Ben Bernanke does not need to use the infamous helicopter to prevent deflation. He can just give people money tree seeds. Dropping money from helicopters is far too dangerous. Picture: The money tree my sister received for her birthday from my parents.
My parents have a large one in the backyard. Unfortunately, with the depreciating dollar the money tree is less valuable as it only produces US dollars. The money tree is an ongoing joke in my family. :-)
Posts
Money tree very pretty
ReplyDeleteand the money tree is sweet
but the fruit of the money tree
is something one cannot eat
I'm on the lookout for the elusive petrol maple myself.
ReplyDeletei had a hot chicks tree for a while until i came home from work and it had died... my wife said she accidentally watered it w/ bleach, yeah right.
ReplyDeleteIs that a generic apartment kitchen in the background?
ReplyDeleteCan you post the demographics of that neighborhood here please- break it out by gender, race, # of ppl per household, income, etc.
No Offense, but it looks like your whole family has less money than it would like to have. Maybe y'all should see that as a function of your own personal choices and not the function of a conspiracy?
ReplyDeleteSuggestions are to move back intogether for a year. Think of all the money you'd save. Or to think about just realizing that there are other sources of happiness in the world aside from moola.
Methinks "undocumented immigrants" have a better attitude toward opportunities, sacrifices, and rewards than you do.
"No Offense, but it looks like your whole family has less money than it would like to have."
ReplyDeleteBased on the non granite countertop?
Puhlease!
No, I think that statement was based upon your insistence that the majority of the population cannot afford granite countertops.
ReplyDeletewhen did I say that?
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...No Offense, but it looks like your whole family has less money than it would like to have." Uhmmm...everyone's family has less money than they would like to have...Including mine, and I bet also including yours....
ReplyDelete"Maybe y'all should see that as a function of your own personal choices and not the function of a conspiracy?" By this logic, if you're born into a poor family and there are limited opportunities for a better life, you're still 110% to blame for your lack of granite countertops.... 'Pulling yourself by your bootstraps' has never been more than a myth to attempt to have a society accept a Social Darwinistic analysis of itself ... That's not a conspiracy....It's a historical fact...
--SocialScience/Humanities Anonymous
"Uhmmm...everyone's family has less money than they would like to have...Including mine, and I bet also including yours...."
ReplyDeleteNo, there is a threshold beyond which the non-greedy realize that they have more than they need. Personally, I've been living below my means for my entire life. "More" goes into long-term savings. Wierd, huh?
Make mine to go, please.
"accept a Social Darwinistic analysis of itself ... That's not a conspiracy....It's a historical fact..."
ReplyDeleteWhether you identify with Barak Obama, Arnold Schwartenegger, or Colin Powell, or none of them, you can't help but notice that they've all done a mighty fine job of carving something significant out of their modest beginnings. "Silver Spoon" and "trust fund" were not part of their vocabularies.
(Proper usage is "an historical" and not "a historical")
Anonymous 11:56
ReplyDelete"(Proper usage is "an historical" and not "a historical")" Both uses are correct. Ask my English teacher. :-)
"Whether you identify with Barak Obama, Arnold Schwartenegger, or Colin Powell, or none of them, you can't help but notice that they've all done a mighty fine job of carving something significant out of their modest beginnings. 'Silver Spoon' and 'trust fund' were not part of their vocabularies."
These guys are the exception, not the rule. You are right that it isn't impossible to go up the socio-economic ladder, but it's unlikely for the majority to improve their living conditions through education, investments, etc. in this economy, and especially if you belong to my generation.
Past generations had an easier time climbing up. They at the very least could expect to do better than their parents. That's no more than a distant dream for many of us genXers. Getting an education beyond high school (which was a primary manner in which past generations improved their lot) is not the most rational financial investment anymore. College education (at least a 4 year one) is an increasingly expensive undertaking; and returns on this investment tend to be poor (with exceptions).
More and more students are paying for a 4-year degree with stu. loans that are not dischargeable in bankruptcy (so, no reprieve if you're professionally unlucky, or have terrible faculty advisors). If you've gone to grad school and you've gotten yourself into even more debt (as 99.9% of grad students seem to do), you're f***ed big time.
I bet many of my generation and even younger people will have a tougher time flying out of their parents' nest for good. Mortgages might continue to be out of the question for many of us at later stages in life, especially if RE prices (with or without granite countertops) continue to be outrageously high.
--SS/H Anonymous
"No, there is a threshold beyond which the non-greedy realize that they have more than they need. Personally, I've been living below my means for my entire life. 'More' goes into long-term savings. Wierd, huh?"
ReplyDeleteYou can actually save??? Congrats!! Weird, indeed. You're a rare breed.
Most people are not able to save a significant amount of money (there are stats on this if you'd like proof. I don't have them handy at the moment, so I won't be quoting any). Like you I also live below my means, at least mostly (I AM trying to save to buy a home LATER on...when the bubble at the very least deflates enough to make homes affordable once again). However, I find that life has a way of getting in the way of good financial intentions... You know, such things as buying groceries, paying bills, health care and insurance, tuition (yes, I'm still a student), car repairs, vet care for pets, etc.
If you can save, that's awesome. As for the rest of us, "saving" is a wish that isn't materializing fast enough...
SS/H Anonymous, I think I can appreciate your point of view regarding the challenges of "moving up".
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to take exception to the notion that people are "unable" to save. I know the savings rate in the US is essentially 0. But the fact is that people choose to live materialistic lifestyles. That sort of lifestyle can be a never-ending spiral of accumulated "stuff" and empty bank accounts. THAT is the fundamental problem; materialistic, me-too lifestyles. I've practically written an essay on this blog about the notion of "delayed gratification" and how the concept is lost these days.
OK, so you're in school and have ZERO discretionary income. I know exactly what that is like. Undergrad and grad. But just chalk it up as a "Delay" rather than a "Denial" and you're likely to be a little less stressed.
We have people running across our southern boarder with no belongings, no education, and the wrong language skills. They do it anyway, on the order of 3 million per year (or so I hear) because they know it can work for them, and they accept the notion of Delayed Gratification.
bryce
"Past generations had an easier time climbing up. They at the very least could expect to do better than their parents. That's no more than a distant dream for many of us genXers."
ReplyDeleteI agree completely that your parents generation is SELLING OUT OUR FUTURE. They continue to so at an alarming pace.
But hey, no worries. Our leadership believes the rapture will come before things get truly squirrelly.
bryce
Bryce, you make a good point....most of us could probably save even a few bucks per month, though those savings would probably be better suited for small emergency expenses, than for future real property purchase...but maybe I'm too pessimistic....
ReplyDelete