The American Dream illustrated with Lego

[JRandall]

Found this on a link at YahooFinance, kind of neat

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-dream-illustrated-with-legos-brookings-200611923.html

Edited August 24, 2014 by jaisonline
Changed thread title to include "Lego"

[exciter1]

Found this on a link at YahooFinance, kind of neat

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-dream-illustrated-with-legos-brookings-200611923.html

 

It sure didn't look like Dusty Rhodes to me???

[Ed Mack]

Thank you for a very entertaining and simplified explanation.  I learned something today.  

[Fcbarcelona101]

Very interesting, though I'll keep my thoughts on the message to myself lol.

 

Thanks for sharing~

[exciter1]

Very interesting, though I'll keep my thoughts on the message to myself lol.

 

Thanks for sharing~

 

I just thought it was funny an Australian guy was giving an opinion.

[Darth_Raichu]

He ASSUMED everyone wanted to go to Q5 (top most money group).  I can guarantee you, for anyone born and grow up in Q1 (bottom group), Q4 does not look that bad.  Plus, in the US, there is a pretty good opportunity to go from Q1 to Q3, Q4, or Q5.

 

 

This discussion is moot anyway. If you zoom out, that Q1 looks mighty fine if you are one of the people living in bottom rung in 3rd world countries

[Huskers1236]

Bottom line, if you try, you will, for the most part, succeed.  Imagine that.  This holds true for just about everything, not just wealth.

[Ed Mack]

It is getting more and more difficult to move up in the US in my opinion.  The costs of basic necessities are going through the roof.   Healthcare costs are insane.  As a small business owner, it is just churning dollars and paying yourself with a salary that in many cases hasn't increased in years.  It's a slow suck.  Sure, people who choose the right profession or business at the right time can move up, but most Americans are just treading water, with stagnant wages and increased living costs.

 

I used to be a lot more positive, but hard work and persistence doesn't always translate into success now.  Even a quality education puts you in a huge hole financially before you get a decent job.  Many Americans are in a daze, working harder for no status gain, more worried about managing their Facebook account than their bank account.  Yet the stock market keeps chugging along, blowing off worldwide events and changing the rules to suit their needs. Maybe investing in LEGO makes sense in the new "bizarro" we all live in.

[JRandall]

It is getting more and more difficult to move up in the US in my opinion.  The costs of basic necessities are going through the roof.   Healthcare costs are insane.  As a small business owner, it is just churning dollars and paying yourself with a salary that in many cases hasn't increased in years.  It's a slow suck.  Sure, people who choose the right profession or business at the right time can move up, but most Americans are just treading water, with stagnant wages and increased living costs.

 

I used to be a lot more positive, but hard work and persistence doesn't always translate into success now.  Even a quality education puts you in a huge hole financially before you get a decent job.  Many Americans are in a daze, working harder for no status gain, more worried about managing their Facebook account than their bank account.  Yet the stock market keeps chugging along, blowing off worldwide events and changing the rules to suit their needs. Maybe investing in LEGO makes sense in the new "bizarro" we all live in.

 

 

I agree that things have definitely changed almost radically since just 2001.  Technology is moving at such a rapid pace that those who can't adapt are being left behind, those in their 50's and 60's with limited understanding of the internet, excell, Word, etc. are going to be forced out of jobs enmasse in just a few more years as younger employees in their 30's and 40's continue to move up and have the tech knowledge that these older works generally don't have and aren't willing to acquire..  Case in point: I work with two men who are in their early 60's who do heart testing at my place of employment and both have Masters Degrees and make probably $10-15 on average more per hour than the rest of us in my department(And we do what they do on top of other types of work).  They are both very competent and do their work very well, but neither have cell-phones and both are very stubborn when it comes to adapting to work requirements revolving around when to leave for the day, adapting to policies, etc.  I believe this huge group of people being paid well in our Country who don't want to adapt and haven't yet are going to be forced out by the younger managers and CEO's as their co-horts also in their 30's and 40's continue to move up.  Those who are younger tend to work harder and longer in many cases also(not all, but many). 

 

As far as the outlook on America's future for those without education, many of the mid and late 20's employees I know don't have loyalty towards the company anymore, because companies aren't long term loyal towards their employees any longer at most places.  These young workers are also going back to school to get masters degrees or to increase their education by the boatload.  For everyone else who has a bachelor's degree they will have limited mobility unless they are ambitious or seek increased training.  For those who don't have a degree and aren't in sales or trained skills(electrician, welder, etc.), basically anyone in retail, there is little to no mobility anymore.  I myself am in my 30's and am going back to school also.

 

The best decisions most middle class Americans can make is to live within their means, buy a car and a home below their means, stay relatively active through regular exercise, and to save money in both their 401k/Roth(if they have one), and to save some money for emergencies and the future.  Parents, unless they are wealthy or their child is extremely hard working and intelligent, should not be paying for their kids to attend State College.  Youth today should be forced to go to community college to save money if they aren't sure what they want to do with their career(which is most youth of today).  For those youth without guiding parents or without a work ethic to do well in High School or College there really is little hope for them unless they change their attitudes or get an early start in a trade.

[Ed Mack]

I think we all have to decide what the definition of the "American Dream" is.  I think it has a different meaning for many.  People might be satisfied with less than years ago.  

[Jojoyojimbi]

i think this thread needs locked before we turn it into a wealth redistribution fiasco, i had probably 6 paragraphs typed up and i was getting more and more worked up before i realized this is a lego forum and it doesn't matter here

[Ed Mack]

i think this thread needs locked before we turn it into a wealth redistribution fiasco, i had probably 6 paragraphs typed up and i was getting more and more worked up before i realized this is a lego forum and it doesn't matter here

It's a LEGO forum and it's also about money as well.  I think we could mange to have an intelligent conversation on the topic if people respect one another.  Or maybe I'll just lock it and we can discuss the EOL of the Duplo Big Zoo.

[naf]

As long as my family is healthy, we have food on the table, a roof over our heads, and some money in the bank, I'm happy.  I really have no desire to live any kind of extravagent life.  So I would agree that not everyone is looking to get to that Q5 level, and the "American dream" differs quite a bit depending on who you ask.

 

My parents keep nagging me to buy a bigger house because the kids have to share rooms in our current home.  Oh no!  lol.  I think its funny, my parents were of a generation where they crammed 6-8 kids into a tiny house, and they always told me how much fun they had growing up.  I think people get this idea in their head that if they aren't constantly upgrading then they aren't successful in life.  The kids are perfectly happy sharing rooms, and we like our home the way it is for the time being.  Honestly, the only time I ever thought about moving was to have more room for stashing Lego

[Darth_Raichu]

...

 

The best decisions most middle class Americans can make is to live within their means, buy a car and a home below their means, stay relatively active through regular exercise, and to save money in both their 401k/Roth(if they have one), and to save some money for emergencies and the future.  Parents, unless they are wealthy or their child is extremely hard working and intelligent, should not be paying for their kids to attend State College.  Youth today should be forced to go to community college to save money if they aren't sure what they want to do with their career(which is most youth of today).  For those youth without guiding parents or without a work ethic to do well in High School or College there really is little hope for them unless they change their attitudes or get an early start in a trade.

 

This exactly.  People need to understand and be able to distinguish between NEEDS and WANTS.

 

 

I think we all have to decide what the definition of the "American Dream" is.  I think it has a different meaning for many.  People might be satisfied with less than years ago.  

 

It is definitely a perspective. At some point though, one needs to realize when enough is enough. 

[TheOrcKing]

I am just going to say I rather live comfortably than extravagantly. A person does not need gold plated toilets and car rims or a house with a hundred rooms or give birth to ten kids. I have boiled down my needs to some simple foods, one vehicle, a roof over my head, a computer, and some Lego. I do not go out to eat at a restaurant, get drunk at some tavern, watch the new movie in a theater when I can wait to see it from the comforts of home in a few months, or a bunch of other unnecessary to live activities. Sure, I would like to do more frivolous things but those simply are only 'wants' and I know I feel better having something stashed away just in case for those curveballs life can throw in your direction and usually has a habit of doing so regardless of whether you like it or not.

Yes I know the Lego is considered as more of a 'want' but my own 'need' for sanity outweighs that scale so there.

[Sauromosis]

Ed your legos are probably worth 100k am I close?

[jaisonline]

I watched the video. It has nothing to do with Lego whatsoever except he used Lego (hopefully not counterfeit bricks to avoid Ghostdad's wrath) in making his political, racial, and economical points. I'm going to move this into this forum's sub-thread.

Minor note : Legos is not a word. It is Lego even in plural form :)

[exciter1]

I watched the video. It has nothing to do with Lego whatsoever except he used Lego (hopefully not counterfeit bricks to avoid Ghostdad's wrath) in making his political, racial, and economical points. I'm going to move this into this forum's sub-thread.

Minor note : Legos is not a word. It is Lego even in plural form

 

It is a verb, "Lego my Eggo".

[Ed Mack]

Ed your legos are probably worth 100k am I close?

...and then some.  Sure, I know what you are thinking...."Ah this guy has thousands of dollars worth of (fill in the blank), how bad can it be?"  Well, it's all relative.  I see what I make in money now at my business and what we made years ago and we are working harder than ever to just keep status quo.  Sure, I can eat a nice steak for dinner, but I also work 70+ hours a week to pay for it.  We are on a slow decline in this country and it's going to get worse unless we can bring better jobs and pay back into the US.  The minimum wage jobs being created won't support the LEGO secondary market.  

[exciter1]

I do look back and remember talking to my Dad and all his friends about how hard they worked in the chemical and plastics factories.  They complained about long hours, shift work, overtime, double-time, holiday pay, etc.  In reality, most of them followed a script and pressed a button or two every few hours, checked gauges, and loaded a truck or rail-car a few times a month.

 

They made good money (hourly and non-salary), had great benefits, the conditions only got better over the years with regulations, and they received production bonuses (which are unheard of nowadays).

 

Now everything is contracted out or you are on a lower salary rate, no holiday pay, health benefits are less and you have to pay premiums, the staff is 1/10th of what it used to be, and you might get a ham at Christmas time.  Not to mention 50% off of all the factories have been shutdown, automation is replacing jobs and the facilities are shipped overseas.

 

Good times!

[JRandall]

I watched the video. It has nothing to do with Lego whatsoever except he used Lego (hopefully not counterfeit bricks to avoid Ghostdad's wrath) in making his political, racial, and economical points. I'm going to move this into this forum's sub-thread.

Minor note : Legos is not a word. It is Lego even in plural form

 

Somebody needs to designate GhostDad as the official Lego Counterfeit police

[Grolim]

Somebody needs to designate GhostDad as the official Lego Counterfeit police

 

 

It would be great for secondary market prices if such an institution was a reality