How has the ressesion affected our hobby

Since the early eighties, wages have not stayed up with inflation,but credit has been more available, thus getting alot of people into debt. we all want to live the same life stlye of our parents, but if you adjust for inflation, most of us are making alot less then they did.

 

Reading through this thread makes me wonder sometimes if I'm the only one who understands that the purpose of a business is to do something that makes a profit for it's owners? Not to provide people with jobs. A business has expenses it can control, and expenses it doesn't have control over - utilities, taxes, permits, compliance with regulations, etc. plus where there's a union, employee wages. If those costs are increased eventually the company either ceases to profit and shuts down - or moves someplace to escape these costs. So it seems to me before people complain about "corporate greed" maybe they should look at government greed and union greed driving jobs overseas. Along with all kinds of old tin; '56 Packard and a '52 Olds 98 the most recent, plus I purposely scrapped a buildable '75 Trans Am after a guy dicked me around on it so much I began to wonder if he'd at least buy me dinner before screwing me.

 

For me being on Social Security, it's time to downsize.

 

I don't know guys. I know that prices for just about everything is going up and as a shop owner I have to pass the buck along to the customer. But that being said I have seen absolutely no slow down in work. In fact since the recession started our shop has only become busier we have brought on board a couple more guys and I see no slow down in the near future. For those at home I feel your pain as more and more of our profit is squeezed from us.

 

I'm working my regular office job (commission, not salary) and a weekend job at a sports shop, just to pay the bills and try and put some money away for the truck. Of course, working on the weekends doesn't leave me any time to work on the truck. But I'd rather have no time at the moment, then have to sell.

 

Man,I respectfully dis agree with you about union wages,If companies shared the proffit with its employees we would all be better off instead of a few.If a company respected its workers inwhich they owe it all too because without them there would be no company.Whats wrong with paying a liveable wage 9 10 12 dollars an hour is not a liveable wage.It is ashame that a person has to belong to a GOOD union to make a decent wage work in a safe work place but it is what it is.Companies most of the time look at its employees as the problem with their profits labor cost is at the top of their list to cut when infact they need to look at upper management and waste first.As for safety most companies dont care how dangerous a job is as long as they have some dumb ass to do it or some guy needing to feed his family and they got him between a rock and a hard spot.If I owned a company we would be in it together wages would be the last place I would cut along with a safe place to work my company would not have to form a union to share the wealth but greed is what is wrong with todays problems

 

There are plenty of government regulations and rules that cost employers LOTS of money to comply with. Many are simply BS rules that add to the bureaucracy, not to the benefit of anyone but the government.

So, what is a "livable" wage??? Define this for us. Employers have to be able to stay IN business to pay the employees. As rustyny said, the purpose of a business is to make money for the OWNER(s)! If it takes in $100 and has $120 worth of expenses, it's not going to be in business for long. And, it surely isn't going to have any profits to "share" if its doors are closed! This so-called "corporate" greed is compounded by the greed of the government, who does NOTHING for the money it takes in! Companies and individuals take ALL of the risks! Everything from research, production, sales...ALL of that is paid for by companies and owners. The government just has their hand out and says "Gimme 50% of eveything you make!"...the government risks NOTHING!

Union wages, among other things, HAVE driven production overseas! If it cost me $5.00 to build a widget here in the USA, and cost only $1.00 to builkd the very same widget in another country, guess what? I'm going to buiild that in the other country and use that $4.00 worth of "evil profits" to further expand my company, hire more people, which results in MORE tax revenue for the goiverment, BTW. If I try to stay in business selling that widget that cost me $5.00 against my competition, I am not goiing to be in business for long.

 

Besides DJing car shows, I also draw cars at shows too. (See avatar) Although I picked up three new shows to DJ this past year, the art work has slowed down. People would rather use what money they do have to put into the rod or custom instead of art. Plus the hot weather we had this year has kept me home to because of health issues.

 

I dont know how much is the optimal or precieved so called livable wage? However no matter how little you take in if you look around there is always someone who is doing better with less than you take in. Many Hambers can make a car out of almost nothing. My youngest son only makes the minium wage yet he has over $10,000 saved up. No debt and ownes 10 acres and a dozen vehicles. however If he owned a high maintance woman he would likely be pennyless and deep in debt.

 

I think man made glowbull warming is a myth. However something might be up with the planet? but its not caused by mans activities. http://www.theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/ Who knows for shure?

 

Of course global warming is real. How niave are you to deny that the large majority of scientists studying this are in agrement that human activity is the cause. Is it reversable is the big question as time is running out for millions of people that will be affected in the future. Since we as a community of car enthusist's are affected by this, denial is not where we should be going.

 

A live able wage is as such " a man works 5 even 6 days makes enough money to feed ,cloth,house his wife and kids able to pay for a comfortable home ,send his kids to school with decent clothes on their backs and maintain decent transportation.And you aint going to do it on no damn $10 12 even 15 an hour you might if you inherit a home to live in.Where you live has a big differance too, Do you think it is fair that the people actually doing the work should be paid $12 an hour while the CEO makes $6,000,000.It is a crying shame that these assholes take up air.That is why you need a good union brother.Whats wrong with the CEO only making a $1,000,000 and spread the rest to the people that are doing the work

 

Road apples

 

Man made glowbull warming is a myth. goes to the fact you cant take something and make it into nothing. the basic elements will still exist. Likewise you cant take nothing and make it into something. like pepertual motion it cant be done. everything in on around the earth has always been and always wil be. There are no unnatural things. granted many like a snakes poisin or gas from a volcanic vent will kill . but they are natural. Man cant create any new things. And man cant create heat oR cold. Its absurd to think that mans activities has any real or lasting effect on the earth ot its climate. It more absurd to think man can mitigate cilmate change. There is no optimal or normal climate. like snowflakes no two days are the same. The earth is and has always been under constant change. The earth would be doing what it is going to do even if man had never walked tthe earth. Ryan feel free to delete this post. But I just gotta call this bull what it is OldWolf

 

Carlos, why shouldn't a CEO of a company make the money? He is the one responsible to ensure the doors stay open, the product is made and sold; and in a publicly-traded company, ensure the shareholders are happy...after all, they have invested THEIR money in the company! He ultimately shoulders the responsibility of what the company does! Why should he have to get twenty dollars an hour? Granted, the CEO that walks away from a company that is ten million in the hole, with a five million dollar golden parachute is inexcusable - he should walk away with ZERO for driving that publicly-traded company into the ground! In case you have been asleep for the last three years in particular, the oil exploration in the US has all but stopped. More and more businesses are being driven out of business, or have relocated overseas because of regulations and tax increases. The United States has the HIGHEST corporate tax rate of all industrailized nations. REAL unemployment in the US is close to TWENTY percent, as this counts the unemployed that have simply given up looking, rather than just counting people drawing the now-99-week "benefits". The bottom 50% of wage earners in the US pay ZERO income taxes!!! Did you know that? And yet, the top 5% of earners in the US pay over 54% of taxes. What is fair about this? Numbers are from the IRS, by the way...

Besides, it is NOT "big business" that makes the world go around, it is the SMALL businessman that is the power behind the economy! HE takes the risks. He invests his money into keeping the company going. He shoulders the ultimate responsibility for keeping that company in the black. So, should he give up his salary to make the employees happy? Guess what, he already DOES! He gets paid LAST! He has to pay YOU, the employee, plus pay the withholding, FICA, SS, and all that for not only himself, but everyone that works for him. He has to pay insurance, licenses, fees, utilities, rent, and the rest of the overhead, BEFORE he gets paid! And, I'll bet you did not know that he generally counts his business income as personal income, and pays a LOT more in taxes than you think. So, that guy down the street with the parts shop, grocery store, or gas station is not making near the killing that you think. You might stop and thank that owner for taking his risks so that you can buy the goods and services that he provides, instead of perpetuating the class warfare nonsense you espouse.

Always keep in mind - the government does NOT produce anything! It simply takes what you have to give to those who do not. It's called "redistribution of wealth". Again, what is fair about taking from those that actually produce and forcibly giving to the slugs of society? Far too many people have their hands out, saying "Gimme!", without actually working for it. Why should you or I be coerced to give them anything? Charity is good. Confiscation of wealth and property is not.

 

Hey MonkeySpunk79
I understand where you are coming from about the hagglers...however in the real world something is only worth what somebody is willing to pay. If you can only get somebody to pay 5K for a car that you have 25K into guess what....that car is really a 5K car. I have had people get bent out of shape and act real snotty when I try to haggle with them and make them an offer I'm willing to pay. It's a game, if they don't want to take my offer all they have to do is decline. Getting snotty about it does not make me want to come back and offer them more later, it just makes me think they are a jerk and I'm happy to let them drag their junk home with them. I once offered a guy at a swapmet $20 for a badly cracked original '36 Ford steering wheel that he wanted $50 for. He got completely bent out of shape and started acting real insulted and would not even talk to me. Funny thing was that a restoration kit containing the special putty and glue to fill all of the cracks in the steering wheel costs about $100 and it would take me at least a day of sanding, grinding and painting to restore the steering wheel and a nice reproduction steering wheel can be had for $170. In retrospect I'm damn lucky the guy did not give it to me...I simply bought a reproduction and did not have to spend my weekend struggling with a piece of crap.

 

GLOBAL WARMING - Take the time and look into the HAARP program in Alsaska.
Read all about then make you own decision - They shoot radio waves into the atmosphere slicing open the ozone layer in order to send the radio waves on different frequencies than what we use now. Everytime it has been used people see odd colored clouds. Just such patterns happened right before the tsunami off the Phillipines and just before the major earthquake in Japan. Don't take my word for it, take the time to look it up.


UNFAIR WAGES - Look it up, there are companies (though very, very few) who do pay an honest wage and share thier profits. Those are also companies that don't have unions, and don't want union's because they don't want to protect the goof-off's and the as- kisser's. At one time we needed union's to get paid decently, now union's for the most part do nothing but, take money from the hard worker and protect the bum's from getting fired.

Yes, I do agree there are outragous regulations on business in America, but that is due to lobbyist's and politicians. Now in the last few years, without a doubt corporate greed in America has ruined this country. I think there are MANY business, wall street and political people who should be behind bars and money should be returned, but that's not the politically correct way anymore.

In the end all you can say is "Thanks NAFTA !"

In final I would like you all to remember this - "Less is More".
(PM me if you want me to explain)

 

I've always had a few projects going at any given time. Since 2008/9 I do nothing but work just to try and scrape by, and it still feels like I'm going backwards. Just no longer any time or money for fun stuff. I still have a few parts but don't want to let go of them because I know I won't get jack for them - I also don't see anything hot rod related for sale anymore where i used to - I used to spend hours at swap meets and on Ebay just drooling over multi carb intakes and vintage flathead speed parts. Maybe everyone's doing same?

 

Men can own women?

 

I was very fortunate when I was working. I had plenty of spare change to throw around on cars and traveling to out of town events. Now that I'm retired its a totally different story. If I happen to hang around for a while I need to make sure what I have lasts. One of the best pieces of advice I've heard in while came from my doctor which was: Don't let your kids bankrupt your retirement.

 

We actually opened a shop this summer. So far we have kept it full. Reasonable prices and flexible builds make a defference. We can work in stages, budget increments, etc.

 

Did you get yours without a title?

 

Yes its affected my hobby, i lost my job a few weeks ago and all plans are on hold. My hours had been poor over the last 2 years but in some way i think it's helped me in some strange ways.
Okay there alot i can't get done now but still alot i can. I've learned more about swinging spanners, with the support of friends i've done stuff myself with someone showing me what to do. We share tools around and use eachother for what ever someone is good at. I can't spanner so well but good at trim and glass was my trade. I fit someones glass, they spray a panel for me. I'll do some striping and get some parts back.
Instead of meeting up and eating out and paying bar prices we all pitch in and have a meet around friends houses. Have far better times, excuse to use the car more and have some great nights. Don't buy food at shows, i bring my caravan and do a cook up for everyone and a breakfast to die for. All saves money and knowing the show food here you're far better off bringing your own and not running off into the woods after a dodgy burger!
Don't get me wrong my car is now so far away from where it should be and it gets me down. However i still have a car, i'm now better at swapping stuff, doing deals and hunting out a bargain and getting stuck in and less afraid of doing things myself. if anything the lack of money has brought our small circle of friends together, we enjoy the good times and help eachother out. In many respects the last 2 years for me have been a huge stuggle but having my friends and family around me, being in good health and still having my ride (although way off how i want it) and huge laughs with my equally poor mates is priceless to me. Far more folk in the world worse off than me and for that i feel lucky to be where i am. We're all still here able to use a computer and use the HAMB so that has to be something to be happy about.

 

Not really own them. But a marrage license can let your woman own you! But there are women who cost a lot to keep up. My wife states if something ever happened to me she would never remarry. She states a husband is the one critter she never wants to own again.

 

I see, thanks for clarifying.

 

I think it's fairly obvious he means cars that are owned out of luxury vs necessity. Late 90's vehicles can be purchased rather inexpensively for those looking for reliability without the hassle of payments.

 

That's the beauty of America, no one is stopping you from starting your own company and being the best CEO you can be. Trust me, it's a lot easier complaining about *other* CEO's than it is to start a company and being one yourself

 

Rgaller:Been a CEO since I was 17 Everybody ate before I did Its called Head of Household.You take care of your family.And thats what most corporations have forgot.

 

Gentlemen, be careful. This thread is drifting toward the disallowed.

 

Hummm...Good point. I'll go with ya on that.