Prices going up

[missmuffet]

It is all about cutting back. What is really a necessity? You would probably find out that you can live with a lot less than you have.

[OneLight]

5 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

It is all about cutting back. What is really a necessity? You would probably find out that you can live with a lot less than you have.

Good point.  When I was working in a homeless shelter, one of the classes I taught was budgeting.  The main focus all through the class was the difference between a need and a want, driving home the difference.  We want a lot of things, but we actually need very little.  In all honesty, the US is full of spoiled citizens, myself included.

[warrior12]

30 minutes ago, walla299 said:

Sounds like the dilemma in my area and I would thing most metro areas: how far to commute? I was able to cut my commute in half when I moved, but I know others that spend up to an hour driving in to work each day. Mass transit would only take longer, making it impractical for many here.

Luckily, i go against the traffick and most days are good except for the small bottle neck area.  average 25 min for a 25 km drive one way.  Mass transit is definitely longer and you cannot miss the scheduled time or you are late for sure.   There is no getting around rush hour traffic in this big city, just too many cars.  The city is  huge and it has a decent public transport system, but it all depends on where you get that job.   People who work directly in the city don't own cars and those in the outskirts and outer regions, it is a must or you spend to much time taking public transport.  A car here is big expense  too as insurance is ridiculously high and you have to have fairly newer cars or the repair shops take all your money. 

[Neighbor]

40 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

 

Sorry  been away, and just did a double post.

 

[Neighbor]

4 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

"You would probably find out that you can live with a lot less than you have."

 

Probably can, but why?

 I rather enjoy making money so that I may spend it however I may desire.

 

The cost of a McD- what about it?  I find it easy to drive past McD's food like substance stations.   No one is forcing anyone to stop there and buy the stuff. It's not a problem needing a solution is it?

 Prices of "stuff" has been increasing for  the years of my life. I never expect it to stop for long, so I just keep on a keep'n on, giving God the glory for always providing the perfect portion for my need.   Feast  or famine, fast or festival, the portion is always exactly the need  for me  in my progressive sanctification process.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

 

 

 

[missmuffet]

36 minutes ago, OneLight said:

Good point.  When I was working in a homeless shelter, one of the classes I taught was budgeting.  The main focus all through the class was the difference between a need and a want, driving home the difference.  We want a lot of things, but we actually need very little.  In all honesty, the US is full of spoiled citizens, myself included.

Exactly. There is a very big difference in what we need and want. We need a roof over our head so we do not die from exposure. We need food and water so we do not die. We need to have some kind of an income so we do need transportation.We need clothes on our bodies. What else is absolutely necessarily?

[Neighbor]

There is an absolute need to give of "the increase" back to God.

If God is not the first thing that comes to mind, is noted and satisfied,  I suggest the list is fatally flawed.

[JohnD]

One of the greatest documents ever drafted in all human history is the US Constitution. Only evil tries to tamper with it or to change it. 

In the Constitution is a provision for the government to "establish Post Offices and Post Roads." The founding fathers knew and foresaw the need to protect the avenues of commerce for all American citizens. History is replete with example after example of feudalism to the right and communism to the left depriving the masses for the benefit of the elite few on either extreme. 

People don't have compassion for others or reasonable expectations for profits when they are in the seat of power. Period. 

There are examples of people (even groups of people) having compassion on their fellow man / woman. But the general rule of thumb is nearly all people exploit or capitalize on others for their own personal benefit. In a very clinical way, this is true of survival itself. But it is applicable only to a point. For example, communists are not merely trying to survive when they put the boot of communism on the masses (to the detriment of the masses). The same is true about capitalists.

It should not be acceptable when either extreme deprives the masses of the basic needs of life to support the extreme's elaborate lifestyles.

The founding fathers realized what a monumental task they had in drafting a constitution that would place all American citizens on equal terms as citizens. 

This one clause in the US Constitution "establish Post Offices and Post Roads" empowers the US Congress to oversee commerce in the free flow of roads and highways and in the protection of commerce in an increasingly consumer based society (by regulating an affordable alternative in shipping and communication) in the US Postal Service.

Flawed as it is, the Post Office alone keeps the shipping and communication moguls from forming cartels and holding the consumers of America and the rest of planet Earth for that matter hostage to them charging whatever prices they agree upon (with absolutely no regard for anything other than their profit margins). Ask yourself... how many things in your entire life do you have or consume that did not involve shipping or communication? 

Many attempts to remove the US Postal Service have failed. Thankfully. They will claim they want to privatize it / run it more efficiently / make it profitable. Or they badmouth it and start an unofficial marketing campaign to get the general public to parrot the badmouthing (and therefore become biased against the Post Office). This while most Americans still adore their letter carrier. A contradiction most do not consider.

1. The Constitutional based US Postal Department 1776-1971 / US Postal Service 1971- is not a business but a service (like the military or the police force or the fire fighters are... or even the government is).  There is no profit in any one of these. Imagine negotiating payment with a fire chief as your home burns to the ground... can't engage the fire til the fire fighting business is guaranteed payment. That would be poor business practice. US Postal Service provides an affordable alternative in communications and shipping to every address in America six days a week (and seven days a week in some areas). No business can make money doing this. UPS and FEDEX daily contract mail to the Post Office to cover addresses and even regions they cannot afford to cover.

Didn't know that did ya?

All part of the shipping and communications mogul's plan to so besmirch the Postal Service that people would be willing to do away with it. The would come...

2. Runaway inflation like the world has never seen before. Everyone would be affected by the cost increase of everything. Everything. So the thing to do is pass on the costs to others who pass it on to others who pass it on to others... 

3. Because without an affordable alternative in this global consumer society we all live in, the cartels could form to charge no less than (spit-balling figures) $1,000 per ounce of shipping anything and everything... or $100 per keystroke in communications. Imagine having to simply electronically pay a bill at $100 per keystroke... your account number alone (10 - 15 characters) would cost $1,000+ !

"You can't get blood out of turnips." ← Don't buy into this mentality. Think of the smaller runaway inflation in banking, medical, pharmaceutical, hospital care, insurance, automobiles, and certainly real estate. Compare their present day costs to say 1972. Such inflationary cost increases are justified only if the wages of the consumers also increase accordingly. Guess what! They are not justified because the costs inflated several thousand percent while wages increased on a few hundred percent since 1972.

There have been people all the while burying their heads in the sand about this fraud and theft against the American people... muttering "you can't get blood out of turnips." 

4. There is no Constitutional guarantee of wealth or even prosperity. The founding fathers proved to be among the wisest men to have ever lived. They knew there had to be a balance of socialism and capitalism to drive citizens to work and to contribute to American society. Capitalism to force people to work to survive. Socialism to keep the wealthy from hording everything from the commoner.

 

I designed this poster with the idea that extremes in the public square and the marketplace tend to provoke the opposite extreme (like a pendulum swings to each opposite extreme once mobilized). And the hardest point to achieve is the balance of free enterprise. It must be a mixture of both halves both extremes, if you will... to achieve the balance that benefits all the most. This centrist position is often maligned as "sitting on the fence" when in fact it is like the rest of the physical requirements for life to exist at all: BALANCE!

The earth itself, if it was closer or further from the sun could not sustain life. Just one of many many examples.

The point of all of this?

In 2016 the silent majority implemented the historic mandate electing Donald Trump as the 45th President. Among his many priorities (the wall, draining the swamp, etc.) is to make America great again. And I personally believe he has every intention of doing so. 

The problem is, human nature has not made a recent, drastic change. For selfish gain, people will still exploit and / or capitalize. The "trickle down" theory actually does work when it is properly policed against hording. 

Otherwise the pendulum has simply swung to the right extreme from the left extreme the American people voted out of office and Congress. 

If this is the case, then be prepared for owning less and less, and having less and less and paying more and more for everything.