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lin Four Star Member


Joined : 20 Mar 2008 Posts : 646 Location : Mexico
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zadaconnaway Five Star Member


Age : 60 Joined : 16 Jan 2008 Posts : 1659 Location : Washington, USA
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Thu May 01, 2008 10:53 pm | |
| Lets see, how long would it take me to draw aim and fire? Maybe two minutes is an overestimation!! _________________ Zada Connaway Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0
http://www.zadaconnaway.com/ |
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zadaconnaway Five Star Member


Age : 60 Joined : 16 Jan 2008 Posts : 1659 Location : Washington, USA
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Thu May 01, 2008 10:55 pm | |
| Physical contact with him would just be too creepy and repulsive!! _________________ Zada Connaway Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0
http://www.zadaconnaway.com/ |
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lin Four Star Member


Joined : 20 Mar 2008 Posts : 646 Location : Mexico
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P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member


Age : 20 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 473 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Fri May 02, 2008 1:01 am | |
| | Abe F. March wrote: | Lin, nothing seems to make sense anymore. We support dictators who can do us favors. We press for democracy, yet when someone is democratically elected that doesn't agree with us, we refuse to recognize them. Our credibility has gone down the tubes. We profess to be an honest broker but our actions don't back that up. What has happened to America? |
Yes, over the past five years, America's credibility in the world sure has gone down the toilet. The world's loss of faith in America is almost definately one of the factors contributing to the dollar's decline. I just hope our next president tries to re-establish America's credibility in the world, though I have my doubts about that actually happening.  |
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Shelagh Admin


Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 1784 Location : UK
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Fri May 02, 2008 7:42 am | |
| | lin wrote: | | But those Muslim fundies are well-known for their fond treatment and enlightened attitudes toward women. |
 _________________ Shelagh Watkins http://shelaghwatkins.co.uk/ |
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P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member


Age : 20 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 473 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:28 pm | |
| | Good news, the dollar went up today. Now the euro is only worth $1.50 (the euro used to be worth 95 cents). |
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Pam Five Star Member


Age : 42 Joined : 02 Feb 2008 Posts : 1213 Location : Nova Scotia, Canada
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Abe F. March Five Star Member


Age : 69 Joined : 26 Jan 2008 Posts : 1059 Location : Germany
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:51 am | |
| Pam, I had to read your response twice to understand your reference to the value of the dollar.
The Euro/Dollar thing is especially important to me. My retirement income is in dollars and is converted to Euros. My income has steadily decreased while prices of everything have gone up. That kind of math sucks. _________________ "To Beirut and Back" http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch |
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P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member


Age : 20 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 473 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:50 pm | |
| It seems it's that way all over the place, people's incomes go down while prices go up. Even if your income stays the same, with the increases in prices the last couple of years, it's just like getting a pay cut. |
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zadaconnaway Five Star Member


Age : 60 Joined : 16 Jan 2008 Posts : 1659 Location : Washington, USA
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:49 am | |
| The folks I really feel sorry for are the young couples who are raising families and trying to buy a home while paying off two cars so they can both work. There are so many right now defaulting on their mortgages that it is awful. The tempting rate plans seem to have lured them into a trap. I don't know how they hang on. _________________ Zada Connaway Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0
http://www.zadaconnaway.com/ |
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P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member


Age : 20 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 473 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:10 pm | |
| | Years ago, it used to be that a family could be raised on a single income (one 40 hour a week job). Now it seems that in most cases it takes at least two of those jobs and many times even more. It's becomming more and more common for people to work 12 and 16 hour days with little or no vacation just to have enough money. Prices have gone up dramatically in the past years. In the 1970s, one could buy a brand new house for about $48,000. Now, a similer brand new house will cost about $210,000 (by the way, it would have only cost about $3,500 back in 1910). Back in the mid to late 1990s, a gallon of gas cost about $1.20 and now it's hovering around $4.00. Back in 2001, gold was about $300 an ounce and now, it averages about $900. Besides the rising cost of things, another reason people have to work more is the increase in personal debt. The average American carries about $10,000 debt on their credit cards and has several differnt loans (home, car, ect.) to pay off. Many people are decades away from being debt free, and for some, it may never happen. Part of the problem is the rising cost of things, but another part of the problem is that people always seem to want more no matter how much they have and the easy availibility of credit has only served to make the debt problem worse. |
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Dick Stodghill Four Star Member


Age : 83 Joined : 04 May 2008 Posts : 845 Location : Ohio
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Sun Aug 10, 2008 1:55 pm | |
| Your final sentence says it all, Gordon. The desire for instant gratification and more possessions has gotten many people into the mess in which they now find themselves. _________________ Mystery Writers of America, Private Eye Writers of America www.dickstodghill.com |
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Abe F. March Five Star Member


Age : 69 Joined : 26 Jan 2008 Posts : 1059 Location : Germany
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Sun Aug 10, 2008 2:36 pm | |
| I agree. Credit cards can be a blessing and a disaster. With some, they always pay just the minimum required and then think that they can afford to buy something else they don't need. They are paying interest and very little on the principle which puts them deeper in debt. I remember a situation when I was out of work but fortunately had excellent credit. I lived on my credit cards paying the rent and everything else. When a payment came due, I used one credit card to pay the other. It helped me survive but placed me in debt. I vowed that when I got a job, that I would pay off my cards and never, ever, be in debt again to a credit card company. I kept that vow. I use a credit card for convenience but pay off the balance when the bill comes in thus avoiding paying the high interest.
If credit cards are uses for the convenience of buying things they need and not for wants that put them in debt, they will survive the bad times. Living a life on borrowed money is the life of a pauper. _________________ "To Beirut and Back" http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch |
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Pam Five Star Member


Age : 42 Joined : 02 Feb 2008 Posts : 1213 Location : Nova Scotia, Canada
 | Subject: Re: Down goes the Dollar Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:46 am | |
| | Abe F. March wrote: | Pam, I had to read your response twice to understand your reference to the value of the dollar.
The Euro/Dollar thing is especially important to me. My retirement income is in dollars and is converted to Euros. My income has steadily decreased while prices of everything have gone up. That kind of math sucks. |
It sure does Abe - suck that is. I see folks who are retired getting squeezed so tight it hurts just to watch, and Zada you are right about the young families. There will be more belt tightening to follow, and I think more folks who take on a second job in order to make things work out. _________________ Pam Robertson  http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com |
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