30 to 40 years ago; roughly from 1960 to 1970, there was a decent American system in place: after high school you either went into the military, went to college, or learned the family business (Does anybody remember the "family business"?). Find a good company to work for, stay loyal to that company--while the company stays loyal to you; get married, stay loyal to your spouse--while your spouse stays loyal to you; and buy a house/take care of that house/use the equity in the house to fund your family. That's it; that's all there was to life back then. I could go into a bit more detail, but that's pretty much it. Pretty darn simple, huh?
Back then, you could DEPEND on your CAREER and your SPOUSE. In case you haven't noticed, life has changed. "Careers" are now low-wage jobs, and you WILL be replaced EITHER by a machine OR a lower-wage worker. There is no "job security" in this world, and there hasn't been for some time. Marriages are disposable trash now, and have been for my whole life. Children (like me) are bounced between divorced or re-married parents who have NO sense of family unity or obligation; sometimes also with no concern. And let's hit that "home ownership" idea, too. It's no longer important to "own" your own residence. We all pay rent anyway; we either pay it to the landlord or the mortgage company, so most people who don't plan on having a bunch of marriages or children (myself included) don't see any need to "own" a dwelling. As far as using the equity in the home to get up-front money for things, credit cards have become the standard fare for that now. And...
There's a new breed of person now, not termed yet--I'll call them "preferred nomads"; these people like to live in an area for a few years, and then move on (my Static Girl is a preferred nomad). Why would anybody buy a house in a place where they'll only be living for a few years anyway? It makes sense for these people to just pay rent somewhere for a couple of years. I bet you know a "preferred nomad", too.
And have you ever heard one of those old-people stories about working for ONE company for 40 years, getting a retirement party, retirement pay, and a gold watch--to take home to your SPOUSE of 40 years (snicker)? I love those stories. Can you imagine job-security in this modern world; wouldn't it be cool to TRY OUT job-security for a couple of years? (Hey look; I just became a "preferred-employment nomad".) And still, MOST people think that they will have to work at some job, or 2, or 3 (been there, done that); perhaps even changing jobs frequently (still doing that), for most of their lives. THAT is just how most people think. It's wrong, but that's how it is...For the record, however, working at some dippy $9 an hour job is NOT going to get you through college, marriage, a kid, a house/car payment, vacations, or even a laptop computer (ask my girlfriend). If you're going to have a life, then you're going to need to change the game. Do you understand?
Well, I'm ready to get out of this cycle. TPG and I have found a plan. I think that it's a good plan, and it may be the ONLY plan to break away from this stupid world. This plan requires competence; this plan requires dedication and discipline. This plan has no "free ride", no "affirmative action"; this plan doesn't have any "cheaters" (and THAT alone is reason enough for all intelligent people to AT LEAST look at it). ALL people of ALL colors are welcomed, encouraged even, to take on this plan and work it--to become successful and break the normal cycle. If you want to learn more about this plan, figure out a way to e-mail us; you computer wizard, you.
Otherwise you're just a common consumer, doing "warehouse-shopping" with shallow pockets and a broken grocery cart--good luck.