I didn’t read, in that article, that the Jesse family wanted the government to “take care of them,” as you so blithely state, “instead of helping themselves.” In fact, I seem to recall reading that Todd Jesse had gone back to school to improve his lot in life. He chose to work for IQE rather than Transistor Devices because of the hour commute and rather than Lucent, initially at least, because he didn’t want to “be a number.” 'Course, he later caved in to peer envy and made the leap for the golden ring, adding $2.81/hour to his worth. Sure, he dropped the pretense of not “be[ing] a number,” he lost his twice weekly free bagels and management concern for employees, but he “knew [he] was worth more.” For a time, the company grew and his hopes were realized. Sure, he “had to wear a hair net, gloves, white smock and protective anti-static bootie,” [sub]thanks for that little tid-bit, BTW[/sub] but man, the good times were there. All the overtime he could handle. Trips for his wife and daughters [sub]apparently nothing for his sons[/sub]. A $650/month car payment**!?!**
Sadly, in the span of three months, October to December, the times, they were a’changing and by March, a mere six months after Todd Jesse joined the company, they had to report a loss for Q1 of $148 MM versus a $65 MM profit from Q1 the year before. A month later, Jesse was told to hit the bricks.
Donna was “the one who [paid] the bills,” yet she seemed to be the main culprit in racking up the debt. She wants to keep the car, she doesn’t want her girls to have to leave their friends (should the family have to move.) She claims to “[have] a hard time finding reasons for optimism.”
I think that it is clear, it’s American women, succubi, all of them, that are responsible for the incredible debt American men are finding themselves saddled with. :rolleyes:
[sup]I also think it is clear that Todd Jesse was the rusty cog that jammed the machinery, ruining the cash-machine that was Agere.[/sup]
I can, of course, only speak for myself so I’ll say this:
[list=1][li]I’m an American[]I am in the technology sector (certainly not blue-collar, not that there is anything wrong with that)[]I earn about what it seem this family was at their peak (salary, I’m eligible for O/T, too, but don’t bother)[]I usually pay with credit cards[]I have satellite tv service (and a cell phone)[/list=1]Now, am I a “fat, lazy spoiled American?”[/li]
I bought my car new. I have an apartment, that (due to my current assignment) I haven’t actually lived in for almost 7 months that runs the better part of $1000/month. I buy what I want, when I want it (be they “GOODIES” like the Sony Cyber-shot I picked up last week or more mundane necessities like a nice suit for work.) It pisses me off that gas prices are as high, relative to recent costs, as they are, but my car gets between 28 and 35 mpg. If I lose my “cushy, high paying job,” I will surely find another shortly thereafter, as I have a Bachelor of Science degree and years of experience in each of a number of fields (manufacturing, Q&A/ISO and tech) but I will be also able to weigh my options because I have enough available cash to manage for upwards of 8 months with zero income before even thinking of selling stock.
When changing from the manufacturing and Q&A field to tech, I turned down one job that offered a 26% increase in salary and another, last minute offer, to stay with the company I was leaving for a 10% increase, no mean adjustment, I’ll tell you, and not an easy decision. Not all Americans jump for the larger dollars. Every job offer I’ve accepted has been the lower of at least two but was picked for reasons other than the salary (I wrote about it back in August or September, if you care to look.) Not all Americans spend well beyond their available income. Those that do are fools that, even provided they do not lose their job, would and will find they have to buckle down and reign in such ridiculous spending or face some serious, and harsh, consequences. Consequences like selling your car (or in my sister and B-I-Ls case, their Harley), buying off-brand food for a time, cutting coupons religiously, not taking vacations and for god’s sake: quit eating out all the time! Much like the Jesse family surely will be finding out (if they’re not already.)
So, I know you’ve already been out-ed, essentially, for troll-like behavior, but what, really would you like to see here? This isn’t GD, so my, personal, counter example of an American living w/in his means, saving and prospering without whining isn’t a point-counterpoint, and I know that. If you just felt like ranting, well, good for you, you did it. Here’s a bronze star. If you thought no one would take exception to your POV, you must have been quite surprised. Welcome to the world of dissenting opinion, this one is yours. Since it is your opinion and not a statement of fact, it can’t really be “right” or “wrong,” per se, but you may find that other interpret it as mis- or under-informed. I am one of those people.
People that live beyond their means are dumb. Those that do so and then are caught without any safety net when the floor falls out or without a chair when the music stops are tragic, but the fault is theirs. I would cautiously congratulate the media for reporting such stories, provided they do so with an eye toward prevention, i.e.- “The Jesse family did this, this and this, then this happened and they are left with these decisions. If they had instead done this and planned for that, they would now be in a position to do this until better times.” What you really should remember, though, is that the media presents stories that are exceptional, not mundane, therefore, by reporting about the Jesse family, the media is showing how they are an exception, not the rule.
Just my $0.02.
[sub][Pit]hell damn poop[/Pit][/sub]
