Are you feeling the pinch yet?

[Cleita]

For the first time in a couple of decades I couldn't fill my gas tank and had to stop at $40. Then I went to the market and had to put my week's purchases on a credit card because I didn't have enough in my checking account to cover it until my next check. I'm now spending the same on weekly groceries for myself that I spent for my husband and myself two years ago.

On the local news last night they had a story about people who are renting garages to live in and they are paying an average of $1,200 a month with no plumbing.

Yet, bobble-headed parrot after bobble-headed parrot on the "news" tells us that the economy is great, although it's obvious from observation that inflation is creeping up on us and the Republicans aren't going to be able to cover it up anymore.

[Jed Dilligan]

1. The economy IS great for them when it's bad for us

Time for class warfare for real

[BlacknBlue in Red NC]

2. Ain't that the truth! When you don't drive yourself, or go food

shopping, or buy anything the rest of us do on a daily/weekly basis, you have NO concept of what the economy is like. So, the 'economy's doing great' reports are from those who wear those designer rose colored glasses they got as a perk for investing 500K with their broker. Oh, wait, they don't give away things when you invest? Sorry, I wouldn't know about that; don't have enough to make ends meet, much less invest!

[Jed Dilligan]

9. And furthermore

The money that is not in our pockets is in theirs. All the little marginal amounts of money we could use to fix problems in all our little lives, you know, the 200 a month someone needs for insulin, the extra hundred a month we need for gas now, all those little bits of money are making the uber-rich uber-uber-rich. And the only people they're willing to pay decent wages are the cops and prison guards hired to protect their "property."

[BlueEyedSon]

3. yup

[sepia_steel]

4. Absolutely feeling it here.

we don't 'fill up' anymore.

[jackster]

5. I'm feeling it....

I'm starting to think every single purchase.... I'm worried, very very worried

yet I can't get the caller from c-span out of my mind a week or so ago. Asked if SUV owners will keep or sell their vehicles. And one guy calls in to say he's selling his gi-normous SUV for a bigger one - a Hummer so he can pull his boat and that he hopes the price of gas goes up even higher so that he will have to contend with less traffic on the roads.

these people don't deserve air

[Sammy Pepys]

6. $1,200 to live in a garage?

Source?

[Cleita]

12. ABC news Santa Barbara.

I'll see if they have a link somewhere.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

7. I have been feeling it for two years already

My income went down by 1/3. I am now self employed instead of employed by the jackass I worked for. I basically took his business from him in exchange for his freedom from serving time. We are now trying to build the business back up in a down economy.

My wife's business has been down 75% in the first quarter year-over-year. I attribute this mostly to customers taking three months instead of three weeks to pay off Christmas thanks to higher heating and gasoline prices.

We were cutting back, but now my costs have gone up again. Heating, insurance, water keep increasing.

My house has appreciated nearly 80% since we bought 10 years ago, but to move would be counterproductive. Everything else has gone up as well.

I told my family over a year ago, anyone with cash left in 5 years would be sitting on the equivalent of a giant pot of gold. I see a repeat of the Reagan years with 20%+ interest rates.

DBDB

[MikeNearMcChord]

14. I notice that the casino in my town

has less customers than usual.

[TahitiNut]

8. The economy obviously *IS* great ...

... for people renting out their garages for $1200/month! :eyes:

(I wonder how many garages are Spanish language only?) :evilgrin:

[spinbaby]

10. But, but...

You're paying less in capital gains tax!

[leftofthedial]

11. "pinch"?

I'm getting squashed

[YDogg]

13. Yeah. My nuts are already in a vise.

[walldude]

15. Honestly, I was...

For the past 5 years my family has been living paycheck to paycheck. No health insurance. Savings used up. Bills always behind. I was at the same company for 16 years. After Bush took office, no more raises, no Christmas bonuses, health care costs tripled. My wife who is 50 and disabled was denied her Social Security benefits. This year things turned around. After 23 years in the same industry I finally found a company that would pay me what I was worth. I doubled my salary this year. Also after a long battle my wife finally got her social security. Luckily when things were down we didn't live beyond our means. By the end of this year we will be out of debt. We will be able to buy a car that doesn't need 2 quarts of oil a week and if things keep up we may be able to buy our first house in the middle of next year. For the first time in my 44 years I am not looking over my shoulder, or checking the caller ID to see if it's a bill collector on the phone. Mind you this has absolutely nothing to do with the economy or tax cuts, or Bush or anything like that. This has come from years and years of hard work and training. I just wish my windfall had come while a Dem was President.