The Soapbox Thread

 Diana..when my brother's wife won the $100,000 lottery, she set his clothes on the front porch, he had nothing but his job and most that she was working on taking also....but he went to financial advisor's and they told him to buy an four plex apartment or better and rent it out, to where the other people were sharing his part of the rental payments evenly. As it was I have this old trailer out back of my house and he lived here for one year to do nothing but save money and he bought an modest homethe next street up from me, but since then even he's moved in an gal and started another family...I never see him though he lives closer now then he ever has before. He seems to be doing alright though went out and bought him an new pickup recently same color as ours, and she got herself another car also. Since my hubby was "force retired" we've lost about $100,000 in the last several years from him having to find another job, plus half our pension paying off bills also. I know how you feel. My single sister "gave up' and went under state assistance...she's 62 years old tomarrow. She couldn't find an job to keep up with local prices either.  While many of the people have health issues to help them get there, some of them and most of them are mainly just people that their income doesn't warrant an place for them to live any more.One of the guys I met in her group home before they placed her in an apartment was an 40 plus hour a week school teacher, divorced, by the time he paid for his wife to live in the house, and his kids, there was nothing left for him to live on either...they were trying to help him out..the new breed needing help arenot the low income, they are blue collar workers...highly placed ones, and who is living in an "tent"camp called Dignity Village these days, retirement couple whose medical bills have seen them rent out their house to keepfromlosing it, college students that can't go toschool and find an affordable place to live as well on anpartime job, women with children whom have divorced and the men don't pay or won't 'pay allimony..peoplelike my hubby that had an good job and it closed down ...can't make our bills for the lower income they are now making. Good luck. You know living in "RV" has it merits, you can't have an lotofpeople around, and they come fully furnished, and you own themdown the  line for the payments shelled out..though I've been to Boston, the closestRV park is 8 miles from downtown...or was when I was there, parking them in town is an hard to do, but if you have an friend willing to help you out, it works out a bit better. The hispanics have gone to renting huge huge houses others are losing and moving as many as four or five families into them to share expenses.The low income now thanks to the Gov has housing units built for them or else they tend to live off the land anyway they can..I also understand as enrollment goes down in the college many of them are renting out dormroomsto make ends meet these days.

>>>There is an under-current talk of "revolution" here if this keeps going on...

Get the same feeling here in the UK Shirley, just don't see any end to it all, and as you suggest the fat cats still get the cream!

>>>Besides, who could possibly afford to keep me in style?

Well not me that's for sure! But seriously, there is someone special for you out there Diana and I hope it isn't too much longer before you are able to find somebody, settle down and be happy with a great guy who loves you for who you are! Just ask your Aunt to give a recommendation and you'll be well away!!!!

Shirley,

Why do you have a problem with former President Bush building a new house? Would you feel the same way if it was Obama (who has pretty palatial digs himself), or the Clintons (who aren't doing too shabby I hear). How about Al Gore (who is pimping himself to the global warming crowd for millions), or even the Kennedys (who are touted by the liberal left as America's royal family but are nothing more than a family of criminals, moral reprobates, and political hangers-on).

I lost more than 300K in this economy thanks to all of the above, and I will probably never be able to retire. But you know what? P*****g and moaning about the wealthy is not going to change a thing. I'm just going to have to work harder and longer and do whatever I can to keep my little piece of the pie.

Our politicians are wealthy in their own right and there's no getting around that. All politicians are in the pockets of others and have no real concern for the general population.