I wanted to post a poll to see how folks are doing in their own economic sphere during the last two years.

I don't want to make this political, I am just trying to get a sense of how the folks on YORF doing.

Greg

I have steady job with a good salary.

I grew up in a "thrifty" family and learned good habits (maybe a bit excessive). I save a lot, spend carefully, don't take on any debts. I pay cash for my cars and keep them for a decade or more.

I've also been very lucky. I got a full scholarship to get a Master's degree leading into the Dot Com boom. I got into Silicon Valley before the boom peaked and got out before it heavily busted.

I invested heavily in the "bust" years. Dividend and equity stock funds. Not a day trader or speculator, just persistent. Not trying to get rich, just to be able to have a "real" retirement some day.

So far it's all worked out really well. Things went bust today, but in the 15 - 20 years until I retire they will likely boom and bust several times. I'm well diversified.

As blessed and lucky as I am, I am keenly aware that others are not as well off as I. This includes people in my immediate and extended family, but also people across the nation facing joblessness because of global economic changes and a decades-long lack of investment in infrastructure, education and industrial competitiveness.

For this reason, I want Congress and the White House to raise my taxes to preserve the social safety nets that keep the elderly, sick, disabled, and laid-off out of misery and desperation. And raise them more to rebuild the roads and bridges and schools and water and power infrastructure. Those things don't magically get better through free market magic.

We're all in this together.

Although I am singling out the comment by stefanj my comments below are not directed directly at stefanj. And I am not trying to be a smart aleck nor do I mean to be condescending.

At the rate things are going it may be awhile before that (a tax increase) happens. In the meantime, consider donating to a charity of your choice. There must be at least one “social safety net” type of charity out there that will gladly accept a private donation.

While there might not be “free market magic” I believe there is magic when a single individual or group of individuals decides to make a difference through their donations of time and/or money to organizations that help those in need.

- Rich

http://www.google.com/search?q=the+...earchBox&ie=&oe=

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-Fred Shecter NAR 20117 (L2)
Southern California Rocket Association, NAR Section 430

I haven't placed an order from Semroc for over a year. Nuff said...

__________________
"AND I hope they are from the planet of the "Chunk spunky Mary-Lou Retton clones". - Ironnerd

"Those who trade liberty for security have neither" - Benjamin Franklin

"Semroc is almost always the answer" - Stefanj

www.paulsavia.com

www.soundclick.com/paulsavia

I retired last October.

My business was in the pooper. I sell and service theatrical lighting control systems to schools and churches. With school cut and church cutbacks that just isn't happening anymore.

That said I felt it was time to retire.

At least now with Social Security I get a regular paycheck.

Decals, kits and nose cones keep me busy and it does help to pay some bills.

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"I'm a sandman. I've never killed anyone. I terminate runners when their time is up." Logan from "Logan's Run"

http://sandmandecals.com/

And we do appreciate it, Gordon - you do fantastic work!

I have to say that, for the moment, I'm in pretty good shape. I make enough that I was able to pay off all my credit cards and get rid of them (although it looks like I'm gonna have to get one again - after the hassle I had trying to rent a car for NARAM with only my debit card...). I paid cash for my car a year and a half ago (it was used and didn't cost a lot, but it sure felt good not to go into debt for it). And I could afford to go to NARAM for the sport weekend this year and spend quite a chunk of cash at several dealer's booths - hopefully I helped the rocket community's economy a bit ). So overall, not too bad.

That said, we live in fear that our parent company could decide to pull the plug on our plant at just about any time, so the managers are all working like dogs and insane hours to try to keep the overtime and costs down (it's a union facility, so there is only so much we can do). If that happens, well, I figure with my house payment and utilities, I could probably live on about half my salary if I had to and still be OK - and I certainly wouldn't burn as much fuel going to and from work (an hour each way down the freeway).

In my particular case, I'm either lucky or unlucky depending upon how you view this.

I have always lived rather frugally, generally eschewing most 'things' normal guys spend gobs of $$ on, with the exception of rocketry, of course . Even that tends to be done 'econo-style' as those of you on here who know me can attest to.

Even though I've been pretty much shadowing minimum wage for longer than I'd care to admit, I managed to throw gobs (by my standards) of money at buying and then paying off my residence, which is 'only' a singlewide mobile home and land. Bought this back in '03 when everything looked good, and payed off the 15yr mortgage in 4.5 years. Parents and brother thought this was crazy and said I should have just taken it easy....

Same went for my only ever new car, a 2008 Accent bought three years ago, and payed off back in May this year. Good thing too, for then things got worse in a hurry....

Wound up being stabbed in the back at work, where I've been for a dozen years, and by far the most proficient employee. After suviving ridiculous political based turmoil I ended up being cut down to a whopping *11* hours a week! Thankfully, since I have NO debt of any kind and still live 'efficiently', I'm actually getting by on this, albeit barely.

What about another job? Here, the localized economy is worse than the state average, which is worse than the national average. In short, 'low end guys' like myself in this area are facing like 20% real world unemployment, and places that used to always have want ads now never do. The Sunday paper is a joke in that regard.

Even though most of the BS at the office has blown over, we are not getting accounts like we used to, nor are the old ones opening up, thereby creating no new slots for me to take. Will things get better? Yes, but it may take some time, but if it doesn't, then I may well *HAVE* to start throwing 'parts in a box' for glider kits and selling them here and TRF, like I did back in '97 and '98.

Been laid off for 3 years with nothing coming. Done interviews from time to time, but at 50 who will hire...

Guess I could say it is all bad timing. Got hired as an engineer at Caterpillar after 3 years of college. Been in the automotive industry since. So, things are good a couple of years and laid off again. Not the guaranteed career I was raised to think it was.

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10-4.

I run the food drive, Christmas toy drive, and school supply drive at work.