You got to wonder when there's never enough money? Is it something I did? Is it a natural outcome of being disabled? Am I insane about money because I was raised by extreme materialists who made six figures and never wanted for a dollar? What is normal? I don't know. The money is vaporizing again. This time its inflation married to a job contract ending. My husband still has freelance thankfully. How is the inflation affecting you?
I could accept and have accepted "genteel" poverty. Just let me live in peace, and I'll pay rent and buy some tomatoes at the veggie stand and hopefully have a running car. Have any of you wondered what kind of world we would have if we didn't have greedy psychopaths in charge? I sure have. This town was good with the food pantries and other resources. However the assholes in charge, have unlimited greed and enjoy crushing us. We never are going to have a decent human society with psychopaths and narcissists rising to the top. They are what brought Covid and all its resulting tyrannies.
Is it because I don't fit in the working class and don't fit in the educated higher class circles either? Working class people were far more stable than us, they had factory jobs that paid the bills, and bought a small house and had kids. They stayed put and were more practical. There's one girl from my high school who already has 3 grandchildren, who married right out of high school. They all worked hard, but one thing I've noticed about the conservative working class, most live in a life surrounded by family, and in a community most forever in. They weren't moved every 4-5 years. They grew up around community. One friend tells me they think the difference between liberal and conservative is urban for the blue and rural for the red. I would add "family networks" via "no family networks" too.
My husband is in the living room transcribing something now but the prices have skyrocketed so high, that the money that used to support all the basics isn't doing so anymore. I have noticed rich people still support Biden, everyone who feels like crying at the grocery bills, is done with that feeble old fart with the psychopathic son. We are pissed. How come Biden used to have blue eyes in the 70s and 80s and now they are dark/black? Seriously take a look. What happened to his eyes? The working class leans towards Trump, it's ironic, we got more money from "conservative" Trump then we have from Biden.
We try, this is a very entrepreneurial household, that's the irony in all this. We are always selling stuff. We even sold some zines and booklets yesterday. I talked up a few sales. My art show did bring enough money to help pay bills for a few months. It wasn't huge money but it helped. My husband used to collect cans and turn them in, once making 500 dollars in a weekend. We sit around and try to formulate ideas all the time. Years ago he sold books on ebay. I've sold antiques found at garage sales here and there. The USA economy isn't doing that well, it's harder to sell stuff. If everyone's selling stuff to richer people and their numbers are dropping and they have higher over-head, their buying power is going to drop too. Wealthier people have to put in a $30,000 dollar battery in their EV car instead of buying your Carnival glass or first edition Charles Bukowski books
We had a reprieve from the poverty merry-go-round for a short number of years. We were more stable working class for a while, that's how things go around here, when my husband had his newspaper work and then later contract work [now ended] we could pay basic bills. We actually were FREE from all food pantries and charities for a few years. We returned to one, the same lady was there. She said, "Where have you all been?" I said, "We were doing better and didn't need the food pantry". She was friendly and understood.
I and my husband differ when it comes to money. He was raised in an aspiring middle class household where his German parents moved here, they were middle class for a time. His father was a contractor but then his work froze up. His mother had life long health and other problems. They both died in poverty. We used to drive by his old house years ago. One day we even went inside it when it went on the market, so my husband could go down memory lane. People have losses like that. It sucks. I have these ideas, instead of worrying about money let's live as austere as we can, and move to very rural town and find a cheap place to live. But even the small towns are now having rent skyrocket. I know from an online friend in Kentucky, evil Blackwater and groups like it are buying shacks and 40 year old mobile homes. Something is really wrong with this country. Even my old small rural town in the middle of nowhere wants 900-1,000 a month for a basic apartment. I researched the entire rental market of my state.
We had a reprieve from the poverty merry-go-round for a short number of years. We were more stable working class for a while, that's how things go around here, when my husband had his newspaper work and then later contract work [now ended] we could pay basic bills. We actually were FREE from all food pantries and charities for a few years. We returned to one, the same lady was there. She said, "Where have you all been?" I said, "We were doing better and didn't need the food pantry". She was friendly and understood.
I and my husband differ when it comes to money. He was raised in an aspiring middle class household where his German parents moved here, they were middle class for a time. His father was a contractor but then his work froze up. His mother had life long health and other problems. They both died in poverty. We used to drive by his old house years ago. One day we even went inside it when it went on the market, so my husband could go down memory lane. People have losses like that. It sucks. I have these ideas, instead of worrying about money let's live as austere as we can, and move to very rural town and find a cheap place to live. But even the small towns are now having rent skyrocket. I know from an online friend in Kentucky, evil Blackwater and groups like it are buying shacks and 40 year old mobile homes. Something is really wrong with this country. Even my old small rural town in the middle of nowhere wants 900-1,000 a month for a basic apartment. I researched the entire rental market of my state.
My husband does make reasonable arguments that I need to be close to the specialists and living in rural decay or a worse quality apartment may affect my health. He was okay with me going on one subsidized list but subsidized housing is complicated. They design the rules like a maze. We always ended up "making too much". That may not apply in a year or two especially as he qualifies for Social Security but the money-cut offs are pretty low. They haven't taken inflation into account in many of these programs.
I may just be really bad with money but then maybe not. When Trump was passing out money, I saved some and we used the savings when he had a brief 6 months in between work contracts, and used it for that time. We paid off some medical bills. If I have it, I use it. I don't live like other people or maybe there's more people like me and I don't realize it. My family left me so clueless about how average people live.
I'm always working on stuff to improve my lot. We found a reduced car repair program, and a program for eye glasses. Hopefully I can apply for my hearing aids soon. One can't be passive and survive in America. Sometimes I feel like a social worker, I tell people in my community where some help is out there. My garden did give me some free tomatoes, peppers and herbs this year.
All the prices have gone insane. Why is mayonnaise 7 dollars? Why is a chicken 11 dollars? It's cheaper to get the cooked ones sometimes. Inflation is out of control. The financial system seems on the edge of collapse. A lot of conspiracy people have been predicting it folding. If all the money disappears and we go digital, are they going to figure out who had money before or not? Will everyone start from the same place? It's hard to know. The ultra rich won't. My husband applies for better jobs online, physically he has to stay with remote but now the employers don't even bother writing or emailing back. I said "Try and call some directly!" I'm good at looking up stuff online but he told me that wouldn't work.
All the prices have gone insane. Why is mayonnaise 7 dollars? Why is a chicken 11 dollars? It's cheaper to get the cooked ones sometimes. Inflation is out of control. The financial system seems on the edge of collapse. A lot of conspiracy people have been predicting it folding. If all the money disappears and we go digital, are they going to figure out who had money before or not? Will everyone start from the same place? It's hard to know. The ultra rich won't. My husband applies for better jobs online, physically he has to stay with remote but now the employers don't even bother writing or emailing back. I said "Try and call some directly!" I'm good at looking up stuff online but he told me that wouldn't work.
I've heard of mutual aid societies but haven't been able to find a local one yet. They seem to be only in bigger cities now. Some churches here will help the poor out. I always thought finding a working class church that works together to find members jobs and share some resources always sounded like a good idea. Too bad that seems very rare. How is money going for you? Are you sinking into the abyss? Are there more homeless people where you live? Are your food prices skyrocketing?
Love the graphic! The funny thing about going back in that former house of mine -- that you mention -- as I looked around, is seeing how little the interior had changed, other than the garage -- which had been cleaned out, of course, and then, massively redone -- and the superhero stuff on the kids' walls. Or should I say, our walls, of the bedrooms that my sister and I inhabited, as we were growing up. It was though the past 40-odd years had never happened, or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI always have a fantasy about buying it back, if I ever won a giant jackpot, but I imagine everyone has that idea, so that's hardly an original thought, is it? And you said you'd have a hard time getting around in there, which would certainly put a crimp in that idea.
Inflation? I call it "greedflation," because there's no rational or obvious reason for those $7 mayo jars and $11 chickens. We don't even hear all the original excuses anymore, that they first trotted out -- logistics, this, supply chain, that -- so there has to be something else going on. I think they're just trying to see what they can get away with, since what usually happens -- if there is little or no pushback from the public -- is that you'll see Item X, Y or Z promptly go on "sale" at the old price! I've seen that happen, time and time again.
I would say that Biden needs to get in front of this issue, since it's the one of the few -- that I can think of -- that might pose a threat to his re-election prospects, though he still comes into next year with the usual advantages of incumbency. I do think that's one reason why polls consistently showing that people are sour about where the country's going -- all the bright and shiny stats that the media pumps out, like the 3.5% jobless rate, won't make you feel better when all your money goes to someone else, and you aren't allowed to keep any of it.
I think we're doing as best as we can, in light of all the difficulties. I have always had that entrepreneurial mindset, more or less -- collecting cans throughout college saved me, to a great extent, from all the mindless McJobs that I saw most of my friends and classmates stuck doing, because they didn't get as much financial aid, or didn't have as many skills to land the better jobs. I remember thinking "I'd made it," once I learned Word Perfect -- it was the key that opened the door to quite a few of the work/study clerical jobs that I typically held during my tenure. I remember well how much it boosted my fortunes, once I worked a job that required me to learn it -- I went from horrible crap, like spraying labels on library books, to sitting in an office and typing whatever the veterans either didn't have time to do, or didn't want to do.
But, in the final analysis, people will have to demand more, if they want to get more. Don't forget, it wasn't so long before the COVID-19 bomb dropped, that all of those employers claimed the sky was falling, and they couldn't pay you a bit better -- only to reverse themselves, the minute the hamsters didn't want to go back on the wheels that awaited them. It's funny how that works, once you see the villains get busted so righteously, eh? --Mr. Peep
Glad you like the Poor Peep graphic. Yeah the interior of your old house was very much the same, I remember those superhero murals, being really the only difference. They had painted some walls in the kitchen. Even the fireplace was the same. I think you should buy it back if you won the Lotto but you would need to widen the one hallway for my walker. I did fit down it to walk at least. LOL. Hey I looked up the house I lived in as a kid in the big urban city, it's now worth 1 million dollars. A lot was changed though, though I recognized the same fire places and den, the house was not really added on, it's the same size. The other house in a later state, also looked very much the same, they still had the slate hallways. That place did have big bedrooms, all 5-6 of them.
DeleteYeah greedflation is out of control. Maybe some enterprising people can build up local economies, like farmer and more. The only place I don't feel ripped off anymore is the veggie stands/farmers. At least the food is sold at reasonable prices. Sadly they will be closing in a month then back to the regular grocery store grind.
Maybe they figure the population is so sick and beaten down and the young men so passive, [really they are weirding me out] they can get away with anything they want now.
Yeah Ive seen old prices pushed as "sale prices". I wish we could find more food off the beaten track. The food quality is sinking too. Always worry about getting sick. I notice you know when I get stuff from ethnic grocery stores the quality is far better. Even the rice noodles which I'm going to make tonight have more taste.
I hope Brandon is not re-elected. If the DNC pushes that old feeble should be in a nursing home man, I will be disgusted beyond belief. I guess I don't see voting our way out of this. We have to vote for as sane local people as we can, but that's hard to find.
I think we do need to sell stuff off, but that's getting harder and harder. I can tell everyone's broke, and even the middle class and above are overextended. Your college jobs were far better than mine, it's ironic to me I got stuck in the cafeteria drudge work because my parents were more well off while the "work-study" kids got the nicer jobs. Well you know my opinions about college, I was too young to realize being more practical and doing Vo-ed was a better path. I think I remember mentioning it, have this weird memory and parents yelling at me, that I would be a "loser" working in a factory. All I know is my classmates who went that path, are far more stable. Oh well can't undo the past. With art remember that woman mentioning selling a 1000 of those gimmicky sweat pants, if you get a gimmick, you can get a hot item going. Agree about the work thing though see what I said about the pizza thing. If one can do manual labor and do restaurant work on feet, you'd probably have the choice of any job out there now, well low paid ones, it is scary people are getting too sick to do even that. It makes me wonder how many people have died or are disabled now.
I think the cans served you well while you were in college. I didn't mind the cafeteria work back then, still in shape to move around though there was some pain. I was used to cooking and doing stuff in restaurants. It just didn't open doors to other jobs like work-study.
ReplyDeleteHey Peep, yeah that's part of the fear mongering, the inflation. I noticed eggs went up way high but then I'm now able to buy a dozen organic free range eggs for $4.99 instead of $9.99. There's specials if I hunt for them and get the store circulars. One store on Wednesdays and Thursdays have a senior discount of about 5%, yeah not so much but every little bit helps. The margarine I like went up to an unheard of $7.99, from the highest was $4.59. sometimes 2 for $5.00. Now a pound of butter is cheaper at about $3.49 and I got a little over a pound of chicken breast of about $5.50, cheaper than the margarine. But I still survive. I am back in housing court, been going for over a year and am scared this week it might be it. I am having trouble finding a place to live, even shares are about $1200 a month. Had really bad experiences with room mates, who seemed to have serious mental illness. I lucked out with this last place, have applications in for every senior building or low income building and an application in for a housing subsidy voucher, that would go to a private landlord. But with all the illegals they're busing into my city they seem to forget about the regular poor folk or even the homeless already living here. Was wondering if you could get into subsidized housing that doesn't totally suck or get a housing subsidy. there's something called Section 8 vouchers that pay 70% of a monthly rent or mortgage. Any possibility you could apply for those? there's other housing subsidy's too. Catholic Charities usually administers them. I just hold my nose and deal with them, problem is they re the ones bringing in the illegals.
ReplyDeleteHi Throw Away Daughter, yeah they wantg the economic pressures to be crushing, better for control because people will literally fear starving to death if they lose their jobs. Eggs were high here though went back down. We sometimes get a senior discount at one store, on Wednesdays its 10 percent. Butter here is nuts like 4.99 and 5.99. Margarine isn't much better. Our chicken is high, boneless skinless chicken thighs 7.99. I buy some cheaper cuts like legs but those are up there in the 5s. Hope your housing court case works out. I'm looking at subsidized too though we don't know if our income will be just over their limits or not, hope you find a good one too. Make sure it's close to a bus line, doctors, that there are senior centers etc. Sometimes they build disabled housing on the moon [far edges of town] and know a friend who moved to new senior housing and there's no building activities, poor transportation and no senior centers in that town. She wants out only weeks after being in the place, there's repair problems too.
DeleteYeah noticing they want 800 a month here, just to have a crappy private room in someone's house, seems like a nightmare to me, having to be very clean and neat, no place for your stuff, open to abuses of others. 1200 for a share is awful. Roommates scare hell out of me too, I relate to that. One of my boarding houses was okay and got along with the house owner but I think that's rare. It's not like living a normal life or household of your own. You are at the whims of roommates. I had some mentally ill ones too. The stress of college was worse with roommates.
I notice they put illegals above regular poor people too. Noticed this in Chicago in the 1990s. Avoid sanctuary cities. I don't blame the illegals just trying to survive but one thing I noticed is they do have advocacy groups and ethnic groups, where they have some people to back them up while regular poor people don't. There is more community. Kind of sad isn't it?
I asked about section 8, my particular town doesn't have it. So weird. I don't want to live with elevator, which they told my husband at one senior disabled building here, I couldn't apply for the first floor, I need to call and clarify this and ask if they want a 500lb woman stuck in an elevator? Sadly I may have to move somewhere new to get decent housing. Used word of friend of other friends who liked a place.
Thanks for telling me Catholic Charities will do other housing subsidies, maybe I should check into those and call them. I know we have a Catholic Charities group here. I have heard of disabled vouchers for housing but need to check into it. I have to make housing calls Monday always working on it. I hope something good comes up for you too.
Hey Peeps - keep me posted about your housing search. Sick of explaining my housing court case to people who look down on me - it's exhausting
ReplyDeleteThe same people who've never had to go to welfare food stamps or unemployment
Just got sucked into another one .could kick myself for explaining it
I should just say oh I really can't go into it!!
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Wow that's too bad you are going through that. Are any of these people listening? I know how those "class" situations can go. Like life among those with closed ears. Hope your court case resolves soon.
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