Checks and balances. There needs to be balance between capitalism and socialism, moving moreso towards capitalism.
I don't get all the bitching and moaning about trivial jobs such as retail, warehousing, and manufactoring pay so low. Obtain an education. It's as if people have the mindset of others that they cannot go above and beyond your entry level positions. This isn't 1950 anymore.....you can't be a janitor at a steel mill and expect to buy a house and two cars. You need to move up the economic ladder and to do so, you need to go to school. The US doesn't need to manufacture clothes and other simple materials here......instead, one would manufacture and make much more complex items here. Sadly, even this is going away, rapidly being outsourced to India and China.
Stop blaming everything on the Bush administration. Blame it on the people instead. Nobody forced anyone to get adjustable rate 30 year mortgages on overpriced houses, or put 0 down on a $50,000 car, or obtain credit cards left and right. If people would have saved instead of spending what they don't have to the hilt, we would not be in the kind of predicament we are in now. People don't have money because they are getting killed by interest and multiple payments on credit cards, mortgages, cars, and other appliances.
This mentality is sick. Everytime I stop in a major store, after making my purchase, I am always asked if I want to apply for some sort of credit cards. I get at least 10 offers in the mail each week. Commercials everywhere tell you to extend your credit limit. Every car commercial advertises some sort of 0 down, 0 interest offer. Simple things such as appliances and furniture are also advertised as expecting the buyer to finance them. We now live in a society where there are more (asshole) consultants, brokers, attorneys, and analysts rather than mechanics, plumbers, and other skilled labor trades. This easy credit, spend what you don't have, and borrow to the hilt mentality is now in the culture. Sometimes I feel a bit alienated and am often ridiculed when I state that I do not have debts at all and refuse any kind of loan. My home is paid for. My cars are paid for. My appliances and furniture is paid for. I have one credit card locked in a safe(many of the nicer hotels require you to have one) used for travel and emergency purposes.
Bottom Line: If you are in debt, you are not a free man, but a slave.
