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7 Things The Middle-Class Can't Afford Anymore
Authored by Erika Rawes, The Cheat Sheet; originally posted at USA Today,
Though there is some debate over the exact income a middle class household brings in, we do have an idea of who the middle class are — most working class people. Today's bourgeoisie is composed of laborers and skilled workers, white collar and blue collar workers, many of whom face financial challenges. Bill Maher reminded us a few months back that 50 years ago, the largest employer was General Motors, where workers earned an equivalent of $50 per hour (in today's money). Today, the largest employer — Wal-Mart — pays around $8 per hour.
The middle class has certainly changed. We've ranked a list of things the middle class can no longer really afford. We're not talking about lavish luxuries, like private jets and yachts. The items on this list are a bit more basic, and some of them are even necessities. The ranking of this list is based on affordability and necessity. Therefore, items that are necessity ranked higher, as did items that a larger percentage of people have trouble paying for.
Vacations
A vacation is an extra expense that many middle-earners cannot afford without sacrificing something else. A Statista survey found that this year 54% of people gave up purchasing big ticket items like TVs or electronics so they can go on a vacation. Others made sacrifices like reducing or eliminating their trips to the movies (47%), reducing or eliminating trips out to restaurants (43%), or avoiding purchasing small ticket items like new clothing (43%).
New vehicles
Very few people who earn the median income can afford to buy a new car or truck. Interest.com recently analyzed the prices of new cars and trucks, as well as the median incomes across more than two dozen major cities, and found that new cars and trucks were simply not affordable to most middle-earners.
"Median-income families in only one major city [Washington DC] can afford the average price Americans are paying for new cars and trucks nowadays." As of 2013, new cars are priced at $32,086, according to the study. Mike Sante, Interest.com's managing editor reminds us, "just because you can manage the monthly payment doesn't mean you should let a $30,000 or $40,000 ride gobble up all such a huge share of your paycheck."
To pay off debt
These debt statistics come from Debt.org: "More than 160 million Americans have credit cards." "The average credit card holder has at least three cards." "On average, each household with a credit card carries more than $15,000 in credit card debt."
Not only do we have large amounts of credit card debt, we also have student loans, mortgages, cars, and medical debts. Our debt is growing faster than our income, and many middle class workers have trouble staying afloat. Money-Zine evaluated debt growth and income growth over the past few decades and found that "back in 1980, the consumer credit per person was $1,540, which was 7.3% of the average household income of $21,100. In 2013, consumer debt was $9,800 per person, which was 13.4% of the average household income of $72,600. This means debt increased 70% faster than income from 1980 through 2013."
Emergency savings
To provide ourselves with a degree of financial security, we are supposed to have emergency savings to protect ourselves in the event of job loss, illness, or some other catastrophe. Most members of the middle class don't have at least six months of emergency savings, however, and some working people have no such savings.
A Bankrate survey found that only around one out of four households have six months of emergency money saved, and many of them are in the higher income groups. Another one-fourth have no emergency savings at all, and the remaining household have a small to moderate amount of savings, but not enough to cover six months of expenses.
Retirement savings
If you reach the retirement age with little or no money saved, Social Security is probably not going to be enough to cover your basic needs. Even if you want to work for your entire life, you have no way of knowing whether or not you will be physically capable of doing so.
Although having a lack of a retirement savings is a risky move, so many people bet on double zero, just hoping that things will work out in their favor. While some members of the middle class neglect this aspect of financial planning because they are procrastinating, there are also some workers who cannot afford to set this money aside. Nearly half of those who don't save for retirement say it's because they simply don't have the money.
As of late, around 20% of people near 65 have not saved anything for retirement at all, and the majority of people — 59% — worry that they don't have enough money saved for retirement, according to a Gallup Poll.
Medical care
Medical care is a basic necessity and something we'd think would be affordable for someone earning a middle income. A Forbes article published data indicating that workers in large companies — many of whom are members of the middle class — "face nearly $5,000 in premiums, co-payments, deductibles and other forms of co-insurance."
During the past few years, these costs have had a large impact on working Americans. A report by Feeding America found that a shocking 66% of households say they've had to choose between paying for food and paying for medical care — 31% say they have to make that choice each and every month.
Dental work
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "the U.S. spends about $64 billion each year on oral health care — just 4% is paid by Government programs." About 108 million people in the U.S. have no dental coverage and even those who are covered may have trouble getting the care they need, the department reports.
Oftentimes, people will purchase medical coverage and forgo dental because it's so expensive. Plus, dental insurance may cover only 50% of the more expensive procedures, like crowns and bridges. This leaves those who have insurance with large co-payments.
In many cases, middle-earners will delay or even forego some of these procedures in efforts to save on costs. According to the CDC, nearly one in four adults between the ages of 20 and 64 have untreated dental caries (like cavities or infections).
* * *
If only they had listened to Janet Yellen and found rich parents or bought businesses....!
But they are distracted...
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The NWO likes to project the future through movies, tv etc. I can't help but think that 'Walking Dead' is a sign of things to come. Not real Zombies, but once the SHTF, lots of walkers in search of food. Good luck bugging out to a remote enough location.
No problem. Uninhabited island via sailboat.
Because of its superior divisbility, the middle class and poor will always be able to afford Bitcoin.
They can't afford to be stupid anymore.
Of course, that won't change.
shit i have a pretty high income, and i only got 2 of em in the bag.
No middle class ever existed. There has always been the working class poor slaves and the non-working class rich parasites...
"Very few people who earn the median income can afford to buy a new car or truck."
Maybe. But, that didn't stop them from financing one anyway...
Yes, but since the middle class now earns less than 20k per year we have learned.
We now know why there are reality shows based on Repos.
Young people can't afford to own a dog.
How pathetic is that?
Because BenYellen.
All over Newark, Paterson, Camden, Trenton, Jersey City, etc (insert your favorite no-go city here) the peeps got whole stables of pit bulls. It seems that while EBT doesn't pay for dog food it is perfectly valid for beef. Go figure.
97% of Americans are retards regarding basic math & financial matters (and most other things). The ones who bother to vote also vote for those who tell the most lies and are the biggest criminals.
I recently learned that it's common for Canadians to finance vehicle purchases over 72, 84 and now, even 96 month terms, so they are also retarded. Anyone doing so, assuming they honor the terms of their finance contract, will have negative equity in their vehicle for almost their entire loan term - Retards.
"The life of a repo man is always intense."
Make sure to vote for Presidential Candidate Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho in 2016.
Of course this article "forgot" to mention housing or land. I hear you guys can still afford tents though.
Oh, hang on. I forgot. You can always "afford" housing. You just don't make any repayments. Easy. Someone should tell the tent cities.
Vacations don't define middle class. Plenty of workaholics in upper class. But the opportunity to get ahead in life through talent and hardwork is something middle class can't afford anymore.
1) Education to get ahead in life or stay in middle class
2) Housing in good school district to have their children get ahead in life over trust fund kids
3) Medical care to monetize special talents as highly skilled workers
In fact, ghetto lower middle class people live better materially than young professional with years of education debt working in large metropolitan area where high rents keep them forever indentured to landlords and riding subway with bums. Compare that to factory worker who can get a house for $150k in the mdidle of nowhere and fill it up with cheap toys & clothes made in China.
I agree except for one caveat.
Factory jobs in flyovwer country? Not here.
If you're not in the protected monopolies, like healthcare and government, you're either on the dole, in jail, or working for WM or some other shitty multinational.
Here's a list of factory closings in ONE COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA. As a trained Industrial Engineer, who was told in 1987 that "future demand for IEs far exceeds supply and jobs for IEs will be plentiful in the future"
Fast forward to 1992. I work in a garment factory in Louisiana. Clinton gets elected, passes NAFTA (along with repub shitbags) and boom, 3 months later the factory closes and we're told "we can make it cheaper in Mexico".
Uh Huh.
http://remembercliffside.com/history/the_county/courier_series/courier_t...
If someone wants to stay in the middle class range, owning a gold and bitcoin is mandatory. And food of course, for at least few weeks.
In a interview with the Economist, President Barack Obama made the following statement: “I think you’d have to say that we’ve managed the economy pretty well and business has done okay.” He said: “Since I have come into office, there’s almost no economic metric by which you couldn’t say that the U.S. economy is better and that corporate bottom lines are better. None.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/08/04/have-most-economic-indicators-...
the game is pump up the market prices with liquidity (aka. QEX) then do a reset after they are out of the office. Long term, nothing really changed, but in the middle of the presidential term, you get to say that things have improved.
Although Obama himself did mention 1 metric that didn't improve: Median family incomes
All these jobs but not enough wage to purchase necessities. No Job and affordable housing OR jobs but unaffordable housing. To middle class, they are lose-lose choices.
The article claims "average income" is $72,600, then mucks it up with "the median income." (Median household income is usually claimed to be around $52,000.) Either the author is playing games with words, or he is understating by 27% how difficult it is for Joe Sixpack to meet expenses.
True. And to give Joe 6-Pack a real kick in the groin, Median Real HH income peaked at just shy of $57K...in 1999. It has been falling in fits and starts for the last 15 years. It almost matched 1999 in 2007 at $56.4K but has been falling steadily since 2007 to its $52K perch where it sits today. So if it feels you're losing ground, it's cuz you are.
Can someone please explain the difference between mean and median to these folks?
The mean is what you use when it supports your argument more than the median
The median is what you use when it supports your argument more than the mean
You can also calculate the harmonic mean, which may support your argument more than the mean or median
Lies, damn lies and statistics
Don't forget that as income inequality grows (for whatever reason(s)), the usefulness of tracking and attempting to utilize either median income (being the better metric) or mean income decreases as a data point to construct a thesis (due to an "outsize" or skewering effect).
If there are 10 people and 10 chickens, with 1 person having all the chickens while the other 9 have none then:
Politicians tend to use the mean since it completely disguises the inequality in the distribution (as my example glaringly demonstrates). The correct one to use when it comes to social systems is the mode, since that is closest to what most people experience and the true impact for most of the population.
When mode is used it quickly becomes obvious just how bad things are for the majority of people in most Western countries and how fast they are getting worse (since wealth concentration does not affect the mean but it is pretty obvious in the mode since each extremely wealthy cronyist rich "wunner" creates millions if "losers")
I stopped retirement savings myself over a year ago to pay off debt. I'm almost done, but have other major expenses coming up. Will have to replace our car (one-car family and it's an under-$20K car) in a couple years too. I get one debt paid off, another comes up. And I make 2.5 times the median household income for my zip code, don't know how others are managing it. I'm just glad I went big on the long-term savings for the first 20 years of my career while I had the spare income. I'll be OK.
The problem with credit being available for everything you want to buy is, it makes you feel richer than you are. You can keep up the savings, but the balloon bulges elsewhere and you have more debt. The other problem is with interest rates low, the debt payments are manageable even if you have a lot of debt, and it's easy to get complacent about just how much you owe. The amount of the monthly payment doesn't mean jack if owning that car means you can't build any net worth for years while you're paying it off.
I'm in my prime earning and spending years now, and debt is the enemy. Staying out of debt is more important right now than running up the IRAs even higher.
I kept debt to an absolute minimum for my whole life. But when I look at my lifestyle, I understand why others don't copy me. I still don't understand how others survive though.
they surive by rolling over their debt to lower and lower interest rates in the last 30 years.
Hope the music doesn't stop...
Owning a debt now could be beneficial, because inflation will eat it.
That's why I turned my student loan debts into the lowest payment possible. I'm hoping inflation will eat what I owe.
Just as social security and pensions will get paid out, in severely devalued dollars...
So too will you pay back every single cent of your student loan debt in devalued dollars.
Or they will finally apply a meaningful measure of inflation to your debt, only, and legally raise your debt to ensure the banks aren't losing purchasing power.
I mean our society would crumble and there would be blood in the streets without banks. /S
Many obtained a HELOC, bought vehicles, etc.; stopped paying on their mortgage/loans for two years, then defaulted on the loans and gave the keys to the bank.
Household income is another propaganda technique.
What matters is median individual income, which in this country, according to the SSA, is around $26000 per year.
That means around 70M people with jobs make less than $13/hour.
Even here in poorsville, your life is pretty shitty if you make $13 per hour. Especially if you have one or more kids.
With that many people making a shit wage, how is a consumer economy supposed to function?
I can't see it working worth a shit once everybody gets saturated with consumer debt.
Which is about now.
Every sallary nominated in fdrns is not enough because of inflation.
Hell , I'd finance one on a 84 month term if I could and wait for the hyperinflation to roll on in.
So far there are no statistics on the wealth of the political class, the so-called governemnt experts like Susan Rice, Valerie Jarrett, Larry Summers and the like who migrate from academia to politics to TV talking heads to writing books no one reads. By and large, these incompetents are no different than goombah mafioso or the Chinese Communist party cadre, guys who gets the best table in the restaurant because of their connections and corruption, not due to ability. In the USA now, as in Communist China, there are protected thieves and then there is everyone else.
Dental Work?
Doesn't matter if you're British middle-class...
I've got terrible teeth dating back to them giving me tetracycline as a young child to save my life. A year or so ago, I paid $2000 for a root canal and crown on one tooth. Needless to say, I'm not getting any other teeth fixed unless I'm in pain.
I have great dental coverage from my employer but whenever I visit the dentist, the office enquired about my coverage and gave me a plan to max out the 2000 $ yearly coverage in XRAYS, various fillings, examinations, wisdom teeth extraction etc etc. FUCK THAT. Even if I paying for it out of pocket I am getting that shit done when im in mexico. Whats with the pricing by these dentists?
Totally agree, they look at you like a young virgin when you come in with your dental plan full of money, they give you lots of attention, suggestions, and a shit load of dentist love postcards in the mail, after they are done they discard you like a ghetto whore, you no longer even get a postcard for your birthday.
Were you expecting a hug after the act?
I always did wonder why I felt loose between my legs after coming out of strong sedation at the dentist's office.
...head to Thailand for superior, low cost dentistry. A root canal and crown will cost $2-3k USD in America. Much better quality is $300 for root canal anmd $300 for 3M crown (not gold).
I got tired of getting raped by American dentists. Now when I fly, my savings pay for my vacation.
So you use a toothbrush ,not a teeth brush .......
They love their Hedley and Wyche toothpaste
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xikrrk_hedley-wyche_shortfilms
Also referred to as "Legalized Mafia".
"It's a big club, and you ain't in it.."
http://youtu.be/i5dBZDSSky0
@junction, you are absolutely correct. I did a post on Harry Reid once showing his original wealth and what it is now. I would absolutely love to see a study on Congress and the Senate to see how wealthy there were at the start of there often long careers and at the end and exactly how they increased (Hillary and cattle futures, anyone?). I also want a breakdown by party, state and any other interesting demographics.
Anyone like to bet what we would find? Yeah, you know it.
A post nobody can red arrow. Thank you.
But every character on USA tv has PERFECT TEETH
I got'em all! That's pretty crazy when you think about it.
I skimped on the dental for decades, but I just got some thru my wifes work because I need to get some work done.
And the vacations aren't all-inclusives in a tropical paradise. More like snowbirding when it gets hot, and the occasional Vegas/LA/San Diego weekend.
I'm feeling kinda 1% right now!
4 people and a cat...
living in a car..
the new middle class..
@ x. inf. capt
I joke with my partner that we will surive. Got a van, 3 dogs, 5 cats, some supplies and a few hidden spots.
Oh and have gas, canned food, camping gear, solar lights, water everywhere....and very few people around us who would even have a clue to look.
But hopefully it does not come to that. In that case we have a fortified home but MORE importantly live in an area where the 80% Native population already knows how to live off the land.
You are a step above most. It is suprising to find out how much food one actually has to save for a year, along with water, etc.
www.gunsgrubandgold.com
preppers are the 1st to die.
Learn To Trap Your Food
Free Trapping Videos
i say preppers are the 1st to die.
when walmart is closed :empty, when you go to take some food...? where it is...
preppers problem is they thinhk weaponry protect em from others.
as long as i know an automatic gun still shot 1 bullet at the time, i just want to see someone pretending protecting his storage/family while guys come from every windows of his home + another taking wife in hostage.
preppers depend of what they are preppared to, not for what happening.
you americans cannot understand that, you never experienced such things on your own ground.
you are fantasmating by hollywood. this will make you loose your head. if not already done.
walking dead is not the reality. sorry for delusion :)
"preppers depend of what they are preppared to, not for what happening."
I am prepared to put a bullet in your ass or any other fucker that comes sniffing around my property.
You must be European....
"canned food". Yum, yum. Last you a week, a month, then what? What are you going to feed you 3 dogs and 5 cats? Bob's leg (Walking Dead's "Bob")?
And then there is "how to live off the land" syndrome. Not questioning your abilities in that dept, per se, but "living off the land" is a full time occupation. The vast majority of mindless Americans don't even know where the food they eat comes from.
PS you don't happen to be living south of the (American) border, do you?
Sure you can live off the land... my land, my food... just like Tuco, those who have guns, and those who dig... :)
Are your dogs and cats being sterililized? Or is that too expensive?
Animal shelters are bursting with unwanted cats and dogs, and gassing them. Get your pet sterilized.
Shit. Bob Barker found Zerohedge.
Incorrect about the work required to live off the land. The last research I ran across quoted hunter/gatherers as working about 4 hours a day. Of course in todays' world there is not much in the way of wilderness. In fact, the longest and hardest workers come from industrial economies. So what's the use of industrialisation? That's the open question.
Sorry to discourage those who think they can hunt and gather to their hearts content, in 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours...
At this point in Americas dismall evolution, that's ALL a fantasy (maybe a hundred or two hundred years ago, dodging arrows and the like). THe landscape was raped of that abundance long, long ago (not to mention quality of growing soil). If push comes to shove, what wildlife is left out there will be vaporized within a very short time, in America, if agriculture and distribution come to a halt. This romantic notion that even many deluded preppers have that we'll just pack up (back pack) and live off the land, is an illusion. If things take a turn for the worse, just staying out of the flight path of flying lead will take a major effort, all by itself.
PS Donsluck, tell me what your "experience" is (rather than what one reads in National Geographic) with hunting and gathering.
Ya'll need to listen to European American. He's dead on about hunting being a false hope.
To survive the collapse will require the ability to trap non traditional species (and the willingness to eat them, the ability to garden, the ability to store food for times of failure and a variety of other skills.
Trying to catch, kill and grow enough to feed your family is challenging and tales years to master the skills needed.
I think we'll probably see a spike in those converting to the vegan lifestyle after the city dwellers trap the last of the rat population.
And then again, maybe the latest Walking Dead episodes are subliminally preparing the masses for gourmandizing on each other... I wouldn't put it past the "1 out of 4 Americans on psychotropics" and of those, the "1 out of 3 Obese Americans", diet on whatever "meat" they can get their shaking fat hands on.
LOL no problem with running out of meat, lots of two legged critters in the post apocalypse walking around and unlike the wild critters, they got no skills to evade even a partime hunter.
tastes like chicken
No thanks. I'll pass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_%28disease%29
Hunting with a firearm is a fantasy. The noise would give away where the game is, thus drawing other less skilled to where you are. Crossbow is the weapon of choice for hunting if TSHF. Deadly as a firearm and quiet. Also, if a gang of ne'er-do-wells tries to take you out, you can pick 'em off one at a time and the others won't even know which way is up until they are all taking a dirt nap.
Dupe post.
Meh. One word, aquaponics. Know it, live it.
Deer outnumber people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
And YES. AQUAPONICS. micro farms are the future.
not for long
I joke with my partner that we will surive. Got a van, 3 dogs, 5 cats, some supplies and a few hidden spots.
"I am Man, Living in a Van, Down by the River!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nhgfjrKi0o
I'm living in a box - living in a cardboard box:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sq8VDXlWQk
Putin's Moscow and Petersbourg too.
http://fredgassit.tripod.com/fred018.gif
Bitcoin is a fucking joke. A crypto currency that has lost almost 80% of its value since December of 2013 and is easily subject to being hacked or stolen. Not to mention that bitcoin is incredibly difficult to utilize as no one accepts it. It strikes me as ponzi scheme to be honest.
If it is not in your physical possession, then you do not own it. Period.
-64: peak stupidity
and soon, FOOD!
In the last year half and half one quart went from 1.57 at sams club to 2.14 and walnuts a big bag from 11 bucks to 18 dollars. That is some scary shit inflation. I mean these fucks are blowing up the money supply like a the freaking Hindenberg. Expecting to see shit be doubled in price in the next two years. This gas bullshit is a joke, its going to go to 5 bucks a gallon soon, mark my words.
Yeah but penny candy is still penny candy. What else could you need?
...penny candy is still penny candy etc
This is absolutely typical American denial.
I call BS General. I did a casual survey of Wally World and the cheapest item in the store was 47 cents. Pennies are worthless, nickels are worthless, dimes are worthless, and quarters are worthless. WTF, why are we carrying around these worthless coins and wasting time using them???
Coins were invented mostly to buy beer, up untill small change you would have to buy beer by the gallon. With the advent of large scale industries leading to commodisation of all products you get cheaper and cheaper commodities.
But the real question is: do you want those who have monopoly power to sell cheaper products or more expensive products? One leads to the break up of monopoly the other leads to its entrenchment. People decided on cheaper prices without understanding or careing about the consiquences of that disission.
Those coins represent the foolish disission to lower commodity prices. Yes even people are a commodity. So they get their prices lowered as well.
True, a beer can still be bought for a dime...as long as it's a pre 1965 version. The last time I found a silver coin in my change was 2000 in the Florida Keys.
Yes my friend, with 7.2 billion people on the planet, humans are truly a commodity, aid a rather abundant one at that...
;-D
WTF kind of dumb ass rabbit trail did this thread just go down?
A century ago, a HANDMADE pair of leather shoes cost a fucking dollar.
Now we have to pay $100 for some cheap, made in Vietnam cloth shit that only lasts two months before it falls apart.
You know whose fault it is? THE FED.
Penny got eliminated in Canada in the last year
Tylers, please upgrade your post editor to a usable version. This one stinks on ice!!!
Penny candy is now 5 cent candy.
Mark your words? Are you someone we should be listening to? This is the problem with the middle class, their self important observations are not important.
You're a slave now. Say slave shite like "Totes stoked on the cray season of Walking Dead!"
Gas is $5/gallon now at the station in Big Sur.
So? Thirty years ago it was 50% higher in Big Sur than Los Gatos. The delivery truck has to drive over 60 miles one way to get the gas there. Of course it's going to be more expensive.
If you can afford to live anywhere near Big Sur, then the cost of gas is of no concern for you.
probably november 5th
Gives a new meaning to "The Cost of Living"
See ya on Palmyra
South Pacific while the world burns!! Just give me a sailboat, solar panels and a pactor 3 modem with icom SSB. Sail mail and Saildocs: send www.zerohedge.com peace out :D
Looking for crew? I captained a 12 meter sloop across the N. Atlantic and cruised it in the Med for five years.
The Sea which calls all things unto her, calls me.
;-D
What do you get when you cross the Atlantic with the titanic? Halfway.
Already there
There are normally sound reasons why an uninhabited island has no people. It is a frozen chunk of rock in the Artic. A waterless chunk of rock in the Middle East or a low lying island anywhere that gets flooded every bad typhoon season. Maybe it isn't that bad of an island but then it probably belongs to some wealthy powerful dude who will evict you from that island and keep your boat.
Okay, so you found your uninhabited island paradise. Now tell me just one little thing ....what are you going to do
when you get a toothache? It hurts you so bad you cannot even see straight, let alone accomplish any of your regular chores .....
With the island diet you are highly unlikely to get the western diet toothache, Polynesians managed just fine without dentists for thousands of years and thousands of miles of sailing
TV and Hollywood is for ***king retards. If you watch it then don't complain because your viewership keeps them in control.
Hollywood is unbelievably poor quality. They are good at special effects, but can't resist the temptation to attempt to brainwash you. Everything is a sequel, a remake, or just straight copied. Lawyers, bankers, as heroes, sure. The working man? A joke. Thats the message they send.
And notice how all the heroes puff cigarettes. That's product placement for you. Big Tobacco is funding Hollywood today.
I've never seen Captain America smoking..
Or Linda Lovelace
I think I saw her smoking John Holmes once ...
My oh my, have we got some irate folks trolling about today, or what?
I think its the anti-smoking crowd, bastards every one of em !!!
Linda sure could smoke some pole though.
My partner works in the construction part of Movies and TV.
Just like in the 1920's/1930's the "distraction" of the masses MUST continue.
I watch a lot of TCM. Movies in that ((above) era involve many rich "folks" having cocktails and many epics of poor "folks" succeeding.
WATCH the old black and wihites of 1930's and see the meme we are being fed. And the one to come.
Hollywoods of the world are gearing up to make soaring epics of heroics...little guy triumphs movies. Look at the superhero stuff. Good triumphs over evil stuff. Distraction.
War movies are likely coming down the pipeline to reinforce this dead walking/super bug wipeout stuff.
No matter which way the plot goes it is all a distraction of the magician "Watch the right hand; watch my assistant; Pay no mind to what the left hand is doing." Classic Wizard of OZ plot.
Yep, that's how they do it. On TV only white people kill and it's because they have a greedy character flaw. Hollywood is a white guilt factory meant to keep YT taxpayers from complaining about paying for the liberal urban clusterfucks everywhere.
Of course, jewish people never kill and are never greedy. They are always sympathetic characters and reasonable wise sages. They even did gangster Meyer Lansky that way, he was the "smart one" and only the Italians were viscious. And fantasy TV blacks are never allowed to horribly kill or rape whites, it can only be the other way around.
Gwar5
Of course! Blacks are portrayed in movies and teevee only as God and heros nowadays. And a black man with a white women is always a righteous relationship with the white women reaching a state of marital Nirvana. Meanwhile, the white man with the black women always ends in failure because of the white mans hidden racist agenda. Where is Nicole Brown Simpson so we can get her opinion on this?
Bobby Fischer approves of your message. But take it from him do not insult a jew even if you are one.
"Of course, jewish people never kill and are never greedy. They are always sympathetic characters and reasonable wise sages."
To wit:
"By the end of its 12-year run, even archenemy Archie Bunker had raised a Jewish child in his home, befriended a black Jew (implication: Judaism has no ethnic connotations), gone into business with a Jewish partner, enrolled as a member of a synagogue, praised his close friend at a Jewish funeral, hosted a Sabbath dinner, participated in a bat mitzvah ceremony, and joined a group to fight synagogue vandalism. These shows, produced by liberal political activist Norman Lear, thus exemplify the general trend for television to portray non-Jews as participating in Jewish ritual, and 'respecting, enjoying, and learning from it. Their frequent presence and active involvement underscores the message that these things are a normal part of American life' (Pearl & Pearl 1999, 16). Jewish rituals are portrayed as 'pleasant and ennobling, and they bestow strength, harmony, fulfillment, and sense of identity upon those who observe them' (p. 62)."
MacDonald, Kevin (2013-02-02). The Culture of Critique: Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political Movements.
No mass mind control going on here. Move along...
Oh stop it with the Hollywood brainwashing shit.
Yea the tv news and skools are brainwashers... but hollywood is only there to make money..it wasnt invented for brainwashing. The people who PAY TO SEE MOVIES are the ones who want the lil guy/good guy to win. Nobody said that it was based on a true story (cuz it aint folks). Its just what people want.
Explain exactly why 'the brainwashers' would want to pain a picture of the little guy winning..when he already knows he cant. Right..it DOES NOT make sense.
Ok..ill admit..there are a few times that subliminal shit is sprinkled into a message here n there. .but it aint how the system was created.
The lil guy will pay (and then fell good after) to see a movie where he thinks he has a chance. THAT is how Hollywood works. Money..maybe you've heard of it.
StupidEarthlings
Joseph Stalin once remarked something to the effect that the US would never need a ministry of propaganda as long as it had Hollywood.
You're trapped by your own argument, Stupid.
Most hollywood films LOSE money.
On the surface you think producers dump millions into these money losers for the tax writeoff. But they lose so much money, one wonders what income they need to offset with these tax breaks.
If they lose so much money, what do they gain? You have to look at the bigger picture.
Look at the junk Hollywood cranks out and the messages they contain. It is not about making money. It is about framing the thinking of an entire population.
They actually rarely lose money when you factor in DVD sales and rentals. For one thing they have some very creative accounting to make it look like they lose money when in reality they do quite well. If most films lose money they wouldnt be in business.
And more shit Cop shows that are FAR from even coming close.
The old original 'Law and Order' series is still worth a watch. A lot of nuance and bad shit coming out of everyone: WASP, Jew, Black, Hispanic.
D.A. and defense lawyers tricks all exposed. It's good fun.
Law and Order is about unrealistic as it can get. Take it from someone that unfortunately had to spend a significant portion of his younger years in/out of the legal system. There is not one show on tv that even comes close to encompassing how truly fucking rotten the criminal justice system is. D.A.'s don't need tricks, they are agents of the state and can do whatever the fuck they want. They and the police are the only two groups that receive automatic immunity when in court. How fucked is that?
Do you honestly think the government would provide intimate details on an industry that brings in over $100 Billion a year so you can then attempt to fight back? Get real. The only way to beat them is with money, simply play the game and "pay them off" through the legal system.
and when you can't afford vacations, new vehicles and dental work you can't get laid....sooo we can add hookers to that list
@ Mr. Pink
To be totally PC Sir. I cannot afford a toy boy.
You never know, name a price.
Jerk yourself off Mr. Pink, like everyone else on this site.
Bindar dondat, bot the T-Shirt! :>D
...and it seems they're doing their best to make the option of, "Shoot the hungry walker!" the first opted for.
I would rather avoid the clueless good people than the bad guys.
Harder to deal with them.
GREAT effin' CARTOON.
I can't afford hookers or blow no more.
Where is that serial spammer when you need them!!!
Exactly, people roaming around and trying to find food and fuel and weapons to get the other two along with shelter. I've always said once those checks bounce or don't come at the end of the month, everyone will go insane.
Having to wake up to the reality that their belief in fiat currency was all an illusion will probably drive people insane
Upvote. Post Katrina, 2005, Baton Rouge Louisiana.
Walmart was completely sold out of all convenience foods, chips, canned etc, blankets, pillows, and plastic storage bins.
Gasonline was practically unobtanium due to everyone running gasoline generators. Ice? Are you fucking kidding? No power for two weeks... ouch. Wierd thuggish black dudes aimlessly wandering around neighborhood asking for food. It's easier to say no to such when you're openly carrying. Thank God Louisiana still respected the 2nd at the time (not N.O.).
Being a prepper then (and having diesel engines) made the whole shitball a lot less painful but it still sucked.
The cop across the street in my (decent) neighborhood never came out of his house without a weapon, usually an AR-15 or some sort of short pump shotgun. NEVER. He wsan't buying the 'keep calm' shit and watching him attuned me to the reality.
The state media kept saying everything was fine. Kept hearing first hand reports out of N.O. that indicated state was full of shit. A riot was goign on at the Centroplex (N.O. refugees) and the governor and head of the state police were on TV at that very moment saying "there is no riot:". See I lived near there and could see and hear the helicopters and police cars rushing full throttle to the scene. LSU sent out emails to all employyes that day saying "Lock your buildings and let no one in, or go home now". That day was the day I knew I would NEVER trust the government again for anything except to know they would fuck me over the first chance they got. That's all they're good for.
****************************
When the shit is hitting the fan, you'll be alot better off if you have immediate needs taken care of, and if you don't have to mix and mingle too much with the non-prepared zombies.
Once I got a taste of it, I decided it was time to get the fuck out of dodge. We moved out by 11/05.
Moved a rural area with a long history of self-sustenance, independence/mistrust of .gov, and with much better demographics than south Louisiana called Applalachia. I'll trade rednecks for the liberal paradise of diversity, social justice warriors, feminists, smug liberals, and metrosexual manginas any day of the week.
Career took a major hit and it did cost in terms of earning power.
But it paid massive dividends in reduced stress, quality of life, no crime, more liberty, and most importantly a dearth of statist shitheels trying to tell me how to live.
It isn't storybook easy but it beats the hell out of being one of a huge crowd caught in a stampede.
I no longer pay a shooting range to target practice or apply for permits to cut down a tree, paint my house, put up a fence, build an outbuilding etc.
That's worth it IMHO.
Fuck cities. Fuck Zombies,. Fuck sheople.
I'd rather live around poor people (ETA: that look like me and share similar cultural values) who at least know how to do real work.
YMMV.
The incompetent corrupt arrogant narcissistic illegal indonesian kenyan alien muslim sociopathic pathological liar in chief has done an outstanding job of fleecing the middle class sheeple and giving it away to everyone in the U.S. & the new order world who is NOT a hard working tax paying U.S. citizen. But no worrues, it still gets to live its celebrity overprivileged opulent grand imperial golf lifestyle.
I'm sorry but the USA guy isn't nearly fat enough and he isn't asleep behind the wheel of a scooter....
Where's heating oil on that list? Nobody I know can afford that any longer!
Elsewhere: PC lefties turn against Bill Maher after his Islam comments, want him barred from UC commencement speech:
http://tinyurl.com/nd7nz6w
Read Theodore Savage for a chilling description of starving herds.
Not all of us are asleep.
Just preparing for the day
when there is nothing left to lose.
Fourth generation warfare. Prepare...
Lock & load.
That is a pretty broad brush that cartoon is painting with. Remind me, are all those other "middle class" folks armed as well?
Seems to me that the vast majority of the people on the planet are being played for suckers.
Oh well, that which cannot be sustained, won't be.
Same as it ever was.
Those people in those countries have more guts and they are not armed. The cartoon is right on the mark. Conservatives will say - "oh I watch TV but just Fox News, the show with the duck call hillbillies with the mangy beards and granny likes Gunsmoke."
Sorry - ALL of TV and ALL of Hollywood are total mind control bullshit for serfs and retards especially ball game sports.
Oh and the Egyptian military backed the people. The US Military backs Obola and the wookie. People in Egypt are not cowards like Americans.
absolutely spot on. Fox News is the single most dangerous and insidious network on the air. Just look at what they did to Ron Paul during the 2012 primaries. The Jon Stewart bit on it was just hilarious....and very sad.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/in35c7/indecision-2012---corn-polled-e...
The main difference between Jon Stewart and Faux News, is that at least Jon Stewart admits he's a comedian.
"Fox News is the single most dangerous and insidious network on the air."
So that's why we should all watch Al Sharpton on MSNBC to get fair and balanced news reporting?
After news broke of the shooting in Ottawa, Canada by a Islamist extremist, Al Sharpton asked his on air guest "What's the latest from Iowa?"
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/10/what-a-laughingstock-al-sharpton...
No. You shouldn't watch Faux News or MSNBC. Cable News is controlled garbage.
That's that stupid either/or fallacy again.
You are on an alternative media site right now, in case you didn't notice. I rather get info from Zero Hedge than CNBS.
So we should trust alternative media sites like ZH for info that's fair, balanced and truthful?
Would that ever be part of that stupid either/or fallacy?