Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban
Survival Resources
ISSN 2161-5543
In This Issue:
1.
Quick plan for natural disasters
2.
Leave no CEO
behind-Are Americans stupid?
3.
Why are so many
Americans angry?
4.
New Grocery shopping
app, it doesn’t pay to job hop
We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would
clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests. –Franklin
Roosevelt
Leave no CEO
Behind…Excerpt from Outsourcing Digest
The end of summer (already) is near and with it, the holiday of Labor
Day. Too many Americans have little to
celebrate in terms of work this year…
The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on
Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a
Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary.
By 1893, more than half the states were observing a "Labor
Day" on one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was
passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon
afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.
A consumer survey taken this month showed confidence in the economy
fell to the lowest level in 31 years.
The recent inflation numbers have really taken analysts by surprise. The
consumer price index rose at a
6.0% annual rate during the month of July. The
producer price index in the U.S. has increased at an annual rate of at least
7.0% for
the last three months in a row.
Things have gotten so bad out there that even Wal-Mart is suffering
now. Sales at Wal-Mart stores that have been open for at least a year have
fallen for
nine quarters in a row.
Despite a consensus of economists who now say we’re in for another slow
year (and they predict no double dip recession), we have high unemployment and
high inflation…perhaps the
following is the reason why.
Holland, MI — Why Americans
are stupid…
Are you an American employee? If so, today’s column will likely offend
you. If you’d rather not be offended, read no further. If you continue and then
complain, I’m sorry, but that simply proves you’re, well, stupid. But then
again, stupidity plays a large role in today’s topic.
Still reading? OK. You’ve had fair warning.
So you’re an American employee. Maybe you make car parts. Maybe you’re an engineer or designer. Maybe you’re an accountant, store clerk or tradesman. Whatever you do, you’re probably stupid or lazy. Yes, I wrote it, and I mean it. You are either stupid or lazy. Maybe both.
Now, I’m not referring to your work ethic or job performance. No, most of you are competent and devoted to your profession or vocation. I’m addressing the way you view economics and employment. I’m challenging your gumption to advocate for yourself and your fellow Americans. Here’s what I mean.
Remember the Reagan standard? Are you better off today than you were a decade ago? Two decades? Three? Unless you make more than $380,000 a year, the answer is no. In fact, your standard of living over the last quarter century has actually decreased while millionaires have added 30 percent to their net wealth. Why?
First, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs went overseas while the politicians you elected did nothing to stop them. Yet you continue to elect leaders who offer nothing but tax cuts, as if that would stem the flow of disappearing jobs.
Did you demand your leaders address America’s trade imbalance or continuous outsourcing of jobs? Did you demand your leaders require foreign countries to buy a dollar’s worth of American goods for every dollar of goods they sell here?
No and no. You didn’t bother. You simply crossed your fingers and prayed, “I hope my job’s not next.” You made concessions to your employer and hoped that would stem the exodus of jobs, or at least yours. How’d that work for you?
Still reading? OK. You’ve had fair warning.
So you’re an American employee. Maybe you make car parts. Maybe you’re an engineer or designer. Maybe you’re an accountant, store clerk or tradesman. Whatever you do, you’re probably stupid or lazy. Yes, I wrote it, and I mean it. You are either stupid or lazy. Maybe both.
Now, I’m not referring to your work ethic or job performance. No, most of you are competent and devoted to your profession or vocation. I’m addressing the way you view economics and employment. I’m challenging your gumption to advocate for yourself and your fellow Americans. Here’s what I mean.
Remember the Reagan standard? Are you better off today than you were a decade ago? Two decades? Three? Unless you make more than $380,000 a year, the answer is no. In fact, your standard of living over the last quarter century has actually decreased while millionaires have added 30 percent to their net wealth. Why?
First, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs went overseas while the politicians you elected did nothing to stop them. Yet you continue to elect leaders who offer nothing but tax cuts, as if that would stem the flow of disappearing jobs.
Did you demand your leaders address America’s trade imbalance or continuous outsourcing of jobs? Did you demand your leaders require foreign countries to buy a dollar’s worth of American goods for every dollar of goods they sell here?
No and no. You didn’t bother. You simply crossed your fingers and prayed, “I hope my job’s not next.” You made concessions to your employer and hoped that would stem the exodus of jobs, or at least yours. How’d that work for you?
Need a new frying pan? Choose
cast iron. Foods cooked in cast iron absorb iron, increasing a meal’s iron
content by as much as tenfold.
PM’s Compendium of Useful Resources
Natural
Disaster Plan
Basic Supplies: Even FEMA recommends you keep a basic disaster
supply kit ready for both at-home and evacuation preparedness. (FEMA officials
know better than anyone that their largely incompetent bureaucracy is often
incapable of providing meaningful assistance in crisis situations.) This kit
should contain things to meet basic needs, including first aid supplies, three
days' worth of non-perishable food, water or water purification tablets, a
flashlight, matches, a whistle, and basic sanitation items like paper towels
and moist toilettes. Your basic disaster supply kit should go with you during
an evacuation.
Important
Files and Documents: Make sure
you have your ID with you. It's a good idea to grab your credit cards, too, so
you don't have to go through the hassle of canceling them if they're lost or
destroyed in the disaster. If you want to put birth certificates and other
documents in a grab-and-go file and you have time to grab it, that's a good
plan. However, remember you can get new certified copies of such documents, so
don't risk yourself over them. Medications: If anyone in your family
takes prescription medications, make sure an adequate supply comes with you in
the event of an evacuation.
Cash or Access
to It: During a disaster,
it might be hard to get your hands on cash from your bank account, but you may
need cash during the event. Keep some cash on hand in case of emergencies and
take it with you should you have to evacuate. (Have some silver coins at the ready
as well, in case things get REALLY bad.) Sensible Clothing and Shoes:
Depending on the weather and the nature of the evacuation, you may need to have
good, sturdy walking shoes and warm clothes. Put these items on your checklist
so you don't forget them. You may also need blankets or sleeping bags for each
person in your family.
Sources: FEMA, Independent Living News
Whether you're cleaning the bathroom, the windows, or the kitchen, you
probably have everything you need in your pantry. You can clean your toilet
with pretty much any acidic beverage,
like a can of Coke or a packet of
Kool-Aid, and while you're in the bathroom you can take a
grapefruit and some salt to your grimy bathtub. When it comes to the
countertops in the kitchen, a bit of
wine or some laundry detergent will get things squeaky clean, while some rubbing
alcohol and ammonia will make the windows sparkle.
Make
Grocery Shopping Easier
If you use a smartphone, this app eliminates
the need for a written shopping list and gives you a matching printout of
coupons.
Discover
the Questions HR people ask potential job candidates in advance
You can read the experiences of others about
job interview questions, thus being more prepared. Anonymous postings from employees provide
information about their firm at:
NOTE: Do you wonder if you’d make more money by switching jobs? Researchers at Stanford Business School found
that employees who stick around five or more years at the same company earn 3%
higher pay raises than job hoppers.
Never
rub a bruise. Despite the myth that
rubbing a bruise helps blood dissipate faster, experts suggest that you don’t
rub. Instead, ice it for 10 to 15
minutes.
The Nanny State Updates…
“Saving Lives by Lowering Tobacco Use Act". They are openly admitting that they want to make tobacco so expensive that people cannot afford to use it....
Please notice that
some of the tax increases are absolutely mind blowing. For example, the tax
rate on pipe tobacco is going from 2.8311 cents to $49.55
Our children
are being trained to accept being under surveillance almost constantly. For example, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture is spending huge amounts of money to install surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of U.S. public schools so that
government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.
Call your county extension office to see if
your community offers free compost containers.
The Parting Thought…
Why so many
Americans are so angry?
If you lost your job
or your home you would probably be angry too.
Most Americans just
want to be able to go to work, make a decent living, pay the mortgage and
provide for their families.
The Daily Mail recently did a feature on one tent city that has been constructed deep in a
forest in New Jersey....
In scenes reminiscent of the Great Depression these
are the ramshackle homes of the desperate and destitute U.S. families who have
set up their own 'Tent City' only an hour from Manhattan.
More than 50 homeless people have joined the community
within New Jersey's forests as the economic crisis has wrecked their American
dream.
“NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Genna Saucedo supervises cashiers at a Wal-Mart in Pico Rivera, California, but
her wages aren't enough to feed herself and her 12-year-old son.
Saucedo, who earns $9.70 an hour for about
26 hours a week and lives with her mother, is one of the many Americans who
survive because of government handouts in what has rapidly become a food stamp
nation.
Altogether, there are now almost 46
million people in the United States on food stamps, roughly 15 percent of the
population. That's an increase of 74 percent since 2007, just before the
financial crisis and a deep recession led to mass job losses.”
When I was growing up,
it seemed like almost everyone was in the middle class. But today the middle
class is shrinking at lightning speed.
According to author
David DeGraw, 17.3% of all Americans were living in poverty during 2009. Not only that,
DeGraw also says that 9 major U.S. cities have a poverty rate of over 25 percent.
# A new Rasmussen survey has found that 85 percent of Americans believe that members of Congress
"are more interested in helping their own careers than in helping other
people."
# That same survey found that 46 percent of the American people believe that most members of
Congress are corrupt. That figure was a new all-time high.
# According to a different Rasmussen survey, only 17 percent of Americans now believe that the U.S. government has
the consent of the governed.
Basically, we’re
seeing a downgrade of everything…our national credit rating, approval rating of Congress and the
President, our lifestyle, the stock market and more. Although our spending binge has been taking
place over a long period of time, the crucial turning point came in 2001. At that time, we were actually running
surpluses. Rather than use those
surpluses to pay down the national debt or to fix the Social Security system,
Pres. George Bush pushed through two massive tax cuts and we began financing
two wars.
Then we had Pres. Obama’s
$719 billion stimulus program which added $1.7 trillion to our debt, again,
without spending cuts. It’s always been
my opinion both parties have been bad choices for our country!
Source: The Economic Collapse and other sources
Fighting government
recklessness since 1985 your friend, the Poor Man.
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