A glimpse at how Millenials are being screwed
Uber drivers. Yard work. Baby sitting. Selling things on EBay.
These and much more can be classified as "gig" work. Jobs you would normally think of as work for people without skills and an education.
That was the old days.
The new Fed survey doesn't show whether informal work is on the rise -- although others have looked at the number of 1099-MISC nonemployee-compensation forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service through the years and concluded that it is. What the Fed does offer is a fascinating breakdown of the incomes and educational backgrounds of those who do informal work. Having a low income means you're more likely to do informal work, which isn't surprising. But being more educated also means you're more likely to do informal work:
Another way of looking at the Fed's income-education breakdown, though, is that the on-demand or gig or sharing economy is being powered in large part by highly educated people who can't get steady jobs that pay well. Last year freelance journalist Monica Potts wrote a long lament for the Washington Monthly subtitled "How the 'sharing economy' allows Millennials to cope with downward mobility, and also makes them poorer." I found it affecting, but wasn't convinced that it applied to more than a few liberal-arts-college graduates in a few coastal cities. Now I'm starting to think it might be bigger than that.
The no-benefits, no-job security gig economy is an increasingly larger part of the economy.
It works well for some people, right up until a recession hits.
It isn't just employers that are jumping on the bandwagon for exploiting Millennials.
Boomer-aged landlords have made Millennials into their retirement plan.
The Pollingers are joining the ranks of what Redfin Chief Executive Glenn Kelman calls Landlord Nation, a group of mom-and-pop investors who have seized on low mortgage rates and robust rent growth to plow savings into rental properties....
The share of single-family homes used as rental properties, meanwhile, has surged to a 30-year high, according to a Zillow analysis of data from the U.S. census. Separate data provided by RealtyTrac show that only 65 percent of homes purchased in 2015 are owner-occupied.
“If credit is tight, it doesn’t matter if it’s also cheap, because the people who can get it don’t need it,” Kelman said. “The haves in our society are renting homes out to have-nots, and they’ve been able to do that at increasingly high rents.”
This is NOT healthy for a society, or an economy.
Adam Smith and John M. Keyenes explained that rent extraction creates no wealth. In fact, it misallocates it.
We can't just screw an entire generation.
Comments
Gig Economy is also one medical emergency away...
from complete ruin, at least for the workers. Those making a profit off the workers (Temp agencies, or Work Pimps as I like to think of them) are fine, because there's always somebody just as desperate around the corner.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
The gig economy has been renamed.
It is now the "sharing economy." See, all better now. It's sharing.
Funny how all of the money is going to the libertarian utopians in silicon valley, and still they want more. Uber can't wait to do away with drivers for example--they are already exploited, but that's not enough. Get rid of 'em.
Another part of the gig economy is the lifetime pay-in for goods and services. Nothing will be owned, you'll have monthly payments for everything you do. They just hook up a tap to your bank account.
It worked for Bush!
Remember the Ownership Society? It happened! Most of us are now OWNED by the 1%!
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
Not knocking any of your facts
But the rise in landlords is a direct result increased demand due to lower home ownership. You lose your home, what are you gonna do?
F the F'n D's
Massive investors bought tons of single family homes for cheap
after waves of foreclosure. That ate up a lot of the market; for several years, it was very hard for anyone getting a loan to compete with the massive cash (and basically every first time homebuyer will be getting a loan unless they were born into wealth). This definitely has been a factor in why homeownership rates are lower now. I know people who searched for years and made plenty of offers, but couldn't compete with cash.
Obama/ Dems. big fail should keep costing them elections.
http://www.salon.com/2012/06/15/obamas_fannie_mae_failure/
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Hard to compete with money launderers alright
Just as the Reagan/Bush administrations ignored blatant money laundering by cocaine cartels in Florida banks, the Obama administration is ignoring blatant money laundering in the real estate markets because it's about the only thing making the economic numbers look good.
To top it all off, many of those investors have decided
that instead of selling, they can make more money renting them through AirBnB, another "sharing" economy phenomenon. This is also a factor in driving up rents. Although AirBnB had a less sinister beginning, the neoliberals will always figure out how to exploit something and turn it into poison.
"You lose your home, what are you going to do?"
Good point and hell if I know the answer to that question.
I tried to get a mortgage reduction through Obama's shitty HAMP program.
The number of hoops that they make people jump through is ridiculous and most people don't get one. I didn't and I don't know anyone who did. I'm sure some people did, but they had to have good credit and a decent job or money. And the limited amount of money available wasn't used because the banks weren't modifying loans. I'm sure a lot of you remember how banks were robo signing MERS and the judges passed them.
Many state's AGs were bringing class action lawsuits against the banks until Holder stepped in and (I don't recall the exact details) but he said that he'd roll them all into just one and then screwed over the AGs and the people and let the banks off with fines. And that money didn't twiddle down to the people who were part of the lawsuits.
The administration knew that people were getting screwed yet did nothing about it.
I still don't understand why the banks that intentionally broke the law and crashed the global economy were the ones that got bailed out with our money, yet we weren't offered any relief.
There was no rules put in place on the banks to make sure them help the people that they intentionally screwed.
Millions of people lost their homes, their pension or life savings, yet where was the help for them? Nowhere. Congress made sure that the banks got bailed out, but put no restrictions on their future actions. And I'm sure you remember the big bonuses that the CEOs got, while Obama said that they were shrewd businessmen.
Hillary stated over and over during the debates that Obama passed strict banking laws when Dodd Frank was passed, and as usual, she lied.
DF was so watered down during the passage of it that it didn't restrict the banks from doing future misdeeds. And it's been further watered down now that it's basically useless. And guess who helped congress write this damned bill? The banks.
This is why during the last omnibus bill congress wrote that if the banks crashes again then they will be able to take people's money like they did in Greece.
It's called a bail-in. Once people deposit money in the banks, they don't own the money any longer. The banks do.
Look up 'bank bail-in' and see how this is true.
I'm close to losing my house and after being on the waiting list for close to 2, years, I finally got my voucher.
I spent 3 months looking for a place to live, however the amount of money that I could spend on a house or apartment was so low that the places available for me to live in were so decrepit and run down.
The last place I looked at was 400 sf and so tiny that the person who lived there had his bed in the living room. How the place was able to pass inspection is beyond me.
And guess who is responsible for the decrease in the amount of money available for housing funds?
None other than Bill Clinton when he passed his crime bill.
He took the money out of housing and food stamps and gave it to the police and prison industry.
So the answer to your question is I have no idea what I'm going to do.
The banks also were the ones buying up the homes that they foreclosed on and now are responsible for driving up rents all over the country.
Obama repaid the banks and the people who financed his campaign and I'm sure that Hillary will do the same.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
I am so sorry for your problems.
Neoliberals bite.
I too am very sorry for your problems. I think neoliberals
do more than bite: As the poster above states, AG Holder overrode the local AGs and basically gave a free pass to criminal activity.
The many hoops the poster refers to are friction points: At every hoop, a certain number of people will throw in the towel and accept the fate imposed upon them. The more friction points, the fewer people there are trying to save a little of what they once had.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Remember when Bush said "It's your money"
Bush got everyone to think about Federal finances personally by offering them a $400 bribe with the slogan "It's your money!"
Imagine if a populist had tried to make all the mortgage holders whole, while letting the banks fail.
"It's your money!"
F the F'n D's
Boy, do I empathize!
I am so sorry about the fear and worry you live with every day due to this situation. The anger and frustration you try to tamp down - only to feel it eating you inside out at the worst times. My situation is different than yours, but similar.
Hubby's last job was in 2008 when his contract ended. My job was changed from contractor to GS employee - with a loss of about 1/3 of the salary. Like you, we tried the HAMP and at first were told "No," we didn't fit the "rules" because we weren't behind in our payments. No way to be proactive in this situation. After Obama's mod to HAMP, we were able to do a remod, but even that only goes so far. The house payment may not go up, but all the yearly fees and taxes continue their upward spiral, as well as utilities, etc. And this is a huge, 3 story stone house. Was great for us back then, but now we need to downsize.
I work in one city and live in another, 45 miles apart. I spend 2 hours a day just in commute time, in addition to the 9+ on the job. After work, I spend 1-2 hours taking care of my Mom who lives in my work city. She's 87 and I'm trying hard to keep her out of a nursing home.
I'm also disabled. I have lupus, and a spine that's breaking itself into tiny pieces. I've been fused to the point the doc says no more surgery. And still the pain is extreme. I've also had one (bad) hip replacement, and the other hip is beginning to yell when I put weight on it. I NEED a Ranch style house with no steps, and I need to stop the commuting, as per 2 of my docs.
Prior to 2008, I had close to $80k saved to buy a house outright in my work city. A paid-for house is my greatest sense of security and hope for a retirement within this decade. But, hubby LOVES this house we're in now, and couldn't GET him to move. I think he thought I was exaggerating at what was coming up, health-wise, for me. Well, that savings dwindled to nothing, as we used it to "make up" for the salary pieces we'd lost.
Today, hubby knows I'm not exaggerating and is ready to move. But we only have $30k now if we cash in all our retirements and dig out the change from the sofa. But the banks are doing more auctions than selling foreclosures outright, and the 2 or 3 investors in my work city have their "network" working overtime to buy these houses and flip them as rentals. Meanwhile, I'm trying desperately to find a house to offer cash for that's in decent enough shape for us to move into, while trying to commute, work, and take care of Mom 5 days a week. I can't compete with them! And even when I DO call about a place prior to the investor signing a contract, I'm told the house is already off the market (because one of these investors expressed interest!).
But here's what I'm now seeing that's new to me. A bank (Wells Fargo, in this case), will put a foreclosure on auction and if it doesn't come close to what they want for it, they'll auction it every other week for... what... eternity? One house I'm interested in has been auctioned off every weekend for the last 6 months. The bank want's closest to $75k. The most anyone has bid has been $35k. We topped out at $25k twice on it. It's not worth $75k, and it's losing value every day it stays vacant. No one's taking care of it and it's deteriorating where it sits. I don't understand that mentality!
The VA offered a foreclosure for $18k out-right a couple of weeks ago. I jumped on it immediately. There were already 8 other bids on it. I made it through the first three shake-outs of multiple offers, but lost it to someone else in the end. At least, I think so. Told the realtor to hang on to the escrow just in case something happens, but I don't have hope.
And that's where I am today -- I don't have anymore hope, and I have nowhere to turn to try to regain not only my equilibrium, but also my emotional strength. Life is too overwhelming, especially now as I sit here and baby my dying 16-y.o. cat. I think sometimes if I could have just ONE piece of good news... some sort of help coming my way... some break somewhere... it might rejuvenate my spirit enough to carry on. (sigh) Nothing will help me save my cat, and I figure I'd need another $30k to add on to our retirements to stand a chance at buying a house outright. Might as well be funding a trip to the moon. No way is that kind of money coming in any longer. Hubby's retired and I'm 60+... and the tech field has always wanted to hire young, pay cheap, and make up the difference in pizza and beer.
So I know intimately the kind of angst you're living. I live it everyday, and try to hide it all from my Mom... who doesn't need to add to her own worries. I curse the name of GW Bush, as I feel he outright stole 1/2 of my retirement money and 3/4 of my hubby's by his slash and burn policies. I curse the name of Brownback, as he's killed about every program that used to help my Mom in her advanced age. And NOW they make it nearly impossible to get the pain meds for the pain mgmt plan my doc and I spent years perfecting for me.
The only thing more amazing to me is that more people aren't going postal these days. But I guess most of them are quietly committing suicide; not enough energy or will to do anything else by this point.
I wished we could help, someone could help /nt
Thank you for the thought, mimi...
but it seems like everyone I know IRL or online is in the "same boat" in some form or fashion. Most of us are just hanging on by our fingertips and sheer will.
I feel towards Uber, etc., like I do self-checkout lines in the grocery stores. I'm opposed to the idea mainly because it short changes workers. But also, because it can drive people to take big risks just to make sure we "pay our way." (BTW, pardon the "drive" pun!)
I'm thinking in particular of women (of all ages) doing the Uber thing. You have no idea who you'll be letting in your car at all hours of the day or night. And with the regression in attitudes toward women I've seen in this country over the last 15 years, I think it's as big a risk to do that today, as it was to "run amok" on the dating scene back in my day (ala Looking for Mr. Goodbar).
But it's not just women this economy jilts. The gig economy - paying little in "contract wages" and no benefits, let alone no set hours, etc., means you end up taking anything and everything you can find just to make a few dollars more -- risks be damned. It can also tempt you to shoplift, steal, and do any number of things you've never done before -- and wouldn't now if it wasn't for needing to feed your kids.. your pets... yourself!
In the end, you live to work in order to hang on to the barest of life's necessities. Living like that can kill your soul. There's never time for personal development, spiritual quests, or any of the higher order necessities that civilization is suppose to impart to a developed society. Creativity crashes; the next would-be Einstein is probably fighting the effects of lead paint, asbestos, and a zillion "corporate chemicals" forced on him.
This sure isn't the world I'd envisioned in my youth; the dreams for my "golden years" died quite a while ago. And I worry about my young grandsons... there is no future out there for them. Just once, I wish my daughter had taken me seriously when I suggested she move to another country for her family's future. I know she never took me seriously; it's such a "strange" thing to hear an American say, I guess.
You have a great way with words
This wasn't how I thought my life was going to be either at this age. Not after watching my parents and grandparents have nice things after working hard all their lives.
But that's the thing.
Our parents and GP worked their asses off to build up the corporation's successes and once they were successful, they repaid them by laying off their kids and moving their companies overseas.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
Thank you for your reply and for understanding this
The worry is constant and now that my voucher has expired, I have no idea what I will do if I am foreclosed on.
But there was no way I was going to live in the apartments that were in unsafe areas and when I looked at them I saw people doing drugs out in the open. I can only imagine what it would be like after dark. Again, I have no idea how these places pass inspection for people to live in. One has old fashioned radiators.
I can imagine some of your pain, but I have no idea how you handle driving 2 hours a day, plus working with the pain you must be in. I have to drive 150 miles every 2 months to see my pain doctor and that sets me back for days.
If you are disabled, did you try for SSDI or would that take too much of your income to live?
The housing situation is so damned unfair that the AGs should be looking into it, but I don't know if we even have a functioning government that looks after we the people anymore. That is collusion and should be illegal what they are doing.
And you are right. Suicides are going up for people who think that they have no chance of getting out from the situation they are in.
I have been there many days, but thankfully I have 2 loving dogs that keep me tethered here.
I hope that something breaks for you soon.
And damn our government for not caring about the poor in this country. I do believe that they would rather we die off then keep sucking of their teat programs that they keep cutting.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
We couldn't live on SSDI
Hubby took early retirement a couple of years ago. And I don't know if we can trust that money to continue, even once we're approved. I thought I had a really secure job as a GS (even if the pay was squat!) and then that first year good old Ted shut down the government. Not a good omen in my book! Now, we all turn a cautious eye going into Autumn and wonder if we'll be shut down once again by those economically savvy Republicans! grrrr
Dawg, I don't suppose you happen to live anywhere near the Midwest, do you?
Peace
I am in Utah and so far
ALEC hasn't gotten their total hands on our government and our social programs are still intact, and I am getting the paid meds I need, although it is my work comp 3rd party that is trying to screw with them. They have been trying for years to get me off of the meds that work for me, and my doctor had to lower the number I get for 2 months.
And that is another story.
Work comp is outsourcing to 3rd companies and a doctor that has never seen the patient, only read the doctor's report decides how the patient is to be treated.
And there are companies starting up all over the country telling businesses how to screw over their employees that get hurt at work so they can't get treatment.
Even before these companies started up, going through the work comp mess was a nightmare.
I tell anyone I see that gets injured at work to claim their injury happened at home and to use their medical insurance instead. But of course that was before the shitty ACA when people could afford to use their insurance.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
snoopy, have you considered
getting a housemate or renting a bedroom in your house to get income to help pay your monthly mortgage? Rents have sky-rocketed so much in the past 2-3 years you might be surprised at how much income such an arrangement might bring in.
Where I live (granted it's a "college town"), people who bought up or have inherited older properties are renting them out by the room for $4-500/mo plus shared utilities for older homes, $800 even $1,000/mo for a room in newer, usually 4-5 bedroom houses with granite countertops and in-ground pools in the backyard. But, seriously, a landlord pulling in $4-5,000/mo for a foreclosed-upon McMansion they snapped up for how much in cash? Crazy, greedy un-people grabbing all they can while the grabbing's good.
But, back to your situation, if you have the space to rent out, you might consider it. One place to get an idea of such a rental market in your area might be is Craigslist (I know, I know - just saying it's a starting place to research the value of what you've got).
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
You are so spot on, particularly about suicide...
White middle aged men are committing suicide in record numbers. To the tune of a 40% increase over the last 10 years according to Psychology Today.
Coming from a culture like mine (italian) that places a huge emphasis on the mans duty to provide for and defend the family and then being unable to do so does cause some dramatic depression, and this mindset isn't just particular to Italians, it's in American culture too, only slightly less amplified.
After my injury prevented me from being "The Bread Winner" in the family it took a huge metal toll. So much so that between the pain, mental fatigue from going for months and months unable to sleep more than 45 mins or so at a shot, my physical health deteriorating and having to rely on my wife for assistance to do something as simple as getting up to use the restroom I found myself in such a dark place that not only did I contemplate suicide I spent quite a bit of time on researching euthanasia, countries where it was allowed, methods, etc.
Ultimately I reached the point where I decided that if I was going to take myself out I had to make it look accidental so I could make sure my wife would still be eligible for my pension and life insurance.
I approached a friend to ask for their help with "staging an accident". This was the kind of friend that is rare, the kind of friend that if you showed up at his house covered in blood with a body in the trunk his first response would be to ask if you needed help with digging the hole and some fresh clothes.
A friend I could trust.
(semi-interesting side story, this is not just an analogy. I hit an animal on my Harley on the way to his house one day, it had run right into the front wheel and somehow managed to pass between the spokes (it was a 5 point wheel) which caused it to hit the forks and just explode all over me.
I was covered in gore from knees down and waist up, including my face. So me, being ever the smart ass practical joker, when I got to his house I took my knife out of my belt, rubbed some of the blood on it and then rang his door, when he came to it I was just standing their on his porch holding a knife, covered in blood and with a panicked look on my face I said, "You gotta hide me!" and the first thing he did was reach in and grab his key fob to open the garage door while turning off the porch light and telling me to pull in as he was looking around to see if anyone in the neighborhood had noticed.
No questions asked, although he did punch me in the chest HARD when I told him what really happened, lol!)
Anyway, He eventually talked me around, and it took a while because I was so set in my course of action that I felt betrayed initially by his lack of willingness to help me. (a good indicator of how bad my state of mind was at the time, sleep deprivation for that long of a period really can make you irrational to the point where you are willing to do anything for rest, even die)
While I am glad he did what he did, I would be lying if I said such thoughts still don't plague me now and again.
There are times when I still contemplate how easy it would be now that I live on the ocean to just take a boat out and be "Lost at sea" (something that happens with some frequency down here) but then my more rational side kicks in and I contemplate the ripple effect it would have on the lives of those around me that I love and I immediately dismiss it, but I can totally understand how many others reach that point and in their despondency follow through.
I guess the moral of this story is the Clinton's and the rest of the oligarchies lapdogs have a lot more blood on their hands than is directly attributed to them.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
As a woman, let me interject here that I am not looking for a
breadwinner, but for a partner. That means sometimes you'll take care of me and sometimes I'll take care of you, and it's all good. We actually enjoy exercising our competencies. Anyone of a certain maturity and awareness understands that in this oligarchy, the 99%'s abilities to earn a living are compromised by the economics of our times and it's not the fault of the 99%. We are in this together.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
I don't disagree at all, but cultural things are what they are..
It's not rational, and doesn't have to be, cultural traditions seldom are.
I am not saying I endorse the belief/feelings but the fact that they exist is undeniable. Even today, many women will not date a man that they feel has no prospects, and if they do, they take rations of shit about it from their friends and family.
Perhaps it's similar to how some women become depressed when discovering that they are infertile? Maybe they feel they cannot fulfill something that all their lives they have been told is the most amazing part of being a woman, the ability to create life, even though rationality would dictate that their worth is in no way decreased as one could always adopt a child,however many go through incredible depression upon such a diagnosis.
I dunno, if I could explain it I would have written a book and be rich by now, lol!
My wife said the same things, and I totally believe her at a rational level, but feelings are not always rational.
For countless generations a man's worth has always been directly tied to his ability to provide and protect. A belief that probably stems from tens of thousands of years of this being the actual case. If a man couldn't provide he was unlikely to find a mate through out our history as a species.
The equality we currently enjoy is from a historical standpoint an incredibly new cultural phenomenon, and mental attitudes take a while to catch up.
I'm still running...
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
I understand. Just realize then when you're down, your situation
is bothering you a lot more than it's bothering her.
And actually, according to an anthropology course I took, primitive societies were more gatherer-hunter than hunter-gatherer, with women providing the bulk of the food and men often returning empty-handed from the hunt (you try throwing a spear at game and see how well that works!). The more typical view of back then is because anthropologists used to be male and thus gave the men more prominent roles than the evidence supports.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Yeah, that is definetly the rational outlook, and the one I take
and usually hold, but there are times where it does still get to me, but I just say to myself, "This too shall pass" and knowing that makes it more bearable in the moment.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
Thank You, Snoopydawg, you make the problems so
undeniably clear. It hurts to read about your own situation. I wished we could help.
Thanks, mimi
If I could find a way to sale the photos that I have in my sigline, I could make the extra money to stay here longer until something breaks.
I used to get quite a few orders from people on DK when we had siglines, but everyone that uses them for their businesses have suffered.
I have my photos for sale on every site that I can find, but there are so many other people that use those sites that the competition is fierce.
And I have have seen comments here that these types of siglines have no business being on this site, or at DK. (thank you JtC)
Many of us as stated don't have any cushion at all for emergencies such as if something happened to me, my car or one of my pets.
My aunt helps pay for my car registration and one of the members here has been sending me money to buy the dog's food for over a year. There are no words to express my gratitude for her doing that out.
And as I stated in my original comment, we have the Clintons to thank for cutting the funds for affordable housing for the poor when they passed the crime bill.
And thousands of people are still being affected by the welfare reform bill that they passed and were recently kicked of the food stamps program.
Do you think that the Clintons stop to think about that, or anyone in Congress? I do know that the republicans think that people who live on food stamps are eating steak and lobster every night, while they get per diems everyday for their meals that they can certainly afford to buy themselves.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.
What they do in my part of the world.
Unemployed people leave their housing and move in with friends and family. Across the street from where I live, there are several homes with many working (and maybe a few not-so-working) adults. I have seen as many as 12 adults living in such an arrangement, and you can tell by how many unfamiliar vehicles are parked up and down the street. Sometimes kids are included. It seems to work, for I have only nonce seen someone get evicted from such an arrangement in the several years I've seen this happen.
So much for Barry's booming economy. Watching the signs that the next crash is being initiated to bring wages back down and make us afraid for our jobs?
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
We used to have another name for this back in the 60's!
Communal living definitely has it's "up" sides... as well as it's "down" sides. It helps immensely if there's enough space for everyone, without anybody crowding anyone else.
There was a group of us older users over at TOP at one point that were discussing various types of communal living and ways of doing it. With Republican states slashing everything that's not earmarked for the rich or corporate, the assistance that comes from many living together is tempting. Not just economically, but physically and emotionally, as well. I still look favorably on the idea of communal living. Just need to make sure there's personal space if I ever get into that kind of situation. I tend to echo Greta Garbo at times --- "I vant to be alone!!!" (gryn)
I Remember Those Days
People today aren't living in lofts or former commercial buildings where there was plenty of space for everyone. You can't match that in your typical CA suburban bungalow. My own house is only 1100 square feet, and 5 adults live in it. We are all related, so we don't have it as rough as if 5 friends learn things about each other which cause friction.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
I live on a cul-de-sac that contains 14 houses,
mixed neighborhood, with ranches & two-stories, built in the 1970s ("Middle America" exemplar). Six of those houses have multiple families living in them (some related; others not; totally contrary to R-1 zoning, but no one is talking about it) because housing is out of reach --
When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said “How well he spoke”.
When Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said “Let us march”.
I Live Outside Los Angeles
Where are you living, if I may ask?
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
Nothing unusual about communal living,
folks in Third World countries have been doing it for ages. It's amazing how many people can be packed into a room. Time for unemployable Americans to get with the program - it's called Survival of the Richest.
native
Sure, it's survivable.
But it's not exactly the American Dream, is it? And the fact is, this country is still rich enough to bring back the FDR years.
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It was part of life here in the U.S. for a long time, too...
When my mom was growing up, it wasn't unusual to find 2-3 generations living under the same roof. I don't have this down as a "fact," but my logic tells me the change to SFR began in earnest after WWII, especially since it opened up a whole new "business endeavor" of nursing homes once they could no longer live alone.
There is a difference, tho, between sharing quarters with friends or with family. Frankly, I've always found it easier to live with friends and/or "strangers" who soon became friends. "Family" has so much psychological baggage attached, in general, and it's hard not to fall back into those childhood "roles" if you're an adult living with your parents. I experienced this first hand after my divorce, when I moved back home for a few months. Also, the three times I tried living with my mom a couple of summers ago. She needs someone near by, or living with her at her age and capability level today. I was actually doing pretty good, considering I was working for 4-5 hours at her house once I got off from my day job.
My mother, however... seems she can stand someone living with her for about 3 weeks. After that, you need to leave so she can go back to being alone and reclaiming her privacy! A couple of months after that, she starts in again about how she needs someone to move in with her; she can't keep up with everything like she used to; she gets really lonely late at night, etc. I don't doubt any of that... but moving in and out every 3 weeks isn't easy at my age now. Bless her heart, I think she still sees me as a kid... not the "hopefully someday soon to be retired" daughter that I am!
I am old enough that the word "Gig" referred to
something that was done to a frog with a trident spear, or when your college Garage band got a (poorly) paying job.
Any other reference is almost certainly
The UK has the odious "Zero Hours Contract"
Sounds nice and flexible, however the reality is darker
If you don't accept then you might/probably not be asked again.
So basically you have to be always available no matter how little work is available
Some 800,000 Britons have this type of contract and they tend to be in the most vulnerable and low paid sectors.
On call work
is one of the most odious things in existence and should be outlawed. Many low wage jobs have a form of on call work where a worker has no idea what his or her hours are going to be on a regular basis. An on call worker has no real secure income stream and absolutely no other way to find secondary work since he has no idea what his or her hours are going to be from week to week, let alone be able to plan time for a life or a family. Being on call means that a worker has no life of his own. IMHO, it is form of wage slavery.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Same with many payday lenders with absolutely
crazy rates of interest.
Combine the two you end up with an indentured work force, slavery if you prefer.
I 'd add to the indentured class those college educated
with student loans.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
Without Canova's challenge,
Without Canova's challenge, DWS would likely have remained for them. She was for them until Canova's fundraising became quite impressive. Then, she dropped them. I don't know if she has affirmatively campaigned against them, but she is no longer approving them openly.
Even if I knew nothing about Hillary, other than Hillary gave DWS a position, purely honorary or not, after her disgrace as DNC head, I would not vote for Hillary.
There are more Payday Lender outlets than there are McDonalds
and Starbucks combined.
Annual real interest rates can go up to 400%
(and we thought the mafia were the loansharks.)
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
They did hit 7000% APR a few years ago, UK limits them now
to 0.8% per DAY
Thanks: Good information but bad news!
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
We can thank...
Those who pushed "At Will Employment" & "Right To Work" Laws along with Vulture Capitalists for this...
Gig a few on the end of my pitchfork when the day comes...
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
... or maybe "a few close shaves
with the National Razor --"
When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said “How well he spoke”.
When Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said “Let us march”.
These graphs are astounding.
n/t
The economic conditions we are leaving our kids on a dying
planet: no jobs, no benefits, and no retirement We need bigger jails, longer sentences, and more death sentences.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
More and bigger wars. A
More and bigger wars. A compelling distraction; reason to eliminate rights; plus one with Russia or China could seriously reduce the numbers of useless eaters. We're not far from robots and specially grown clones to take care of the grounds, do manicures...
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Using facts and figures to criticize the status quo
seems to be bad form, at least on political message boards. Please just clap louder. Thanks in advance.
Just remember "they are with you" or whatever.
And...
The other guys are MUCH scarier. Embrace the suck.
Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?
Ah yes, they really do "understand"
our problems you know..... Really.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Renters definitely screwed...
Also worth mentioning the national debt they will inherit. Thanks parents and grandparents!
Whoa. It's not because of your typical parents and grandparents
Keep the blame on the richest 1% where it belongs. Other generations are struggling too. It's not retirement funds that are making college unaffordable. We could easily have a strong social safety net for everyone. We have to pry the funds out of the cold hands of the wealthy.
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A friend of mine works as a translator that's part of the gig
economy. There is also now this labor app that you can get construction labor gigs on an on-call basis. It seems this kind of economy is the logical conclusion to technology driven capitalism. Imagine how many people will be out of work when autonomous cars become prevalent? I'm fortunate to live in the Seattle area. The 'economy' is doing well here but it seems there is another housing bubble. Rents and property taxes are absolutely skyrocketing. The future looks bleak. In the end we are all just renters.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
We have a Boomer/Millennial alliance in our family.
We came back to the U. S. in '09 after a few years in Europe and Canada. We headed for a Rust Belt city known for cheap houses and started looking. We went through a lot of the same things that Slightkc wrote about above. We bid at some foreclosure auctions but found that very little was really selling because the reserves were so high. We finally found a property in '10 that was bought as part of a tax foreclosure bundle. When the buyer couldn't flip it to a local educational institution, he offered it for $5,000 and we bought it for $3,500. It has a big two family and a smaller 1 1/2 story cottage on about a 5,000 sq. ft. lot in a not-great neighborhood but close to downtown and the lake. Both houses had been empty for several years. The large one had already been taken down to the studs, so that saved us a lot of work.
We've been living in a construction project for 5 years, but we're nearing the end of rehabbing the two-family. At the beginning, all three of our adult kids were with us, but one moved back overseas and our youngest is across town living with her boyfriend. We've added one, though, since our son's girlfriend is living with us now. There's plenty of space since the house divides up pretty neatly into 3-4 apartments with 3 1/2 baths and a shared kitchen and utility room. All space outside with some sunshine is taken up by gardens. We use the little house for storage, and before long, a workshop.
We've also been able to pick up a vacant lot adjacent to us. We've also been working on the city and development agency to demolish the vacant house next to us that's too far gone to rehab, and we've been talking to them about a vacant house behind us that appears to have been abandoned by the slumlord who owns it. It's in decent shape, though I'm sure it needs to be re-plumbed and re-wired.
There have been some positive developments in the neighborhood since we moved here. A local guy has decided to invest pretty heavily in the area, and there are several new restaurants and a brewery that have opened. There are even plans to open a large farmers' and craftpersons' market in a warehouse two blocks away. On the other hand, there are still many vacant houses around, and we had a gunfight in front of the house in February that included AK-47s according to the cops who showed up to investigate the scene. That involved not people from the neighborhood but patrons of a restaurant down the street that is frequented by gangs. The city and the cops look the other way on that one despite neighborhood pressure.
There's enough space here that our kids know they always have a place to go if they need it. Our son who still lives here has been able to go to college and avoid any debt because of his scholarships and our very low living costs. We make our money by building websites off a freelancer site where we've been doing business for 10 years. It's not easy, but it's working because of the cooperation among generations.
Uber driver here
I'm 63, Bachelor of Science in computers, paralegal certificate, have two U.S. Patents and completely unable to get work in any of the fields of my education. Started taking SS at 62 just to supplement my income.
I start to believe that in order to regulate and force
this outrageous wild exploitation of this form of international corporate capitalism, you need an authoritarian system in power to push it through. But who will believe in the "benign authoritarian dictator" to do so?
Horrible outlooks all over the place.
Today's jobs report was strong
in almost ever way...except for the quality of jobs.
People with disabilities on fixed incomes were always screwed.
Those of us Millennials who were born with disabilities that never go away and get worse as we age definitely got the short end of the stick. As for me, I can't even get the benefits I need despite getting them as a child. I can't even get a 'gig' because that requires a driver's license. Again, because I'm neurologically impaired that's out of the question.
We were invisible to society and totally fucked before, but now? I doubt any jackass who calls us lazy would last a day in my shoes.
"Start your own business" they say. Ha. Right. The only way to be successful at business these days is to commit outright theft. That's what the Boomers did anyway.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Not every single Boomer is
a thieving neo-liberal. And many of those Boomers will be screwed over now as many of them did not save for retirement, and many can look down the barrel of perhaps having that taken away completely by Shillary Clinton when she privatizes their own SS. So while there's more than enough blame to go around, and I'm particularly pissed at my own Repugnant relatives who voted this shit in over and over and over again, blaming one cohort for the entire mess is just not the whole of the problem. That also feeds nicely into the divide and conquer mentality which I think we can all agree has indeed helped us get where we are today.
Many of those Boomers also spent all their money making sure their own kids had the best car, shoes, clothes, phones, video games, maybe even college, etc, etc, etc. While their own kids are fucked today, even some of those greedy Boomers didn't know any better than the rest of us that this would all come crashing down in an orgy of greed. They too were led down this rosy little neo-liberal path, and MANY of them voted Democrat too, thinking they WERE doing the "right thing."
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
It'll take a world market crash before anything changes.
And I agree with this also.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Thinking my grandpaw was crazy like a fox
He kept a wad of cash stashed in a hiding place in his house, "just in case". He never needed it...but these days you never know.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Starting your own business
does not necessarily have to be outright theft. It depends on your definition of successful. If your talking about Obomber's beloved savvy entrepreneurs version of success you not only have to be willing to commit theft you have to have a cutthroat coldblooded immoral screw you I got mine mindset. You also need capital and backing from the hedge fund
vultureventure cappies.We have 'own' our business. We bootstrapped it as we had no collateral, credentials or means to qualify for any kind of bank involved loan. Actually neither of us has ever wanted to have to deal with the market capitalism. We are boomber's. We used creativity and our god given 'skill sets' and found a niche to provide a service that businesses need. We flew under the radar of the big con. My husband says he's a garbageman as he is a mathematical idiot savant and none of these marketeers who are are clients want to deal with tabulating or doing the stats and math that they use to sell their bs. He was a hippie musician who loves math. We're also not greedy bastards and are described by many of our peers as 'materially challenged'.
I don't think you can blame any specific generation for the rise of greed is good, screw or get screwed, 'free market' based economy that we are all living under. Each generation has it's share of greedy immoral rat bastards and regular people just trying to get along. GenX'ers figure large so does my parents generation the 'Great Generation'. lol. They are all just people who have bought into winning the race to the top. In the 80's when we quit the corporate yppie hamster wheel and went free lance I read a book called 'Growing a Business' by Paul Hawkins of the famous Smith and Hawkins gardening tool suppliers. It was my bible for bootstrapping our combined skills inherent and developed without going the usual route.
https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Business-Paul-Hawken/dp/0671671642
Anyway these days you might just find that success is not what it's cracked up to be. Starting your own business whatever it might be, is one way to circumvent the cruel viscous disaster corporate capitalistic economy were all forced to live under. My granddaughter is a millennial and she is facing an even more monstrous global economy then we did. Nothing wrong with supplying a service or product outside the gates, regardless of what you find you do well. You seem like a smart creative person why not think outside the current definition of success or business.
Sorry if I seem to be lecturing but there are businesses both local and under the grid you still can start. Success is not what the nasty greedy fuckers from every generation say it is. Here's another book I have found helpful in navigating this insane inhumane brave new world.
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, Learn it and use it for life.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254799.The_Creative_Habit
As for looking to this global system for relief forget about it. Regardless of which generation is in charge or operating the levers of power your blaming won't get you anything but misery and stuck in being at their mercy. Which of course they could careless about.
And given my disabilities and such...
I'm not really cut out for the 'corporate hamster wheel' as you describe it. I've dome some stuff on my own, it's just growing it into something I'm having trouble with. I've never been good at putting myself out there so I've been stuck. I've had a few customers for photo and video archiving and I'd love to build on that because it's something I seem to do pretty well despite not having insanely expensive tools at my disposal. The other thing that scares the hell out of me is number crunching with regards to paying taxes and self employment. I hear it's a cluster to navigate.
And perhaps you're right. No sense in trying to get back everything that's been pissed away over the past few decades, but we should definitely build new and better ways of doing business, farming, development, transportation and so on because we can't afford the top-heavy system that continues to crush us all with no signs of stopping.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Story of my life
Thanks for writing this.
I just turned 50, just got my BA in Technology and Design (Design).
I'm trying to transition out of construction to something more artistic and personally gratifying. I used to own my own concrete finishing company, till the recession took every thing away.
I hunkered down, been in school since 2010 (2 A.A.'s, 1 B.A.) and worked various p/t construction + concrete pours. Barely scraping by. The student loans and grants helped me get through it especially winters.
Now I'm looking for steady work, construction for now, and longer terms something in game art, or anything visual. Still hard as hell, and most prospects seem to be pretty low wage, like $12-15 hr, $17-20 for construction stuff. I cant survive on that in Seattle (the worlds 40th most expensive city/ probably 25th now).
I was never able to find a real estate agent who would work with me in the boom so I'm still a renter. It's just miserable. At this rate I'll never have enough secure income to buy, and then I'll never be able to retire either. Feels like I'm doomed to end up on the streets. I'm on the brink of homelessness right now.
I miss out on a lot of life too because I don't have money to go camping, snowboarding or surfing when friends go. Hell it's an event just to be able to order a pizza. I don't have a girlfriend or anyone besides my canine companion, and she's getting long in the tooth
I guess we're
early starters in the gig economy. We went free lance, contractor, vendor, self-proprietorship in the late 80's early 70's. We did so because we were underpaid corporate techies. We lived in SF and although we were fully employed and skilled we were the working poor. As a graphic artist I was a replaceable wrist and Shah was a number crunching stat guy. We just could not live on what they were willing to pay. I went free lance first and Shah started his own business shortly after. We have built our business to business up over the years. However it's a hard row to hoe when the economy tanks.
We had move to OR in 1992 order to qualify for a loan to buy an affordable house. Now our neighborhood is in the top five hot real estate markets and how can any gig worker or lowly self employed person afford to live in an economy geared to the top 20% of all workers? This city 10 years ago was affordable and our neighborhood was very mixed in all demographic's. I know a lot of young'uns smart educated and skilled who cannot even find barista jobs in the techie yuppie hipster coffee houses. The rent's too high.
When ever Obomber or Killery starts talking about economic opportunities for 'responsible' people realize that what he means is savvy entrepreneurs who know how work the meritocracy. Breaking corporate glass ceilings by responsible successful people is just the latest version of the Horatio Algiers myth. The rest of us are just losers who don't know how to play the game.
I'm an independent contractor too. Fortunately I almost never
get sick. But it is difficult making enough money. I think a lot of 50-somethings are in the same boat. We'd like a few of life's finer things but nobody wants to pay good wages and benefits.
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