Ran across this online...the average Americans rant.

[BigJim]

Jim, what you describe is the backbone of any modern economy. I doubt that the industrial revolution could have happened without the credit-generating process, much less all the little things we enjoy so much, like cars, TV, computers etc.

Lending money isn't what's obscene Hal, it's that privately owned organisations do it (or they lend thin air to be precise) and maim and destroy the lives of billions of innocents in the process. That to me is the worst kind of criminality. I've espoused this view to others, who've said pretty much the same as you, along with "You can't change the way it's done, the system would collapse!".

GOOD!!!

The whole bloody system needs changing and the sooner the better! Why the hell should privately owned banks invent money out of thin air and cripple people and countries with the outrageously high interest? Governments elected by the citizens and accountable to the voters should be able to do it, and they could charge only a minimal fee for the administration involved. The world wouldn't stop, food chains wouldn't collapse, civillisation wouldn't grind to a halt. It'd bloody fly! The system isn't there because it's solid and dependable, it's there because it was designed to create a control enviroment where the human race would constantly be running as fast as it could to stay still.

 

[BigJim]

but those people who can finance this extensive research are the same ones who profit from the present system, and they'll prevent such research with all their power.

Anyone'd think there was a conspiracy... 🙄

 

[giantfan121262]

After reading the posts in this thread, I have come to realize how fortunate I am for what I have. Though I have to admit, there has been a few instances where a series of events that happened could have had a huge impact on our living situation.

Right after I bought my first house, my wife was laid off from her job about a month after. Mind you, it was a scary situation b/c we were depending on her income to pay for the substantially increased housing costs. fortunetly, she got a job two weeks later and things were on the up and up. I think the biggest financial set back in our lives is when we arrived at the decision to adopt our children rather than have a biological family. The cost of adoption is obscene and I think, in that respect, it seems to me that it exploits couples that have run out of options. We tried to have kids for five years and after disappointment after disappointment we realized that it was more important to have a family than have kids biologically. So, we go through the process of proving our fitness as parents both psycologically, financially, and emotionally. With all that, we were wondering ourselves how we were going to get the money to pay for all this. I am not saying it wasn't worth it b/c it sure as hell was. My kids are wonderful and I love the shit out of them.

All I was saying was that alot of things don't pan out as you envision it and you have to make adjustments.

I want to make honorable mention to Kis123 for not taking the easy way out. You did the right thing and you should be proud of yourself. Your kids were lucky to have you as a parent even if you did it all by yourself. You were better off w/o that guy who skipped out on you to "take care of himself". I know how hard it is to raise kids in a home where there is a mother and father. To do it alone is very admirable. Congratulations again!

 

[drew70]

Originally posted by kis123
I had a choice, should I abort or give away my responsibilites, or should I grow up and deal with them? I chose the latter.

This is the first thing you've said that I can respect. It must have been very difficult at times, but you perservered. Way to go. It occurs to me that when I said "don't have kids" this could be misinterpreted as a plug for abortion. I don't support abortion. There are far more effective and humane methods of birth control. Avoiding pregnancy and that which causes it is high on the list.

This may seem off-topic so let me bring it back around. Jo presented a letter of somebody venting her frustrations. My point was that her situation was exacerbated by her previous decision to have children, when she might have been better off otherwise. It's an unpopular opinion, but I firmly believe many people have no business parenting children. I gratefully count myself among them.

This goes back to my initial post. Too many people lack compassion in the world today. They don't think before they speak, they don't care about the impact their words carry to others. People have become cold and antisetpic towards their fellow man. No one asked for a handout, just a listening ear and some understanding.

I have compassion for people in trouble. I sympathise and identify with people in need. This ranter was not looking for a listening ear nor understanding. She instead bitched at us, treating her audience as though they are somehow partly to blame. She clearly din't think before she ranted, and never considered the impact her words carry to others.