Employees few and far between.

[Rafter S]

Just throwing a thought out there.

I have a degree. A fairly specialized degree. I started getting that degree immediately after high school, and finished it in 4 years. I loved to weld, when I got the degree ( and still do). I loved carpentry work, when I got the degree (and still do). That little voice kept telling me to get the degree, so I did. Option was mine at 18 to enter a trade. Option was mine at 22 years old to use the degree, or enter a trade. I used the degree. I think I was 36, when I got injured. I literally never missed a day of work. I was injured on a Sunday, and was to start my vacation on Monday. In a week, I was able to go right back work. I would probably be disabled if I worked a trade. I can do 90% of the things I want to do. I can't do very many things at the type of pace that an employer would expect. I can frame a house, or build a pole barn. I'll get it done, but it'll take me a little while. Pride wouldn't let me hire out to work for somebody at the pace I would go, plus I doubt anybody would hire me. I'd probably finish myself off physically if I did go to work 40 plus hours a week doing manual labor.

I've been thankful many many times, for my job. I've been getting up hay all week. Riding a tractor all week has really stirred up my aches and pains. I'll go back to work Monday, stiff as a board, but I'll be very productive at what I do. When that alarm rings Monday morning, I'll be glad I don't have to climb on a tractor, swing a hammer, or strike an arc.

My son (12 years old) does well in school, and seems to have common sense. Every reason in the world for me to believe that he could get a degree in anything he wanted to. He speaks almost everyday about what he'd like to do when he grows up. Shoe horses, ride colts, and run a few cows. It may be bad advice, but every time the subject comes up, I say the same thing," get a degree in something that requires a degree". It'd take a person of exceptional physical prowess to stand up to those 3 things until they're 62.

I'm not knocking anybody that does physical labor for a living. I'm glad you do, and I wish I could. There is some security with a white collar job though, that you don't get with a trade.

Very reasoned and well thought out...

Like you, at my age I cannot do some of the things I used to love to do....not sure I could hold up any more doing the things I have done in the past...make my living sitting at a desk mostly today....and thankful that I can still work past normal retirement age.

I did manual labor most of my life, but had a chance to move inside to sit behind a desk (and make more money) 8 years ago, when I was 48. I took it and haven't looked back. Being out in the heat and cold was getting to where it wasn't as much fun as it had been when I was younger, and I can keep doing what I'm doing now indefinitely. I don't hesitate to tell young people that not getting a degree was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life.

And for that young man that talks about "money not owning him", I don't think for a minute that money owns me, but making more of it would certainly have allowed me to better care for my wife and children if I had gotten that degree, or learned a trade that would have allowed me to make good money. (I have a friend that owns a plumbing company. He jokes that he used to be a doctor, but it didn't pay enough.)

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

I want a giant pile of money. Not because I'm greedy or materialistic, but because I want to be free. I want the freedom to choose what I'm going to spend my day doing when I wake up. I really like what I do for a living, except for the customers that get bent out of shape because we haven't made it to their place yet. We need our customers just as bad as they need us, so we just keep smiling and do our best to make everyone happy, but that is the part that I don't enjoy. I went to college, got what I went for, and went right back to work. I've mowed grass, shod horses, ranched, welded, and built just about everything you can imagine. I am glad that I went to college, but I haven't used a lick of it to make a dime, and I've made a shyt load of dimes. lol Go, or don't go.....Just work hard when it's over, and there will be a paycheck.

 

[Anonymous]

+1

That is the fantasy it does own you or you wouldn't go or have to work.
You can work for crack be nice prices or call girl we all are engaged in prostitution . We sell our lives by the day

Not all of us fit the mould CB. I see your point and realize lots of folks are slaves to their jobs.

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

 

[callmefence]

Just throwing a thought out there.

I have a degree. A fairly specialized degree. I started getting that degree immediately after high school, and finished it in 4 years. I loved to weld, when I got the degree ( and still do). I loved carpentry work, when I got the degree (and still do). That little voice kept telling me to get the degree, so I did. Option was mine at 18 to enter a trade. Option was mine at 22 years old to use the degree, or enter a trade. I used the degree. I think I was 36, when I got injured. I literally never missed a day of work. I was injured on a Sunday, and was to start my vacation on Monday. In a week, I was able to go right back work. I would probably be disabled if I worked a trade. I can do 90% of the things I want to do. I can't do very many things at the type of pace that an employer would expect. I can frame a house, or build a pole barn. I'll get it done, but it'll take me a little while. Pride wouldn't let me hire out to work for somebody at the pace I would go, plus I doubt anybody would hire me. I'd probably finish myself off physically if I did go to work 40 plus hours a week doing manual labor.



I've been thankful many many times, for my job. I've been getting up hay all week. Riding a tractor all week has really stirred up my aches and pains. I'll go back to work Monday, stiff as a board, but I'll be very productive at what I do. When that alarm rings Monday morning, I'll be glad I don't have to climb on a tractor, swing a hammer, or strike an arc.

My son (12 years old) does well in school, and seems to have common sense. Every reason in the world for me to believe that he could get a degree in anything he wanted to. He speaks almost everyday about what he'd like to do when he grows up. Shoe horses, ride colts, and run a few cows. It may be bad advice, but every time the subject comes up, I say the same thing," get a degree in something that requires a degree". It'd take a person of exceptional physical prowess to stand up to those 3 things until they're 62.

I'm not knocking anybody that does physical labor for a living. I'm glad you do, and I wish I could. There is some security with a white collar job though, that you don't get with a trade.

Very reasoned and well thought out...

Like you, at my age I cannot do some of the things I used to love to do....not sure I could hold up any more doing the things I have done in the past...make my living sitting at a desk mostly today....and thankful that I can still work past normal retirement age.

I did manual labor most of my life, but had a chance to move inside to sit behind a desk (and make more money) 8 years ago, when I was 48. I took it and haven't looked back. Being out in the heat and cold was getting to where it wasn't as much fun as it had been when I was younger, and I can keep doing what I'm doing now indefinitely. I don't hesitate to tell young people that not getting a degree was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life.

And for that young man that talks about "money not owning him", I don't think for a minute that money owns me, but making more of it would certainly have allowed me to better care for my wife and children if I had gotten that degree, or learned a trade that would have allowed me to make good money. (I have a friend that owns a plumbing company. He jokes that he used to be a doctor, but it didn't pay enough.)

The thing about the physical labor career is that by the time you get middle aged, you should be figuring out where the money is. And how to get it with younger employees.
You also should have built up a arsenal of equipment if you spent the money you made with your back was spent wisely. The equipment eases the labor and adds to your wealth. Many do work until there body is trashed then struggle the rest of their lives.
They probably wouldn't have been top of their fields with a degree if they had one.

Tell your son. Shoeing horses is the most backbreaking work I've ever done. Of course like I mentioned about. I'm sure experience and technique eases that.

 

[Bright Raven]

That is the fantasy it does own you or you wouldn't go or have to work.
You can work for crack be nice prices or call girl we all are engaged in prostitution . We sell our lives by the day

Not all of us fit the mould CB. I see your point and realize lots of folks are slaves to their jobs.

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

 

[hurleyjd]

Not all of us fit the mould CB. I see your point and realize lots of folks are slaves to their jobs.

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

I was sitting at a cafe with my Dad several years ago. A stock broker hit pop up about buying stock. Pop answered I keep my money in the bank. Stock broker said your money loses value. It will not buy as much in the future, stocks will keep growing for you. Pop answer don't make much difference if there is nothing to buy that I think I might want.

 

[Bright Raven]

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

I was sitting at a cafe with my Dad several years ago. A stock broker hit pop up about buying stock. Pop answered I keep my money in the bank. Stock broker said your money loses value. It will not buy as much in the future, stocks will keep growing for you. Pop answer don't make much difference if there is nothing to buy that I think I might want.

Very true Hurley. I have reached that point myself!

 

[Anonymous]

Not all of us fit the mould CB. I see your point and realize lots of folks are slaves to their jobs.

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

Or better yet, find the cheapest interest rate available and borrow to hilt over a long term. Paying back less value than was borrowed makes perfect sense. I just can't seem to live my life that way though. I despise debt.

 

[Bright Raven]

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

Or better yet, find the cheapest interest rate available and borrow to hilt over a long term. Paying back less value than was borrowed makes perfect sense. I just can't seem to live my life that way though. I despise debt.

Excellent point! Understanding "time value of money"! But I am like you. I despise debt!

 

[TexasBred]

Maybe money is everything to you old man but not to all of us. I've never allowed it to own me and hope I never do. The best job is not always the one that pays the most.

+1

That is the fantasy it does own you or you wouldn't go or have to work.
You can work for crack be nice prices or call girl we all are engaged in prostitution . We sell our lives by the day

Still we differ. I've never been owned by the almighty dollar nor driven to maximum my share of it. My happiness and quality of life means much more and that is measured in much more than $$$$$$.. Turned down two jobs in the 80's making in excess of $400 grand but both would have required moving to California (San Francisco) to be exact. Most significant working for a company Investment Mortgage International (IMI) owned by Bill Oldenburg. He also owned the LA Express of the USFL. First top draft choice was Steve Young from BYU (later won a super bowl with 49ers). Big money, big condo, transportation but it just didn't seem right. Spend two days listening to him in his executive offices on the 42nd floor of the big brown office bldg. in San Fran. (can't remember the name). Just was not me nor was it best for me and my family.... money loses.....quality of life, location, peace of mind, family trumps $$$$$$.... BTW, eventually the company went busted and the billionaire lost a ton of money and I was not affected !!!!

 

[TexasBred]

In a way, govt is responsible for making people "slaves to their jobs". With the Federal Reserve system of inflating currency, a person can never save and have enough because no one knows what the value of your assets will be after retirement. No one alive today has lived without inflation so it's etched into everyone's psych. It wasn't always that way. A dollar in 1912 was the same as it would in 1789. Imagine an economy where your money held similar value from the time you entered the workforce to the time you retired. We are all slaves to the system whether we realize it or not.

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

Or better yet, find the cheapest interest rate available and borrow to hilt over a long term. Paying back less value than was borrowed makes perfect sense. I just can't seem to live my life that way though. I despise debt.

Doesn't matter how or when you borrow it or how or when you pay it back. It's in U.S. Dollars....still the same amount unless you want to drive yourself crazy trying to figure present and future values all based on speculation.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes. Voodoo economics at work. It no longer makes any sense to save. I often think that one should spend their money as quickly as they get it before its purchasing power is eroded.

Or better yet, find the cheapest interest rate available and borrow to hilt over a long term. Paying back less value than was borrowed makes perfect sense. I just can't seem to live my life that way though. I despise debt.

Doesn't matter how or when you borrow it or how or when you pay it back. It's in U.S. Dollars....still the same amount unless you want to drive yourself crazy trying to figure present and future values all based on speculation.

Almost anything you can purchase today that will not spoil or deteriorate will cost more dollars to purchase in the long term future. Very few things I can think of over my lifetime have went the other way. Inflation isnt speculative. Increasing the supply of money is inflation. Higher cost of items is the result. With a long term loan, you may pay the same dollar back, but your buying power sure wont be the same.

 

[Bright Raven]

Or better yet, find the cheapest interest rate available and borrow to hilt over a long term. Paying back less value than was borrowed makes perfect sense. I just can't seem to live my life that way though. I despise debt.

Doesn't matter how or when you borrow it or how or when you pay it back. It's in U.S. Dollars....still the same amount unless you want to drive yourself crazy trying to figure present and future values all based on speculation.

Almost anything you can purchase today that will not spoil or deteriorate will cost more dollars to purchase in the long term future. Very few things I can think of over my lifetime have went the other way. Inflation isnt speculative. Increasing the supply of money is inflation. Higher cost of items is the result. With a long term loan, you may pay the same dollar back, but your buying power sure wont be the same.

Correct. I think Richard meant buyers speculate on the future value of currency. As you know, there are traders who make their living speculating on the fluctuations in currency value. You are correct though - inflation is not a function of speculation .

 

[TexasBred]

Or better yet, find the cheapest interest rate available and borrow to hilt over a long term. Paying back less value than was borrowed makes perfect sense. I just can't seem to live my life that way though. I despise debt.

Doesn't matter how or when you borrow it or how or when you pay it back. It's in U.S. Dollars....still the same amount unless you want to drive yourself crazy trying to figure present and future values all based on speculation.

Almost anything you can purchase today that will not spoil or deteriorate will cost more dollars to purchase in the long term future. Very few things I can think of over my lifetime have went the other way. Inflation isnt speculative. Increasing the supply of money is inflation. Higher cost of items is the result. With a long term loan, you may pay the same dollar back, but your buying power sure wont be the same.

Zir you were talking about borrowing cheap and repaying less value. You still owe as much as you borrowed plus interest no matter the value of the dollar. Only variable will be the worth of your labor to get the money to repay the debt.

 

[kickinbull]

In a conversation with young man the subject came up about certain factory that requires and inforces drug testing. Young man tells me it none of their business.

 

[hurleyjd]

Inflation is where price goes up with no added value. I can remember when a 500lb calf broke a $100. Now the same calve same quality will bring in the $800 dollar range. Why is the calf priced at more dollars now than then is inflation. I thought that the amount of dollars put into circulation by the FED was to make sure there was enough money out there to support the commerce between all of us.

 

[TexasBred]

Inflation is where price goes up with no added value. I can remember when a 500lb calf broke a $100. Now the same calve same quality will bring in the $800 dollar range. Why is the calf priced at more dollars now than then is inflation. I thought that the amount of dollars put into circulation by the FED was to make sure there was enough money out there to support the commerce between all of us.

I remember that. I was making $1.15 and just bought some land for $100 an acre.

 

[Anonymous]

https://youtu.be/ZkyBnaYCUhw Inflation is a result of increasing the supply of currency ,especially when the increase of supply is not backed by anything.

 

[hurleyjd]

https://youtu.be/ZkyBnaYCUhw Inflation is a result of increasing the supply of currency ,especially when the increase of supply is not backed by anything.

What should we back it with.

 

[Bright Raven]

https://youtu.be/ZkyBnaYCUhw Inflation is a result of increasing the supply of currency ,especially when the increase of supply is not backed by anything.

What should we back it with.

It is backed as the government says " with the full faith and credit of the USA".