The grit to survive hard times

The grit to survive hard times

By Darlene Vosen

Posted: Feb. 3, 2009

Our economy isn't doing so well. People are losing their jobs, the stock market has taken a dive and there's trouble in the housing, credit, banking and automotive industries.

So when the going gets tough economically, can we handle it? Do we have the life skills to deal with a slow economy or a recession?

Recent times have jogged my memory of stories I heard when I was young. My great-uncle Paul used to talk about the stock market collapse of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed.

The jobless rate was about 25%. Young families went back to live with their parents because they couldn't make it on their own. Many lost their homes and their savings. People literally lost everything and had to start over.

It was definitely a life-altering event. People developed certain life skills not because they wanted to but because they had to. And remember, there were no food stamps, welfare or unemployment benefits during the Great Depression for those in need.

Those who lived during the Depression walked away with life skills that, I think, have been lost in the good times of the past 20 years. Even my parents and in-laws who were born just before or during the Depression were brought up with certain life skills that I still see them practicing today.

What are those?

They don't throw anything away. Everything they have is used, reused, recycled for a different use or passed on to someone else to use.

They learned how to provide for themselves by sewing and knitting. They learned how to garden and how to can or freeze food. Food wasn't wasted; it became leftovers or the next night's casserole.

They had the skills, the knowledge and the tools to fix things, so they didn't have to buy a replacement or call a repair person.

They saved their hard-earned money. If they couldn't afford it, they did without or saved up until they could afford it. A credit card was considered unthinkable.

These skills became a way of life, even when the economy got better, even when they had money in the bank.

How much of those life skills have we learned, and how much have we passed on to our young people? How much of a reuse, recycle, bargain-hunting, coupon-clipping consumer are we? How far can we stretch the dollar?

Admittedly, it's hard to teach these types of life skills when economic times have been so good for so long. And we've been living in a boom economy, which has emphasized and encouraged us to buy and to consume at ever increasing levels.

But times are tough now. Can we learn, change and adapt?

I think President Obama has been doing a good job of keeping us informed on what to do. He inherited this bad economy from 8 years of Republican war and waste and now he's getting us back on the right track and helping the working man.

Yes, hes helping the working man by increasing small businesses taxes, and therefore they have higher expenses and will have to fire people...

So how is shutting down businesses gonna help us?

He's not shutting down businesses. He's only raising taxes on the super rich that make a QUARTER OF A MILLION!
My God! Most people make a fifth of that or less! How fair is it that these fat cats thrive while the rest of us struggle to eat and pay rent?

Obama Rulz wrote:He's not shutting down businesses. He's only raising taxes on the super rich that make a QUARTER OF A MILLION!
My God! Most people make a fifth of that or less! How fair is it that these fat cats thrive while the rest of us struggle to eat and pay rent?

If you believe that read my thread on obamas top 5 lies, it includes where hehas increased taxes on regular people like us

Obama Rulz wrote:He's not shutting down businesses. He's only raising taxes on the super rich that make a QUARTER OF A MILLION!
My God! Most people make a fifth of that or less! How fair is it that these fat cats thrive while the rest of us struggle to eat and pay rent?

spoken like a true commie , lets take from the producers to provide for the non-producers