How did we get here? We have been getting here by spending without thinking! No one saves anymore because society says they have no money, yet we still allow ourselves to spend money on stuff we don't need. The fact is our jobs have been disappearing, and we have been supplementing our dwindled income with two or three part time jobs with no benefits just to stay ahead. And as these part-time jobs disappear, the unemployment rate will increase. If you look back ten years ago, cost of living still was high, the wages were low, and today, wages are going down but rent, food, etc, is still rising. Gas prices ten years ago was $98. cents to $1.50 depending where you lived. Everyone is responsible for our situation and as long as you keep doing what you do and don't change, you will suffer the consequences of your action. The people, companies, corps, and government are all greedy to keep the cost up, but would be happy to lower wages, enslave us to our debts and to our 13 or 14 hour job life. How did we get here? By accumlating debt, allowing our markets to raise prices, allowing people from other countries to buy up our land and inflate the markets and we allowed Wall street to continue to feed us these pipe dreams of making money and the infomercials on television saying how to invest your dollars and make millions, and buying up forclosures and flipping houses, and loaning money to people who couldn't pay it back, changing the laws and allowing legalized sharking with high interest rates so everyone could keep up with the jones. In the mean time, how much did you put away in a savings account without being charged, did you invest in insurance or retirement benefits more or less these past years? No, most people in the 20's and 30's spent their money, people in the 40's and 50's are now having to dip into their savings to survive, cash in the policies they saved for years and people in their 60's and 70's are finding themselves tapped out, cost of health that was never regulated and sold as merchandise. And the housing creating that bubble that burst not once but three times in the 20 years. 1984, 1993 and now. Today's bubble is catastrophic. The homes were inflated to high prices where greed came from realitors, escrow agents and financial institutions. Making a home a commodity rather than a necessity. Our wages were not even equalled to the cost of mortgages and rent today. Once upon a time, 1 week salary paid your mortage or your rent. Impossible today, yet, it can change and its up to you to change it. Californians are living the lie, and being sold on the mere assumption that the weather cost lots of bucks, and if you desire to live here, you have to pay up. People, get involved with your city, not for making lots of money, but for living your life sensibly. Stop the county from selling the land, expanding the government offices, who is going to pay their salaries? Housing has to change, how we build them, how we sell them and what people use them for. I remember to buy a home, you qualified if one week salary equaled your morgage payment. Who has 6 or 7 children today? Land is important, and if we develop all the available land, we will be dependent on other countries to feed us one day. Don't be sold on development and change, for tax revenue to pay for salaries and pensions and larger government offices cause these people will be dead in 10 to 20 years and they are enjoying their life of pleasure, vacations and no worries about their families, why do we have to support our representatives living this lifestyle that we are suppose to live as well. To raise taxes, fees, and other fees just to pay salaries is ridiculously flawed. What got us here? You did my friend, our greed, our needs, our hopes and everyone is responsible to change it. We desired to live this life of accumulated inmitation of wealth and stuff. Think about it! Why do we need a Sacramento? In return for allowing our government to handle our affairs, we sacraficed the very basic living needs of home, family, good health, education and especially TIME. Time to think, to dream, to live, to spend with friends, family and to have time to give, work, volunteer without cost or sacrafice. Remember how we would buy our clothes, and they lasted and was made well. Today, like anything, its throwaway stuff, keep economics going, people working, consume and buy to spur the markets, its just so bull. Life will continue and change even having less it will be better. People are resourceful, and if you have to save money, do so. Stop spending it on things you don't use.Invest in insurance coverage, retirement savings, and we have the power to tell big businesses enough, if you want our money, reduce the stock, and the cities should reduce the fee, by getting rid of jobs that waste. Create a different workforce, and you will see change. It will cause our direction to move in a positive manner and it takes only one person to begin that in each family. So be it. Lmcorky

Yep, the Republican Party was against the extension of unemployment benefits because they wanted the costs to be properly financed.
Unlike the Democrats who spend money like a drunken sailor.

President Obama promised the unemployment rate at 8% if his stimulus bill was passed. At over 10% doesn't sound like his projection was correct.
The good old Anti-Bush theme,promises of transparency,
disrespecting our best ally in Israel, unlimited spending,
big Government, and apologizing to our enemies is what you will get from the Democrats.

So come November please do not condone this corrupt regime but rather give the Republicans one more chance. If they screw this one up the United States may need a third Party.

Yep, the Republican Party was against the extension of unemployment benefits because they wanted the costs to be properly financed.
Unlike the Democrats who spend money like a drunken sailor.

President Obama promised the unemployment rate at 8% if his stimulus bill was passed. At over 10% doesn't sound like his projection was correct.
The good old Anti-Bush theme,promises of transparency,
disrespecting our best ally in Israel, unlimited spending,
big Government, and apologizing to our enemies is what you will get from the Democrats.

So come November please do not condone this corrupt regime but rather give the Republicans one more chance. If they screw this one up the United States may need a third Party.

I have to concur with John Ford. The democrats just want to keep handing out money with no way to pay for it. The Republicans would have been more than happy to extend unemployment benefits as long as it was paid for by taking the money from other budgets so as not to add to the deficit. And yes both parties are guilty of deficit spending but since Obama has been in office the spending has quadrupled. At least the Republicans are now realizing we cannot continue to spend money we don't have. The Democrats still don't get that or they do and just don't care.

This action proof to be a win, win situation. This is a true art
work, which will be a success story.
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3 Business

Democrats spend like drunken sailors? Then why is it always Republicans who leave us with all the deficits? Starting with Ronald Reagan, who at the time gave us the largest deficit in history, followed by GHW Bush. Clinton payed down the deficit, balanced the budget and left a surplus. GW Bush spent the surplus and added trillions to the deficit with tax cuts for the rich that are not paid for and two wars that were not necessary. Facts be damned!

Neither party seems to care much about keeping jobs within the U.S.:

American business cannot seem to find any rationale for paying Americans a living wage when you can get sweat shop labor in China, India, The Philippines or elsewhere. These are same companies that complain because American consumers are not buying things to turn things around.

Buying with what?

Wall Street, the media and the party out of power all love to moan and grown about the situation, but none really discuss the fact that multinational businesses see their future elsewhere. That decision to go "off shore" is doing more to kill the small and mid-size businesses in the U.S. that once supplied goods and services to big business and their former employees.

No matter how you cut it, our country is suffering, why don't we stop the blame game and focus on the fact that we are in dire need of the right solution. We need jobs in the US and sadly, I see nothing but bickering between parties going on here.

If I recall, unemployment benefits were designed to run out after 26 weeks. What's the incentive for employers to expand their work force? Where does unemployment money come from after 26 weeks? Has the press even charter the extension of unemployment checks from the Government? Quick. How many weeks are people currently being paid for being unemployeed?