This is a gut wrenching story, and I feel great sorrow for the man at its center. This is his life, after all, going right down the drain. He might not know it, but the heart of his problem lies halfway into the story, where we find this paragraph:
"He has sold his SUV and cut out movies, eating out and trips to regular stores. Instead, he relies on a dollar store and discount grocers. He keeps the lights off when he can and even turns the coffee maker off as soon as his coffee is finished brewing to save on his electric bill."
To which I say, HE HAD NO BUSINESS OWNING AN SUV, EATING OUT, GOING TO MOVIES, OR BUYING FROM EXPENSIVE STORES IN THE FIRST PLACE!!
Our first priority as adults is, and always has been, to ensure our own solvency. To secure one's own future. This guy didn't do that. He didn't save enough when times were good. He was a grasshopper (in the old story about the ants and the grasshopper.)
What's happening to him is sad, but there's nothing unfair about it. He could have lived his life more cautiously.
My family has attended just one movie in the last twenty years - and only because the hype surrounding 'Avatar" was so great that I wanted to share the experience with my son. It was something special. (It was a big disappointment, btw.)
We don't drive fancy cars (our better one was bought used.) We ALREADY shop at dollar stores and Wal-mart with some frequency, and never at Nordstroms or other pricey fares. Why should we? We aren't rich. Blowing money isn't something we can afford to do.
When a storm is coming, your first priority is to protect your family and property... not to be out having as much fun as current income can sustain. In this respect, Americans are terribly naive and spoiled. They gamble with their lives that the good times will continue. Sometimes, the gamblers lose. Jim Vavrek has learned this for himself and is now paying the price.
I fear that MOST Americans will share his fate, or worse, one day. And for the same reasons. It's tragic because America's fiscal collapse was so unnecessary.
September 10, 2012
Economy's long slump pushing many down the ladder
Jim Vavrek's temporary work contract was cut short when his employer switched vendors.
He spoke about his career while at home with his dog, Vincent, after his last scheduled day of work.
[b]By Allison Linn, NBC News
Jim Vavrek has experienced a lot of firsts in the last few years, and that has not been a good thing.
There was the first time he had his water shut off because he couldn’t pay the bill, and the first time he looked into applying for food stamps because he didn’t know how he could afford to eat.
And there was the first time he realized that despite insurance coverage, he still owed thousands of dollars from his late wife’s short fight with cancer – bills he could not afford to pay.
“It’s amazing how fast everything happens,” Vavrek, 50, mused recently, as he drove from his job in New Brunswick, N.J., to his home in Point Pleasant, N.J.
The commute was about to become a memory – Vavrek had just learned that he was going to lose the $13-an-hour contract job he’d landed about a year and a half ago. It had been a big financial step down from when he made $70,000, plus a bonus, several years ago, but at least it was a paycheck.
More: http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/31/13590963-economys-long-slump-pushing-many-down-the-ladder?lite
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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