Shane Tuttle
Staff
Well, unless you turn on AM radio or open the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, etc..
Air America, NPR....
Wall Street Journal-I think that's a needle and will concede...one vs. 1,845...
USA Today? I think it's just a tad left....
I do believe some people try to live beyond their means but the biggest problem is that most people are going into debt not to live the high life but to simply survive.
I think the terms some and most need to be juxtaposed. Back in the mid to late '90's IIRC, is when people really started to get into the new car buying craze. Back in the '60's and '70's the average years a person owned a car was about 7 to 9 years. Now, it's less than 4. And it's not because the quality is bad. There's better made cars today than back then...
I simply can't agree with your statement seeing so many people overspending. Yes, there are people trying to make ends meet. I also see the same people buying brand new cars right after bundling their CC debt into a 2nd mortgage....
Those days no longer exist and it is not because of the consumer...it is because the government has taken the power away from the working man and given it all to the big company he works for and those same companies are more concerned with the quick profit and then bailing out instead of surviving for the long haul.
I do agree that this is a problem. However, who elected those people into govt. office? Not the Chinese....we did, as the consumer. Union people that blindly vote democrat because their jobs were going to be saved by the blessed democratic party. Don't know about you, but I see a problem with buying a car that's built by someone that has maybe a high school diploma making $35/hr. installing a bumper with benefits that have him/her off almost as many days as one actually works. Kinda off kilter if you ask me. It's one thing to pay a reasonable wage, another to pay someone on the factory line that makes more money than an actual blue-collar worker busting his butt in construction...
and hold down the minimum wage.
First, who REALLY makes minimum wage anymore? McDonald's even pays better than this...
Second, our local unions here stumped big time behing Rod Blagjoyvich (Gov. of Ill) for raising minimum wage. Why? Because in their union contracts it's stated that their wages go up the same increment as given to the min wage requirement. So, a local plumber goes from making $28hr. to $30.50hr. Guess what the businesses do to help offset the already high labor costs? You guessed it, raise their prices.
Sure helps out the average American, doesn't it?