Angst about Corporate America

[OneLight]

1 hour ago, Yowm said:

Don't forget the 'two cats in the yard'. lol

Yeah, and life used to be so hard, now everything is easy 'cause of you.  Oh, and don't forget to put the flowers in the vase you bought today ...

[Dennis1209]

On 2/21/2018 at 2:53 PM, Big Time said:

Always being overcharged and overtaxed and underpaid my whole life fills me with so much dread and anguish.  Rich and powerful people basically want us subservient to them and there is no way to avoid them without also suffering homelessness or hunger or whatever.

What do I pray for?  What do I ask God for to overcome these negative, cynical thoughts and emotions?

I've started to tech myself web coding like HTML and CSS and am going to eventually move on to Wordpress and Java and Ruby on Rails, etc.  God helps those who helps themselves, I always thought.  That's all I can figure out to do.

Christians want the American dream so they can buy a house and have a family like most other Americans.  Chalking my failure up to Gods plan for me seems like a coping mechanism.  Are we really doomed to be miserable our whole lives for being believers?

 

Personally, I'm blessed and thankful for everything the Lord has given me, He's always met my needs. I don't want to be rich or wealthy, to be tempted of my fleshly desires for the finer things in this life. I'm trying to store up my wealth where moth, thief and rust can't touch it. 

On a secular note: In a capitalist society, we're free to be entrepreneurs and risk our own money to start a business. It's not poor people who create jobs and employment. In the secular world it's education, job training, motivation and results that advances in the food chain.

[Big Time]

Sorry for the late reply.  I ended up busy after the OP.  Thanks for all your input. 

I wanted a family of my own and to be able to provide for them and it gets me down sometimes.

A good 90% of the time I'm very content with the blessings I have, but sometimes it gets to me.

[Guest Butero]

2 hours ago, Big Time said:

Sorry for the late reply.  I ended up busy after the OP.  Thanks for all your input. 

I wanted a family of my own and to be able to provide for them and it gets me down sometimes.

A good 90% of the time I'm very content with the blessings I have, but sometimes it gets to me.

Have you tried to get training in a different line of work?  I was in a low paying job and stayed in debt, so I went to truck driving school back in the 90s.  Now I own a home, fully paid for and have no debt on my cars.  You sometimes have to make changes to get what you desire in life.

Rush Limbaugh once said we hold ourselves back because we won't make changes, not only in our occupation, but in regard to where we live.  I believe that is true.

 

[Justin Adams]

I worked very hard for a long time and had a farm eventually. Obamacare forced early retirement due to 3x normal medical insurance rates. Slowly it all went down the tubes - lost farm (CH7); family disowned me - I moved countries and have a portion of my retirement to live on is all.

I now have a roof and food enough. I am far better than a friend's lawyer and family who were all murdered in Africa over christmas. I am still alive after a long and dangerous life. I am NOT complaining. It is what it is!

So be happy with what you have and make the very best of it you can.
Do not blame others for your own shortcomings and do not covet other people's wealth and situations.

Unless you walk a year in their moccasins you have no right to pass any kind of judgement on them anyway. (Indian Proverb)

[Neighbor]

On 2/22/2018 at 3:36 AM, The_Patriot2018 said:

What most people dont understand though, is the current "American dream" is not what the founding fathers had in mind. The dream was never "everyone will be rich" or even "financially stable middle class citizens living in a house with a white picket fence and 2 cars"

No, all the founding fathers intended was that everyone had the same opportunity to achieve that if they worked hard enough. Thats it. The opportunity, not the garentee. They wanted freedom, which is how capitalism works. And its not totally gone today...college wont deny you just because you come from a poor family or the color of your skin. No, if you can give them the money they want, and show that your smart enough and can work hard enough to not waste their time, tbey will accept you. Your opportunities are not limited by the government, but rather by life itself-your current situation, home life, finances, and how much drive you have.

Hi,

I will quibble with the idea that all were to have the same opportunity by intent of the founding fathers of this country.

There was much  inequality of opportunity  and right. One could not even have a right to vote unless they were a land owner, and male, and white skinned. The white skinned land owners got a varying number of votes themselves based upon how many people they controlled ( owned) that were not land owners or  were not male or  were not white skinned.  Slave owners could cast 3/5 of a vote for each slave they owned. The conditions varied by State. Each State had it's own rules and constitution as well. There were poll taxes as example. Senators were selected by each State by rule of each State. Some voted upon some appointed by governors. Only by amendment(s) over long hard fought periods of time have voting and thus opportunity become easier and thus more equal as to opportunity.

Many  remained enslaved into a system of indenturement and outright slavery no matter how hard  one might work. equal treatment under law, civil criminal and administrative, is a still ongoing fight.

[The_Patriot21]

47 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Hi,

I will quibble with the idea that all were to have the same opportunity by intent of the founding fathers of this country.

There was much  inequality of opportunity  and right. One could not even have a right to vote unless they were a land owner, and male, and white skinned. The white skinned land owners got a varying number of votes themselves based upon how many people they controlled ( owned) that were not land owners or  were not male or  were not white skinned.  Slave owners could cast 3/5 of a vote for each slave they owned. The conditions varied by State. Each State had it's own rules and constitution as well. There were poll taxes as example. Senators were selected by each State by rule of each State. Some voted upon some appointed by governors. Only by amendment(s) over long hard fought periods of time have voting and thus opportunity become easier and thus more equal as to opportunity.

Many  remained enslaved into a system of indenturement and outright slavery no matter how hard  one might work. equal treatment under law, civil criminal and administrative, is a still ongoing fight.

you can quibble all you want, and you even have some valid points, at the time everyone did not have equal opportunity, and the founding fathers knew this-however there was only so much they could do, so they setup a system that would allow change to allow such equal chance. Their intent was so that everyone would have equal opportunity, however realistically, they knew it, there is no such thing as a "perfect" system. However, over the centuries, the system has worked-slavery was ended, men, women and people of all races are allowed to vote, and given equal access to medicine and education, and jobs. Its taken time, and is not "perfect" by any stretch, and now is starting to swing the other direction, but the original intent was to give everyone equal opportunity.

[walla299]

On 2/22/2018 at 2:10 PM, Yowm said:

Don't forget the 'two cats in the yard'. lol

2 cats in the yard? Where? Have laser pointer . . . will travel.    Hey, its free outdoor entertainment.

[walla299]

On 2/21/2018 at 1:53 PM, Big Time said:

Always being overcharged and overtaxed and underpaid my whole life fills me with so much dread and anguish.  Rich and powerful people basically want us subservient to them and there is no way to avoid them without also suffering homelessness or hunger or whatever.

What do I pray for?  What do I ask God for to overcome these negative, cynical thoughts and emotions?

I've started to tech myself web coding like HTML and CSS and am going to eventually move on to Wordpress and Java and Ruby on Rails, etc.  God helps those who helps themselves, I always thought.  That's all I can figure out to do.

Christians want the American dream so they can buy a house and have a family like most other Americans.  Chalking my failure up to Gods plan for me seems like a coping mechanism.  Are we really doomed to be miserable our whole lives for being believers?

 

Learning a new skill can help on the road to a new career. Check out Udemy.com its a low cost education site with course on many subjects. Trick with that site is wait for their "sales" when the prices come down to $10-12 for many courses.  Completion certificates can help you on a resume, even if the course does not give college credit. Examples include things like courses on how to use Word, Excel, and other software used in business and industry. Skills can get you hired where a degree won't.

I was stuck in a dead end job, buried in student loan debt, and was really starting to hate life in general. Then my ankle decided to basically come apart internally to the point it took 5 hours of surgery to fix it. (Don't ever ask, "Okay, what's gunna go wrong next?" You will not like the answer.) No more spending 12+ hours on my feet after that - Doc said I needed a new career that included a desk job and a gym membership. The Lord provided one, but the first step was a temp agency for a temp to hire position. I'm now a full time employee of the company I worked for as a contractor. I also do not currently have a 4 year college degree either. The Lord can make a way when we can't.

[Big Time]

I'd forgotten about this.  I am studying 3d animation now, which I like better than web coding, and have very high hopes.