Americans Collectively Owe Almost $1 trillion in Credit Card Debt.

I'm an asshole...GRIM has more patience than I.

 

You're right, there are a lot of things wrong here. One of the things that is wrong is that Americans are not following the advice of the founders of this country. The founding fathers made it clear that only gold and silver should be legal tender.

The founding fathers realized that if paper money was adopted, America would decline and its citizens would be poor. Here are some of the additional reasons why we're in this mess:

1. Failure to have a currency backed by silver and gold.
2. Allowing a central bank(the Fed), to determine monetary policy.
3. Fighting unjust wars which require the government to borrow money from the Fed.
4. Failure of Americans to save money rather than borrowing.

There are a lot of issues, but these are the key reasons why we are in this mess.

If Americans used gold and silver backed currency, the price you would pay for a loaf of bread would be the "true" value of that bread. You would pay the true value for cars, houses, clothes, and everything else.

With paper money, you always pay more than you should, because of inflation. Paper money isn't fair, it only allows a handful of people at the top to be rich, and everyone else stays poor. Inflation robs money from the Middle Class, and allows the super rich to consolidate their wealth.

America would truly be a prosperous nation again if we went back to traditional monetary policy, the type of policy that Andrew Jackson would have wanted. Jackson would roll over in his grave if he knew we have a central bank that loans money to the Federal Government.

 

Just wanted to point out also that the government is the ultimate example of a bad debtor. I think that is part of the reason people are mad, because you remember after 9/11 when bush told everyone to go out and spend spend spend to beat the terrorists?

 

No kidding! Does that sound good advise to you? Do you think is coming from someone that really cares about you or someone that wants you to be a slave to the system?

 

You know, I agree with you 100%, but until we have real money back, I'm gonna keep trying to start businesses with OPM, because it's pointless otherwise in this economy, and I don't exactly wanna starve to death or get on welfare and make you pay for it.

 

#1 I don't make minimum payments. In fact last payment I paid $4,500.00 extra
#2 You do not have to liquidate, I still owned my old house while buying this one the entire time

 

You're right, it all starts in Washington. The politicians in Washington are the number one cause of this, not just the politicians today, but many of those who have come and gone.

We still have a few good men and women in Washington, but they are in the minority. Most of the people in Congress are asleep or something. Didn't they just approve another $480 billion for Bush?

 

lol, isn't that a personal attack on yourself!?

BANNED!

 

Ok I agree. If you make an extra payment on the principle every month of the same amount of the principle payment you will have your property paid off in half the time, but of course they never tell you that on your closing.

 

Well, I can respect that, because this country was founded on standing on your own two feet, and not looking for government hand outs. I'm the same way to. But I would rather risk my own money than the bank's because the bank is betting that I will fail and then be in servitude to them.

Success doesn't come cheap, though things are hard, and getting harder as I type this post, there are enormous opportunities out there if you know where to look.

 

[irony = guru-seo] So what! They can simply print more money to finance it and we simply pay interest on it. Big deal! It's not like we can't afford it right? [/irony]

 

I have a question. Did you guys know that the Fed has never been audited? You and I can be audited by the IRS at any time, but not once has the Fed been audited.

Did you guys also know that the shareholders of the Fed are not known to the American public? Not even the President or Congress knows who they are. Do you guys realize that these shareholders could be living in Europe, thus meaning Europe controls the U.S. through a Central Bank?

Think about that one for a bit.....

 

The "Fed" being????

 

Yea, I'd have to agree with this one. On the house I just sold, I was paying a $550/month mortgage where if I was paying rent on a crappy apartment it would have been about the same for a 1 bedroom or $200 more a month for a bigger one. Would rather be paying the mortgage than rent. I don't get any money back when I move out of my apartment. I just made over 40k selling my house.....

 

Tesla. Aren't you asking too much though? Do you even realize what you are asking people to do? To think. God forbid they do that, the US Economy will crumble as it is built on the premise that most people do not think. Now YOU think about that one for a bit.

 

Dude, are you asking me what the Fed is? It is the Federal Reserve Bank, the Central Bank in Washington that loans money to the government.

Unfortunately, history shows you are right.

 

Yeah, I always thought they WERE audited by the GAO.

 

i think that depends on your market, where I live rent is less then the cost of insurance/hoa & condo fees/interest on a loan, where you live might be different.

You also have to look at what you are missing out on by sinking your money into a house, conservatively you can earn 5% with pretty much no risk, so 200k in house could be earning and extra 10k a year. When the prices of houses is rising 10,15,20% a year its great to own a house , but the way prices are going now, I would rather have the money in CDs or mutual funds

 

Yes it does depend on the market as to what return you will get. There are good things about renting, usually no upkeep, yard work, etc.

You just don't get anything back, ownership is not for everyone and I do understand that

 

I don't think you should get a home until you can truly afford it. Living in an apartment has some strategic advantages. Did you know that Bill Rancic, the first winner of the Apprentice Reality TV show, started an online cigar selling business while living in a small apartment, and sold the site for like $400,000? I live in an apartment, but sometimes I find myself wanting my own yard, more space, away from people. But that requires lots of money, in terms of income and net worth.

Living in a house requires you to pay for plumbing, repairs, and a bunch of other stuff. I'm in my twenties, and I don't wish to put my resources into that stuff, when I could use the same money to start an online business, blow up like Bill Rancic did, and once you have hundreds of thousand, or are a bona fide millionaire, you can pay for a house in cash.

To me, going into debt for a house is risky, especially in an economy where a job is not certain. Could you imagine being in a mortgage, and suddenly your company downsizes, or moves its operations overseas, and you lose your job?

With an apartment, if you can't pay the rent, you can move to a cheaper apartment. You can also get roommates in an apartment. You can also get roommates in your house, but if you're paying the mortgage, this presents a problem about who owns the property.

For those of us in our early to mid twenties, especially those of use who are entrepreneurs, renting is smart until you can earn enough money to truly afford a house. When you're young, you don't have a whole lot of job stability. It doesn't make sense to take on the responsibility of a mortgage of even a family for that matter until you have a strong financial foundation.