Economy Question

[ntsammy5]

I know there are a lot of small business owners, at least one doctor (Jim), and some auto workers on this Board. I work for a bank - one that hasn't taken any TARP money and made a profit last year. Actually one of the largest in the world though most here probably have never heard of it.

So how is the economy affecting you?

For me, other than knowing a lot of people who are laid off, it hasn't really affected me yet. And the operative word here is yet. I still have my job, actually got a bonus this year, even if it was less than 10% of last years, have good health insurance, and none of my kids have been affected yet. So I'm not feeling the pain.

I do plan on retiring within the next 3 years, and my retirement savings aren't what they should be, but when I retire, between me and my wife, we'll have 5 different pension plans plus 2 SS retirements, so I should be OK.

I know a lot of people here are feeling the pain, and I'm sorry for that. Share your pain if you're up to it, especially if you want to get things off your chest.

[LONE-STAR]

Up until the last 2 weeks everything has seemed normal. But calls have about dried up in the last 2 weeks. I think it may be due to spring break. I am still ok the company is hurting though. All I can say is if you live in Texas clog up a toilet or break a water line and I will be just fine.:lmao:

[ftwildernessguy]

The beginning of the recession (end of last year) we didn't really see much of a change - we were busy as usual. Then the phone stopped ringing. Many were in shock from watching too much TV and getting scared, others were laid off and either lost benefits or wanted to hold onto money that would be used for deductibles and copays. It seems like it has loosened up a bit over the last couple of weeks. Maybe it's just that the weather is improving along with people's dispositions and igniting some hope. So far, we have been okay. My son is graduating from college this year and has only had one interview so far (last week) with no word yet. My daughter has had her hours cut - she works in a veterinary hospital and they are starting to hurt - have cut benefits and hours. I am thankful that in a few years I will start collecting my Army pension. We have had some really large companies cut back or close here in the Valley - PPL, Mack Trucks, DHL, Air Products.

[Christine9125]

My job ended the year on a good note and so did my husbands. Actually his work was better at the end of the year then thru the year. Now we are kind of at a stand still. His job is looking at cutting hours. I did get a bonus this year, alot more then last year and more then I was expecting. We pocketed it for the just in case!

[Disney Campers]

I consider myself fortunate, the past few years were bad for me in that I made some bad financial decisions, I''m just about clear of all that now and things look good for the future, I work for a stable company (Although our stock has gone down a lot this past year) other than the 401(k) going down hill. Now my family on the other hand, Mom and one sister were laid off, this has been hard on them.

I think everyone is effected in one way or another, usually in the form of higher prices that we all have to pay. At least the big oil companies made record profits.......

[VACAMPER]

my husband is a machinest and he has no work, most of the men he works with have been laid off, he has gotten a few hours because he is painting the plant ceilings where he works. He has 3 brothers 2 of them are on short hours the other works for the phone company, so as long as there is women he has job security:laughing: . I have been a STHM for the past 4 years except working part time for a preschool as soon as the school year ends ill be looking for fulltime work. It will kill me to leave my kids but you gotta do what ya gotta do (im still praying things turn around before i have to do that). We were lucky to get a good tax return, thats what is covering most of our bills right now. We've had some sleepless nights but God will provide.

[auntie]

Auto Body business is s-l-o-w. The end of '08...very slow. Made for a rough Christmas. My dad started this business some 33 years ago..and we've not seen a time this tough. We had two locations and had to close one. We also do collision repairs for Enterprise..and they were slow. People weren't traveling or renting as much. Insurance companies are making it very difficult to make a living, eating away at any profit there is. Customers want you save them something on their deductible..and that's hard to do, when you're not making what you used to on a claim. Cost of health insurance is ASTRONOMICAL...and it's not that good. We saw a year of some major change. I'm not going into the office like I was twice a week. (saving my highly paid salary..:rolleyes1 ). That means no new truck and thank goodness, we never got around to buying a new travel trailer. Glad we don't have payments to make now. We are holding our own..and waiting. Waiting for people to start spending again. Bob says it's picking up some. All I know is he's workin' Saturdays. Staying open for Geico(we're a preferred shop for some major carriers). Hoping to pull in some work.

My sister on the other hand..has had a REALLY tough year. She had her own title company that closed. She suffered a substantial loss in income. She has an interview with of all people DISNEY next week. They are building a replica/model DVC in a major mall near us. They need managers and people with title experience to close loans.

On the up-side..my daughter started her first full time job three weeks ago. She received her Associates in Early Childhood Education in December. She started a job in a Kindercare, and LOVES it!. She brought home her first full time pay check on Friday. (I took a picture of her with it..:laughing: ) She's very proud. In three months, she is supposed to start receiving benefits..which are to include health insurance, and tuition assistance. I'm relieved she was able to find a job.

[LORNADUCK]

Up until about 2 months ago I said that we really didn't feel it, my DH & DS business had all about dried up. They do curbing, but my DH was doing some sod and then swiftmud killed that business. But he is collection SS and it isn't a lot but with my job gets us thru. Then it started hitting all our friends. 2 of them are in a little (maybe a lot) of trouble. One works for J.P. Morgan Chase and his whole office is being shutt down, their jobs are going to guess where India. He has worked for them for 30 years, is to young to retire and probably will have to sell their house in this great market. Then our Best Friend lost his job, at one point was making mid six figures, then built a great custom house, about 2 years ago his salary was down to about 200,000.00 and his wife make good money. Long story short they will probably loose the house, it isn't worth anywhere near what they own on it, and UI insurance is on $250 a week. They had some great investments, which are now 1/2 and they are trying to find a way. Then last week I took a paycut, not a big one but when u live paycheck to paycheck it all hurts, especially with the medical bills we are paying. Sorry to make it so long.

[DisneyBishops]

I guess i am fortunate, I work for a large group of Dr's. The company is still doing great. We just built an 11 million dollar building and are now building a 70 million dollar new building. So i really feel fortunate. I am still getting my 1/4 bonuses and my last one was much bigger than the one before. So the company is making money as we just paid out profit sharing to the hourly employees. So I am fortunate to work for this company with a great group of dr's. We have even been waving laid off people's co pays.

Hopefully this year the economy will begin to get better again so everyone can get back to work. But then again the price of gas will probably go up when the economy gets better.

Jim I know you are in this field also, so you should be doing ok.

And oh yea the oil companies still make big money.

[Rhonda]

We own our own business - mobile auto paint repair. The retail end of the business has slowed WAY down. We used to get 3-4 calls per day, and now we're lucky to get 3-4 calls per week.

But, our main customers are the dealerships. They need to keep their cars looking good, in order to stay competitive in this horrible market. So, they're keeping us busy! If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have been done a long time ago.

My second job -- travel agent at Dreams Unlimited. We've stayed pretty busy! I think that when people are depressed about everything else, they still need to get away from it all.

[poohbearwithme]

My husband is a machinist and was recently laid off. I'm just hoping my job holds out. I know that God will take care us. I have to hope for the best...on a sad note my trip to Disney was delayed because of this. (I didn't say canceled because when we are back into the swing again, we will get to go...just don't have a date yet).

[clkelley]

We have been so fortunate. My job is really stable, and the company I work for is doing really well. (We are a government contractor involved in a lot of the stuff going to Iraq and Afghanistan, and Homeland Defense. They are also looking at buying companies that are into a lot of the incentives "the annointed one" just signed into the package) Our employee-owned stock was just bought out by an investment firm at a GREAT price, so my retirement account just tripled. Also, as one of the charter employee owners, I got a nice cash payout also.

We are now debt free except for the mortgage, and DH was able to retire (SS Disability).

I was able to sock the stock sale into a safe investment. Not earning anything really, but at least I'm not losing either.

Even though we are doing well, I'm not sure how long the money will continue to flow from the government, and that is our company's bread and butter. I know one thing though, up until a few weeks ago, we were dangerously in debt and could have had a catastrophe. I will NEVER let that happen again. We went and talked to someone and developed a solid budget that we are bound and determined to stick to.

I pray everyday that the economy improves for everyone. It's got to!!!

[hopeisb4u]

last year at work they cut all overtime. I was always use to getting 3-5 hours over, so i never realized how much that was to me until it was gone. My retirement took a crazy nose dive. Granted, I'm still somewhat young, 33, and I am no where near retiring, but i lost around 33% of what i had. That 33% would seriously help me with bills now. I have a one income household, and thankfully am keeping my nose above the water. Granted there are some waves from time to time, and i might get swept under ~ but thankfully I float really good, so i'm able to pop back up!

This has seriously taught me to do my best at living within my means. Which is something that I never really thought of before. I used to be all about spending my money on anything. ?? you can't take it with you mentality! Always on the go, entertaining all the time, out to dinner as much as possible with friends / family.

Now it is what we need, not what we want.

As soon as any money comes in...the majority of it is right out the door, for one thing or another. I was even thinking today....if we gave up on eating meat, that would save a lot of money!! Would anyone like to come over for some rice and beans?? If i didn't live under a canopy of oak trees (sneeze sneeze) i'd plant a garden and save even more. (nah...who am i kiddn' i can't grow anything!)

It can be very frightening. But, i believe if he brought me to it, he'll bring me through it. (even if i'm kick'n & scream'n!)

[GOBA Mom Lynn]

On the whole we are doing well. My DH works for a company that is DOE related doing the nuclear engineering for the Navy. They are actually hiring right now because they are losing engineers to Westinghouse's newly expanded nuclear division on the other side of Pittsburgh.

My little part time job is at our local library, and it is more uncertain. Funding for libraries is rumored to be on the cutting block, but for now it's OK.
but since I'm one of the newest hires, I'd be one of the first to go. The irony is, more people use the library when things are bad, and we are busy! Lots of people who don't own their own computers, come in to use ours to do job searches and write resumes, and take out movies (for free). Remember to support your local library!;)

[des1954]

We've had a year of up's and down's...mostly down's. Both DH & I retired from the phone company 6 years ago (took early retirement) knowing we would have to do something until we reached that magic age of 59 1/2 when we could start withdrawing $$ from our IRA. DH chose to go into sales jobs (which he's very good at) BUT, there is nothing selling. Now, he is working in funeral sales and the money is steady, but not near as much as it should be. People are opting for simple cremation with no viewings, memorial services, funeral services, or any extras. I don't blame them - because that's what my plans have always been. However,,,salesmen at his company (he's relatively new to this field) have seen commissions drop below half of what they were used to making.

Before this time last year, I worked part time for my church and took a second part time job with Home Depot. Then I was offered a job with Geico, which I turned down, because my church did not want me to leave so they bumped me to full time with a salary instead of hourly pay. I still work at Home Depot.

Yesterday I received my 1st year's review at THD, and it was glowing. My manager wanted to give me a $.50/hour raise, but the store manager nixed it because of the economy & the store being so slow in sales. SM wanted to give me $.25 raise, but my front end manager negotiated and got me $.30/hr. I had no idea any of this took place until they gave me the review. To be honest, I expected no raise, so I was surprised that I got anything at all - and even more surprised that my front end manager fought for me before even coming to me.

I'm thankful that we are holding our own right now - no late payments or as of yet threats of losing anything. We maintain our tithe to the church, even though some weeks it's tempting not to give. I truly believe God is carrying us through these rough times by giving us exactly what we need each week, and sometimes-well most of the time - a little extra so we can still enjoy some minor luxuries.

Our IRA is in the toilet right now - but by the time we actually NEED to rely on it - hopefully it will have recovered. We are actually $200K below what we rolled over when we retired 6 years ago. That's scary!

Lots and lots of people in my area have no jobs, so we are very thankful to be working - albeit - we are two people you would consider "under-employed". It's depressing to say the least.

[StPeteDisneyFan]

Business is good for me. I work in a liquor store. When the economy is good people drink to celebrate. When the economy stinks people drink away their sorrows. So no matter what we stay busy.:woohoo:

[big kahuna1]

Business is good for me. I work in a liquor store. When the economy is good people drink to celebrate. When the economy stinks people drink away their sorrows. So no matter what we stay busy.:woohoo:


Send me a case of Crown...Party Pleaser size. My address is::scared1:

[PolynesianPixie]

We've remained pretty fortunate...knock on wood. My hubby is a rock-star at work! :cool1: Our stocks and 401k lost a ton of money but we're still fairly young so I'm not going to sweat it. Prices have gone up and our grocery bill has been out of this world, but some of those prices seem to be coming down again now...not to mention how gas prices have plummeted! Thank God!

I'm going to reiterate what Deb said....giving to the church doesn't seem like a have to and there have been times when I've been tempted not to because our washing machine went out or something. You just have to suck it up and say "God, help me find a way to pay for this!". God has a good sense of humor and I have certainly chuckled to see how it all works out!

I think things are starting to get better...I feel it! :upsidedow

[ntsammy5]

It's depressing when you see friends and family getting hurt by this stuff and it's really depressing reading the news - my job involves credit risk management, so I tend to see lots of bad news every day - there are companies in trouble now that I would have bet would NEVER have problems.

Depression is a bad thing.


As for liquor stores - a friend owns one and his business has been brisk - they seem to do well in this kind of environment. The local casino has been laying people off though, so it appears that doesn't happen to the gaming industry.

[clkelley]

You know what's so sad, is the SMART thing to do, which is to stay out of debt, and live within your means is actually bad for the overall economy because the entire country (maybe world) is on such a credit centric cycle.

I'm sure my credit card companies are very upset with me cause I've paid them all off. I know I've gotten calls from every one of them with some type of cash advance offer.

[RNmomnFL]

The past two years have been difficult for us. Lots of living paycheck to paycheck which hasn't been comfortable. DH was laid off from his employer just before Christmas in '07 (warehouse manager for large plumbing/sewer supplier at that time) and I had to change to a full-time RN position with benefits until he was re-employed five months later. Now I work two jobs & he has a long commute to his employer. We are recovering but there still seems to be no extra money. It doesn't help that we bought a new place in 2006 which increased our mortgage by three times what it was previously. But we needed to move to a bigger home due to all the kids we have & unfortunately bought in when the market was a seller's. So we're recovering slowly. But with no savings to speak of, some credit card debt & a not-cheap mortgage we've got a way to go. My biggest concern is that my oldest graduates from college this summer & I don't think he'll be able to get a job. Oh why couldn't I convince him to study for an occupation?

[sandycheat]

My dh is an engineer and the company is doing ok...please keep wiping:rotfl2: (His company makes Toliet paper). I owned my own bakery but closed it at Christmas because buisness was horrible -we live where the poverty levels were high before the recession..now its just not pretty. Weird because our town has a new post office, library, and police station/courthouse.. But the lines at the soup kitchen are astronomical and FISH reguarly runs out of food.

I'm now working part time. I have plans to go to seminary in the fall but only if I can squirrel enough money away... I figure God asked me to go so..he'll provide;)

[LONE-STAR]

My dh is an engineer and the company is doing ok...please keep wiping:rotfl2: (His company makes Toliet paper). provide;)

If he makes Charmin tell him Thank you. That thick stuff clogs up more sewer lines in old houses.:thumbsup2

[Tigger0624]

It's been a rollercoaster for us the past year... We initialted the moved from NJ to FL because DH was offered a higher position with the company, better salary, better benefits the whoe package- just had to move to Jacksonville. So within the snap of a month, we found a house, packed up our lived in NJ (only place either of us had ever lived) and headed south with our boys.

I had gotten a full time office job with a roofing company, we had a beautiful house in a great subdivision and started a small bakery business out of the house mostly for friends and family... then we found out that DH's transfer was being delayed indefinitly- while I am already settled in the new house 1000 miles away with the kids.

For 2 months, he commuted between NJ and FL so he could still spend some time with the kids. I would pick the boys up from school on a Friday afternoon, drive the 15 hours up to NJ with the dog- pick Matt up from work and drive the 15 hours stright back- getting home Sunday Afternoon. The he would fly back to NJ every Wed morning on the first flight out and go straight to work for the rest of the week...

That all changed one weekend he was visiting- I was in a accident where I injured my back severly and lost all feeling/use of my legs. So he had to take emergency family leave... i lost my job at the roofing company and the bills just kept piling up....

Very long story short- we managed to get through, moved into a smaller house where we are pulling strings to live on just his income for right now until I either get the surgery on my back or get the disability approved...

We try to keep things down to necessity and not so much niceity- but come tax return time- that goes out the door :-)

Luckily his company seems very stable- they are even hiring... he didnt get as much of a yearly raise or bonus as we would have hoped, but its much better than not getting anything at all...

Sorry for the novel... I tend to ramble...:cutie:

[Tiggntaz]

It's been a rollercoaster for us the past year... We initialted the moved from NJ to FL because DH was offered a higher position with the company, better salary, better benefits the whoe package- just had to move to Jacksonville. So within the snap of a month, we found a house, packed up our lived in NJ (only place either of us had ever lived) and headed south with our boys.

I had gotten a full time office job with a roofing company, we had a beautiful house in a great subdivision and started a small bakery business out of the house mostly for friends and family... then we found out that DH's transfer was being delayed indefinitly- while I am already settled in the new house 1000 miles away with the kids.

For 2 months, he commuted between NJ and FL so he could still spend some time with the kids. I would pick the boys up from school on a Friday afternoon, drive the 15 hours up to NJ with the dog- pick Matt up from work and drive the 15 hours stright back- getting home Sunday Afternoon. The he would fly back to NJ every Wed morning on the first flight out and go straight to work for the rest of the week...

That all changed one weekend he was visiting- I was in a accident where I injured my back severly and lost all feeling/use of my legs. So he had to take emergency family leave... i lost my job at the roofing company and the bills just kept piling up....

Very long story short- we managed to get through, moved into a smaller house where we are pulling strings to live on just his income for right now until I either get the surgery on my back or get the disability approved...

We try to keep things down to necessity and not so much niceity- but come tax return time- that goes out the door :-)

Luckily his company seems very stable- they are even hiring... he didnt get as much of a yearly raise or bonus as we would have hoped, but its much better than not getting anything at all...

Sorry for the novel... I tend to ramble...:cutie:

:hug: 143 Tiggy:love:

[Minnie&Mickey]

Business is good for me. I work in a liquor store. When the economy is good people drink to celebrate. When the economy stinks people drink away their sorrows. So no matter what we stay busy.:woohoo:

My husband and I own a liquor store and the economy has effected us a little differently. While people do tend to drink their sorrows away, if they don't have the money, they do one of three things around here...

1. either they buy the same liquor that they loved before, but in a smaller bottle,
2. they buy a cheaper brand of liquor
3. they just shove the bottle down their pants or shove it in their purse, and try to steal it.

We had to hire extra help just to watch the floor for theft. It is amazing (and a little scary) how many people my husband catches stealing every week. To make matters worse, the liquor store that is closest to us was robbed back in January, so they are closing early every night. This has brought us a lot more customers, but it makes me more fearful of getting robbed.

I work for the school system, so my job is fairly secure right now, but there has been discussion of furloughs. My youngest daughter only has one more year of college, and works as a nanny when she gets out of her classes, so she has been lucky. My oldest daughter is married and works in the medical field and although there have been some cutbacks at the hospital she works at, she has been fine.

It's kind of scary and makes me very hesitant to make any major purchases, but my husband says we are still going to go through with purchasing an RV.

[Born 2 Fish]

My dh is an engineer and the company is doing ok...please keep wiping:rotfl2: (His company makes Toliet paper). )


Way cool ! Now THATS what I call job security ! :thumbsup2

[DaveInTN]

Even though the broader economy entered recession later, the commercial credit markets seized up in early August 2007. I work for a commercial lender, and it was as if a switch was flipped that day. For five years we were going full speed, doing real estate and asset based deals as quickly as we could. Then one day we couldn't do anything. It literally stopped overnight. A year and a half later we are beginning to move again, but it's been a bit frightening. We've downsized and lost some good people, but since my focus is on loans to healthcare providers (mostly hospitals and nursing homes), I've survived so far. Unfortunately a large portion of my compensation during the "good" years was in stock, and our stock price has literally dropped 97% since 2007! But I consider myself young at 41, and we just needed to get used to the new reality that those "paper profits" are gone.

I must have faith that God has brought us all into this for a reason. My wife and I have talked a lot about what's truly important. As we have lived in fear that my job would disappear, we've remained focused on each other, our kids and our families. As long as we have those, and can remain healthy, they can take everything else. If I do lose my job, we might lose the house, and need to sell the cars and (gulp!) even the RV....but nothing that's truly important can be taken due to lack of money. I pray everyday that those things are protected, not the material items that we can someday replace.

[ram101]

I guess I am lucky... Business is up for me and the others at work. I have a pretty secure job and since my seniority is pretty high it would take a lot to get me out!! DW is pretty secure in the dental field as well. DD21 graduates with a 4yr degree (in 3yrs) and has already been excepted to her masters program (wants to be a shrink) so none of the kids or close family are hurting. My father did loose a big chunk of CHANGE in the stock market but not big enough to hurt him (woulda killed me). Our neighbor drives truck and was laid off several months ago when the gas rates killed his business. His wife is a nurse so she is not loosing out much!

[PolynesianPixie]

My dh is an engineer and the company is doing ok...please keep wiping:rotfl2: (His company makes Toliet paper). I owned my own bakery but closed it at Christmas because buisness was horrible -we live where the poverty levels were high before the recession..now its just not pretty. Weird because our town has a new post office, library, and police station/courthouse.. But the lines at the soup kitchen are astronomical and FISH reguarly runs out of food.

I'm now working part time. I have plans to go to seminary in the fall but only if I can squirrel enough money away... I figure God asked me to go so..he'll provide;)

If he makes Charmin tell him Thank you. That thick stuff clogs up more sewer lines in old houses.:thumbsup2


Way to work together! :cool1: :thumbsup2 :lmao:

[LarryJ]

I'm obviously in the minority here, being retired, home paid for since I retired almost 20yrs. ago, no debts and all our "nest egg" is in credit union federally insured CDs except for a couple of thousand $ in some utility stocks. Medical costs a total of $460/year for the two of us and my military retirement pay is good and in fact when the economy tanks I get higher pay raises each year with this past Jan being the highest COLA since 1990.

Since 1970 we have always kept the credit card debit low and only financed the home and cars and didn't have to take out any loans for the son's college costs most of which was paid for by scholarships. Since 1990 we have paid cash for everything except the wife's car which was a business deduction when she was working.

I feel for those still working and trying to make ends meet in these troubling times which I fear we haven't seen the worst yet.

Larry

[RNmomnFL]

I must have faith that God has brought us all into this for a reason. My wife and I have talked a lot about what's truly important. As we have lived in fear that my job would disappear, we've remained focused on each other, our kids and our families. As long as we have those, and can remain healthy, they can take everything else. If I do lose my job, we might lose the house, and need to sell the cars and (gulp!) even the RV....but nothing that's truly important can be taken due to lack of money. I pray everyday that those things are protected, not the material items that we can someday replace.

ITA! It's hard not to be concerned (read depressed) over the terrible economic news that is a daily occurance, but if my family is together & well, than that's really the only important thing.
Take tonight, hubby came home totally exhausted from a long day & was rather irate as his truck is acting up again (more $$) and he has that daily commute to look forward to tomorrow, the silver lining...the repair shop was open 'til 8, we were able to drop off his vehicle & with no school for the kids & somehow no work for me (what are the odds?) he can drive my suburban tomorrow. I kept saying "let it go". We struggle to stay positive.

[keylime359]

DH and I are lucky we are both realtors and we are busy. The difference is we have to do twice as many deals to stay the same because the homes are worth half what they were. We had retail stores on Sanibel Island as well but closed them because the tourism was too iffy. I am just so thankful we did not get caught up in the whole flipping of houses. The Ft.Myers/ Cape Coral housing market is one of the worst in Florida. I work with people everyday doing short sales and it is sad to see people forced out of their home.

[fldisneyfamily]

I am not a small business owner, however I work in public safety (motorcycle cop) and I can tell you it's hard for me to write as many tickets, which is good for you all!! I just don't have the heart anymore to write tickets to people just trying to make ends meet and has a car filled with kids and groceries. Don't get me wrong, I still write tickets, but now it's mostly for the very serious violations and criminal violations. We no longer get overtime and we scramble for the extra duty details, however I have my family and all is good!! Not all of us oinkers are bad, some of us have compassion.:thumbsup2

[Born 2 Fish]

I am not a small business owner, however I work in public safety (motorcycle cop) and I can tell you it's hard for me to write as many tickets, which is good for you all!! I just don't have the heart anymore to write a tickets to people just trying to make ends meet and has a car filled with kids and groceries. Don't get me wrong, I still write tickets, but now it's mostly for the very serious violations and criminal violations. We no longer get overtime and we scramble for the extra duty details, however I have my family and all is good!! Not all of us oinkers are bad, some of us have compassion.:thumbsup2

Oinkers ???? Ooohh!! I get it !

You need to be post'n on the "Win a piggy for your siggy" thread ! :thumbsup2

I'ts hard to imagine that a law enforcement would have a slow down, but thank you for your service,,,


and thanks for the light'n up on the ticket writing.

[Shan-man]

The one good thing that's happened for me due to this economy is Disney stock tanked a couple of weeks ago after announcing poor earnings and I bought in low. It's up about 16% already, and I'm sure further recovery is ahead. I just wish my other funds weren't in the tank so I could sell them and put more in DIS stock. It's a good time to buy... a tough time, but a mighty good time.

[ram101]

I am not a small business owner, however I work in public safety (motorcycle cop) and I can tell you it's hard for me to write as many tickets, which is good for you all!! I just don't have the heart anymore to write tickets to people just trying to make ends meet and has a car filled with kids and groceries. Don't get me wrong, I still write tickets, but now it's mostly for the very serious violations and criminal violations. We no longer get overtime and we scramble for the extra duty details, however I have my family and all is good!! Not all of us oinkers are bad, some of us have compassion.:thumbsup2

Ah you motorcops are all softies!!! :lmao: :lmao:
Heck if I stop ya your getting one for each step I take up to your car!! :rotfl:
Ok so I am kidding.... I dont ride a bike but have tried to limit the amount I write and if I do... I try to go with no points violations since that kills the driver on insurance rates worse then the fine does!!

Good to see more P I Gs on here... I don't feel so alone now!

Welcome Brother in Blue

[des1954]

Thanks to all who serve as policemen :thumbsup2

There's not enough money in it for what you have to do!!

A friend of ours (FHP) was killed in the line of duty in 1987 when conducting a routine traffic stop. He pulled a guy on I-75 for having a tail light out. He picked the wrong guy to pull. The guy was a drug runner, wrestled the service weapon from Jeff & shot him in the face. The guy tried to hide out in the salt marsh behind our neighborhood (Bradenton, Fl). There were cops swarming everywhere and I guarantee you this....if it weren't for the news media being there as thick as flies, the guy would have never made it out of the marsh alive. Instead, he was arrested, put on a loooong and costly trial, and is now sitting on death row in Starke making all kinds of appeals. It would have been better for Jeff's family and the good citizens of Florida if the other cops could have shot him on sight and left his body to rot in the salt marsh.

[4mickey2]

a little over 9 months ago the company i work for had over 800 employees. as of the beginning of february we were around 500. thinking about it, i believe it is about every month and a half something has happened (lay offs, firings, etc) since fall.

i work for a printing company and our main customers are automotive (i've probably printed a lot of your dashes, radio faceplates, & shifter appliques). we also do appliance (washer/dryer appliques) and electronics (microwave appliques, harley stickers, etc). but, the auto market is the big one for us. our hours on press a day is usually about 1700-1900 and we are down to 900 as of yesterday.

we went from running 16-20. we are sending presses to our mexico plant and our plants up here (5 total) are combining into 2 plants. thursday we ran a total of 7 presses. friday we shut all the presses down and cleaned for 8 hours on all three shifts.

we don't doubt something more will be coming. the company just can't keep going like this. unfortunately, we don't hear any more rumors because all those people have been let go.

i've been there 20 yrs and we have never been like this. we are normally working saturdays (some sundays) and used to have about 10 people on a 12 hr shift. running 24/7 wasn't uncommon for us. just in time is how we do orders and now they are getting calls from costomers stating they don't need this yet.

[ftwildernessguy]

Here's an idea. It's only 50 degrees today in the Valley, but I got the scooter out, adjusted the brakes, put air in the tires, gassed it up, checked the lights, cleaned the windshield (and the visor on my helmet) and went out for a ride. It took about 30 seconds for that frown to turn upside down. I recommend a motorscooter for all who are depressed with the economic situation. Not only is it cheap to operate (100mpg and only 75 bucks a year for full coverage insurance), but it's a blast to ride around on. A trip to the mall in my car costs about a buck fifty. On the scooter - less than 25 cents. With the difference, you can buy a cup of coffee. So park that gas guzzler in the driveway, drop the insurance on it for the summer, get yourself a scoot and pocket the savings.:moped: :moped: :moped: :moped: :moped: :moped:

[ntsammy5]

Gotta look into one of those..........

It's 40 here......

[AuburnJen92]

This is what the economy is here...

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/20/how-did-st-lucie-county-school-district-come-crisi/

[Millermouseketeers]

Whoa! Is this your current district? Our district has a 10 million dollar shortfall which does not seem so bad now.

[AuburnJen92]

Yes. Here is the total summation of what they are going to do mm...

http://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/pdf/budget/Budget-Plan-Proposal-3-19-2009.pdf

[DisneyBishops]

Ah you motorcops are all softies!!! :lmao: :lmao:
Heck if I stop ya your getting one for each step I take up to your car!! :rotfl:
Ok so I am kidding.... I dont ride a bike but have tried to limit the amount I write and if I do... I try to go with no points violations since that kills the driver on insurance rates worse then the fine does!!

Good to see more P I Gs on here... I don't feel so alone now!

Welcome Brother in Blue

Thanks to all police for the work they do. I know it is not an easy job. I respect them all but some of them let the job go to their head. I can see that the police on here are officers with common sense. Thanks again for the tough job you do.

[AuburnJen92]

Ditto for me. They are also cutting our SRO's in our county and making the county commission now foot the bill if there is money to do so. They do such a service being in the schools and even though I won't be there next year, I know they will be missed tremendously for the role model figures they provide and safety of all.

[ntsammy5]

:confused3

This is cause for concern for everyone.

[Whipperwhirl]

Im in the trade show industry and I see the fear in my bosses eyes - the 35 y/o company is really struggling - I expect to be laid off for the summer. Dh works for Alcoa - cant say times are the best for them either - Im pretty scared.

[ftwildernessguy]

A local Pontiac dealer that has been in business for 87 years closed their doors and auctioned off everything last weekend. (Ruhe Pontiac, for anybody who knows the Valley). Next weekend the collision business down the street from me will auction off their tools. I don't know how long they have been in business, but it has been there at least as long as I have, some 15 years.