Hard times in this economy, are you struggling?

[RichardTemmen]

Not yet and hopefully never.

[apycandy4you]

I was laid off 2 yrs , but thank God I do have a husband with a good job, BUT its still not easy with 4 kids.

[Tere2]

I feel bad for those of you having such a hard time. I have a full time job and benefits but living alone does get a little rough sometimes financially. Seems like I stay on the same level. I get a little raise every year but with everything always going up, I don't really see it. I'll be so glad when this house is paid for. That will be like getting a raise.

[healthfreedom]

My family and I certainly feel the pinch that this economy has craeted, but, by the grace of God, we're not in dire straits. And for that we're thankful.

[CHANEYLAKEGIRL]

My husband and I are luckily working full time, with some overtime and we each have a part time job. I wouldn't say we are struggling, but we sure are working to keep above water.

[alexism0m]

I think everyone in this economy is struggling and jobs are really hard to find i am a single mom i'm in the process of going back to school and my only source of income is child support right now i am always in between jobs i can't seem to hold a job i own my own websites but it is so expensive to promote them and i'm sure i can make good money if i continue to do numerous sites for surveys but it really is time consuming and most of the sites and they have 90 % of the same offers so if you sign up for one on one site your already registered so how are you suppose to sign up on a different site can anyone explain that to me ? i love marketing sites and actually i'm going to school for business specializing in internet marketing i'm hoping i can start to make really good money off of it but i know everything that you do on the computer is very time consuming in general anyone know of any other ways besides really affilate marketing to make quick money thats legitamite but yes everyone i think that obama has really made our economy even worse and put us further in debt anyone agree?

[Annella]

Some of these postings touched my heart. Times are tough, and if Washington doesn't stop all their bickering and posturing on the budget, we haven't seen hard times yet. I hate to be a doomsday prophet, but the writing is on the wall. Those who have been out of work and still can't find employment are growing by leaps and bounds. A lot of people that have been on Unemployment benefits are about to run out with nothing coming in after that.

What gets me is that the job situation is worse in some states than others. Some states have had little or no job loss. Alaska is one. They have been going along like before with no problems in the unemployment sector. I mean, they have always had a public that was unemployed, but thousands are not losing their jobs. In fact, there is still hiring going on up there. There are other states also that are hiring.

What gets me is that there are politicians that know the country is on a downhill slide and are doing everything they can to hasten that more. These are people we voted into office, and they are destroying us. Our Nation is in trouble like never before, and it makes me wonder if this isn't being done on purpose. If they cut the SSI, Medicare, Veterans, etc., it will have a domino effect that can not be recovered. It will cause a rift between the wealthy and disadvantaged that will be so wide, that the rich will be the only ones to create the laws of the land. Kind of what's happening now. The politicians can mess with your life because they are not governed by the same retirement, health care, SSI, etc. The Republicans, who depend on big corporations to fund their campaigns, vote to protect the rich from taxes, and to finance their corporations and golden parachutes. Right now in the house, the argument in a nutshell is Republicans want to cut SSI, Medicare, etc., but want NO taxes to be implemented on the rich or big corporations. The Democrats don't want to cut SSI, Medicare, etc., and add taxes on the wealthy and big corporations like oil, and GE, etc. Both want budget cuts, but the Republicans want it to rest on the backs of the poor.  They want to balance the budget with those who are the most vulnerable. Democrats past history has been reckless spending and must be reigned in.

The compromise is to create a budget that makes everyone tighten their belt, not just the least advantaged. Also, a budget with nothing but cuts and no added revenue is madness. However, this is what the Republicans are wanting and will not compromise an inch. So you can thank your Republicans for playing Russian Roulette with your lives today, and the Democrats for getting to this point with their past spending.