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CA renter
ParticipantExcellent comments, and I agree with those who say it’s total miles that count, not MPG.
We put a total of about 12,000 miles on both cars, combined (big, old, dirty pickup & van) — and that’s a high-mileage year. There’s no way we’d be able to get around in a very small car, nor would we want to.
Yes, bigger cars tend to fare better in accidents. For those of us with kids, that’s a major reason for buying larger vehicles (as well as carrying capacity).
We do not speed, and are very defensive drivers. The worst drivers I’ve seen are the young kids in the “lawnmower cars” — you know, the small Hondas and such that sound like lawnmowers. As much as people complain about SUV drivers, I find these kids and the MBenz crowd are much more aggressive and threaten many more lives than the SUV drivers do.
ParticipantExcellent comments, and I agree with those who say it’s total miles that count, not MPG.
We put a total of about 12,000 miles on both cars, combined (big, old, dirty pickup & van) — and that’s a high-mileage year. There’s no way we’d be able to get around in a very small car, nor would we want to.
Yes, bigger cars tend to fare better in accidents. For those of us with kids, that’s a major reason for buying larger vehicles (as well as carrying capacity).
We do not speed, and are very defensive drivers. The worst drivers I’ve seen are the young kids in the “lawnmower cars” — you know, the small Hondas and such that sound like lawnmowers. As much as people complain about SUV drivers, I find these kids and the MBenz crowd are much more aggressive and threaten many more lives than the SUV drivers do.
ParticipantExcellent comments, and I agree with those who say it’s total miles that count, not MPG.
We put a total of about 12,000 miles on both cars, combined (big, old, dirty pickup & van) — and that’s a high-mileage year. There’s no way we’d be able to get around in a very small car, nor would we want to.
Yes, bigger cars tend to fare better in accidents. For those of us with kids, that’s a major reason for buying larger vehicles (as well as carrying capacity).
We do not speed, and are very defensive drivers. The worst drivers I’ve seen are the young kids in the “lawnmower cars” — you know, the small Hondas and such that sound like lawnmowers. As much as people complain about SUV drivers, I find these kids and the MBenz crowd are much more aggressive and threaten many more lives than the SUV drivers do.
ParticipantExcellent comments, and I agree with those who say it’s total miles that count, not MPG.
We put a total of about 12,000 miles on both cars, combined (big, old, dirty pickup & van) — and that’s a high-mileage year. There’s no way we’d be able to get around in a very small car, nor would we want to.
Yes, bigger cars tend to fare better in accidents. For those of us with kids, that’s a major reason for buying larger vehicles (as well as carrying capacity).
We do not speed, and are very defensive drivers. The worst drivers I’ve seen are the young kids in the “lawnmower cars” — you know, the small Hondas and such that sound like lawnmowers. As much as people complain about SUV drivers, I find these kids and the MBenz crowd are much more aggressive and threaten many more lives than the SUV drivers do.
ParticipantExcellent comments, and I agree with those who say it’s total miles that count, not MPG.
We put a total of about 12,000 miles on both cars, combined (big, old, dirty pickup & van) — and that’s a high-mileage year. There’s no way we’d be able to get around in a very small car, nor would we want to.
Yes, bigger cars tend to fare better in accidents. For those of us with kids, that’s a major reason for buying larger vehicles (as well as carrying capacity).
We do not speed, and are very defensive drivers. The worst drivers I’ve seen are the young kids in the “lawnmower cars” — you know, the small Hondas and such that sound like lawnmowers. As much as people complain about SUV drivers, I find these kids and the MBenz crowd are much more aggressive and threaten many more lives than the SUV drivers do.
Participantbsrsharma,
I agree with your points about Wall Street, etc. Personally, I think most of our “ills” can be traced to the mega-banks and corporations that run our country. Under no circumstances do I think the middle-class has any power over how this country is run anymore, and I think that’s where the doom-and-gloom is coming from. It’s why I’m very pro-union and favor a government very much run by “the people” and for “the people”.
I also think the PTB (mega-banks & corporations) have been allowed to take further control over our country’s power (read: money) because they’ve managed to distract the American citizenry by trying to create arbitrary divisions between people (Republican vs. Democrat; white vs. black; immigrant vs. native; rich vs. poor; pro-union/socialist vs. “wanna be” capitalist; right vs. left; liberal vs. conservative; etc.).
Most **thinking** people I know don’t fit into any of those categories, but the PTB are busy trying to convince us all that we must be on one side or the other — always bickering amongst ourselves while they’re left to manipulate the flow of money and power, without any oversight by “we the people”.
The credit bubble is just the latest manifestation of their accrued/accruing power. Look at who the winners are. Some people did exceedingly well during the past few years, and have very little fear of being held accountable for thier involvement. IMO, Greenspan was one of their tools. There’s no way he didn’t know what was going on, and what the end result would be.
The more I learn, the tighter I wrap that tin foil around my head. 😉
Participantbsrsharma,
I agree with your points about Wall Street, etc. Personally, I think most of our “ills” can be traced to the mega-banks and corporations that run our country. Under no circumstances do I think the middle-class has any power over how this country is run anymore, and I think that’s where the doom-and-gloom is coming from. It’s why I’m very pro-union and favor a government very much run by “the people” and for “the people”.
I also think the PTB (mega-banks & corporations) have been allowed to take further control over our country’s power (read: money) because they’ve managed to distract the American citizenry by trying to create arbitrary divisions between people (Republican vs. Democrat; white vs. black; immigrant vs. native; rich vs. poor; pro-union/socialist vs. “wanna be” capitalist; right vs. left; liberal vs. conservative; etc.).
Most **thinking** people I know don’t fit into any of those categories, but the PTB are busy trying to convince us all that we must be on one side or the other — always bickering amongst ourselves while they’re left to manipulate the flow of money and power, without any oversight by “we the people”.
The credit bubble is just the latest manifestation of their accrued/accruing power. Look at who the winners are. Some people did exceedingly well during the past few years, and have very little fear of being held accountable for thier involvement. IMO, Greenspan was one of their tools. There’s no way he didn’t know what was going on, and what the end result would be.
The more I learn, the tighter I wrap that tin foil around my head. 😉
Participantbsrsharma,
I agree with your points about Wall Street, etc. Personally, I think most of our “ills” can be traced to the mega-banks and corporations that run our country. Under no circumstances do I think the middle-class has any power over how this country is run anymore, and I think that’s where the doom-and-gloom is coming from. It’s why I’m very pro-union and favor a government very much run by “the people” and for “the people”.
I also think the PTB (mega-banks & corporations) have been allowed to take further control over our country’s power (read: money) because they’ve managed to distract the American citizenry by trying to create arbitrary divisions between people (Republican vs. Democrat; white vs. black; immigrant vs. native; rich vs. poor; pro-union/socialist vs. “wanna be” capitalist; right vs. left; liberal vs. conservative; etc.).
Most **thinking** people I know don’t fit into any of those categories, but the PTB are busy trying to convince us all that we must be on one side or the other — always bickering amongst ourselves while they’re left to manipulate the flow of money and power, without any oversight by “we the people”.
The credit bubble is just the latest manifestation of their accrued/accruing power. Look at who the winners are. Some people did exceedingly well during the past few years, and have very little fear of being held accountable for thier involvement. IMO, Greenspan was one of their tools. There’s no way he didn’t know what was going on, and what the end result would be.
The more I learn, the tighter I wrap that tin foil around my head. 😉
Participantbsrsharma,
I agree with your points about Wall Street, etc. Personally, I think most of our “ills” can be traced to the mega-banks and corporations that run our country. Under no circumstances do I think the middle-class has any power over how this country is run anymore, and I think that’s where the doom-and-gloom is coming from. It’s why I’m very pro-union and favor a government very much run by “the people” and for “the people”.
I also think the PTB (mega-banks & corporations) have been allowed to take further control over our country’s power (read: money) because they’ve managed to distract the American citizenry by trying to create arbitrary divisions between people (Republican vs. Democrat; white vs. black; immigrant vs. native; rich vs. poor; pro-union/socialist vs. “wanna be” capitalist; right vs. left; liberal vs. conservative; etc.).
Most **thinking** people I know don’t fit into any of those categories, but the PTB are busy trying to convince us all that we must be on one side or the other — always bickering amongst ourselves while they’re left to manipulate the flow of money and power, without any oversight by “we the people”.
The credit bubble is just the latest manifestation of their accrued/accruing power. Look at who the winners are. Some people did exceedingly well during the past few years, and have very little fear of being held accountable for thier involvement. IMO, Greenspan was one of their tools. There’s no way he didn’t know what was going on, and what the end result would be.
The more I learn, the tighter I wrap that tin foil around my head. 😉
Participantbsrsharma,
I agree with your points about Wall Street, etc. Personally, I think most of our “ills” can be traced to the mega-banks and corporations that run our country. Under no circumstances do I think the middle-class has any power over how this country is run anymore, and I think that’s where the doom-and-gloom is coming from. It’s why I’m very pro-union and favor a government very much run by “the people” and for “the people”.
I also think the PTB (mega-banks & corporations) have been allowed to take further control over our country’s power (read: money) because they’ve managed to distract the American citizenry by trying to create arbitrary divisions between people (Republican vs. Democrat; white vs. black; immigrant vs. native; rich vs. poor; pro-union/socialist vs. “wanna be” capitalist; right vs. left; liberal vs. conservative; etc.).
Most **thinking** people I know don’t fit into any of those categories, but the PTB are busy trying to convince us all that we must be on one side or the other — always bickering amongst ourselves while they’re left to manipulate the flow of money and power, without any oversight by “we the people”.
The credit bubble is just the latest manifestation of their accrued/accruing power. Look at who the winners are. Some people did exceedingly well during the past few years, and have very little fear of being held accountable for thier involvement. IMO, Greenspan was one of their tools. There’s no way he didn’t know what was going on, and what the end result would be.
The more I learn, the tighter I wrap that tin foil around my head. 😉
ParticipantIMHO, the reason for the “doom and gloom” is the accelerated decline in the standard of living in the U.S.
Don’t be fooled by the SUVs and McMansions. These are the result of a credit market that was allowed to run wild (the main culprit behind most of our problems, IMO). This has only increased debt loads, it has not increased wealth for most people.
Forty years ago, more people had job security, employer-paid healthcare and defined-benefit pension plans. They might not have made tons of money, but they took pride in themselves and their jobs — they were part of their company’s family, and employees sacrificed (took pay cuts and even worked for free when necessary) when times were bad, with the implicit/explicit expectation that employers would sacrifice (reward employees) when times were good. They knew that their employer’s strength was their strength. Employers knew the company was only as good as its employees.
Families could buy a modest house (even in the “good” parts of town!) and car, have medical care and a pension, take an annual vacation, etc. on one salary — and they still saved.
Humans have a basic need for belonging to something greater than themselves, and they have a strong need for security. When you take these things away, people can become panicked and they begin taking more risks and hoarding more — a natural survival instinct. The well-being of the individual trumps the well-being of society, and most people end up losing because the slightest glitch in the best-laid plans can cause a person to lose everything he/she’s worked and saved for all their lives.
This will be controversial, but I also believe the “multi-cultural” push is largely responsible for the apathy and lack of patriotism over the past couple of decades. We don’t have anything to belong to anymore — nothing to support or cheer for. No unity (united we stand, divided we fall), and it shows. That’s not to say we can’t have immigrants (my mother was an immigrant), but that we need to have a common culture as Americans. Yes, we need to assimilate into the existing culture and work together to build something greater than ourselves.
ParticipantIMHO, the reason for the “doom and gloom” is the accelerated decline in the standard of living in the U.S.
Don’t be fooled by the SUVs and McMansions. These are the result of a credit market that was allowed to run wild (the main culprit behind most of our problems, IMO). This has only increased debt loads, it has not increased wealth for most people.
Forty years ago, more people had job security, employer-paid healthcare and defined-benefit pension plans. They might not have made tons of money, but they took pride in themselves and their jobs — they were part of their company’s family, and employees sacrificed (took pay cuts and even worked for free when necessary) when times were bad, with the implicit/explicit expectation that employers would sacrifice (reward employees) when times were good. They knew that their employer’s strength was their strength. Employers knew the company was only as good as its employees.
Families could buy a modest house (even in the “good” parts of town!) and car, have medical care and a pension, take an annual vacation, etc. on one salary — and they still saved.
Humans have a basic need for belonging to something greater than themselves, and they have a strong need for security. When you take these things away, people can become panicked and they begin taking more risks and hoarding more — a natural survival instinct. The well-being of the individual trumps the well-being of society, and most people end up losing because the slightest glitch in the best-laid plans can cause a person to lose everything he/she’s worked and saved for all their lives.
This will be controversial, but I also believe the “multi-cultural” push is largely responsible for the apathy and lack of patriotism over the past couple of decades. We don’t have anything to belong to anymore — nothing to support or cheer for. No unity (united we stand, divided we fall), and it shows. That’s not to say we can’t have immigrants (my mother was an immigrant), but that we need to have a common culture as Americans. Yes, we need to assimilate into the existing culture and work together to build something greater than ourselves.
ParticipantIMHO, the reason for the “doom and gloom” is the accelerated decline in the standard of living in the U.S.
Don’t be fooled by the SUVs and McMansions. These are the result of a credit market that was allowed to run wild (the main culprit behind most of our problems, IMO). This has only increased debt loads, it has not increased wealth for most people.
Forty years ago, more people had job security, employer-paid healthcare and defined-benefit pension plans. They might not have made tons of money, but they took pride in themselves and their jobs — they were part of their company’s family, and employees sacrificed (took pay cuts and even worked for free when necessary) when times were bad, with the implicit/explicit expectation that employers would sacrifice (reward employees) when times were good. They knew that their employer’s strength was their strength. Employers knew the company was only as good as its employees.
Families could buy a modest house (even in the “good” parts of town!) and car, have medical care and a pension, take an annual vacation, etc. on one salary — and they still saved.
Humans have a basic need for belonging to something greater than themselves, and they have a strong need for security. When you take these things away, people can become panicked and they begin taking more risks and hoarding more — a natural survival instinct. The well-being of the individual trumps the well-being of society, and most people end up losing because the slightest glitch in the best-laid plans can cause a person to lose everything he/she’s worked and saved for all their lives.
This will be controversial, but I also believe the “multi-cultural” push is largely responsible for the apathy and lack of patriotism over the past couple of decades. We don’t have anything to belong to anymore — nothing to support or cheer for. No unity (united we stand, divided we fall), and it shows. That’s not to say we can’t have immigrants (my mother was an immigrant), but that we need to have a common culture as Americans. Yes, we need to assimilate into the existing culture and work together to build something greater than ourselves.
ParticipantIMHO, the reason for the “doom and gloom” is the accelerated decline in the standard of living in the U.S.
Don’t be fooled by the SUVs and McMansions. These are the result of a credit market that was allowed to run wild (the main culprit behind most of our problems, IMO). This has only increased debt loads, it has not increased wealth for most people.
Forty years ago, more people had job security, employer-paid healthcare and defined-benefit pension plans. They might not have made tons of money, but they took pride in themselves and their jobs — they were part of their company’s family, and employees sacrificed (took pay cuts and even worked for free when necessary) when times were bad, with the implicit/explicit expectation that employers would sacrifice (reward employees) when times were good. They knew that their employer’s strength was their strength. Employers knew the company was only as good as its employees.
Families could buy a modest house (even in the “good” parts of town!) and car, have medical care and a pension, take an annual vacation, etc. on one salary — and they still saved.
Humans have a basic need for belonging to something greater than themselves, and they have a strong need for security. When you take these things away, people can become panicked and they begin taking more risks and hoarding more — a natural survival instinct. The well-being of the individual trumps the well-being of society, and most people end up losing because the slightest glitch in the best-laid plans can cause a person to lose everything he/she’s worked and saved for all their lives.
This will be controversial, but I also believe the “multi-cultural” push is largely responsible for the apathy and lack of patriotism over the past couple of decades. We don’t have anything to belong to anymore — nothing to support or cheer for. No unity (united we stand, divided we fall), and it shows. That’s not to say we can’t have immigrants (my mother was an immigrant), but that we need to have a common culture as Americans. Yes, we need to assimilate into the existing culture and work together to build something greater than ourselves.
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