The amazing sandwiches of van life.
During our “Great adventure” we were living in the van and trying to find work. Without having a kitchen, we would either eat in restaurants, or make ourselves easy food that does not require cooking. We would make these amazing sandwiches.
We would get a full loaf of Crunchy bread. Whether French or Italian.
Then I would cut in down the middle and make it into two loaves. Each loaf would become a sandwich.
Slather on mayonnaise, mustard, and all kinds of condiments.
Then comes the meat. Turkey, ham, baloney, and various other cold cuts. And some nice slices of cheese; American, Swiss, and Colby.
Than, of course, a lot of vegetables. To include tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and whatever would fit.
These sandwiches were huge, and we devoured every single morsel of them. I’ll tell you what.
Now, I am doing much better than then. And I can get the ingredients at any time and make my own (except for the bread, as I am in China and access is difficult), but I don’t. Ah. It’s a combination of reasons.
Never the less, from time to time, I wistfully daydream of those days of mega-sandwiches and eating them in the van on crisp California Spring mornings.
*sigh*
Today…
Is the US legally allowed to prevent other nations from using its currency as their own?
Not legally, not practically not possible! People use the dollar for only one reason and one reason only! That is they can earn higher earnings on their savings if the can get higher interest but keep its purchasing power! The US dollar cannot do that and worst they fear the US can steal it away anytime it like how it stole the Russian US dollar reserves!
Trump can scream rant and rave in a tantrum but it cannot do anything about it! First it won’t know and it cannot touch their monies nor can they know who buys what? when?, where? who? How much? Which currency it pays of don’t pay! What can the US do? Start world war 3 that the US will lose?
Do you think that Americans would take the jobs left vacant if all illegal immigrants were to return to their countries?
The thing that irks me about the conversation around immigration is the part where some people legitimately believe that “Americans are too lazy to do hard manual labor.”
What an insult to blue collar Americans. What an insult to American farmers.
Let’s remember that 32% of farm laborers are born in the US.[1] The Midwest has the highest share of US-born farm workers.
Americans still pick fruit, despite the pro-immigrant propaganda that says otherwise.
Here are other dangerous, hard jobs that Americans do:
Construction
Roofing
Logging
Commercial fishing
Steel welding
Oil rig work
Plumbing
Car and airplane manufacturing
Trucking
Firemen
Americans work 12+ hour shifts. And get their hands dirty. In all manner of industries.
What they WON’T generally do is work those jobs for $7.25 per hour.
Remember that little thing in history called the labor movement? Unions exist to help laborers get:
Higher pay
Safer working conditions
Reasonable hours
Protection from harassment and abuse
The labor union movement was so successful that most of these things were enshrined in law. They’re called “worker rights”.
There’s a reason (most) everyone is entitled to an 8-hour workday, holidays off, a minimum wage, etc.
You know who doesn’t like those things?
Abusive employers.
Americans know that they don’t have to do hard jobs for low pay and bad working conditions. They have options.
American employers know that too.
And that’s why they hire illegal immigrants.
Illegal immigration has ALWAYS been about the pay. They pay foreign, under-the-table workers much less.
And treat them horribly. They work longer hours with less or no benefits and worse working conditions.
So yes, if illegal immigrants weren’t around, American employers would have to hire locally.
They would have to compete in pay and benefits and make the job desirable. Just like every industry does!
While we’re on that subject, the farm industry also gets tons of subsidies from the government. The sugar industry is the worse.
So they need money from the government and cheap foreign labor to compete?
I say cut the subsidies and cut the illegal behavior. They should have to compete with the same legal constraints most industries have.
What happens when you pay government officials to get a sweet deal others don’t get?
It’s called “corruption”.
Big corporate farms should have to compete like the rest of us.
Southern Shrimp Sandwich
Yield: 6 marvelous sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound (340 grams) cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped green pepper (capsicum)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped celery
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) finely chopped scallion, green and white parts
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) mayonnaise
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Hot sauce to taste (optional)
- 6 hot dog buns
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter
- 1 cup (250 ml) shredded lettuce
Instructions
- Combine shrimp, vegetables, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and hot sauce (if desired) in a bowl and toss to combine thoroughly.
- Spread the buns with butter and divide the lettuce among them.
- Top with the shrimp mixture.
Man Outsmarts Cheating Wife By Recording Her Getting “Salami” And Then Sends The Video To…..
What are your thoughts on BRICS? Is it bad for the US if Trump’s 100 percent tariffs are guaranteed?
What a mafia. Openly threaten BRICS to stay in the US club to continue to use USD in trading.
Not many, if none at all, can pay 100% tariff. They may bargain with Trump 2.0. For instance, they may continue to use USD for some trading, while using other currencies for other trading. In fact, this is exactly what is happening now before BRICS system is mature.
Or they just stop export to USA.
Or, if their economy is strong enough, fight back with something similar to tariffs but with different name. Like China is doing.
Each country must evaluate their situation before going to the bargaining table with mafia USA.
But remember: you bow down to the mafia once, the mafia will come back to you again & again. A mafia is a mafia. Capitalist sharks will suck dry of all your blood.
To USA
In Trump 1.0, in the case with China with 25% tariff, it was Americans who paid 90% of tariff. Chinese sellers only paid 10%.
As a result, Americans saw stubborn inflation that FED must violently increase interest rate many times. Then small banks & business went bankrupt & closed shop.
There are 9 members & 13 partners in 2024 BRICS. 100% on BRICS countries that incl China??? Together with 25% on Canada & Mexico, US inflation may go sky high. More middle-class Americans may become poor.
Trump 2.0 guarantees to cut lots of public servants, social services etc, so as to bring down expenses. Lots of people will become poor.
Ironically, poverty will bring down inflation. Nobody has money to spend any more.
Back to the question
Threat wont work in a long run. It only pushes BRICS to speed up the completion of the BRICS system.
USA has forgotten: it was US militarising USD & SWIFT that pushes other countries to find a new system.
It is karma. It will backfire USA at the end.
Can BYD be considered China’s version of Tesla? How does their approach compare to Tesla’s in the United States and have they achieved similar levels of success?
I bought a BYD for my parents.
I don’t like it.
The car was a 2022 or 2023 BYD Han DMi.
BYD, in my opinion, feels more like a Toyota wanna-be made by engineering nerd.
Prior to the Yangwang and Denza sub-brands, BYD felt more like about family affordability and being just good enough.
The insides of the Han resemble the artistic appreciation of a Chinese red-neck, with stitches on faux-leather here and there.
The side air-vents are shiny chrome and would cause reflection in the side windows that interfere with the view of the rear mirrors, and roof fabric is dark and depressing. The shiny co-pilot side dashboard also relects sunlight onto the windshield.
The start-up and power off ambient music is straight out of the 90s.
The rear suspension feels a little rough and is supported by thin individual poles that look like they may break at the slightest abuse.
The turning radius of the car is the size of Jupiter. For any u-turn on a road with less than 3 lanes, I had to do a reverse.
But,
The car is affordable, drives smooth, has huge leg room in the back, and the 110km pure EV range of the plug-in power train meant that most of the time my parents were driving it in the city like a pure EV, and in that, it’s an ICE sedan capable of cross-country journey but uniquely preserving the goodies of an EV: the acceleration and low fuel consumption.
And being a BYD, the maintainance should be quite a bit cheaper than a Toyota.
It’s just nothing inspiring, there’s no pleasure in driving it. And it feels like a car designed by someone who doesn’t really have too much experience with cars, or the kind of problem with reflection in the rear-view mirror and windshield shouldn’t have made it into production model.
If it were my decision, I would have gone with the similarly priced Volkswagen ID6. The suspension was immensely better, the turning radius smaller, and there’s the added benefit of the 3rd row. But my parents, as long time ICE car drivers, were skeptical of pure EV, as they were probably making a cross country trip, once per year. It made no sense to me, but it’s their car…
The Chinese company that’s more similar to Tesla maybe XPeng, which basically started as a Tesla copycat. Some of their cars are the best looking Chinese EVs out there, and they basically copy everything Tesla does, tech wise.
Then there’s Xiaomi, which is also very similar to Tesla, being a phone company by default, Xiaomi places more emphasis on affordability or high price/quality ratio.
I visited their headquarters in Beijing, and while their cars look nice, feels nice on the inside, and are probably one of the hottest offerings right now, I would hold off buying them until a couple of iterations later. As I saw that the SU7 hides its air suspension tank inside its rear bumper, a design that should make repairs more costly. And let’s say its placement of the heat radiator is also a bit dubious. It gave me the feeling that it’s made by a bunch of tech nerds trying to be smart, without fully understanding the reason for the design and placement of parts in traditional cars.
The Chinese EV brand I would personally buy from is Zeekr, and by extension Polestar and Lynk & Co. Their parent company of Geely has had quite some experience making ICE cars and they seem to have absorbed Volvo’s tech and DNA quite well post-acquisition, as well as other brands they acquired like Lotus. Their EVs are made to be fun, unique, and engaging. The suspension on the 001 was particularly good when I test drove a bunch of EV in 2022 to help decide the car for my parents, and the giant 2 meter wide and heavy as a truck wagon EV felt really light on its feet. They say the Lotus team designed the suspension of the 001, which would explain a lot.
The goofy 007’s LED headband that can display texts and loudspeaker that can shout insults to passerbys also make the car very engaging, cheerful and unique.
And the Lynk & Co Z10 must be one of the best traditional sedan-looking EV out there, with quality guarantee of a carmaker with experience.
Richard Wolff: Trump’s tariffs will make inflation EXPLODE
Very good.
Now That Warheads Are Raining Down, Does Anyone Still Think The Russians Are “Bluffing”?
This didn’t have to happen. Years of catastrophically bad decisions by the western elite have brought us to the brink of nuclear war. For more than two years, our leaders have assured us that the Russians were bluffing and that they would never actually risk nuclear war. But now that Russian warheads are raining from the sky, is there anyone out there that still believes such nonsense?
Last night, the Russians sent a very clear message to the entire world by pummeling Ukraine’s fourth-largest city of Dnipro with warheads from a ballistic missile…
Kyiv Air Force said today that Russia had launched an ICBM at the city of Dnipro in the early hours of the morning.
If firmed up, it marks the first time the nuclear-capable missile has ever been used as part of an ongoing conflict.
Unverified footage appeared to show warheads from the ferocious R-26 Rubezh raining down on Dnipro overnight, lighting up the sky with explosions.
In a video that I just posted on my YouTube channel, I shared footage of these warheads raining down on the city…
Originally, it was being reported that these warheads came from an intercontinental ballistic missile, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called this “reckless and escalatory behaviour”…
And UK PM Keir Starmer blasted depot Putin for his “reckless and escalatory behaviour” after the suspected ICBM strike.
He warned that such a move would take the war to another level, calling claims of their use “deeply concerning”.
But shortly thereafter U.S. officials determined that it was a new intermediate-range ballistic missile and not an intercontinental ballistic missile…
Ukraine’s earlier claim that its territory had been struck by an intercontinental ballistic missile fired by Russia is being hotly disputed, hours after widespread reports first appeared. US officials are saying it appears to be a new intermediate-range ballistic missile and not an ICBM which targeted the central city of Dnipro
The NY Times has reported in follow-up of the attack that “several Western officials said that the weapon was not an ICBM and instead was likely an intermediate-range missile that flies shorter distances.”
Zelensky himself had claimed Russia used a new class of missile. “All the parameters — speed, altitude — match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile,” he said. “All expert evaluations are underway.”
During a surprise television address to his nation, Vladimir Putin confirmed that it was a new hypersonic ballistic missile that they have been working on…
According to Putin, Russia retaliated on Nov. 21 with a combined strike against a Ukrainian defense industry facility. In addition, “a field test was conducted in combat conditions” for one of Russia’s newest medium-range weapon systems: a nuclear-free hypersonic ballistic missile. “Our engineers named it ‘Oreshnik’ [‘Hazel’],” Putin declared with a smile.
Putin said Russia is within its rights to use ballistic missiles against “Ukraine’s military targets” and to use weapons against military facilities of those countries that have authorized the use of their weapons against Russia.
Of course the range of this particular missile is not really important.
What is important is the message that the Russians are sending.
They are clearly trying to warn us that next time it could be nuclear warheads that are raining down.
I guess they figured that their words weren’t getting through to our leaders, and so they better do something so over the top that nobody could misinterpret it.
Putin also warned that the Russians are “entitled” to hit the military targets of any nations that are supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine…
Putin also warned Russia was “entitled” to strike military targets of countries whose weapons are used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory in a thinly-veiled threat to the US and Britain.
Ukraine used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russia for the first time, a day after using US-made ATACMs to hit a military facility in Bryansk.
“In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively,” Putin added.
Do you understand what he is telling us?
He is trying to get us to understand that if Ukraine keeps firing long-range missiles into Russia, they could strike U.S. military targets.
In fact, the Russians have already publicly identified a new U.S. base in Poland as a potential target…
Russia has threatened to attack a new US defense base in Poland with “advanced weapons” — just hours after reportedly launching an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday.
Moscow leveled the warning after saying the opening of the ballistic missile defense base, located in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, would lead to an increase in overall nuclear danger.
“Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
This is serious.
Sadly, most Americans have absolutely no idea that we are literally on the verge of all-out war with Russia.
The Russians have also declared that the UK is now “directly involved” in the war in Ukraine…
Britain is now “directly involved” in the Ukraine war after its Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike targets inside Russia, according to Moscow’s ambassador.
Speaking to Sky News’ Mark Austin, ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin also said Ukraine was using “plenty of mercenaries from different countries” in the war.
Here in the western world, we have convinced ourselves that we are not at war with Russia.
But the Russians see things very differently.
The good news is that the Russians see Donald Trump as the last best hope to avoid the sort of all-out war that I have been warning about for years.
So we have a window of opportunity right now.
If we can just get to January 20th, the Russians are very eager to talk to Trump in order to see if something can be worked out.
But if they ultimately determine that they can’t work out something with Trump, all bets are off.
Let us pray that a peace agreement can eventually be reached, because if a full-blown nuclear war erupts most of the U.S. population will die.
Forward Thinking
Submitted into Contest #62 in response to: Write about a character preparing to go into stasis for decades (or centuries).… view prompt
Vicky S
It was locked.
She could hear the other person.
It was a good thing they were making so much noise.
They’d be in the hallway any moment.
They’d see her, standing with the shadows.
They’d find it on her.
“Pull yourself together’ she muttered,’ they haven’t found you yet”.
As quickly as she could, she tried the next door.
A metal staircase stood behind, it’s silver railings tarnished.
Softly she closed the door, holding her breath.
They’d soon find her anyway.
It’s not like there were a lot of doors.
Her feet clunked on each step despite the tip toes.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no”, she whispered.
She could almost sense them as they heard.
She could feel it in her pocket, it’s weight bouncing against her leg.
She touched it gingerly.
It’s surface was still smooth and cool.
Maybe she could hide it? And then return for it later?
No, she shook her head, they’d find it.
The hallway on the next floor looked identical.
Except there were more shadows.
They seemed to chase her as she ran.
She could hear footsteps on the staircase.
They were still coming.
Each of the doors was locked.
Her breath was coming fast.
Her chest felt tight.
Bending over, Stephanie paused over a moment, her hands resting on her knees.
Her breath ragged.
Even if they appeared in the hallway, she didn’t think she’d be able to move.
The locked door she’d just tried creaked as it opened.
Stephanie stopped breathing as she stared at it.
It had been locked only moments before.
Or maybe it hadn’t been? Maybe she’d just been panicking.
She heard a man shout as they reached the top of the stair case.
They knew where she was.
She had no choice.
Stephanie threw herself at the door and slammed it behind her.
It’s sound echoed.
The room inside was dark. Only a sliver of light from the gap in the curtains shone through.
Stephanie tried to slow her breathing as she sank onto the floor.
She didn’t notice the cold and her breath that was now appearing in clouds in front of her.
The footsteps were coming closer, running down the hallway towards her.
The man on the other side tried the handle but it was locked again.
He twisted and pulled.
It wouldn’t move.
Stephanie felt tears run down her face.
They were going to get her.
The man shouted for his companion.
She could hear him running to join.
They both pushed at the door.
It still remained locked.
“We know you’re there’, one of them whispered, sending shivers running up and down her spine,’ and we will get to you”.
Their footsteps moved away.
They were trying to find something, anything, to break down the door.
What was she going to do?
It was still in her pocket.
Even if they found her, they couldn’t find it.
They’d know it was her.
Slowly, her legs shaking, she moved around the room, opening the curtains so the light of the moon could shine through.
It looked like a store room.
Shelves of boxes and files and strange, cylindrical pods lined against the walls.
Almost large enough for her to hide in.
A large box fell from a shelf, dust flying in the air as it landed with a thud.
“Who’s there?”, she gasped, her eyes wide.
There was no answer.
The door banged as the two men threw their weight against it along with whatever it was that they’d found.
They’d be inside soon.
She had no choice.
She looked at the cylindrical pods.
They were all closed. Sealed.
Faces looked back at her. One in each pod. Lifeless, their eyes closed.
“What the…’ she started to say but couldn’t think of how to finish.
Why were there faces staring at her?
“Hey, we’ll be there in a minute little girl. Don’t run away. It will be over soon”.
His voice was so soft, it was creepy.
The last pod made a clicking sound and then, as she stared, it opened.
The same as the door.
A cloud of white drifted out.
It smelt like disinfectant.
She could almost sense something push her towards it, as if there was a hand in the small of her back.
She could feel her legs march towards it but she had no control over them.
Something else was in charge.
The pod was clean and lined. It’s surface just as smooth as the object’s.
It felt soft as she lay back against it.
The door crashed open and two men stumbled in, their hair disheveled and their eyes glowing.
The pod started to close.
“Hey, there she is!”, one of them yelled as he glanced at her.
The pod closed with a click.
Stephanie watched their faces as she started to freeze, their eyes narrowed and glowing dark red.
The same as the one who now lay dead.
Her fingers clutched the handle of the blade still in her pocket.
The blood on the tip now dried.
These demons could wait a century or two.
Am I…? (Part 3)
Submitted into Contest #62 in response to: Write about a character preparing to go into stasis for decades (or centuries).… view prompt
Authoring Studio
“I see,” I sighed, resigning myself to my fate. Ben smiled. “It’s fine, you idiot. It will be slightly painful, but then you won’t know it once you fall asleep. It will be like a good, long slumber. And James will be watching over you.”
I looked up. “Why am I being held like this, though? I mean, why don’t you kill me or… let me live a natural course of life in prison?”
James chuckled. “If you haven’t figured it out, we’re a bit different from our fellow angels and devils. We do things differently. We found out that you have a good heart, and it might help you become a true organism with the help of stasis for at least… let’s see… twelve decades.”
My eyes went round and wide. “Will you guys also live that long?” I asked. Both of them shared a look. I must have stumbled onto an inside joke. “We have to, otherwise the others will be short of workers,” James explained, reverting to straight-faced devil mode. “After you come out from stasis, it will be easier for us to turn you back into a human.”
I could not believe my ears. I was being offered a chance. “I’ll take it,” I gulped. “I will go into… whatever-that-word-is, if it means that I will be able to become angry without being afraid first.”
Both of them smiled warmly at me and James closed my eyes. “Sleep, and we will take care of the rest,” he murmured soothingly into my ear. I nodded trustingly.
They were the first real friends I had made.
What if there is a country that can be more powerful and advanced than the modern day USA?
Such a country does exist! It’s called China.
Already, China is more powerful and advanced than USA…
- China has the world’s largest economy by PPP. PPP is a better metric of economic strength and vitality than nominal GDP.
- China is the world’s sole industrial superpower. USA doesn’t even come close!
- China is the world’s technological leader. According to ASPI, China leads in 57 out of 64 critical technology fields. According to WIPO, China is granted more patents than USA and Japan combined!
- China has the world’s largest army and the world’s largest navy. China’s shipbuilding capacity is more than 200 times greater than that of USA! The Type 055 heavy cruiser is widely recognized as the world’s most powerful warship.
- China leads the BRICS alliance, which is richer than the G7.
- China has the world’s finest infrastructure (roads, bridges, high-speed trains, subways, airports, seaports, power grids, etc.).
Fun pictures
What is the government’s ulterior motive for mass migration in the UK? We are given reasons why, but I doubt they are the real reasons, given the debt the country is already in.
What is the government’s ulterior motive for mass migration in the UK? We are given reasons why, but I doubt they are the real reasons, given the debt the country is already in.
You’re not given the real reasons why.
Blair talked about Multiculturalism. It’s not that.
Or capitalists say it’s about cheap labour, but mechanisation has been a thing for a while now as has automation and outsourcing.
The reason there is mass migration? Are two fold:
More people crudely increases GDP, it’s not real added value though but it’s still counted as GDP ‘growth’. This means Debt to GDP stays below a certain point. Once it hits a certain point? It all goes Liz Truss.
The second part is why is UK GDP so narfed? Because post WW2 the governments made massive promises to the voters. We’ll provide you with super pensions for super low pension contributions! This cratered the birth rate reduced savings rates but boosted the economy.
The migration is needed to fill in all those unborn people. The pension promises were NEVER sustainable and literally unpayable.
So right now you’re staring down the barrel of a gun.
You either accept the migrants and live in a more crowded place with diminished services.
Or do not accept the migrants, have an economic collapse* and a very hard reset and hope you end up alive at the end of it.**
*The UK is unique in that it hasn’t had a full on collapse or revolution in 400+ years it’s been over due one for better or worse for a while now.
**A UK type collapse would be like post USSR countries in 91–01. I’ve spoken to many Russians and they look back to that period with absolute horror about how bad it was. This is why there’s little faith in the western world there. But here’s the Rub, Russia has land + resources + people *** so a recovery would happen eventually.
***Russia has per capita more engineers than even China.
For Millions Of Americans, This Holiday Season Will Be A Season Of Very Deep Suffering
If you live in a warm home and you have plenty of food to eat, you should consider yourself to be extremely blessed, because millions of others are deeply suffering right now. Most of the country is living paycheck to paycheck, the number of homeless Americans is higher than ever, demand at food banks is back to pandemic levels, and many victims of Hurricane Helene are living in very thin tents and are not getting the help that they need from the government. Children in the mountains of western North Carolina are literally shivering in the freezing cold all night long because their parents have nowhere else to go…
Nearly two months since Helene hit, hundreds of local families are left with nowhere to go.
Now some of these children are living in tents and cars as their parents try desperately to find a new home.
One of those parents is Dana Wunsch.
She showed News 13 the camper where she and her partner, along with her two daughters, are now staying.
We are taxed extremely hard, and one of the things that our tax dollars are supposed to pay for is disaster relief.
But while FEMA personnel in North Carolina are sleeping in heated trailers, many victims of Hurricane Helene are sleeping in extremely flimsy tents that look like they could literally be blown away at any moment.
Could you imagine having your kids sleep in a flimsy tent night after night?
And now snow has arrived in the mountains of western North Carolina…
Some survivors in western North Carolina have had to navigate their recovery efforts around potentially hazardous conditions as snowfall ranging from a light dusting up to about 2 feet has blanketed the area.
In addition to snow, those living in tents have also been facing very high winds…
Additionally, Helene survivors in western North Carolina will also have to manage with powerful winds. Wind gusts are expected to reach 30-40 mph in Asheville, while other areas may feel gusts of 50 mph or greater.
Of course Hurricane Helene is just one of the historic natural disasters that have hit our country here in 2024.
Overall, there have been 24 “billion dollar disasters” in the U.S. so far this year…
During the first 10 months of this year alone, 24 disasters have occurred in the U.S. with losses exceeding $1 billion, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
That’s roughly three times the average annual number since 1980.
Our nation just keeps getting pummeled over and over again.
Is there anyone out there that still believes that this is just a coincidence?
Meanwhile, the homelessness crisis in the U.S. just keeps getting worse, and there are millions more Americans that could soon be joining the ranks of the homeless.
If you can believe it, one recent survey discovered that 22 percent of all U.S. renters say that “all their regular income goes toward rent payments”…
22% of U.S. renters say all their regular income goes toward rent payments, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey. 19% of renters report they have worked a job they hated to afford rent.
Just over one in five (22%) U.S. renters say all of their regular income goes directly to paying their rent, according to a recent Redfin-commissioned survey.
Working a second job is also a fairly common way for renters to pay housing costs, with 20% of renters citing that method. Nearly the same share (19%) say they have worked a job they hated to afford rent.
If all of your income is going to paying rent, you are just one step away from being homeless.
Sadly, most of the country is just barely scraping by from month to month at this point.
According to Bank of America, from 2019 to 2024 there was a 10 percent jump in those that are living paycheck to paycheck…
The share of U.S. households living paycheck to paycheck has grown across all income brackets over the past five years, according to a new study from the Bank of America Institute.
A new analysis released by the think tank on Tuesday found that more than a quarter of Americans, 26%, have necessary expenses that chew up more than 95% of their takehome pay, and nearly a third, 30%, of households spend upwards of 90% of their income on critical bills like groceries, housing, utilities, gas, insurance and child care.
The data showed a 10% increase in those living paycheck to paycheck in 2024 compared to 2019.
Economic pain is all around us, and the cost of living just continues to go even higher.
Once upon a time, if you were making $50,000 a year you were doing well.
But now the average American believes that it takes an income of $270,000 a year in order to be “financially successful”…
The average American thinks a salary of just over $270,000 a year qualifies them as “financially successful,” but there are huge disparities between generations, according to a new study.
Needless to say, the vast majority of the population does not make that sort of money.
Instead, the vast majority of us are just trying to survive.
Unfortunately, the outlook for the year ahead is not good because our economic momentum is heading in the wrong direction very rapidly.
In fact, it is being reported that the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has fallen for eight months in a row…
Weakness in the housing market and manufacturing, as well as higher jobless claims, pulled the leading indicators for the U.S. economy down for the eighth consecutive month in October.
The Conference Board said its index of leading indicators dropped 0.3 percent last month. The Conference Board pointed out that over the six-month period between April and October 2024, the index declined by 2.2 percent, slightly more than its two percent decline over the previous six-month period, suggesting that drags on the U.S. economy picked up.
If we are seeing such tremendous economic suffering now, what will conditions be like if the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate?
For decades, we have been living a debt-fueled standard of living that is way beyond what we have actually earned.
Now that bubble is starting to burst, and our society is not going to be able to handle it.
We are in far more trouble than most people realize, and an immense amount of pain is ahead of us.
Southern Hamburger Pie
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground chuck
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small can corn or green beans, drained (optional)
- 1 (9 inch) frozen pie shell
- 5 slices Velveeta cheese (about 4 to 5 ounces)
- 1 can flaky biscuits
Instructions
- Begin thawing pie crust. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet on medium heat, breaking up the beef with the back of a spoon, and cook until onions are soft.
- Drain excess fat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add corn or green beans if using.
- Put meat mixture into the pie shell and evenly distribute the cheese over the top.
- Separate biscuits and layer in a circular pattern over the pie, covering it completely (you may not need all the biscuits).
- Cut a few small “steam slits” in the top and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
What concerns you the most about Donald Trump’s second term?
Here’s what than should keep wannabe conservatives awake at night: he might destroy American military might.
Currently delivering 2.8 Megademocracies per hour
US military is the most powerful force the world has ever seen, but it’s not such because it has the best weapons. It’s a combination of the biggest budget and competent people who make logsitics seem easy. When war in Ukraine broke out USA was able to ship howitzers from a depot in Kansas to the front line in Ukraine in less time a letter sent from Poland reached Ukraine. That’s money talking yes, but also competence – US military has several hundred highly competent people running the logistical apparatus.
DJ Trump wants to purge the military and promote people based on personal loyalty, not merit. Inevitably Trump loyalists will be the lowest of the low, people who can’t get ahead in life on what they can deliver, but how well they lick boots and butts. An army based on personal loyalty to the Dear Leader will be incompetent, it may have high end toys, but it will look a lot like Russian army in Ukraine. With good reason too, that’s why Russian army is not all that strong in the first place.
If Trump has his way with the military – he alread started that with Lt.Col.Vindman at the end of his first term – the US military could end up a shadow of its former self and unable to be relevant in the world at large for the foreseeable future.
If you ask who lost the election in 2024 it was the USA. Half the country just doesn’t know it yet.
How to communicate with your pets that have passed away | Pets in the afterlife
"Hi! In this video i talk about losing our pets, and the different techniques to communicate and connect with them. I talk about what it takes to connect with them, what happens to them after they pass away, and explain where they are now at what their experience is like. I want everyone to know that they still exist and are still with you all the time, they are just not in their physical body. The bond you have with them is unbreakable and lasts through life times. I hope that this video helps you in some way! "