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Monday, December 9, 2013

Who can ruin your day?



The middle class is dead. It's gone. A tiny fraction of them made it into the upper the class. The rest are poor, whether or not they know it. As for the poor -they've dropped right off the map.

The old game is dead. Your bosses just hope you don't know it yet. As long as people keep striving for that American dream, they can keep skimming the cream off the top.

The game is rigged. If the top 1% find themselves impacted by a new law, they call up their pet politicians and get the rules changed. They don't even have to change the law. Changing the way it's enforced is good enough. Haven't we heard of those “too big to go to jail?” The government can't prosecute the big boys as it “would negatively affect the economy.”

The little guy? No such luck. Anyone who works for anyone else knows they can lose their job at any time. Everyone from the big boss miles a thousand miles away to their immediate supervisor can impact a worker's life. They don't even have to fire you. Work condition changes can quickly turn a good job into a living hell. Your good company can be bought out by a bad company and your life goes down the tubes in a hurry.

Do you think owning your own business insulates you from all that? Nope. A different bunch of bozos can ruin your day. Government regulations can turn a small business from a profitable venture to a money loser. Even simple things like road construction can cause a small business to fail. If your customers have to travel miles of bad road and dodge construction equipment, they might not be your customers much longer.

The whole nation, thanks to Obama care, now knows what's it's like to have your life impacted by the government. Work hard. Try to save a few bucks. Get it all wiped out with insurance costs -or medical expenses. Either way it's bad.

What's a poor peon to do?

The first thing is to realize the game has changes, won't change back, and has to be dealt with. One way is to look at around and see how many people can impact your life and ruin your day. Cut down on your vulnerabilities. It might be by eliminating debt, downsizing before you have to, cutting losses and moving on. Maybe it's by having 5 small income streams rather than one “regular” job.

Mostly though, look at those who can casually screw you. This past year my pension income was quietly cut back by a $1,000. I didn't even get a letter. My check didn't show up on and I had to contact the pension system to find out what happened. Now $1,000 won't make or break me, but I felt it. Eventually I'm going to have to better isolate myself from those arbitrary decisions. I suspect that one day the checks will just stop entirely. Plan B is in the works. There will be a few less bad boys who can ruin my day.

-Sixbears

12 comments:

  1. Please keep us all posted on any efforts, failures and successes, except where it creates security problem for you. We're all looking for ideas.

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  2. Not having all your eggs in the same basket is definitely a good thing, and something we can all aim to achieve. Being debt free is another very good idea,albeit harder to achieve. Spending less, and less is not necessarily a bad idea. So much "stuff" is just that: stuff. Expensive and unnecessary. Just clutters the place. The biggest savings would be to live smaller, I am interested in the "tiny house" trend that seems to be growing, particularly in the States. That's only good though, if you can build yourself, buying into it is just more of the same debt building exercise. Cutting out dependence on the "utilities" is a good one. I sometimes wish I was younger with the knowledge I have know. I would work on this even harder. Do you know, I heard a while beck that the government here does not want elderly people to become "a burden" on the state. Well, the way I see it they have been a burden on me all my life.Here is the deal: you stop being a burden to me and I won't become a burden to you.

    Ok. Rant over gentlemen!

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  3. Gorges, Some of plans revolve around my home area and unusual skill sets, but I'll share what I can.

    Joel, the "burden to the state" statement has dark overtones to it. Building a tiny house yourself goes a long way towards independence, as does providing your own utilities. Reducing expenses is necessary, but one needs to have at least some income. I may have to do something about the income side of things.

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  4. We are all at the "mercy" of the powers that be. One small "disaster" will put most of the people I know in the poor house. Been wanting to downsize and simplify for years but it's a tough sell. My current situation might make selling moot, because we'll have no other choice...

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    1. It's much easier to choose to downsize rather than be forced into it, but you know that. Maybe the rest of the family will catch on.

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  5. Great call on road work causing business mayhem. I've noticed that many projects get dragged out, paving projects that should take weeks taking months, and the dirt entry to enter businesses are really for company employees to access them. If tractor trailer traffic is anticipated, it appears the business is responsible to keeping the road accessible to them.

    And the building inspectors, the people who's signature you need to continue your work, demands compliance with silly demands on their part for YOUR expense. Sometimes I swear, they are making these up.

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    1. Most building inspectors have a lot of leeway with the regs. If they don't like you, it's going to be the strict way. I know one restaurant owner who's big mouth cost him $15,000 in equipment he didn't really need. Don't give the fire inspector crap.

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  6. I feel that the only way the middle class can grow and survive is by having the protection laws taken away from the politicians. When they cause us financial losses they go to jail, preferably GITMO.
    I am 67 years old and recently retired. Now I live in fear that the gov will take all my savings because in their eyes I don't need it, putting me deeper in the ditch of life. I don't have many years left and I want to be left alone and worry free so I can enjoy them.

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    1. Good luck Mike. Other countries have stolen savings, so you know it could happen.

      The big law beakers don't go to jail these days. Until we have rule of law again, no one is safe.

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  7. Came over from Gorges. My family had our own life altering event that caused us to overhaul everything. I am so thankful for that because now, in the times we are in we can do anything. We have learned skills that I had no idea were done. Although we live check to check, our losses will not impact us like before. We own pretty much everything even if it is humble.

    Good Advice!

    Jen

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    1. Thanks Jen. Glad you made the trip from Gorges. Better to own something humble than owe on something big. Good luck!

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