[quote=Veritas]Allan,
Not likely. How can someone who has never had a real job understand basic issues that affect working people and those who own businesses and are self-employed? Government workers are very dangerous. Their views are skewed by years of indifference and living off the public teat.[/quote]
I grew up in Vegas. I will never return there to live.
Here is the thing about Vegas. It was a town that has given the unskilled and uneducated a great living. My father moved there in the 60’s with a 9th grade education and a prison record. He retired a casino executive.
Most of the people that came to LV became involved in a construction or casino “ponzi” scheme. They built houses, made good money, and bought those same houses. More came into the state to fill the need for labor and did the same. In the mean time they would spend thier money in casinos or other places that spurred more growth in those same areas. Ponzi Scheme… Or at least the way I saw it.
My father was lucky. He rode the wave up and retired before the crash. Most of those folk didn’t see it coming. There was wealth being made all around. I had many friends from high school that never found a solid trade and who, at least at one time, had a greater net worth than me.
There was 25 years of boom! Most had never even thought about a major downturn in that town. Sure there was times where things were lean but never like this. People simply believed it could not happen there! It never had before…
The article focused on the Strip but the rest of the town is the same way. Mini-malls are half empty. Neighborhoods that were nice ten years ago already look like ghettos. My mother’s nieghbor is a ghetto now days. The place is falling apart. My mothers house is next to a freeway and I have had encounters with the homeless in our backyard that included pointing a pistol.
My mother works for the school district and has people (she’s in HR) with higher education applying for janitor jobs which they will never get due to other people losing thiers internally and moved to whatever they can get. So there are no jobs anywhere and the goverment is getting rid of people left and right. She is not safe and no one else is.
It’s not that I am knocking blue collar workers, hell that is my roots, but with so many unskilled (even semi-skilled) people in the same place that were attracted there by the decent lifestyle it has created a “Grapes of Wrath” situation there. Now those people are sitting idle and are angry with the system (whatever system you want to think of).
Veritas… Its not just the goverment workers “its alot of everybody” in that town that didn’t believe it would happen.
hehe… Just as an aside..
One thing I always use to hate was when people would ask what I do for a living. I would say “I’m an engineer”. They would respond “Oh what casino do you work in”. They thought I was a maitanance guy! Thats just the general mindset there. If I said I am an engineer here they would ask “Do you work for Qualcomm?”. Or something similar. Just the difference in mindset.
Well I have ranted long enough…
Take care,
And drop money in Vegas… Or my mother may have to start paying property taxes!!!!!
