Telling people your broke and their reaction

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 04-02-2009 04:15AM

diverdriver wrote: »

Are you broke? Have you lost your job or taking a pay cut? Yes/No? If not what is your problem. What changed?

I personally am sick of people in safe jobs talking about tightening their belts. People on 70k worrying shopping in Aldi all of a sudden. For many, many people nothing has changed at all, the public service, the Garda, the army, etc etc. Yet they act as if they were suddenly short of money. People with six figure, taxpayer guaranteed sums and in the bank and second houses, putting on the poor mouth because they decided not to change the Merc this year because of the 'economic' situation.

Right now people who have money are not spending it. The result of that is many other are going out of business and people are being laid off. It's a vicious circle.

Well they'll get their comeuppance eventually because the government will up taxes to get the money anyway so they can pay the public service bill.

If you genuinely are in trouble and short of money, with a bank overdraft and unpaid bills then by all means go on about tightening belts. If not shut up and be grateful nothing has changed for you.

Oh no, another one... bashing the public sector again... Jealousy is rampant, really rampant here.

People are used to me saying I am broke. I think when I was about 18 or 19 I was rich, taking home up to 600 PUNTS a week on my summer holidays

Them were the days

It will be years before I make anything like that again...

Well people on 70K a year shouldn't be as worried as somebody on minimum wage. It's pretty obvious. Of course, if those on 70K blew their cash on crap then it's their own fault.

javaboy · 04-02-2009 04:44AM

veryangryman wrote: »

:rolleyes: And please don't get me started on how many bullets i want to put into you for using text speak in what has otherwise been an intelligent thread thusfar on both sides of the argument .

Tread very carefully.

Stabshauptmann · 04-02-2009 10:31AM

Mark200 wrote: »

If you are confident that your job/pay is secure, then saving because we're in a recession is ridiculous.

Who can be 100% sure?

There have been massive job lossses in construction with no telling when they'll be back to work. Retail workers are losing hours.

Todays papers we see the public sector are getting pay cuts.

And the white collar private jobs arnt safe either, massive job losses across financial services. The people that you thought would be safest are under fire. Accountants are seeing pay cuts, contracts not renewed etc. Partners in law firms are being bought out and let go.

I think there are very few people who cant find a reason worry about their jobs or future earnings.

If you don't have enough money or you're worried about losing your job, then by all means save. But if you aren't in either of those categories, then you should be spending as much as you can.

Oh would you grow up and STFU. Its not my or anyone elses responsibility to throw all my money down the drain on things I dont want / need to "kick start the economy".

Recessions can be very difficult, this one has effected me and many people close to me, but at the same time they are natural parts of the business cycle. Part of the reason for this recession is that there has been over expansion, prices are at unnatural highs are there is an abundance of inefficiency.

Unfortunately, prices need to fall, unproductive jobs need to be shed, costs need to be cut. The longer a contraction is delayed in the market, the more severe it is when it comes.

BnA · 04-02-2009 12:28PM

One other thing about the public sector. 5 years ago when the country was awash with money, most people in the public sector would have been making more money if they left it and went private. But they made a choice to stay in it for whatever reason they wanted. But I would suspect that one of the main reasons someone would stay in the public sector is for job security.

Now that people in the private sector are in trouble, it seems some of them feel they have some kind of a right to turn on the nurses and the guards etc. Nobody gave a shoite about them when blocklayers were makin a pound a block. Why this sudden interest now ?

Personally, I often thought about becoming a teacher. But I decided not to because the money is crap. That is a choice I made. I could have gone down the route of middle of the road money with job security for life and good holidays. But, instead I started my own business and took a few risks to try and make some money. Wheather that works out or not, I don't think I have a right to moan about people who left college at the same time as me and went teaching instead.

Zynks · 04-02-2009 12:39PM

We've been on a tight belt for the last eight years. Quit smoking, no pubs, restaurants max twice a month, one car for two adults and three kids, budget holidays, and so on, so for us it means business as usual.

This allowed us to fund private school for the kids, good creches, a reasonably nice car, good quality food in the fridge.

We are not expecting to be hit by redundancies, but if we loose one job, we have a contingency plan. The reduction of income can be compensated by taking the kids out of the creche, transfer of tax free allowance and a few, but not many, cost cuttings and we can pretty much keep the standards.

If the second job goes...then we are pretty screwed.

My point is that many people have been spending their "net equity" and now they find they have to pay those loans, and that is hurting, because they have to turn from net spenders to net savers (or should I say net payers). Hopefully that will be temporary for most and eventually a more balanced expenditure pattern accross the economy will be reached.

PS are an easy target, but broadly unfair (I am not a PS by the way). What should be targetted are the inneficiencies in the system. Get rid of dead weight and things will look better. There a few cases of overpaid people (remember "what type of house can you buy on 250k?").

What really pisses me of is that leaving aside the totally incompetent handling of the fortunes that went through government coffers in the last 15 years, all the efforts are always made towards the creation of jobs. So now, we have an economy based on jobs from foreign companies. Nobody seems to be focusing enough on creating strong Irish businesses that create wealth and jobs in a sustainable manner. That includes the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. All new Irish businesses are created with the objective of selling out to larger corporations within a few years. If we continue like this we will never reach economic standards that you see in Northern European countries.

Argghhhh!

Stabshauptmann · 04-02-2009 01:01PM

BnA wrote: »

One other thing about the public sector. 5 years ago when the country was awash with money, most people in the public sector would have been making more money if they left it and went private. But they made a choice to stay in it for whatever reason they wanted. But I would suspect that one of the main reasons someone would stay in the public sector is for job security.

Now that people in the private sector are in trouble, it seems some of them feel they have some kind of a right to turn on the nurses and the guards etc. Nobody gave a shoite about them when blocklayers were makin a pound a block. Why this sudden interest now ?

Personally, I often thought about becoming a teacher. But I decided not to because the money is crap. That is a choice I made. I could have gone down the route of middle of the road money with job security for life and good holidays. But, instead I started my own business and took a few risks to try and make some money. Wheather that works out or not, I don't think I have a right to moan about people who left college at the same time as me and went teaching instead.

The reasoning is quite simple.

Your memory seems very short, when there was mega money being made in the private sector the public sector demanded the same.

In 2001 the public sector demanded benchmarking, the biggest indusrtial action people might remember was the teachers work to rule wich lasted most of the year.

In 2002 the benchmarking report concluded that the Public Sector was lagging far behind the private sector and pay increases were begun, in the 2008 benchmarking report the conclusion was that Public Sector had caught up with the private secort.

Now the private sector is seeing pay freezes and pay cuts, and under the principal of benchmarking its only right that the public sector should feel it too. It works both ways.

Also when making the comparisons, the value of a job security in a recession is higher than in a boom.

BnA · 04-02-2009 01:32PM

Kaptain Redeye wrote: »

The reasoning is quite simple.

Your memory seems very short, when there was mega money being made in the private sector the public sector demanded the same.

In 2001 the public sector demanded benchmarking, the biggest indusrtial action people might remember was the teachers work to rule wich lasted most of the year.

In 2002 the benchmarking report concluded that the Public Sector was lagging far behind the private sector and pay increases were begun, in the 2008 benchmarking report the conclusion was that Public Sector had caught up with the private secort.

Now the private sector is seeing pay freezes and pay cuts, and under the principal of benchmarking its only right that the public sector should feel it too. It works both ways.

Also when making the comparisons, the value of a job security in a recession is higher than in a boom.

I agree with you completely.

They looked for bench marking at the time and they got it.

And now it looks like thay are going to have to take a cut. And that's fine too.

But my problem is with people describing public service workers as "sucking on the teat of the nation" (or something to that effect, I can't find the exact quote now)

Why all the resentment towards the public service ?

Blisterman · 04-02-2009 02:16PM

Because we pay their wages.

veryangryman · 04-02-2009 02:38PM

Blisterman wrote: »

Because we pay their wages.

Well said.

MIN2511 · 04-02-2009 02:45PM

Blisterman wrote: »

Because we pay their wages.

They provide services!

Zynks · 04-02-2009 03:03PM

Or even, we buy their services.

robinph · 04-02-2009 03:33PM

Blisterman wrote: »

Because we pay their wages.

I do love the fact that although we pay their wages, we then take a portion of it back off them again to pay them back with, which is then taken back off them again, to then pay them with...

It's funny that people who are paid from the nations taxes are also taxed on their wages, reduces their overall cost a bit.

livvy · 04-02-2009 03:50PM

This tread has gotten ridiculous !! A public v private sector bashing. This recession was caused by many things but you cannot blame allocation of wages to the public sector for the mess we are in.
All of the frustrated angry posts should be directed at the gobsh1tes that got us into this mess not the unemployed and pay cut people that are making attempts to get us out.

veryangryman · 05-02-2009 11:58AM

livvy wrote: »

This tread has gotten ridiculous !! A public v private sector bashing.

True - plenty of other threads for all this P vs P nonsense.

Seifer · 05-02-2009 01:12PM

veryangryman wrote: »

True - plenty of other threads for all this P vs P nonsense.

Yeah, there are probably a few in the World of Warcraft forum right now :cool:

worded · 05-02-2009 01:32PM

ejmaztec wrote: »

I saw a guy last week climbing into his 09 registered Audi. "look at that cunt, somebody's got some feckin money"", some old boy said. Audi-man looked like he was ashamed when he saw the natives staring at him.

I'm sure that if the he hadn't driven off the locals would have lynched him.

What part of the country was this?

BaconZombie · 05-02-2009 02:15PM

Any people who are/were earning that amount of money and don't know have to managed it by saving/investing some of it deserve what ever happens to them......

Brady Flaky Whirlwind wrote: »

Oh no, another one... bashing the public sector again... Jealousy is rampant, really rampant here.

People are used to me saying I am broke. I think when I was about 18 or 19 I was rich, taking home up to 600 PUNTS a week on my summer holidays Them were the days

It will be years before I make anything like that again...

Well people on 70K a year shouldn't be as worried as somebody on minimum wage. It's pretty obvious. Of course, if those on 70K blew their cash on crap then it's their own fault.

useful_contacts wrote: »

What good will that 70k a year be if they are made redundant in the next few months

I could be on 200k a year and id still be worried, people in their jobs 20+ years arent safe- no one is

roosterman71 · 10-02-2009 01:25PM

veryangryman wrote: »

You've clearly not heard the jokes about people with arts degrees....

Seriously though, your not that long looking for work if still using text speak (I don't know one educated person over 23 who uses same). It took me two years to get a job in Science. Give it time - Tiocfaidh do lá

You don't work in Science!!!

I want to join this debate

Someone say something so I can agree/disagree. I'm too lazy to read the whole thread.

barbiegirl · 10-02-2009 02:26PM

So far so good, we've both still got jobs, but that could change tomorrow. We're saving and operating on a budget and getting rid of all debt. So if we're out for a night and it's looking like going dancing and we've pretty much hit our limit between dinner and drink, we just say we're broke. End of story, no shame to it. Maybe not as broke as some others but equally we're trying to arrange things so we don't get to that stage.
But equally no shame to buying something nice if it's within our budget and we can afford it. Do I feel bad for mates who've lost their jobs? Yes. Do we try to help in anyway we can? Yep. Will that stop us buying new doors for the house? Nope.

roosterman71 · 10-02-2009 02:34PM

I want to buy a new car. But I'm being told to save my money

Puddleduck · 10-02-2009 02:35PM

I may be joining the great unwashed soon. There goes my plans for the next year or so.

Maybe Ill go to college, and waste some more years...

roosterman71 · 10-02-2009 02:38PM

Now would be a good time for college. When your done, things may have picked up.

not such good news if your graduating this year. Or maybe even next year.

Puddleduck · 10-02-2009 02:41PM

roosterman71 wrote: »

Now would be a good time for college. When your done, things may have picked up.

not such good news if your graduating this year. Or maybe even next year.

Yea but if I go to college then I cant work for years..and I like money and the things associated with money

Also I need to magic some money up in order to actually go...

User45701 · 10-02-2009 02:45PM

veryangryman wrote: »

Is anyone else noticing the bitter reaction you get from people, relations, friends etc when you, the working man or woman, mention needing to tighten up/save instead of pissing your money away? Tough times we currently living in, but the amount of folks who think that just because your in a job now that you should be loaded/not worrying about being short-changed etc. These people should get real, and quick. The words "reality check" have never been more apt.

More an observation than a discussion i guess. So, to make this a bit more thread-friendly, has anyone else had such problems? I hate falling out with people over economics, but again people need a reality check sometimes. Myself included - i bought a new car before the winter. :pac:

You didnt cause the problems with with world economics but people like you will streach this **** on for longer than it needs to, by saving money you are just being selFISH and will cause business to make less money, have to lay off more staff

Telling people your broke and their reaction

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