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Do we make to much money

J

john in la

Well-known Member
Location
What part of in La do you not understand
One has to wonder with the houses of today compared to 50 years ago (sq footage and luxury)
With the cars of today compared to the 50's and 60's
With all the modern must have amenities. (cell phone; internet; cable tv)

Do we as a nation make to much money?

I mean think about it.
Anyone that can afford 600 cubic feet of stuff they must not need because they only store it and never use it.
And then pay $155 to $165 a month to store said stuff.
Has to be making to much money.


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It's amazing how many of those storage garages there are, a few of my former co-workers owned some, I guess it's a good business to be in, especially at that price!
 
seems like new storage units going up all the time in my area. I was told once that having a storage unit is more adicting than heroin. I know my X wife and I had one for about a year, storing a bunch of her stuff including a water bed. Got to thinking about it and realized we could have thrown everything in there away and purchased over with the storage fees.
 
Answer to your heading is--yes we make to much money---That's the real reason we can't compete with other countries of the world. It's really quite simple. Only way all countries can compete equally is if we all have the same standard of living.
 
Ive been wondering that for along time and I think the answer is yes. As I drive though my small town, I see very small houses that my class mates grew up in. One stall garage, one car. one TV, one phone, one bank account, one lot, one bathroom one etc.......
 
There's a lot more to it than simply how much money we make. For many years now, there have been countless young couples just starting out their lives - many not even yet in college - and yet they get homes that are bigger and more expensive than anything their parents have ever known.

My personal take on this - what I think the primary reason is, is Hollywood!! Add that to parents who "want" the very best for their kids and you end up with a nation largely comprised of people who "expect" more than should be. Again, my "opinion".
 
For years I thought that building a storage unit was way better than renting out a house on the other farm...very few hassles...people issues, etc. People simply have way too much "stuff", and need a place to store it. Boats in winter, snowmobiles in summer, everything else all year long. It"s an industry that has come into its own in just recent years.
 
It is no ones business how much another person makes or does not make. It is every ones duty to provide the best they can by relying on themselves and not others. They do this by learning new things and ways(skills) to earn more. By spending your time learning and working you will have less time covet your neighbors successes and have more of your own. You sure won't have many successes by blaming others for what you can't afford to buy.
 
I think people make too much money today. If they didn't they wouldn't have so much free time to stick their noses into everybody else's business. Not long ago my son bought a car that cost more than my first house. It got me to thinking, the cost of that car if you adjust for inflation was double what my dad used to pay for a car. Then the cars my dad bought didn't have all those gadgets on it to drive you nuts when they break down. The cars were repairable.
 
I'm in central Mn and in my area, se of St. Cloud, I have at least fifteen different storage unit complexes within ten miles Plus I rent out part of my sheds. I can't believe how much stuff people have.

I've been downsizing around here for over five years. Now people pay me for the space I provide for them.

Works for me.
 
Not sure the problem is making too much money, but wanting too much stuff!

Especially when the quest for more and more is accomplished by throwing down the plastic card with little regard for eventually having to pay for it... Or not paying for it!
 
Who are you referring to? None of the comments indicated anyone coveting anything or blaming anyone for what they cant afford.
 
I've been around the world, in some very poor places. I'm not sure how to gauge it compared to the US. Do we as a nation consume too much, or does the rest of the world consume too little? I'm not ashamed of what I have, as I worked for every dime I've invested and spent.

Without going all political, any country in the world could have the environment to economic prosperity as the US. Just open your markets, and get off socialized market economics and it works! Look at S Korea. In a matter of 2 generations they've gone from literally bottom of the economic heap to prosperous and consuming society. Of course, we are providing about 70% of their defense, but hey - it's a complete change from what they had.

Pre-US in the early settler times, they relied on a socialized system of markets, and people went hungry. The basis of Thanksgiving is that the leaders of the settlers in the US shut down this communal production system, and each person could own property, make and sell their own products and it didn't take long for the bounty of private enterprise to succeed, hence - Thanksgiving, bountiful harvests, etc.
 
That can actually save money. A dumpster might cost twice as much and you may only have a week to fill it plus a weight limit. The storage unit has a month to fill it before you disappear.
 
Well if anyone feels like they're making too much $$$ I'll be glad to take it off their hands.Anyway I buy things I want because I want them and since it's my $$$$ why would anyone else care what I
do with it as its none of their concern.And I couldn't care less how anyone else spends their money.
 
Funny that somebody hasn't mentioned the fact that the amount of "stuff" a person has isn't always indicative of how much money they make.
Financial institutions thrive on giving cheap and available credit. So if my neighbor has three expensive cars and a big boat and a lake
cottage (along with his home), don't for a minute think that it is necessarily paid for and he's making a ton of money. And even for smaller
"stuff". those little plastic cards are a curse in a lot of ways, even though they allow you to think you've bought what you own, but really
you haven't. One way or the other though, most of us have too much stuff, I'd never argue with that fact.
 
I noticed when scrap prices were high a lot of neighbors hung on to that fence row machinery or that junk pile because someday they might need that part. But when scrap was high they could have made some good cash money and if there paying any loan or credit card off and that money could have been deducted they would have made even more.
So why do they keep it some has no parts value at all.
 
I don't know if wanting more is a new thing, my Dad, who was born in 1919,he once told me that he had never met anyone in his life who thought they had too much money. Everyone is different and accumulates things specific to their various interests, I don't have much in the way of personal property but I have a world of machinery and equipment. I couldn't fill up one of those 10X10 units but I got two 40x80 barns full.
 
I know someone who is paying $200 a month for a storage building. I know for a fact that they don't make too much money. They may have their priorities misplaced because they don't live very well but too much money isn't the problem.
However, as a whole we as a nation live very well. As an old friend of mine said, " we must be living in pretty good times if we give $1 for water than we can get for free."
 
People spend money they don't have to buy things they don't need,to impress people they don't like.
 
By 1960s standards we are wasting a lot of money these days in more ways than we want to admit
 
Again we have the spelling and punctuation police at work on this site. I know a lot of overpaid teachers that just put in the time and get paid. This is meant at NO OFFENCE to any past or present teachers on this site. However I do and know some others here who get tired of this game. And for your info Mr. perfect I quit high school and have been plenty happy with my life. So rain on your own parade.
 
I think it was Zsa Zsa who said "You can't be too thin or too rich". "Dahling".

But do we have too much money? Probably. Seattle rents are running just under 2 grand a month for a 1 bedroom apartment, houses are a million plus. Who can afford that? Certainly not me. But I guess people are paying it, somehow. I see an "adjustment" coming, but hope it doesn't get here until I sell some property.

I rent a 10 X 20 storage for an old car and some file boxes, for $103.50 a month. Guess I'm getting a bargain.
 
We in the US have an infatuation with the word BIG and lavish. When Marilyn and I lived with our friends in Finland for two weeks I learned just how big and wasteful we are here in the US.

Finland is a very modern high tec but conservative country. The buildings are plain Jane, the clothing they wear is functional, not flashy. The refrigerator in our host's house was probably half as wide as our normal refrigerator here in the US. The kitchen range was the same way. The deep freeze was tiny compared to ours. I thought the small appliances in their house were small by their choice but I was in an appliance store and that's the way they all were, half our size. Same way with the washer and dryers. When we went to the grocery store we took our own two shipping bags, yes, only two. We bagged our own groceries, there was no carry out service nor did we take the small shopping cart out of the store. By the way, all four wheels on the shopping cart swiveled so the cart could be maneuvered down the narrow isles. I saw NO overweight people, none! Food is plain meat, cheese, fish and fruit as a whole, though on special occasion a fancy meal was prepared. The many bicycles and small cars and pedestrians were because of the price of gasoline. Almost every car had a stick shift. Public transportation was plentiful and easy to use. There were bus stops with benches to sit on out in the country far from town. I think a person could live a normal life in most of Finland without ever owning a car. This all comes about because of a conservative society. And they live very good healthy lives. It the Finnish attitude was like the US attitude they too would be overweight and lavish and the need for more income would follow closely. For those of us who live fairly simple lives, living in Finland would be easy. For the rest of the gluttonous US population it would be a big shock.
 
fixerupper, I agree....to a point. I've been to Finland 3 times; the last time I lived there for almost a year. Yes I agree, a fabulous place to live, AND learn! But also keep in mind that Finland is a socialist country. Things have changed much since I was last there, in the 90's. There was a time when the content of TV shows and movies was monitored - no Rocky Balboa over there!! Now, thanks to US influences and mostly internet, it's much like it is here.

I once was walking in town one night, alone, when a large group of people came towards me. Some were carrying bats, some pipes, etc. I found out later this was one of their "bad" gangs - something that was still very new there. Meanwhile, I was sick of watching Houston news and hearing about at least 2 drive-by shootings every single night!

We could learn a lot from them, and they could learn a lot from us. The tricky part is keeping to what we "should" learn.
 
IMO we do not make too much money. If I have the money to buy something it's no one else's business.

What's wrong it a lot of the world and why so many lead very poor lives is the country they live in. In many of these nations graft and corruption is running wild. The rich control everything and if a poor person comes up with an idea at best they are paid a few dollars for it if it isn't out right stolen. The former Soviet Union gives us a good lesson on that type of thing. When the wall came down technology wise they were very far behind us. If you as a Soviet citizen came up with an idea it was the property of the state. You might get a medal for it. So people just didn't bother. Sense then Russia had blossomed. People can profit from hard work and new ideas. Makes all the difference. Now a lot of what we call 3rd world countries don't do what the Soviets did but they still repress people so they can't advance. The governments control or lack thereof keeps the poor in their place. The example of South Korea and the advances they have made was great and shows what can be accomplished.

Us older guys were raised by parents who's financial decisions were a direct result of living through the Great Depression. Most who were old enough, kids into their teens who worked to help support a family during the depression acted differently than those who were too young to really remember it. But people did go with smaller homes. They were tighter with their money. They were very afraid of credit for the most part. Want a new TV? Save for it. That's what they did. Fast forward to the recession in the 80's. They kids who grew up through that wanted things and wanted them right now. Using plastic became the norm. Their kids are now in the work force. What did they learn from their parents? And houses started getting bigger in the 60's. And they have gotten much more expensive. But you also have to adjust for inflation. So the house my parents bought in NJ in the 50's new for 12 grand sold in 71 for 60K. Just looked it up, home like ours about a block away, same development 265K today! And that's a small home by todays standards, 1300 square feet. Several blocks away a new development went in during the 60's. The houses there were about 2000 square feet. Things were different in the rural communities. I know cause we move there when I was 16. First place no one was building developments. And rural people were a little more conservative with their money.

Times change. I see a lot of young people who are apartment dwellers who have storage units. Most in the dream of owning a home. Others because they have things like Christmas decorations and artificial trees and no where to store them. When they are full of furniture it's a waste. Little of it will ever be used again. But storing totes of summer or winter clothing, fishing gear and such for apartment dwellers is a problem.

Now what gets me and I wonder about the logic is apartment dwellers hoping to buy a home with 20K or better of car/truck sitting out front.

Rick
 
Modern housing may be larger, but more efficient than our 50's housing. Better insulated, better windows and doors. Our modern furnaces and appliances are likewise more efficient. Vehicles on the other hand, its rediculas what people are driving. 45 to 55 thousand dollar gas hog SUV's or double cab pickups. Mostly driven back and forth to work. That's just crazy.
Do we make to much money? NO. That's not the problem. The problem is actually contrary. Most people this day and age, live on credit and don't have what they got paid for.
Most people that have a cell phone now, have a smart phone. They no longer have a home phone. They have internet included on their cell service, so no in home internet service either. Its all on their cell phone, and just one bill.
 
About 5 years ago I built a 20'x20' storage building, in the side yard. I am now empting the shelves, of a lot of stuff, that we never use. My NEW outlook is, that if we didn't use it in a year, then we must not need it, KEEPSAKES is the exception! I still spend too much money, if I don't stay home from the auctions.
 
My observation is about attached garages. In the sixties(or maybe earlier) homes started being built with an attached garage. Then the seventies saw homes with 2 stalls. Seems like 15 years ago I started seeing 3 stall attachments on new homes. We have a new subdivision going up near us now and the homes are going up with 4 garages. It must be that parents can't get their kids to leave home?
 
Some of the additional cost to things is the government intervention of safety regulations. Especially in the transportation department. Seat belts emissions and all the such. These ad cost to things. To much money well I'll take all that extra cash if that is the problem. Then there is the auction sale bidding. I quit going when the cylinder ,hoses,and tips cost more at the sale than the dealer new.
 
After the 2008 recession I found out I make just as much if I gross less per year. If I make too much Uncle Sam gets it. I gave up working Saturdays.
 
Sounds to me like too many people have bought too many expensive items and think they are worth storing.

I've never used a rental storage place. I'm too cheap.
 
In many ways the entire US economy is based on people continually buying stuff and most of the time that will be stuff that isn't really needed. (Hence the rise in the storage unit business.) When consumer spending diminishes the economy goes downhill and measures are taken by the Fed to re-ignite the spending craze. Some examples are reduced interest rates, tax cuts, and "stimulus checks" - all meant to encourage more spending. In my opinion this kind of economy isn't sustainable in the long term. The problem is that over time peoples "wants" have become their "needs" and we as a society are addicted to this overconsumption. Just consider things like A/C in your home and car, TV screen larger than 19", more than one TV per house, more than just one phone in the house (that was wired to the wall), pickups with more power than semi trucks, gourmet coffee that costs as much for one cup as a whole meal did a few years ago, etc, etc, etc. These things have in just a few generations gone from being regarded as extravegances to basic "needs" for many people.
 

Ridiculous question in the first place. What a dollar buys today is a fraction of what it would buy in the past. A minimum wage worker in, say, 1975 was no better off than a min wage worker today. The difference is that the 1975 min wage worker didn't feel entitled to things we have today like cell phones that run into the hundreds of dollars a month or eating out all the time or showing up late for work and trying to leave early.

Back in the day people hoarded and collected the junk of the day too. I grew up around those people that had sheds all over the place or an old barn filled with a life times worth of "stuff". Nothing has changed except people buy different junk.

The premise of the question shouldn't be, "Do we make too much money?", but rather, "Are people more inclined to spend money foolishly?...IMO".
 
I make enough to get by on. Not a flashy lifestyle for me at all. Now If I had all the money I pay out in taxes I'd really have a lot extra to spend ! I'd be dumping it all back into the economy for sure !
I just finished writing out checks to pay some of my taxes. Just makes me sick to see how little I make and how much I have to pay out !
 
I would wager that frivolous items such as heated seats, remote control mirrors, electric powered windows cost a whole lot more than seat belts, and add nothing to the safety or performance of an automobile. Given a choice, I would vote for safety items such as seat belts over power windows!
 
If you are retired and on SS doing your own taxes will show the same results if you have additional income......above and beyond the teeny weenie limit. So you get that little job and presto it moves you into the 30% tax bracket with the addition of extra costs for clothing, fast food, transportation, life style restrictions because "you have to work" and all that jibberish. How's that? They pull your SS out and add it to your income, proportionally of course......gotta have all that political gibberish in there to keep you confused. Thanks but I decline the offer.
 
I don't think we make to much money. I do think as a nation we have an unsustainable life style. Much of that life style is paid for with credit and it will never be paid for. Its about time for another adjustment in the stock market and depending on its severity we may see a temporary adjustment in our lifestyles.
 
My grandmas car - that was handed down to me out of high school - was $2000 new, I found the receipt in the glove box.

Dads car was $4000, I remember sitting on the side of the desk.

My grandma and dad were frugal Germans (other names for that as well....) so those were pretty low value bottom vehicles, but new.

My new pickup was $15,000.

Wife and I bought a new car for $30,000. When they pressured us for extended warranty, they mentioned the drivers seat costs $4000 to replace.

So, in the 30 years from when my grandma bought a new car, to when we bought a new car, the price for transportation went from $2000 to $30,000. And one seat in the car cost double what the entire car cost 30 years previous.

All of that isn't really so bad tho.

Today we pay over $100 a month for tv, and probably near $200 a month for phone/internet service. Wife bought her house with a $300 a month payments. And we all pretty much throw that much away on entertainment a month now a days. How can you get ahead with $300 a month on that stuff? And I know their are many ready to reply they don't get any cable bills.... But that is the exception these days.

Paul
 
You are given a choice in our free market society and you vote with your dollars, you can buy an automobile as fancy or as plain as you desire, America is the greatest nation on earth.
 

"A rising tide raises all ships". Our country has had a very dynamic economy for most of my life. Most people participate in it and over the years most people do better than their parents did. Even if one can't afford the finer things, one can usually have a good steady job if they want because of all of the people who are consuming goods and services. So even if many people are wasteful, they are still helping those who can't afford to be. If we didn't have so many people who are wasteful our workforce would not be able to feed themselves along with the 50% of our population who need help.
 
All depends on how you look at it. I have rented storage, but only for temporary use while I was in process of moving for the most part. On the other hand, renting storage benefits those who invest in building the facilities. Someone once said something that has stuck with me.....if we take all the money and evenly distribute it out to everyone (at least in the US), it would very likely end up back where it originated with few exceptions. Every day I see the people who stand at the counter scratching lottery tickets, most of those really cannot afford to own their own home, likely have some sort of government assistance, but somehow think that buying those tickets might at any time land them in the good life without having to work for it (notice I said "most"). How many actually win those big prizes, and are successful after? My guess is the money would end up right back either in the governments hands, or to those who are smart enough to sell them on frivolous things (perhaps storage facilities). Do we make too much money? Perhaps the question should be "Do we make more money than we can manage?" On the other hand, I do spend some money frivolously on some things, but life is short, and I look at it this way.....as long as I do not do it on the backs of others and still support myself and family - who is to say what I spend it on? My dad used to say "I came into this world naked, and might as well go out the same way". In some ways, I think he might have had a good point.....spend every dime before you leave this world, as you sure cannot take it with you. Just some thoughts.
 
"That's the real reason we can't compete with other countries of the world."

Depends on what you mean by "compete". Have you traveled to any of those countries? I wouldn't want to live in any of them.
 
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