybe it will help some of the fisheries rebound. Of course that would only work if the commerical fishing companies have to scale back I guess. Oh well we're all doomed.

 

[Pinkheine]

It is disgusting that war on the middle class is going so well. We are in our early thirties and everyone we know that hasn't had a house bought prior to ten years ago, or had one inherited has moved off of the island or is paying so much in rent they will never possibly be able to own.

Others have decided that kids aren't an option because they are not a expense that can be afforded. I have known people to get rid of their dogs because they are too expensive.

What about the stimulus checks, could that be anymore of a joke????

 

[masterswimmer]

Jon, I feel the wrath of the oil companies like your parents do. I filled up last September at the highest I've ever paid for oil, $2.99/gallon. Now this spring oil is up to over $3.50/gallon. I've got a 550 gallon oil tank. Do the math, one fill is $1,925.....Yes that's a god damn comma in there!!!!!!!

I've got both my kids in college at the same time right now. One will graduate next year and then go on for his Masters. I'm proud and poor at the same time.

Sybil, that stimulus check is the biggest joke going. As if that's going to pull us out of a recession.

The US dollar is worth crap on the international monetary exchange. Gold is almost a thousand dollars (was above but settled back) an ounce. I think it's time to start investing in the Iraqi dinar.....a hedge against inflation LMAO

swimmer

 

[reefman]

 

[jejton]

How long does a tank of oil last?

 

[masterswimmer]

How long does a tank of oil last?

That's extremely subjective. Depends how many people are in the home, what temperature you set the thermostat, how big the home is, how well it's insulated, quality of windows and doors.

I just installed a pellet stove last September. That has helped tremendously. I still use oil, but at a slower rate. And now with both kids out of the house in school, it's just my wife and I, so oil consumption (fortunately) is at an all time low for me (as prices are at an all time high).

swimmer

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Is natural gas cheaper?

 

[jejton]

thats what my landlord told me ( as a reassurance after telling me that we would have to pay our own heating ).

 

[jackson6745]

Jhale, at least I'll have the "I'm Drunk" thread

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Food will continue to go up in price as more and more farmers are moving to corn since it is subsidized. This year is the first in US history where we had to IMPORT WHEAT. Corn is subsidized due to the "need" for ethanol (what a joke this is, thank Al Gore and his invested to the hilt in ethanol portfolio). It takes $1.29 worth of fuel to make $1 worth of ethanol and then, ethanol is only 70% as efficient as the pump gas we use now, meaning you need more of it to match performance numbers. Ethanol causes more pollution on both ends than gas does in regular use. This economy is headed for a major dump and it's going to get a lot worse before we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[franknitti]

I actually work for a very large oil company delivering the fuel ,I can still hardly afford the stuff .I cant stand seeing some of the peoples faces when I tell them 3.699 a gallon.Some people cant afford it at all any more I have seen about 10 times more social service filled oil tanks this year than any other year.Its a real shame

ps when u work for the co the price is only 2.399

 

[fritz]

Even on the Army base oil is expensive.

Anyhow the war on the middle class has been going on forever and won't end anytime soon. The presidential election is a distraction, it's meaningless. The president is the commander in chief of the military and that's pretty much it. He is absolute power in terms of troops and bombs but other than that he's just a scape goat. What pisses me off is all the promises made during a presidential election and how much people pay attention to them.

Any presidential candidate promising economic reform or tax anything is equivalent to me promising to lower your electric bills! Thanks Fred, good work. I have as much control over your electric bill as the president has over anything without a firing pin.

The problem is most people have no idea who their local officials are and even less of an idea where their offices are. Those are the you need to watch out for. Rich, if you and all the other charter members and boat owners formed together in some sort of coalition you'd have some say. Start an industry group or see if there is one. I guarantee some of the people who would join also have ties to other groups, Knights of Columbus etc. Pull all of those groups together and you have the ability to vote someone out of office, AND NOW you have power.

All of your state and local officials are three stooges, trust me I know most of them. Above all else they are scared of having to get a real job. If you can sway an election in any direction believe me your needs become important to them real fast.