should we have billionaires?

[Holy Spirit]

People can no longer save because they don't put any effort into saving even a small part of their income but would rather spend beyond their means to achieve that which they cannot afford.

I remember back in 1985 when I was working in the logging industry for a $5.00 / hr. wage resulting in a paycheck of $165.00 per week. I am surprised I remember this so well. 2 Anyway, our mortgage was around $352.00 per month including taxes and insurance in escrow. I had a student loan for just over $50.00 per month, electricity was about $30.00 per month, water/sewer was about $30.00 per month, and we were still paying for medical bills from our son's birth in July, 1982.

Doing the math, we were left with approximately $215.00 per month on average to buy groceries, clothing, fuel for our vehicles, and so forth. It made things rather tight but I believe it is important to build up an emergency reserve fund so I asked myself if we could save just $.25 per hour. So every week when I deposited my paycheck, I immediately put $10.00 into a savings account. That would add up to $520.00 per year. We did not miss the money and it provided a little breathing room as it grew over time. I continued this concept for my entire career and as my incomes improved I added to the amount saved.

When my company began to offer a voluntary savings program in the middle 90's, I decided to find out how much each tax withholding exemption amounted to. At that time it was about $20.00 per exemption per pay period so I changed my W-4 accordingly and then had my company auto-deposit $80.00 per paycheck to our savings account where it can earn interest, even though it may not be much. At tax time, instead of getting a tax return I would just pay whatever income tax we owed. I figured it was foolish to let the government use my money interest-free all year when I could get that same money to work for me.

If Im not mistaken todays economy is primarily based 70% on consumer spending! There's no incentives for people to save! And, I know from experience, your savings can be wiped out overnight when the economy crashes!!! Millennials were affected by the crash more then any other generation x, y or z...

 

[Corn Pop]

I think someone who lives in a home made shack and dump picks on rubbish sites to earn a honest dollar and is skinny by malnutrition is poor.

Someone who lives in a house and sleeps in a bed, has some clothes, has a tv or a iphone, and has a bit of food each day is not poor.

 

[Holy Spirit]

I think someone who lives in a home made shack and dump picks on rubbish sites to earn a honest dollar and is skinny by malnutrition is poor.

Someone who lives in a house and sleeps in a bed, has some clothes, has a tv or a iphone, and has a bit of food each day is not poor. If you drive around in a dump of a vehicle on empty gas your not poor, at least you got a car that starts, it's a runner. Lol.

Oh, I know what poor is!!! You see it everyday, all around the world!!!

 

[Corn Pop]

Only about 0.2% of people in the USA are homeless each night. That's very good statistics.

99.8% of people in the USA live in a actual house/unit/apartment, yea some homes might have a few leaks and be a bit rough but it's still shelter and better shelter than living in a car, under a bridge, or in a home made shack made of scrap like many in the world.

People need stop complaining.

 

[Holy Spirit]

Only about 0.2% of people in the USA are homeless each night. That's very good statistics, and homes are not shacks.

99.8% of people in the USA live in a home, yea some homes might have a few leaks and be a bit rough but it's still shelter and better shelter than living in a car, under a bridge, or in a home made shack made of scrap like many in the world.

People need stop complaining.

"Living in a car under a bridge" have we met?

 

[daninthelionsden]

Only about 0.2% of people in the USA are homeless each night. That's very good statistics.

99.8% of people in the USA live in a actual house/unit/apartment, yea some homes might have a few leaks and be a bit rough but it's still shelter and better shelter than living in a car, under a bridge, or in a home made shack made of scrap like many in the world.

People need stop complaining.

We lived in a roach/rat infested rent house after "Dad" left due to my mom continuing to sleep with her married Episcopal priest boyfriend. There was very little food in the house.
Saw a lady living alone in a house with no electricity (only gas). We delivered and hooked up a stove so she could cook and have heat for the winter. She slept on a pile of clothes for a bed.
Saw a family who's only furniture was cardboard boxes.
As a kid, stayed at a friend's house. His mother was a widow of a Vietnam soldier killed early in the war. She became an alcoholic. There was very little food. Her boyfriend brought a small steak over. The oldest kid fried it up and cut it into small pieces. That was dinner.
Poverty doesn't require homelessness.

 

[Holy Spirit]

We lived in a roach/rat infested rent house after "Dad" left due to my mom continuing to sleep with her married Episcopal priest boyfriend. There was very little food in the house.
Saw a lady living alone in a house with no electricity (only gas). We delivered and hooked up a stove so she could cook and have heat for the winter. She slept on a pile of clothes for a bed.
Saw a family who's only furniture was cardboard boxes.
As a kid, stayed at a friend's house. His mother was a widow of a Vietnam soldier killed early in the war. She became an alcoholic. There was very little food. Her boyfriend brought a small steak over. The oldest kid fried it up and cut it into small pieces. That was dinner.
Poverty doesn't require homelessness.

I understand!!! I lived out of my car with my dog under a bridge!!!

 

[jasonc]

Bank savings via CD aren't much .I,use the delayed taxation savings called 457,401 .