Just a quick start here, 'bout the following things I recently observed...
Was at Costco...
The parking lot was packed with expensive cars and S.U.V'S..
People inside and ouside were actually meeting friends with families...It was a surrealistic scene, sumpin was just damn strange...
Inside, well dressed folks with kids and obviously sitting with friends, were devouring $1.50 sausages and hot dogs, washing it down with cheap soft drinks. The Kids and Adults were having a de-zert of Cheap $1.50 Sundays...It was like some kind of strange family outing..A cheap Carnival?
As we began shopping I noticed people in almost a desperate stage riffling thru the bargains in the food section...Some were buying in very large lots..And what they were buying was not what ya call health food...These well dressed and fit people looked HUNGRY!!
When we were paying our yearly dues, the gal noticed we lived on the coast, she said she loves the coast, but they do not go as often anymore because of the expense..It's only about 70 miles.
posted
You know what's funny Dusty. I think the military has finally outstripped the private sector in pay. As a Sargent E-5 my net pay per month ws almost 50% higher than I made as an insurance adjuster (a job that required a college degree). If I make it through OCS and get my commission in August my pay and allowances will be about 65K a year. As a butter bar!!! Granted I do get the E identifier which gives me a lot more but even as a deployed E-5 my take home every month was almost 4000. By the time I deploy again if the combat pay is where it is now my take home with all of the extras will be almost 7000 a month. As a first Lt.
-------------------- If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.
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HILANDER, you are fortunate if you have finaly got a handle on things..Watching you in action on the boards and speaking with you over these many months has been a rollercoaster!
Sounds like ya got your feet planted again, good job Soldier....
But if things don't work out re-garding your Military career, just remember how well you are centered right now, and you will be just fine..
We all watched you battle the "Combat hangover", we are all proud of ya, dude! again good job..
Most will never understand what some of us went thru in the Combat Zones of this World...And that is the way it is supposed to be!!
Once trained and then put in a posistion where we Kill, is a part of being a Man or Woman that changes us for all time. The adrenalin, and beating the fear, some can just never leave behind, these folks are more causalties of War...
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Sounds like you are doing good again. Feeling good about what you are doing is great, stabilizing the family with a constant income sure helps to take the worry away. The thing that ticks me off for veterans, is that when you get out of the service you have added more value to your job resume, it should be easier to get a job with higher pay, yet in so many instances it seems like we go backwards, it should not be this way. Sorry we could not help you out more. Dustoff maybe its time we re-join, think we can see the target any more? Na I don't like the late nights and early mornings, can't party the way I use to.
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Seems to me that you mentioned one BIG reason why the middle class is disappearing in your first post.
COSTCO
I don't have anything personal against costco but it seems to me that the middle class were the middle class because they owned or were high level workers in products and services companies.
Now that you have National brands funds are consistantly funneled out of state to corp. headquaters and store manager is the highest level job that can be found with any frequency.
This combined with one Walmart out competing multiple small businesses in a variety of fields (grocery, clothing, general store)for miles around and you have a gap between owners and workers with fewer and fewer oportunities in the "middle".
That's my opinion of one of the main reasons for the dissapearance of the middle class. There are other reasons that fall under consumer habits as well but that is a different post topic.
The Bigfoot
P.S. I am one of those who doesn't know what it is like to be in the situations described above. In my opinion you deserve every penny. Thanks.
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues.
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Dark side? C'mon guys. I need to put that 25K I still have in student loans to work for me. Besides, last time we deployed and were living 120 guys in an old WWII building that had 4 showers and 4 toilets for three and a half months kinda sucked. Officers don't have to live that way. But I do appreciate your guys support on everything over the last year, it's been nice. I am leaving tomorrow for about a month for to go to school for the Army (not OCS yet). Anyway, I'll see you guys when I get back.
Later guys! Rob
-------------------- If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.
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Watching shopping habits is a great tool for figuring out what is happening to our economy. Peter Lynch in one of his books said it was one of his best tools in his trading chest.
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Didn't know that, but what I saw sure was strange..
Try watching people, do they look at price or quality first,, listen to what people are talking about when they are shopping, it really can give you an insight as to how others feel and think, about whats going on.
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Back when I had to travel, the first thing I'd do when I got to my hotel, in order to have some feel for the attitudes of the people there, was get a copy of the local paper and check the classifieds. What's for sale and whether or not used cars and houses were mostly being addvertised by the owners and such tells a lot. Locally, I can guage the mood of the economy by how many cars with for sale signs are parked in the streets.
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hilander what is your MOS? you must be married because that is a lot of money. i dont see anyone in my unit making money like that...but then again we are grunts and most of us single. i dont think i could be married while in the infantry just because of the numerous deployments and the stress.
im out soon though...done my time
-------------------- It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so.
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Nope, Dust.....'at thar 1850 Ox Wagon ya seen wharn't mine. I dun traded up to a neat custom made 'n that's a energee saver, what with the green movement, ya know. She's a lightweight job made outen some nearly balsa wood pine outen noath Mississippi that don't need but one mule to drag it along sos I don't need to feed all them others so much corn.
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