Free Republic

Our WI property taxes went up about $1000 this year.

Meanwhile in our lovely state the INS is again harassing and threatening to deport my niece's husband, a college educated, tax-paying, legal German immigrant with a decent job (over $40K/year) because she is no longer making enough money to "sponsor" him. Yet I can't go to the grocery store without seeing non-English speaking Hispanic "immigrants" with cartloads of food paid for with food stamps. I truly resent being forced to "sponsor" these people.

I know of a local elderly couple who recently lost their home due to unpaid medical bills. Apparently they weren't eligible for any assistance, despite being citizens and having paid in many thousands of $ in taxes over the years, because they owned property. I kept thinking of them when I was reading this article.

My father spent a total of 30 days in CICU the last two months from complications following a heart attack right before Thanksgiving. It's amazing what they can do with heart repair today. Dad claims it was all the prayers and love that brought him back home to his family.

?????????

All addictions being progressive, they not only drink the kool-aid, they do high colonic kool-aid as well.

"Look if you have to "fight to survive" in the United States you are hopeless." Texasforever

Are you guys blond junior high cheerleaders or what? You have now totally reversed your positions in fine ad hominen style proving your only interest is arguing for the sake of arguing. Is your concept of "winning" equal to the cutest angle and remark?

Now I'm hopeless for getting up every day and scratching to survive and to save my investment while supporting the monster with about 50% of my income. Sorry guys, you can't have it both ways.

I'm not going to look up the exact figures, so I'll just ask you some questions. How many new businesses go belly up in the first year? In the first five years? How many small businesses went bankrupt in the last twelve months? How many established businesses didn't go bankrupt but had to close?

I must be stupid for going out there and hitting my head against the wall in order to survive. After 35 years of "making it" here, I don't plan to pack my bags although it appears that this is your solution. As far as fighting to survive and hopelessness, you know darn well I'm not talking about fighting over a chicken bone. I'm talking about a hostile atmosphere, not only in the business community but all the way through our society as indicated by your willingness to shift positions in order to take a shot at someone. Engaging in sniping might be fun but it indicates you don't really have a position, you just pick a target and open up. I guess you have me convinced that I should become dependent because the daily grind just isn't worth it for a wimp like me.

Aren't laws that allow massive immigration, legal and illegal, along with totally unfettered trade a manipulation of supply and demand in the job market? Enforcing our immigration laws will go a long way in providing employment for the citizens of this country. Those profiting from our domestic markets who feel no allegiance to this country and the people who have made it great and outsource to satisfy their own greed, should be subject to some restraint. I know we have all the evils; the EPA, OSHA, a litigious society, on and on, but gutting the work force to eliminate those evils will create many unintended consequences as we are witnessing now.

A business opportunity for specialized wedding cakes?

Because it makes more sense than your posts to me. Had you read my earlier posts you would know I've run my own business for over 30 years. Your first question "do you have a job" which, quite frankly, is none of your business. Whether I live off inherited wealth, years of establishing a business or back breaking day to day labor is totally irrelevent to this conversation. Yet, you interject with the intent to insult. Does that make you feel good?

LOL! Does cat food go good with your Columbian for the Sunday morning drug threads?

Is that you Juan?

LOL! I'll stop in at WalMart and tell them hi.

My father-in-law is active with St. Vincent duPaul through the local catholic church. He says they can't keep up. Not only is the native population hurting, they are now overrun by illegal aliens. The situation he finds very frustrating is that while they don't turn anyone away, he feels the resource was set up to help the community. He said some people drive a considerable way for assistance only to be beaten there by the illegals.

Bingo! Tell me, are CD players still getting cheaper? Haven't bought one of those for years but I had to pay my electric bill this month and I filled up my truck this morning. My business accounting shows the same thing.

How could they be so oblivious as to not know what's going on? It's their job to know.

I've been self-employed for over 30 years. For most of that time, ran a crew between four and ten guys. In the previous recessions I always had plenty of work although my crew was smaller and it was pretty much job to job. This winter is the first time ever that there were times I had no work. Over the last three years, I have no crew, just my son and I. I love it when people imply that because you have enough "hair" to have your own business you must be rich.

Granted, I can not be laid off but it can get so competitive with downward pricing caused by illegal immigration and scarcity of work. Then throw in the laid off factory workers doing small projects to boot. I'm fortunate, I have virtually no debt except, of course, current business accounts and taxes.

Huh? What business might that be? Oh, that's right. All self-employed people are rich and their clients couldn't possibly include the middle class that's being gutted. Do you have any idea what's happening out in the ma & pa business community? Try and get a business loan if you have a product or service that the bank deems "should be outsourced." Would averaging 20-25 hours a week productive time as opposed to the normal 40-50 hours per week be technically laid off? Do your fixed expenses go down? Oh wait, utility and insurance costs are going up. The trades are being undercut by three layers of subcontractors with illegal alien labor and then there's the property taxes which always go up. Waking up every morning begins the fight for survival.