Quote Originally Posted by JennB
A lot of people are to blame, a lot of people are going to suffer and very few will actually learn anything. It's a cycle, the economy goes up and down and we had good times and bad. It's FAR from the end of the world. It takes a catalyst to make change and this is just one of them. I assure you, it will happen again and then again and again.

If everyone would just make slight changes to adjust to rising prices and stop freaking out like a bunch of idiots, we'd be in much better shape.

People are living so far above their means, did everyone really think it could last for ever? It will stop for a little while and then people will do it again and the cycle will start over.

Did people really think stocks could go up and up and never stop? That's simply not possible. Everything cannot gain constantly.

Make some adjustments to your spending if you are not comfortable, take advantage of all the great sales going on, if you're young and have good credit.. buy a house! It's a great time to get deals. But don't sit around hiding your money and thinking that will help. Don't freak out, it really isn't that bad. The only people that should be worried are people who can't afford their houses and that's their own fault and people who are working in industries that are going through drastic changes. They will have to adjust more than the rest of us but that's how life goes, it's not stagnant, it changes and we have to change along with it.

And remember for every person you see losing their home, their are countless others making their payments on time and doing just fine. For every failed bank there are hundreds that are okay and will still be open for years to come. For every person you see crying about gas prices, there are plenty more who are driving just a little less or changing what they drive to make up the difference and doing just fine.

It's not all gloom and doom. So, I spend $10-15 more a week on gas.. o... k. Can't say that's going to break my budget. So people are looking more into public transportation... and this is bad how? So lending policies are being changed... again, how is this bad? Companies are trying to be more efficient, people are finally starting to think about alternative energy, how is all of this bad? Be glad for change and adjust. It's that simple... to me at least.


Most intelligent post i've seen in a long time.


And no the majority of it is not in the hands of the government, the majority of what the government does is regulating certain business practices and setting things like the interest rates and taxes, thats about it for the most part.


The private sector and consumers are to blame and you can't blame any one group, the point isn't why it happened, its to fix it. Like you said make adjustments on how you live, take advantage of the deals if you are young and have good credit.

Panicing and hiding away your money will do nothing but make it worse, if we can learn anything from 1929 stock market crash it is that





If the increase in gas prices is honestly going to break your budget then you have other issues then the state of the economy or the current people in charge at Washington. Stop panicing and adjust. For every bad situation there is, another opportunity opens up, you just have to find them.



This is America, lets do the damn thing