shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Went grocery shopping last night and was shocked at the size of the cereal boxes and their prices. I usually make a snack every year using cereal, but this year I may just have chips!

Although I am very thankful for the lower cost of gasoline these days, I am very wary of the fact that this is probably only temporary. The scare has already been put in us and it has a lasting effect. The price of groceries are still rising and why? I suppose I should be thankful I can buy some at all. The company I work for is struggling to stay in business too. I don't know what I will do if they close. I am over 50 and with the competition for jobs, I don't have as good a chance to get another one. I also watch my kids try to take care of their families. To say I am extremely worried about our future would be putting it mildly.

Thinking and rethinking our purchases is the right step for our life also. Can we get the government to do the same.
We are buying a home and will have it paid off in a few years. We are not putting any more money in the stock market.
Our plan is to have a retirement business that we enjoy and invest in that to pay us during retirement.

I am 53 years old, and I work in the wellness/fitness industry. This economic situation is very scary to me. I live paycheck to paycheck, and I can't afford to increase my contributions to my IRA and 401K. I'm going to be working until I'm at least 70. Will my body hold up to work in the wellness/fitness industry? I hope so. At least I am keeping in good shape, or at least trying.

It's not going to be much of a Christmas this year for my kids. Prices are way too high, and food has gone out of sight! I will try to do the old fashioned way; make the gifts myself. The gasoline prices may be low, but they did that for a reason; until after the election! They will go back up, and then this time, they'll rise higher than before.

Right now we aren't struggling like a lot of people but we do think twice about the real need before we make a purchase. Our worry is for the near future as we are retired seniors.

The current economic downturn has indeed affected me greatly. My husband passed away in Sept, 08. He thought that he had left me with enough (not lots) but enough investments plus my S/S to take care of my needs. It was shortly after that that everything plunged and I now have about 50% of what I had in Sept. With everything going up in price (utilities at the top of the list), it is difficult for me to make ends meet. I have also lost one S/S check which greatly impacts my distress.

My father always told me that one should never invest in the stock market if one isn't able to lose as well as gain. Well, I learned my lesson. I am trying to share his advice with our own children so they won't make the same mistake as we have made.

Dorothy Nelson

Yeah I feel it at the gocery store just like everyone else. But my daughter and grand daughter had to move in with me and my wife because of the job siuation. My daughter is barely making ends meet as it is, so when I go to the store we have to buy for four (4) instead of two (2) Yes we have had to cut back on alot of things. Less going out to dinner more home cook meals. Less buying at the Mall (clothes, makeup,normal stuff) not no more. Both myself and my wife have lost big time in our 401ks All of theis makes you wonder whats going to happen next.

I am grateful for the gas drop also but am fully aware of where I drive and how often. I am concerned about me and my family, who are grown and have children. Groceries are sky high and why? I am fully aware of my environment and "wasting energy", which is good but bad that I even have to. But we do.

The price of propane went up 60% this year. Last year I kept the house at 68 degrees all winter. This year I turn the heat down to 55 at night and, with extra layers of clothing I turn it up to 62 during the day. Today, it was 22 degrees outside when I woke up, but I never turned the heat up until 9:30. I've added some insulation and stopped air leaks, but I'm worried about heating costs in the years to come.

Having lost 50% of our savings we are really cutting back on Christmas this year. Everyone we are talking to is saying the same. Maybe in the long run Christmas will return to what it should be - a time to gather with family and friends rather than a stressful time spending too much money on useless gifts no-one really wants. We also are really worried about the future.

guess the R in republician really does stand for recession ???

Gasoline goes up, and rightfully, food prices and just about everything goes up, for after all, trucks deliver most things in the U.S. and if they must pay more to run the trucks it should cost more to deliver goods, and the price of the goods should rise.

However, using the same logic, now that the price of gasoline has dropped considerably, the price of goods should go down. Goods prices. and particularly food items have not gone down, and in some cases have continued to rise. Does anyone beside me have suspicions that the food industry is taking us for a ride?

I have a good paying job at a large, well known law firm, with offices around the world. Last week about 15 staff members were terminated, and then we were told there would be no holiday bonuses and no raises this year. By the end of payday, I am lucky to have $25 left in the bank to last the rest of the two-week period.

We are stuck with 2 mortgages because our house has not sold even though it is in a prime neighborhood. We are always late in paying our car payment because the money is just not there. We help take care of my 91 and 88 year old parents who are in assisted living, as well as my mother-in-law, also 91, who lives only on social security in a 55+ apartment complex.

A trip to the grocery store leaves me in shock everytime I go. We take advantage of the "buy one, get one free" specials and use other coupons and special purchases, but our dollars cannot stretch. We used to talk about how silly it was that my grandmother would boil chicken bones for soup -- now I may be glad I have that survival information.

In reading another's thoughts, may I submit that if you skip that Starbucks morning stop (maybe replace it with a stop at the golden arches), the money you don't spend will make a very nice dent in an annual contribution to your retirement account.

Some other thoughts mike include washing your own car and cleaning your own home.

All of my offspring have serious retirement accounts that will allow them to survive even if social security doesn't. That will permit to go onto another world knowing they all will be just fine without me.

The whole crisis in general has me on edge - we are down to 1 income now and that has been cut to 32 hours instead of 40. Only one of us is insured (too expensive to add me) and the price of everything is going up! I always enjoyed My caffein free pepsi... but not anymore... it has jumped by almost $2.00 for the same 12 pack I bought last month for much less.
I feel your Fears Diane - I too am over 50 and the job competition has become fierce! In my area the job market is scarce to say the least!

THE ECONOMIC SITUATION IS TERRIBLE, FOR THE OLDEST PEOPLE LIKE ME,
I AM ALMOST LOSING MY PROPERTY, BECAUSE THE MONEY I RECEIVED WITH ALL THE EXPENSES PROPERTY TAXES. PROPORTY INS, FLOOD INS, LIGTH,
FOOD, PHONE, GAS, CAR INS. IS IMPOSIBLE TO COVER

I retired from a sales job and have lived a middle class existence all my l ife. I have saved regularly into my 401k savings plan and should have had enough for retirement. Have lived frugally and worked hard. Now I am faced with going back to work when businesses are cutting back and selling my house when houses aren't bringing what they are worth. Don't know what to do to pay for heat, gas and groceries.

I am a single parent, also a student...I am being affected in various ways...school tuition is on the rise, I am currently working for a temp agency, no benefits, no possibility of permanent employment...the list goes on...very concerned!!! Oh yes groceries, thats another animal all together...HELP!!!

My nearby stepson and his family are struggling every day to put food on the table. His work is impacted by the economic slowdown and he only retains his job because of the quality of his work. I am watching my grandsons grow thinner all the time, because I am certain their parents cannot afford good food for them. I have a step daughter who has lost her home, her job, and is essentially homeless.

This country is falling apart. We all need to pull together and put politics aside and fix the broken parts.

The predatory practices ingrained within the mortgage industry have hurt me and my mother (on fixed SSD and SS income)each time we've had to move and purchase a very modest home. Because of onerous junk fees and sub-prime rates we always end up with houses and neighborhoods that become intolerable to live with.

This constant loop of dead-end, untenable home purchases are the "Twilight Zone" of what it means to buy into the "home ownership dream" for the poor in America.

We thought the government interest-subsidy program- Rural Housing Development (under USDA) was a viable solution. However, the restrictions were so, well, restrictive that though we qualified financially, it was useless to us.

I did work for Home Depot but at the end of last summer the store manager let me go but I did not want to fight them for wrongfull dismissell but now I am finding it very hard to find a full time job with so many others not working also.
I am getting some unemployement but if the goverment does not extend the unemployement period I am not sure what I will be able to do with the cost of everything so high. Yes gas has come down but that is the only thing that has and for how long will it saty down is anyones guess.

I am jobless and not physically well. Due to periods of overtime during holidays my husband makes just over the limit(by $300) to qualify for any government assistance but we cannot afford health care for us or our 8 year old. I shop at a local store early in the mornings when I can catch meat being marked down to low, low prices. I get it and freeze. Bargains like that help a lot. I am thankful for my family and church family but am a bit worried about going into winter. We live in a older house and if the heating system go kaput - we will be in trouble.

Good piece - insightful and impactful for us all. I have never had any thought but that we have not seen the worst of this yet when it comes to the economy. I hope I'm wrong.

I agree that at the look of the economy it is frightening to think gas prices will stay down. While of course utilities are rising to an all time high. While we ar thankful to have shelter and some heat, we are forced to heat only a portion of our home while the other is not even usable because it is cold and will be even colder once the real winter sets in. Water and electric in the summer and gas in the winter is no longer a lustury everything is high and getting higher.
If America does not fall to her knees and pray fro wisdom, then use it, we will as the bible states 'self destruct' be ready.

I gave you a complete story on first page.

The grocery store has become somewhere I hate to go - trying to do hamburger or whole chickens 7 different ways gets old - I constantly check all sale papers every Wednesday and go where I can save a few pennies on the necessities. Over $1 for store brand loaf bread - ridiculous - the price of meat is disgusting - even when the money has been there I would not pay $8-10lb for steak - you can eat out cheaper than that. Milk is totally unreasonable - and cream cheese over $1 for an 8oz bar of store brand - nuts!! - normally I can make do - but when it comes to the holidays - there a lot of pot luck events at church or in the neighborhood and you want to be able to fix something special and the prices make that impossible. Hopefully this country will remember where it came from - maybe we need to go back to the trade and barter system. Something has to give and sooner than later!

Folks, EVERYTHING in EVERY STORE got there on a truck. Trucks run on diesel fuel. while the price of gasoline has come down some...not enough...diesel is still way too high, and the additional cost of delivery is passed on to you and to me. when prices in stores are raised to cover the extra expense, they have a tendency to never come back down to their previous levels. get your back against a wall and brace yourself.

I am so thankful that Obama is going to send everyone a check. Today
I have changed my order for a Timex to a Rolex because Obama is going to take care of me. I will always order a venti in lieu of a grande at Starbucks now that Obama is taking care of all the little people and will divide the wealth. Oh happy day.

Alvin in Tallahassee, Fl.

Everything is high and even though the gasoline has come down it is still too high. They have closed the only grocery store that was close to me so now I have to go over 5 miles to shop. I don't have any extra money for any pleasures like going to the movies or even to buy a pair of shoes. I watch my children struggling to raise my grandchildren. I take the little money that I have and give to my kids for food, clothing and rent, now I owe the IRS for claiming them on my taxes.

I've been reading that we should save 5 months of income in case you get laid off. Now, I'm wondering where that money is supposed to come from, because I need all my money and some just to pay normal bills. I'm in my 50's and I don't have any money really saved for retirement and what I did have has been taken.

If you're still stopping off at Starbucks for one of those horrifically overpriced--and bitter--coffees, you get exactly no sympathy from me, and many others, who brew their coffee at home and pour it into a roadie mug for about a tenth the cost of your "Bigbucks" coffee. And some of us understand the function of a toaster, which will deliver ya a couple of slices of whole wheat--again, for about a tenth of the cost of your muffin.

And you can still afford to go out to the movies? Lucky you! Bet ya treat yourself to a big ole popcorn and soft drink and maybe even candy at the concession stand, too. What you spend on a movie and treats would feed me and my family for at least three meals. Quit whining and grow up!

Here's the really scary deal -- on top of everything else -- groceries, retirement check cuts, utility and home payment issue, the very banks that the good ol' US government is "bailing out" are STILL pushing their predatory lending practices in the form of raising interest rates on credit cards to astronomical levels (like from 11.9% to 25.9% overnight!) -- without provocation, without cause, without notice, and on existing balances (not new charges, so you would have the option of cutting it off). They are doing this to MAIN STREET AMERICANS - and there is no outcry in Congress about this travesty! What gives, guys -- how about a little relief for the common man here. This practice is outrageous, it is greed pure and simple and should be outlawed!

The cost of food is outrageous. Every time I get up to the cashier at the supermarket I hold my breath because I'm afraid I won't have enough money in my wallet to pay for my purchase. I hope I don't get to the point where I have to cut back on eating!!

Half our assets, half our fifty years of retirement,
is destroyed. Reagan's concept has finally trickled down--his charade of mentality as healthy as his deteriorating brain--to give us this acid bath.
Now the same ideology would have GM, Ford, & Chrysler go the way of British shipbuilding in the 1950s and US Steel in the 1960s--until, America itself becomes obsolete, its resources in the control of the oligarchy who will happily take the money and run to, say, Dubai--to live at the center of the new world powers.
You better wake the f--- up! What you are doing to your Grandparents and parents is worse. And now you've let Paulson scam you. You better deal directly with the mortgages, before you out-Hoover Hoover. I write with wisdom and contempt. George W Bush effected the greatest piracy in world history, transferring wealth while shitting on the Constitution. Not only are the redcoats coming, they are peddling your mother's ass on the street corner.

poet-professor PD

18NOV2008
What happened to the American Empire?

1. Milk at $4.00 +? Are we going crazy? Can we only drink it when it is on sale at $3.49 or $3.99? Should we import milk from countries having "cheaper" cows?
2. Bread: Simple Loaf over $2.00; some with "vitamins" over $3.50!!!
3. Cereal: Lots was already said by so many...Incredible! A luxury.
4. Citrus Fruits? What is that? One Grapefruit for $1.00? Oranges for $.25/each? Lemons: $1/each (getting better: 3 for $1.00?) and we live in Florida, citrus-state-usa...
5. Oh, yes...but we have a great Medical Benefit for retired people:
ONLY $90+/month and this coming yr. it will not go higher...VIVA!

USA: What a Country...what a World...our dear USA-Empire is falling...and falling fast...HELP!
For how long?

$4+ gas was a powerful warning to me. I live in a place with almost zero public transportation. I am retired and living on a small fixed income and found myself unable to go anywhere because of this unanticipated strain on my budget. I am seriously considering giving up the automobile for good and relocating back to NYC where there is a totally comprehensive system of public transportation. European economies have invested in the infrastructure that affords them high speed trains at economical prices. Most of this country is a vast wasteland which, without a car, sentences the population to a very uninteresting life.

Let's not forget that increased prices in gas & oil really triggered the slow down in the economy. Now there is a dramatic decline in prices, since the world economy is out of control. Also, deverting blame to gas guzzling cars is a smoke screen for unsurpassed usage of petroleum for freighters that ship goods manufactured in China & other countries and for the trucks that deliver the goods all over the country from the ports of entry. While there is no denying there is a problem, lets not be focused on blame that may be misdirected.

I am 57. On total disability (hit by minimally insured drunk driver in 1970) I have fallen between the cracks as pertains to secondary health coverage...it is virtually non-existant for me. The economic factors leading to the present crises have impacted my health and future prospects in many ways, a few of which I will herein express my opinion. EMPLOYMENT; So competitive that it is impossible to try to persue. HOUSING; We are thankful that we own our home (with a sizable mortgage) but rising fuel, and heating costs are driving us away from spending money at the food store. HEALTH; As previously mentioned, I am a recipient of Social Security Disability, (10 years) The rising health costs are NOT keeping at a rate anywhere near the meager yearly "cost of living " raises afforded by the S.S. Dept., causing more bottle-necking as pertains acquiring needed medical treatment/surgeries. TRANSPORTATION; Very expensive to own and operate ANY gasoline or Diesel driven passenger vehicle. FUTURE PROGNOSES?; Unless the elderly, and infirm in this country are treated more like the "TIME-TREASURES" that we are, and SOME of the funds available are directed to our needs, we will continue to suffer at the hands of commercialism, and domination at the hands of "PROGRESS', that so infrequently take into account our value as productive HUMANS, but it seems they are just waiting for us to perish...Unless we are recognised, and assisted, we WILL perish with out much dignity, or respect. We are ALL suffering with the high cost of LIFE! When we are younger, we tend to think very optomisticaly in reference to our "longevity, and healthful prowess". However, we DO get old, and our needs INCREASE as pertains to heath, special foods, medical treatments, housing, oportunities in the employment arena, etc. So, my advise to all;....Work as hard as you can now, keep your nose to the grindstone, and only look up to spend quality time with those you love...it will all be over pretty soon. Yes, there IS a God, and if we "Seek first the KINGDOM, and His RIGHTEOUSNESS, all these other things will be added to us" So keep seeking, keep moving, and NEVER give up!

I don't worry about myself as I do about my children I'm 80 years old and I don't have as long to live as they do. I pray every day that this recession will be fast moving and be over fast.

I am worried about bankrupting the U.S. government which is about $10 trillion in debt and running huge deficits. I do NOT approve of the way the "bailouts" are being run. I am not too worried about the Wall Street tycoons and the auto industry executives, and the highly paid investment bank people: if they cannot live for quite a while on the millions of dollars they made in the past few years, shame on them for not saving.

The auto "Big Three" need a total restructuring, NOT a blank check which only delays the inevitable.

Over the last 2 years I have lost a job that I held for over 7 years, been unemployed for 5 months, on medical leave for 3-1/2 months, and lost 2 more recent full time positions due to economic factors with the companies I worked for. Once again I find myself unemployed, with little savings, and my 401k has tanked to almost 1/3 of its highest value. I am 51 years old and the competition for jobs with the high unemployment rate in California makes finding a job that pays enough to live on will be even more difficult. I will not be able to live on my unemployment benefits and will have the added expense of COBRA coverage, which will be between $300-$400/mo. I have a seizure disorder which is controlled with medication and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I am facing being without a place to live, will not be able to afford to continue medical coverage, and do not qualify for government assistance as I do not have children living at home (they're grown and struggling to support their own families), and if you can believe it, will earn too much with unemployment to qualify for assistance. After working for 30 years, I have no retirement to speak of, and it paints a bleak picture of my "Golden Years". There is no discretionary spending left to cut. How are we supposed to survive??????

I'm concerned with prices at the supermarkets and restaurants since
I eat out most times. In addition, I'm worried that too many people
will now go for government benefits which means my taxes will be raised. This is not America any longer! I remember when we had a decent standard-of-living because we had many industries in the U.S..
There is only one man fighting for middle-class Americans: Lou Dobbs.
I urge every reader to read his books which I borrowed from my local
Public Library. God help us!

If the Banks are so broke.....I am retired, have my life savings in c.d.s, it is time to renew a large c.d......and all this major bank will offer is 3 percent for a fixed c.d. for a year. I don't understand, if they are so broke and need money so badly, why can't they pay at least 4 percent on c.d.s especially if it was a fixed yearly c.d. over 100.000.00?

I am reminded of the words from a very wise person: Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where there are no thieves and no corruption. For where your treasure is your heart is also. It is overwhelming to fathom the depth of corruption and greed which has brought us all this global melt down. It is equally difficult to fine peace when the walls keep tumbling all around us. We all still need to find ways to keep hope alive and deepen our faith in heavenly treasures.

Alejandra, no shock there at all. Starbucks has always been a bit pricey. I support whenever I can small business coffee shops and drive-thru types. We live in a small town under 8,000 and we have several options including a drive thru shack that is cheaper and better than our Starbucks. They offer muffins, bagels, baked goods that are much better than the mass produced frozen then shipped baked goods Starbucks has.
The last and I mean last time I went to 'bucks' I had a small Mocha $3.50 and a muffin that was frozen, that's right still frozen for a total of $6.00. At the coffee shack owned by a local the Mocha was $2.75 same size better coffee, and a bagel made by a small local restaurant came to $4.00 (with cream cheese). So again does the expression buy local ring a bell?

I just pray Obama can turn this country around like FDR did.

IT ONLY TAKES ONE PERSON

We all know it only takes one person to lead our country to unbelievable financial disaster as well as to mismanaged military strategy. The man presently sitting in the -White House is the one person I am referring to at this time.

My computer just told me that President Bush (soon to be out of office) is considering buying up the banks. His powers in decision making for this country need to be frozen. I trust he not use his usual team of “Rocket Scientists”, and instead use President Clinton and his team who put this country in pretty good shape after the first Bush deregulated the world; along with B. Obama and his team as well as McCain and his team. (Palin shouldn’t cut her Saturday night live meeting with Tina Fey as she’s really not needed.) Bush should not have any right to buy up anything especially after the $400,000 party he threw for AIG. AIG has given millions to his and McCain’s campaign and is virtually the only insurer the military uses for it’s weapons, tanks, guns etc. Before Bush buys any banks, I want to see the $400,000 from AIG returned. I don’t care whose pocket it comes out of, as long as it not the tax payers.

The insurance policy needed by the military weapons should be put out for BID. Sealed Bid’s, and simple policies and procedures can be implemented. There has to be someone in our government with a minimum of common sense. Job requirement should say "minimum common sense required".

What can one person do? It has to start someplace so it can start with me. I want to build an army of middle income (earning less than $125,000 per year) trickling down to the migrant worker who picks our produce so the rest of us can eat. Instead of the million man march, we are going to have a two million woman/man march on the Capital and put Washington, D. C. at a stand still for hours. We’ll need to be organized and I’m just the person mad enough to do it. As the saying goes, "Don't get an old jewish lady mad".

• Mr. Bush better get a check from AIG for $400,000 immediately.
• His powers need to be frozen by Congress. Many Congressmen are up for re-election, and we are just the folks that put them in office.
• Why is it that we can only get what we need during an election year? Ever since I saw that the military pays
$495 for a hammer, I really wanted to BID on that contract.

The “TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT” hasn’t worked. We need the “TRICKLE UP EFFECT”. Each household should receive a calculated amount, I calculated out 1.1 million dollars using records of households from the census bureau. The migrant worker families are households as well. All this 1.1 million dollars comes from the $700,000,000,000 bail out. But before the money is sent, 35% of the money will be taken out for taxes so that the government can use that money to bail out the auto industry. A failed auto industry does much more damage than a failed bank. Why are we bailing out Wall Street, we should be bailing out Main Street. Bailing out Main Street gives families money to purchase health insurance, get out of credit card debt, and hopefully fix their mortgage problems. Gee, with $700 Billion dollars, all should be fixed. The money each household receives will be taxed, and that money along with the remainder of the funds from the big bail out can be used for the bank and Wall Street bail outs. Let the banks that wanted it all, fail. We are insured. The banks that were honest and did it right will survive and we can again have faith in the banking system. And to think, I got a “D” in freshman Economics.

Sondra Satz, M.S., R.D. and a lot of common sense
Lake Worth, Florida 33467

Everyone must come togather and work with the new President. He is the best hope we have. Forget the party you are with and become one with him. Togather we can acomplish anything.

My health insurance keeps rising yet I am still very healthy. My retirement plans keep dropping yet I am invested in solid companies through reliable brokers.
However my congressmen get their FREE health care and their FREE INDEPENDENT retirement plans. Obviously the ones they give us isn't good enough for them. And by the way they(Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin) look they are not straving either.

A lot of people are feeling really trapped right now with no place to turn for relief.
As we try to cut back on costs, they are rising everywhere - food, gas, health care, etc. I'm hoping to move to a smaller place and save a little while renting my house out to cover the mortgage. I had left my job in the hopes of beginning my retirement, but now cannot go back, because they are "not hiring yet"! Where else do I look for meaningful work with everyone being laid off? Start my own business? Maybe, but it would be quite a while before I can show a profit, with everyone cutting back as well, it isn't likely soon.
My investments and savings have dwindled and so has my confidence. Who can travel to see friend and family? Airline fares and gasoline prices eat up any little money set aside for that.
I seriously doubt the government is going to support us here on Main Street. They're using our tax dollars to shore up themselves and their friends as this economic crisis deepens world wide.
There truly is no place to turn!

Gee, is this your big sacrifice, giving up Starbucks? Many of us cannot even pay our bills.

I realize this story is likely real but any worry about spending $1.65 for a muffin is not anything we should have to contend with. What’s next after the muffin decision? Are you ready to escape the craziness??? www.LikeSoup.com

To AARP & President Barack Obama,
INCLUDE WE AARP MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT YET 50 YEARS OLD TOO! I AM 47 AND AM FACING EXTREMELY GRAVE ISSUES - HOMELESSNESS AND THE LOSS OF EVERYTHING I HAVE!
There are very important and urgent issues that must be resolved NOW.

My situation is that I am not only 47 years old, but unemployed, and desperately seeking an income. I am experiencing ageism when interviewing for employment, and so have been unemployed for all too long now. I did not know about this form of discrimination until now. The health insurance companies (HMO's, etc.) that provide employee benefits charge employers many times more in premium rates if an employer hires an older person such as myself because, statistically, older persons file more claims for age-related maladies, and have more pre-existing conditions. So, because managed ("mangled") care gouges employers if they hire older people, to save money, employers naturally hire many more applicants in their 20's and 30's. Getting actual interviews has all but completely dried up for me. I have been on a large number of interviews that seem to go quite well. I submit a polite and enthusiastic thank you note, but have found that employers are too inundated with applications, resumes and interviews to want people to follow up with them because it adds to their workload. I am not even getting phone calls or rejection form letters. I just hear nothing back from employers at all!
Times have changed a LOT in the job marketplace, especially with the economic situation. There is a huge glut of job seekers to compete with, making it an "employers' market", so employers have the upper hand amid all of the competition among job seekers.
There are mass layoffs, and hiring freezes - even for entry-level positions, and my local housing authority has an indefinite freeze on lower-cost, section 8 housing, so they are accepting no applications. The ONLY other low-cost housing is for elderly and disabled persons, of which I am neither. Many jobs for which I have gotten interviews do not pay enough on which to survive. I interview for them nevertheless out of desperation, yet I remain unemployed!
This situation makes it very hard for job seekers like me to maintain any kind of hope. I feel like a terminal cancer patient who has been told his doctors cannot do anything to save him, and so have sent him home to die.
So I, like many others, have started looking into work-from-home opportunities that do not require any expenditures for formal schooling, training.
What I have found is that there are home-based personal business and franchise offers that require a large outlay of personal cash (approx. $2,000 or more just to start!), take a long time to get off the ground, and have a 95% failure rate. Regardless, I cannot afford the money or length of time to build up a home-based, personal business of my own. Otherwise, there are many scams requiring investing in their venture, buying their products as well as trying to selling them, fees for “starter kits”, directing shoppers to their proprietary online “discount mall”, entry into whatever “turnkey system”, MLM, pyramid scheme, or whatever else they’re offering, etc. Maybe as much as 5% of all of the home income opportunities out there are actually legitimate, at best. However, these other legitimate work-from-home opportunities mainly pay at the minimum-wage level and/or provide spotty pocket-change income. Those that say they offer a real, self-supporting income are usually scams, and/or require the large outlay of cash and time to get started up, and have the 95% failure rate, as previously mentioned.
Yet, the work-from-home marketplace is a huge, new, untapped resource for many who cannot find employment outside the home/afford daycare, etc., to be able to support their families – IF SUCH INCOME OPPORTUNITIES ARE PROPERLY RESEARCHED AND DEVELOPED!
I am seeking to work for and/or with an already-established, legitimate business where I can work as a "distance employee", affiliate, representative, or something of that nature from my home, and make a STEADY income at least as quickly as I would upon starting work at a traditional, outside-the-home job (e.g., first paycheck in 2 to 4 weeks).
I am on every online job-search website/engine there is (e.g., CareerBuilder, Monster, Yahoo Hotjobs, Job.com, and too many others to list here), but in talking with them directly, although they offer links on their websites to work-at-home opportunities, none of them, or anyone else, has researched such at-home opportunities and made a real, concerted effort to separate the “wheat from the chaff” to offer legitimate home opportunities for job seekers. Most of these websites, as well as the newspaper ads, are mired in the traditional model of looking through employment ads/postings, applying, interviewing if you ever get a reply from the employer, and if hired, commuting to an outside-the-home job. Considering the extremely poor outcomes I and many, many others have experienced from trying to secure employment using this traditional model, new, never-before-considered, "outside-the-box" thinking absolutely MUST be employed to find and/or create, and develop, alternative means by which people in my desperate situation can make a legitimate income that genuinely provides for all living expenses, just as all of us expect traditional, outside-the-home, jobs to do.
The work-at-home model is therefore a very attractive alternative, and does not currently carry any ageism discrimination with it. At this point, after applying to and interviewing for traditional jobs for over a year without success, work-from-home opportunities are my only hope to secure enough income to keep from literally becoming homeless and losing everything I have!
So, I am writing to request that you, President Obama, including the federal and local governments, and AARP, turn your attention, research, and solution-focused actions to out-of-work older people who cannot secure employment the same way that "Ward Cleaver" did, and those in their 20’s and 30’s are, yet desperately need an income to survive, and have money for retirement.
I am being candidly honest when I say that I am living entirely off credit cards that will be maxed-out in only a few short months at best, and then I will literally be out of any means to pay for anything, including my rent.
I have been looking into every single program Info-Line and other referral sources have to offer, as well as simply looking at what there is in the phone book, and online at the state and federal levels.
There are NO private, state or federal rent-payment assistance programs, or utility bill assistance in the warm months from May 1st to Nov. 1st., as well as means to keep up on my other bills, including credit card payments since I'm running them up to pay for my expenses, food, etc., to which any referral source has been able to direct me.
Therefore, providing full financial assistance for living expenses, so people like me and their families do not end up homeless, must be made available immediately!
The bottom line is that I am in desperate straights and need help NOW!
Again, that leads back to looking into the as-yet only superficially tapped, work-from-home market. It is an area that's rife with scams, especially now that there are so many unemployed people desperate to find income sources. I imagine these scammers are getting a lot of honest people’s money, but that's where the chaff needs to be weeded out through researching these opportunities, and making the legitimate ones made known to all, and develop and support them so they thrive into solid work-from-home employment options that that are capable of providing real, full-time-level income – not entry-level or part-time.
So, I am crying out to you, President Obama, and AARP, for in-depth, prompt, proactive, and decisive solutions that are needed now!
Thank you for your attention and prompt reply to this urgent request for real and immediate help.
I may be reached at all times at "bkoelrich@comcast.net", as long as I still have room left on my credit cards to keep up my utility/rent payments.
Respectfully submitted with urgency,
Brian Oelrich
West Haven, CT.

Starbucks? Movies? These are no longer an option - I lost my job - rent is the priority these days.

Ditto to all of the above and one more thing....I have been notified that my health insurance, (thank you Blue Shield CA) will more than double in 2009!
Christmas?? Maybe all I will be able to do (if I am allowed to do that!!) is say "Merry Christmas" to everyone!

Utility bills -gas and electric. We are on a budget plan. Up until last month we paid $377 a month. It was just raised to $520 a month. Since we used more than our budget, we had to pay $714 this month. On top of that, I am unemployed and having a lot of trouble finding any kind of job, even temporary.

Starbucks? Grew up with Nescafe Instant Coffee ... used it or similar all my life. Why pay more?

It's not just lowered gas prices and the sticker shock on the cereal boxes ($4.00) at the grocery store. It is the reality of not having a job. I have been unemployed since Oct. '07 and I have had no calls to the jobs I have replied to. I cleaned up my resume and my cover letters. I thought this would be helpful. Not in the least. No calls. I'm still attending college, so I really need to find a part-time job to fit my schedule.

I wonder how many U.S. citizens received the 1st stimulus check and who did not? I am in the "did not" catagory. Just because I was a couple hundred dollars behind the $2k. What will this 2nd stimulus do for us? Will everyone get one or no? Will there be a requirement?

That's what I want to know and plus are these gas prices for real and how long will it last?!

Too many questions and not enough answers!

I am in total agreement with Diane above - I could not of said it better regarding my company and about being able to compete in the job market as I am over 60 - I am extremely worried and sometimes it keeps me up during the night when I should be sleeping

Karen says,
I read on the internet that the US Goverment plans on building the biggest embassy in the world, but I do not remember where at this time. My question is why? The money to build it would help our own people and in our own country especiialy at this time with our economy at the edge of breaking.
It seems as though the Goverment peopled in the House of respresentatives and Senate and Presidential Office, never knew what it was like to have to struggle for money, maybe if they did things would be different.

It is everything combined that is making life more difficult to afford ! If it were one thing, you could cut down on that an find alternatives. Now my alternative is to work more to earn more.

I was not much affected by the price of gasoline. I use my car very little and get around mostly by motorcycle. My 2007 Suzuki SV 650 averages almost 60 mpg.

I realize that most people 70 years old would not ride a motorcycle, but I like it.

We have universal health care already. Government,welfare, armed services,Prisons.medicaid. We pay it all and get nothing for us.Close all ppo and hmo. Maki it medicare U. S. A. One office centrally located with offices in every big city. Payroll deduction from employees And matched by employer. mail in form to office in city where service is done. No more big shot c e o s making big bucks. all offices staffed by office manager and staff. Docter sends form to office. form is approved by staff for payment. check is sent to doctor. Manager is salaried and staff is hourly. Central control is controlled by oversight group not attached to federal gov't.

First it was the decline in the value of homes. Then it became panic when one realizes that the 80% down payment made on a home in March of 2008 still leaves us upside down on our mortgage.

The market crash has wiped out the gains in our stocks, mutual fund investments and 401(K). The dream of a comfortable retirement has vanished and the nightmare of trying to contine to work while in poor health has become a reality.

Our current financial mess is the results of legislation that relaxed banking laws and credit laws so those that did not qualify for credit were given credit. Many of those laws and regulations were relaxed in the Carter administration and Clinton years.

Tough times require really creative strategies . In addition to using coupons for food shopping and averaging $14 off each time, I also max out my coupons by waiting to combine them with special manufacturer's offers and or local supermarket offers . That really SAVES $$$ . Also ,I shop for, plan (set up a weekly menu ) , and cook all meals so that the portions are enough and varied to always have some left over for my still working wife and/or another meal .Saving this way , we still eat very well ( meals from being a former chef/restaurant owner/retired teacher )and do not have to resort to boring and/or unhealthy eating.

To AARP & President Barack Obama,
INCLUDE WE AARP MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT YET 50 YEARS OLD TOO! I AM 47 AND AM FACING EXTREMELY GRAVE ISSUES - HOMELESSNESS AND THE LOSS OF EVERYTHING I HAVE!
There are very important and urgent issues that must be resolved NOW.

My situation is that I am not only 47 years old, but unemployed, and desperately seeking an income. I am experiencing ageism when interviewing for employment, and so have been unemployed for all too long now. I did not know about this form of discrimination until now. The health insurance companies (HMO's, etc.) that provide employee benefits charge employers many times more in premium rates if an employer hires an older person such as myself because, statistically, older persons file more claims for age-related maladies, and have more pre-existing conditions. So, because managed ("mangled") care gouges employers if they hire older people, to save money, employers naturally hire many more applicants in their 20's and 30's. Getting actual interviews has all but completely dried up for me. I have been on a large number of interviews that seem to go quite well. I submit a polite and enthusiastic thank you note, but have found that employers are too inundated with applications, resumes and interviews to want people to follow up with them because it adds to their workload. I am not even getting phone calls or rejection form letters. I just hear nothing back from employers at all!
Times have changed a LOT in the job marketplace, especially with the economic situation. There is a huge glut of job seekers to compete with, making it an "employers' market", so employers have the upper hand amid all of the competition among job seekers.
There are mass layoffs, and hiring freezes - even for entry-level positions, and my local housing authority has an indefinite freeze on lower-cost, section 8 housing, so they are accepting no applications. The ONLY other low-cost housing is for elderly and disabled persons, of which I am neither. Many jobs for which I have gotten interviews do not pay enough on which to survive. I interview for them nevertheless out of desperation, yet I remain unemployed!
This situation makes it very hard for job seekers like me to maintain any kind of hope. I feel like a terminal cancer patient who has been told his doctors cannot do anything to save him, and so have sent him home to die.
So I, like many others, have started looking into work-from-home opportunities that do not require any expenditures for formal schooling, training.
What I have found is that there are home-based personal business and franchise offers that require a large outlay of personal cash (approx. $2,000 or more just to start!), take a long time to get off the ground, and have a 95% failure rate. Regardless, I cannot afford the money or length of time to build up a home-based, personal business of my own. Otherwise, there are many scams requiring investing in their venture, buying their products as well as trying to selling them, fees for “starter kits”, directing shoppers to their proprietary online “discount mall”, entry into whatever “turnkey system”, MLM, pyramid scheme, or whatever else they’re offering, etc. Maybe as much as 5% of all of the home income opportunities out there are actually legitimate, at best. However, these other legitimate work-from-home opportunities mainly pay at the minimum-wage level and/or provide spotty pocket-change income. Those that say they offer a real, self-supporting income are usually scams, and/or require the large outlay of cash and time to get started up, and have the 95% failure rate, as previously mentioned.
Yet, the work-from-home marketplace is a huge, new, untapped resource for many who cannot find employment outside the home/afford daycare, etc., to be able to support their families – IF SUCH INCOME OPPORTUNITIES ARE PROPERLY RESEARCHED AND DEVELOPED!
I am seeking to work for and/or with an already-established, legitimate business where I can work as a "distance employee", affiliate, representative, or something of that nature from my home, and make a STEADY income at least as quickly as I would upon starting work at a traditional, outside-the-home job (e.g., first paycheck in 2 to 4 weeks).
I am on every online job-search website/engine there is (e.g., CareerBuilder, Monster, Yahoo Hotjobs, Job.com, and too many others to list here), but in talking with them directly, although they offer links on their websites to work-at-home opportunities, none of them, or anyone else, has researched such at-home opportunities and made a real, concerted effort to separate the “wheat from the chaff” to offer legitimate home opportunities for job seekers. Most of these websites, as well as the newspaper ads, are mired in the traditional model of looking through employment ads/postings, applying, interviewing if you ever get a reply from the employer, and if hired, commuting to an outside-the-home job. Considering the extremely poor outcomes I and many, many others have experienced from trying to secure employment using this traditional model, new, never-before-considered, "outside-the-box" thinking absolutely MUST be employed to find and/or create, and develop, alternative means by which people in my desperate situation can make a legitimate income that genuinely provides for all living expenses, just as all of us expect traditional, outside-the-home, jobs to do.
The work-at-home model is therefore a very attractive alternative, and does not currently carry any ageism discrimination with it. At this point, after applying to and interviewing for traditional jobs for over a year without success, work-from-home opportunities are my only hope to secure enough income to keep from literally becoming homeless and losing everything I have!
So, I am writing to request that you, President Obama, including the federal and local governments, and AARP, turn your attention, research, and solution-focused actions to out-of-work older people who cannot secure employment the same way that "Ward Cleaver" did, and those in their 20’s and 30’s are, yet desperately need an income to survive, and have money for retirement.
I am being candidly honest when I say that I am living entirely off credit cards that will be maxed-out in only a few short months at best, and then I will literally be out of any means to pay for anything, including my rent.
I have been looking into every single program Info-Line and other referral sources have to offer, as well as simply looking at what there is in the phone book, and online at the state and federal levels.
There are NO private, state or federal rent-payment assistance programs, or utility bill assistance in the warm months from May 1st to Nov. 1st., as well as means to keep up on my other bills, including credit card payments since I'm running them up to pay for my expenses, food, etc., to which any referral source has been able to direct me.
Therefore, providing full financial assistance for living expenses, so people like me and their families do not end up homeless, must be made available immediately!
The bottom line is that I am in desperate straights and need help NOW!
Again, that leads back to looking into the as-yet only superficially tapped, work-from-home market. It is an area that's rife with scams, especially now that there are so many unemployed people desperate to find income sources. I imagine these scammers are getting a lot of honest people’s money, but that's where the chaff needs to be weeded out through researching these opportunities, and making the legitimate ones made known to all, and develop and support them so they thrive into solid work-from-home employment options that that are capable of providing real, full-time-level income – not entry-level or part-time.
So, I am crying out to you, President Obama, and AARP, for in-depth, prompt, proactive, and decisive solutions that are needed now!
Thank you for your attention and prompt reply to this urgent request for real and immediate help.
Respectfully submitted with urgency, please reply!
Brian Oelrich
West Haven, CT.

As the single most reliably consistent voting block in the U.S., AARP, we have been a bit slow on the 'uptake', as it were. We sat idly after casting our lot with king George the lesser/and lessor, seemingly deluded by our collective stupor, as we thoughtlessly wandered about, as though the youthful vigor of misguided adolescence --along with the little blue pills and their cohorts-- had returned to us. All the while, we applauded the likes of Ken Lay and his cogently intimate relations with king George. Oh well, nobody remembers ENRON, so I won't belabor the manifold collapses, which on close scrutiny, was simply one of several planks, scaffolding downward to the present schemes of the king's redistribution of the Nation's collective wealth. We even paid great heed to assuring that king George enjoyed the redistribution process by electing twice, partisans in both national legislatures. Fellow 'oldies' --and I assail with affection-- it is a bit long in the tooth, our participation to right the course of our ship of state. We collectively have a significant opportunity as elders, and probably the greatest "brain trust" in modern times, to employ our talents and with an ascending projection for tomorrow. No Longer have we the luxury of sitting one out, sitting on the sidelines, or failing to insinuate our God given talents to rightly counsel the direction of our country. From where I sit, lowered petrol prices for the moment, are the least of our greater concerns. For starters, we are yet, and remain, the only industrialized nation which does not have adequate medical care for its citizens; veterans and their families remain the least likely to receive care of the nation, even following combat --we make up the largest demographic who are homeless in the nation; and if that were sobering, we pay lip-service to being pro-life, but how we chose to sacrifice our young and discard our aged and aging are dynamics of an historically relevant prologue to other failed nation-states.

It is far time that the Government stop taking care of all the over paid CEO"S of this country. I Think All these Golden Umbrella people should Pay the Money back to the companys they received it from. All people should be able to have a place to live, be able to afford food and enjoy the Basics of life. I have read Nowhere, that theres a guarantee to be a millionair at other peoples expense. We see so much suffering every day , yet , they keep taking & taking & taking from us all thru taxes , higher prices, and yet, AGAIN expect us the tax payer to BAIL them out, while they sit in the lap of Luxery. Well I no longer as a tax payer want to do this, we must stop the madness. No LISTENS to us. These companys are out of control. AND!!
by the way all the AIG People that again has one more big shidig in our money, PAY IT BACK !!!! Every person that attended , PAY IT BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,
Though I'm a new homeowner, and thankful to have employment I would like to see help for those in mortgage trouble and a bonus for those who are paying there mortgage.
Further more I'm pretty outrage at the fact that taxpayers will have to foot some of the bail out and we had no say so in it. I can't understand why there is no bail out for the multiple homeless children, ladies and men, the many americans in finacial crisis, those that are hungry, those that have no health care and are dying because they can't have surgury or even buy there medicine. Why is this Bailed Out ignored! What irritates me the most is the Veterans and there familes that are struggling and they fought for our country, and some even died but there needs airn't met.
God please help America

At least you can go to Starbucks. I have not had the pleasure of a cup of coffee out in many years. A movie is out of the question unless someone else is treating me.

Being prematurely retired due to illness, I have had to watch literally every penny for years in order to live on my SSDI.

Luckily for me, I grew up in penurious circumstances and learned early to save for anything and everything I want. I pay cash or use a credit card that is paid off each month. I manage to save money from SSDI to pay for repairs to my home when they are needed, only because I am so frugal.

I stopped buying packaged foods, soda, meat and snacks long ago, except for breakfast cereal. I shop at a bare-bones store where I supply my own bags, which is good for the environment anyway. All my cloth bags were freebies from various offers.

I eat vegetarian meals, which are healthy as well as frugal.

At least 25% of my SSDI is spent on medical care.

I buy clothing only from the clearance racks, which I disdained when I was able to work as being too much trouble. I have not sent clothing to a dry cleaner in years.

I don't wish to appear rude but worrying about buying a muffin or a grande instead of a venti seems so minor compared to my everyday financial decisions. And your income is no doubt many times mine.

At age 59.5, I have been homeless for nearly 8 full months.
I have, to date, been unsuccessful in finding employment. I've recently been approved for extended unemployment benefits--which, of course, will not continue indefinitely. So this is only a temporary solution...and not enough to afford housing. In spite of having earned two undergraduate college degrees, having teaching certification, as well as multiple other job skills--this is the first time in my life that I've met with such insurmountable challenges. Not to mention that sleeping in a (tiny) Toyota Corolla (with former spine, shoulder injuries and minor nerve damage and resulting muscle spasms) is definitely not the lifestyle I had ever hoped for. Unfortunately, our "government" has come to value "economy" as more valuable than (human, plant, animal, earth, or universal) life itself. Attempts to "bail-out" corporations, businesses, and/or cities will solve nothing! Ragenomics has never worked--nor will it ever work! Our government will FAIL (entirely) unless it comes to value (and support) LIFE! How did we ever choose (let alone continue for so long down) such a self-destructive path! Why are people so blinded? How is it that the greedy "few" call all the shots--at the expense of the masses? And, why don't the masses rebel such conditions and take charge once and for all? The whole situation makes me shake my head in disbelief! Perhaps if (so called) leaders could sleep in Walmart parking lot with nothing but occasional car heater warmth...being always a couple of blocks away from a bathroom...having no place to store food (assuming you're lucky enough to have any)...having no way to lie flat (in spite of the fact that doing so is the only way to manage pain)...etc.... they "might" be able to see things differently! Just maybe. I should add that in having a vehicle I am far better off than many homeless people I've met! Many sleep on the ground near the river or in drainage pipes or ditches! While there are organizations that offer (some) food & perhaps clothing or showers to the homeless...I would ask: "Is that enough?" What would Jesus say? Would He think it ok that even one person should ever have to live without his/her basic survival needs met? And, what sense does it make to kick people out of their homes? And unto the streets? Why haven’t I heard talk of creating jobs? So people have hope of providing for themselves and their families? Is there anyone with a lick of sense anywhere that can influence the outcome of the mess we’re in? Cities WILL necessarily fail in the end…if nothing is done to help (or at least allow) ALL people opportunity to survive. Trickling-DOWN does not (nor will it ever) work! What we are now observing is a trickling-UP of failure! Will anyone choose to put a stop to this self-destruction? In time?

Being thankful for lower gas prices is like being thankful my spouse stopped hitting me. It never should have happen in the first place. Regulate them robbers!

This is directed to the young lady who just has to make the Starbucks "run" before work. You probably need to rethink your priorities. You could probably make your own muffins and coffee and save the money. As times get tougher, and they will, you will see the wisdom of this advice.

You elicited a story from me for use in trying to work with government to better the situation of people over 50 during these times of financial upheaval and financial bailouts. I didn't want to be part of a blog. How did my submitting my story get me here? What are you going to do with my story? I don't want to engage in a conversation with your readership.

It is altogether a different situation from the time I first entered this country in 1972. Gasoline then was below 20c a gallon, but I think we have to head the warning. We should have headed during the first energy crisis, in the 1980s when gas prices were going up and jobs were also lost for a little. I remember my husband being on the longest lay-off ever. We bounced back from that one,but I think that was something we should have paid better attention to. That was the time to plan for better technology, to build smaller cars with lesser gas consumtion, time to find alternative energy sources/ methods. Too bad we did not do it. We would have been better ready for 9/11 had we paid better attention. It is definitely time to stop our reliance on gas, specially the one that comes from the Middle East.

We are being pinched in every way possible. The water dept. told us to conserve, then when we did, they said they had to raise prices and charge each family a special fee. The electric companies are presently getting ready to make a substantial raise in their rates. We all know what's happened with our heating bills doubling over the past several years. We've been robbed at the gas pumps with prices that tripled since the beginning of the Bush administration. Therefore, we travel very little and stay home most of the time except for necessary trips. The grocery stores are a whole other story. We shop at the discount stores ... Walmart, Marc's or Sav-a-Lot. The Marc's stores in Ohio used to have the lowest prices and best bargains. When the gasoline prices went up, they went thru their stores and EVERYTHING got raised anywhere from 25 cents to $2.00 an item. We buy almost all non-brand items now. We're not just being "pinched". We're being SQUEEZED like the prey of a boa constrictor.

Dear AARP Representatives,

The Wall Street economic crisis has impacted me tremendously. Not only has it squashed my hopes of retiring by diminishing my retirement funds to zero, but it has also caused the agency where I work to take away our 401k contributions and cut back on our benefits. I suspect soon, it will take a toll on our hours at work or maybe even some lay offs. I am a 64 yr. young woman who is solely responsible for supporting herself. I could never afford to buy a home here in California, but I managed to buy a manufactured home in a mobilehome park. With the space rents so high and going up each year by 15%, my hopes of retirement are almost nill. There has to be a squash put on the increases of the space rents and rents in general for all the way the economy is. I have family that are in the same situation as myself. My mother who is a frail and feeble lady will needs my assistance and is afraid to have me assist her due to the economy as she can not pay me to take care of her so I can pay my expenses. So you see, it has affected me and my family in many ways. Please send this message to Washington,DC so they can see what needs to be done to help those in my position and others that are probably far worse than I am.

Thank you for your time and attention to my plea.

Good Luck,

Rose Benalcazar

It makes me angry that the gas prices have gone down so much so quickly after staying so high for so long. I think this could have been done a long time ago, and see no reason they should ever go that high again. I read the oil companies quarterly reports and see their billion dollar profit and wonder why they have to be so greedy as to try to make more off of the poorer sect. While they are celebrating with huge Christmases this year, most of us will be barely able to buy our children and grandchildren any gifts at all, and our tables will be scanty.
It is their greed to get more and more and more that leaves us with less and less and less. I wish America would stop all travel except to work and family emergencies long enough for them to suffer the lose of some of their greedy gain.
We have enough oil resources that we should not have to pay such high prices. The oil companies are probably the ones secretly trying to keep us from drilling so that we have to use their resources and they can regulate prices which choke us.

Sacked. RIF’d. Laid Off. Eliminated. Terminated. Pink Slipped. Fired. Reduced. Transitioned Out. Axed. Canned. Downsized. Given my walking papers.

Whatever you call it, my job was gone two months ago. With no advance warning. I was in shock, not denial; I had had premonitions that I had pushed away, that I did not act on. It was too horrifying a thought to act on. For my end of life plan to be successful, it required that I remain in my job with current salary and perks for six to ten more years. My car was paid off in June. I was on my way to paying off my credit card debt. With my next yearly bonus, that would be taken care of. Then I would begin to pay off the principal amount for my mortgage. I was feeling confident this could work. It was impossible to consider the loss of my job which was necessary for this personal bail-out plan.

All of a sudden on the afternoon of July 31, 2008, it was REAL. My job had been eliminated. I had to turn in my blackberry, my photo ID, the keys to my office, the password to my computer. I was locked out of my office and escorted to the building exit. I came back on a Sunday two weeks later to pack up and clean out my personal items. I was not allowed to have copies of my work or information regarding professional colleagues stored in my email files. (The boxes from my office remain in my garage; I have not been able to face going through them.)

Now, almost three months after the loss of my job, my life plan is shattered. I am wrestling with thoughts of losing my home and declaring bankruptcy, with all of the uncertainties and loss that go along with those. Physical loss, spiritual loss, psychological loss, self esteem loss…an unimaginable future. My thoughts are scattered during waking time and I do not sleep well. My dreams are nightmares. My life is a living horror.

Every bill that comes to me seems to have an increase. Not anyone I have heard speak knows when this downturn will end. We hope we have prepared for the future. But as things look now there is no telling if we will fall into the same cracks as others around us. If this goes on too long we will all be affected. Many family members of ours are already seeing their retirement money dwindle. We are all extremely worried.

I am a 73 year old retiree. As I watch my saving and income go down the drain I have to start thinking about going back to work. Where would I find a decent paying job at my age. Scares me. It is sure comforting to know tha all the CEO's of these companies that are going down the tubes have stuffed their pockets with money.

From: Edwin Watson (MBA, BA, AA and post DBA)
This is personal
The pinch is felt most by having to pay for something you don't have to or can avoid. If a person can save his or her health by avoiding senario's such as an exspensive house, high bills, rent, luxury bills and keep this money in the bank and let build as to continue working for honest pay, maybe he or she can save self and family. Its called individual and economic down sizing. Keep more in the bank and pocket for sorrow days, at least until an international meltdown blows over and Jesus comes again. But don't wait until you lose a job because will lose family and friends. A comeback is a never ending battle and very difficult to recover from. As experienced people know from experience, it could be several generations to pass before life returns and through the tough days passing we grow to not know immediate loved one's of early day's and loved one's no longer respect or claims not to know by discredit.

Is anyone really going to have a christmas this year? I know it's not going to be possible for my family, how about yours? Between gas prices going so high this year and grocery prices so high, there is no money left to save up! I used to go out to dinner or a movie every pay period (every two weeks), now I can't even afford Blockbuster! Will we have Christmas for the kids this year? I hope we can, but the way it looks now the answer is NO!

I stay focused on the many ways that I experience abundance in my life - wonderful friends, a lovely home (paying the mortgage is a stretch) great sister and kids, spiritual practices, and being a helpful person to others. As we give, we receive, and a few years ago I became aware that the universe has always provided for me, one way or another. I recommend the book "The Soul Of Money" for insight into our connections and attitudes toward money. I also avoid the news - the media is all about enhancing our fear.

I am most worried about the loss of equity in our retirement funds. Those losses have set us back years and will make it almost impossible for us not to have to work past the time when we had planned on retiring. This is something that I am very worried about.

The cost of groceries, utilities, phones, cell phones, insurance (auto, property, and medical), and movies (entertainment) have all skyrocketed and unfortunately our paychecks do not keep pace with these rising costs. I really worry about how we will be able to stay in our home (that we have owned since 1980 and my husband's parents owned from 1960)and meet the rising costs of insurance and property taxes.

I realize I am not the only one in this situation and we are all worried about staying above water and not sinking. Hopefully things will turn around when they say they will but unless the people who helped put us in this situation are held accountable for their gross negligence, then I don't see much hope for the future. They obviously haven't learn anything and won't learn anything unless they are held accountable for their actions and their decisions.

Our capitalist society is supposedly the best available. However, there seem to be certain issues that no longer make sense. Take the example of property values going up 200% - 300% in 2002 - 2003. That was not "normal" because values should go up about 50% in 10 years. Now "someone" has to pay the price and why does it have to be "Average Joe?" Also, the energy crisis does not make sense. My Brother designed a different type of nuclear engine 15 years ago that is environmentally safe and burns the fuel much more efficiently. It can be small enough to put into a plane that can fly around the world 12 times before needing to refuel. Why have his efforts to manufacture and distribute this failed?
I could go on, but you and I both have other things to do to survive.

The economy is the worse that I have ever seen. I am 65 years old, retired and suppose to be enjoying my golden years. The stockmarket has hit us hard. We don't have time at our age to recoup our money which was to be left to our kids as their inheritance. I am upset how our congressman have handled the current crisis. But then what do they care, they don't have our health ins. they have ins. at no charge to them from the federal government that you and I pay for. Need a haircut they don't have to pay $15 like us they have a full time barber at the white house and they get it for free, again we pay for it. Can't leave the capital hill for lunch too busy don't worry, they have full time chef's who will whip them up something at no cost to them again, us tax payers will pay for it. Don't feel like driving to work today, no problem most congressman have a limo with a driver paid for again by us the taxpayers. Not feeling well today not to worry the full time doctor's at the white house are at their beckon call they will fix them up in no time, again us lucky taxpayers foot the bill. Angy, you bet I am and we need a change in the way our government is spending our money. And to think that congress wants a raise of $52,000 a year. I wish that amount could of been added to the presidential ballot, I know it would of have been defeated if the american people had the right to vote on it. Let's all stand together and let our voices be heard, together we could move a mountain. And what is this that judges in the supreme court and other parts of our government are still in office in their 90's. Come on let's move them out and get some fresh nw blood in there. Our govenment needs to initiate new policies and put restirctions on age limits even 70 is too old to be in office. Look around and see in congress and the senate and our judges look at their ages and see how many are over 70 still in office. I can only surmise how good the benefits are that they don't want to leave them. My husband and I don't get a 6 figure retirement package as some of our people in washington do we make around $20,000. Come on america join me it's time for a new administration and some new rules that aply to all. I feel so much better now that I took the time to air my feelings. God bless.

The Federal Reserve System, S.E.C., and the U.S. Treasury are doing nothing to help the American people. Each of the above have been less than truthful to the American people. They have been only interested in helping bailout the large banks and insurance companies. This was done to cover up the mass derivatives and credit default swap problems of the banks and insurance companies.

The Federal Reserve System and U.S. Treasury mostly stated the bailout was due to subprime mortgages. Against the American publics wishes, Congress passed the 700 billion bailout package with the goal of purchasing mortgages and stopping the housing slump. Almost half of the money has been spent and not any of it to really buy up these subprime mortgages. Now the U.S. Treasury states the remaining 350 billion in bailout funds are needed to help purchase student loans, credit card loans, and commercial credit lines. All of these areas are again to help the large banks and insurance carriers. These are the same banks and insurance companies who don't want to make loans to people or pay loss claims.

Housing sales have ground to a halt.

WHAT WE TAXPAYERS NEED - new Federal Reserve System, U.S. Tresury, and SEC leadership.

A box of Frosted Flakes cost almost as much as two gallons of gasoline!
A pound bag of coffee only weight 10 oz. The contents of packages is shrinking and the price is increasing. That one that really got me was a head of Cauliflower for $4.29. The prices of groceries, taxes, insurance and energy continue to rise.

I worked the last three years for the DOD in Kuwait. We were guarding for the military so that more of them could go to Iraq. I came back to the states and find that my retirement is not where I thought it was and I have to work more years. Haven't I been doing this since I was sixteen? I guess we do need a change. I am just not feeling safe about where that change is going to take us. Why can't politicians be more honest and truthful?

My pocket feels the pain of paying more and more taxes and with the health insurance increasing I know that soon my funds will be drained. I don't understand, what has happened to America?

The so-called "free market/enterprise" system must be reviewed and reformed. Bush was put in power as a puppet - though he was a stupid, neurotic, incompetent fool - by the corporations, banks, mortgage companies, investment companies, etc., and by "conservatives", evangelical Christians, and those secretly voting white, business, money, anti-black, anti-Latin, ant