This is crazy! I just watched this newsflash last night and I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Thousands of MORE jobs lost in America! Click here to watch the video. Sorry I was not able to embed the video to this blog! This is a MUST SEE 5 1/2 minute video. Lou Dobbs NAILS it with his commentary! I couldn't have said it better myself. This is soooo WRONG on every level. What is happening to our country? Geez!
"The U.S. Air Force’s decision to award a major defense contract to a European company is unconscionable, short-sighted and borderline treasonous. These decisions show our overwhelming lack of real leadership in Washington, DC, and it’s time our elected officials stand up and demand this be reversed. The Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union is justifiably outraged at the Air Force tanker deal, and Lou interviewed union president Thomas Buffenbarger last night." ~ Lou Dobbs, CNN
13 comments:
Funny how Boeing - who had no qualms about jerking the rug out from under tens of thousands of its loyal employees through layoffs a few years back - is so quick to cry, "injustice!" after losing this tanker deal.
They also had no problem with their cheating a few years back, by hiring the former head of Air Force Procurement, in an attempt to illegally to secure the contract. Are you aware of what happened?
Having said that, let me also say that this defense contract SHOULD go to a an American firm (Boeing). It's bad enough that the US has already sold out so much of its banking system to foreigners and also owes China nearly a trillion dollars.
-Mammoth
Hi Mammoth, Good morning! :)
No I didn't know that happend a few years back...
I agree, the contract should remain here in the U.S. and go to a U.S. corporation!
I was watching the Global markets melting away all morning! Couldn't sleep. Plus, my mom is having a medical procedure done and I'm driving her this morning. Sheer insanity! We have literally sold out almost our entire financial system to foreign country's!
This is just NOT right at all!
Happy Monday, Princess.
Looks like the Global markets are continuing their meltdown. Let's see what the US markets do to begin the new week.
Hope your mom is o.k. & recovering well.
Yesterday I spoke with my 81-year old mother, and our conversation touched on what is happening in the economy. She feels that this country is now heading into some very difficult times - worse than we have seen here in decades.
This correlates with the chat on HP, doesn't it? Last Thursday I picked the first lettuce in the greenhouse we built last December, and in the back of my mind I was thinking, "one less hard-earned dollar that I need to spend."
Spent a few hours on Saturday digging in a new garden bed on Saturday - hard labor but good exercise. Am noticing lots of bird activity now.
Spring is coming, so despite all the gloom out there in the world, this is still an optimistic time of year!
Have a great day,
-Mammoth
Hi Mammoth Happy Monday to you too! ;)
Yeah, my mom is doing great! Thank you for asking.
I know it appears that the avalanche has begun its cascade downhill... unstoppable this time! This will be like no other time in the history of this country.
I can't stand to hear economist and analyst comparing what we're experiencing to the 1990s. We didn't have SIVs, CDOs, MBSs etc. bundled in this manner which is what is causing this mess!
And it really ticks me off that banks are still offering the neg am loans and straight adjustable loans!!! The FED should force them to stop pushing these loans.
Anyhoo, you're so lucky to have a vegetable garden outside of your home. It must be nice to be able to enjoy the fruit of your labor ;) And like you said save money at the same time... I love love love my grapefruit! They're so expensive at the stores and all I have to do is walk out and pick one off the tree when I crave it lol ;)
I love watching the baby birdies learning to fly... they start by jumping branch to branch a flap a little in between. They're sooo teeny! The same with the baby squirrels way toooo cute!
It is NICE to take a break from ALL the chaos happening around us! I hope you had a GREAT day Mammoth. Look forward to hearing back from you soon.
~ Princess M
Hi there! Moving our conversation up a notch, since the thread it has been on will soon 'fall off the map.'
You said, "One of these days Mammoth I too will own my ranch with horses, duckees, avocado trees... SOON I hope! That is where I hope to retire my mom. It will be my second home while I adventure..."
During the long flight & layover to kauai, I read Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," which as you may know, is set in the 1920's in California. Have you read this book?
A couple of wandering ranch hands dream of having their OWN farm, with crops & livestock. Interesting - the price for a 10-acre plot is ~$600, and the ranch hand's pay was ~$50/mo.
This means that ONE YEAR's wages could buy you a farm back then. How many years woould you need to work now, in order to pay for a 10-acre plot?
Since I think you are in the mortgage business, you probably could give me the answer to this question in your response.
BTW, do you know much about horses - how to take care of them, etc? Just wondering...
Cheers,
Mammoth
Hi Mammoth!
Yes, I have read the book many many years ago... had to write a book report. It is a great piece of classic literature. Of course, I didn't think that back then because I didn't want to do the book report lol ;)
I don't want an enormous ranch. I'd be happy with 1 or 2 acres, large hacienda, enough room for the horses and horse back riding etc.
I have friends who do have horses and I visit with them every couple of months to get away from the city and ride. Believe me I do know how much care a horse needs hanging out with them. Plus, the cost is quite high. I don't mind the hard work involved adopting a few into the family. I love horses and would love to be surrounded by them and so does my mom... they are such beautiful creatures.
I'm sorry Mammoth, I'm too tired to research the cost of a 10 acre ranch or calculate anything right now. It probably cost a lot and the price would also depend on the area I would think?
Nevertheless, I don't intend to go out and buy it tomorrow. Most likely within 5 years. We'll see.
I hope you had a great day! Talk to you soon ;) ~ Princess M
Dear Princess M.,
As you may have read in my previous posts on HP – when my tenants moved out last August I sold the rental house and paid off my residence. In January I snapped up the vacant 2½ acres (with a barn) adjacent to my property, so now I have 5 acres total.
The asking price had started out at $232K, then it dropped to $199K, then $179K. A few months after the listing was dropped and the sign came down, I made an offer to the owners, and we settled on $154K.
All the arguments seem to be against buying right now – prices are falling, depression coming on, etc…, but it made sense to buy for a number of reasons:
- Investment? Nah, although maybe it will be worth significantly more in 15 years or so.
- Keep this piece of land undeveloped? Yep, if and when it gets a house or whatever built on it, this will be ON MY OWN TERMS. Right now it’s kinda nice to look out back and just see the green pasture and barn out there.
The plan is to rent out the barn stalls for horses in order to bring in a few hundred $ per month. But I would need to learn more about caring for horses. However, first I need to put in a driveway and hook up the electricity & water. And that costs a lot, as you know.
Meanwhile, my fruit trees and garden are doing well, and there is room for more garden space & fruit trees on this ‘new’ land.
So, you have a ‘five-year plan?” Ha ha, someone on HP would probably call you a commie for that. Mammoth’s five-year plan is to give up the corporate job & commute within five years, and become self-employed.
While the first step along the road to failure is ambition, you can’t get were you want to go unless you try. I wish you success with your plan!
Cheers,
Andrew
My five year plan is not to retire but to prepare to purchase the piece of land so that my Mom can retire there. I would also have to prepare for building the hacienda, a home for the horses, etc.
I'll still be working earning a living. Most likely traveling a lot more. I have a long ways to go before I retire.
Even if I retire, I'll still be volunteering for some type of public service. Making a difference in this world. So basically I'll still be working only doing something much much more fullfilling! ;)
Wow! That is soooo awesome that you own 5 acres of land! Plus, you have your mini agriculture area. It must be worth the commute ;)
Renting out the stalls is a great idea for the other piece of land to help out with the expenses.
That is how my friends started by renting out a stall area for their horses at a ranch. Everyone had their own area, plus were able to use the track created by the owner.
Have a great day Mammoth!
“Just curious, what type of business would you be interesting in starting if you could?”
-----------------------------
- For the past few years I have been selling vegetable seedlings to a local gardening shop, and have also been propagating various ornamentals and selling them here & there. People have told me my plants look better than anybody else’s. It would be wonderful to (pardon the pun) grow this business. I already grow great vegetables, and dream of selling plants & vegetables, and perhaps some home-made crafts as well, at the local farmer’s markets.
As you may have observed, Princess, farmer’s markets have been gaining popularity in recent years. Have you heard of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)? Try Googling this term! Basically, CSA is when the grower sells produce directly to the consumer, who purchases a ‘subscription’ to what the farmer produces during the growing season. Each week, the subscriber receives a box full of whatever in season that week.
The trick is that the grower must be able to continually provide a wide range of produce every week; so for example, the customer doesn’t end up with 20 lbs of carrots one week and 20 lbs of broccoli the next.
But the reality is that even this (farmer’s markets & CSA) would provide a minimal income. So, I could also supplement my income by doing odd jobs, as I am quite handy and have installed wood and tile floors, for example, in my own home, as well as painted houses. Someone mentioned this week that landscapers charge up to $35/hr to cut grass these days, so there is that as well.
So if I really could gather up the nerve I could probably quit the cubicle job, ditch the looong commute and do all of the above and probably just barely scrape by. But that’s the catch, you see – to actually take the plunge and JUST DO IT. But what about health insurance? Well, one can’t let FEAR control one’s life, can he? Oh, wait a sec…ha ha.
But it would suck to get old, and look back on your life and wish that you did something which you hadn’t, wouldn’t it? So I sort of set myself a goal to work for ~5 more years, during which time I will pay off the 2½ acres and sharpen my sustainability skills. But the reality is that I don’t think that I can stand doing the for another five more years:
Get up at or 4:40 AM, shave, dress, rush through breakfast and leave the house 30 minutes after the alarm goes off…walk ¼ mile to the road to catch the bus…exit at 6:00 AM at the ferry terminal, join the sleepy herd walking onto the ferry, walk off the ferry with the herd at 6:50 AM, walk ¼ mile through downtown Seattle to meet the vanpool, arrive at work at 7:15 AM, spend another day in the Corporate World, bail at 4:00 PM and then repeat the morning’s commute in reverse, finally arriving back home at 6:15 PM with little energy or life left. Five days per week. The weekends are spent recovering from the commute, doing house-chores, and spending a little ‘quality time’ in the garden.
See, the jobs in the county where I live do not pay well; all the good-paying jobs are across Puget Sound on the Seattle side. And what with the land payment and ever-increasing property taxes, electricity, propane, and grocery bills, I’m not sure that I can survive just by selling fruit & vegetables and doing odd jobs. Help! What would YOU do if you were in this situation?
(Hopefully this wasn’t too long & boring, Princess)
-Mammoth
Good morning Mammoth!
I got home late last night. I would like to take my time answering your question. I will respond later tonight.
I hope you have a fantastic day!
~ Princess M
On another note....
Can you believe OIL at $110 and GOLD at $1,000!?!?!? INSANITY...
These Global Markets are convulsing!
Princess,
Take your time. After today I’ll be back on Monday (still having trouble with my Internet connection from home). I’d love to read what you have to say!
Yes, oil & gold are going nuts. The former can only go up from this point forward, and let’s hope there is not some major disruption coming in the Middle East.
But about the yellow metal, with it hitting $1,000 what do you think is going to happen? With all the sudden publicity, are all the ‘sheeple’ going to jump onto the bandwagon and push it up to $1,500, or will all the current holders simultaneously hit the “sell” – button and rake in their profits?
See, my dear Princess, this is a serious issue for me because after selling my rental house last October (on Halloween, mind you), knowing that there would be a hefty capital gains tax on the proceeds, I set aside the estimated amount and bought some of the yellow stuff.
So, please put yourself squarely in the Mammoth’s shoes for a moment: You have a ~$20 K tax bill due in a month, your investment has increased by 30%. Would wait a bit longer to take additional gains - with the risk that gold may drop, or would you play it safe and sell right now?
Thoughts, comments?
Do you like eating Asian Pears? Tomorrow I will go and dig up three Asian Pear trees that were advertised in a ‘freebie’ ad in the local paper. I was the first person to call on Wednesday when the ad came out, so tomorrow morning I will be digging them up in the rain. It is almost too late right now, since everything is breaking out of winter dormancy, but hopefully the trees will make it after I transplant them on my property. Nice plan for the weekend…
Hope you have a nice weekend – will you see your mom?
Take care,
-Mammoth
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