An Update on yesterdays story The rapidly failing economy will change Demographics! It's moving Quickly and daily!

Yesterday I posed the question At what point can Americans no longer afford to work where and at where they want but must settle for less to survive? I was just in the process of preparing an update to the situation based on what I read this morning but while I am putting this together I just heard an analyst scratching the surface of reality for the first time saying he sees $7 gas. I will guarantee you $10 and he feels it will begin to dictate where you live in the future. I will guarantee it in many instances. Bingo but it is already here!

Yesterday I said I have been thinking about much of this for years but at one time here in America it was thought of as Communistic or something! However the time has come. First I have to tell you, what is happening to our oil prices does not have me a happy camper. I would not be averse to the daily skyrocketing prices if I did not know speculators, the mega rich were driving up the prices, only to become obscenely wealthy at the expense of average Americans. I am insulted watching as the Average Americans life gets increasingly tenuous because of regulations put in by Bush to further enrich the affluent while squeezing you ever tighter and those that should don't friggen get it and Bush just denies it and carries on! .

The middle class has to be dropped a little lower and the purposely established new societal order Bush has been actively implementing at least since 2004 with a working class to service the affluent is almost finished. you see natural causes being allowed to do just that highlighted by Katrina and New Orleans. Anyway I am concerned this will all come to a head around election time and it will lead to total world chaos! I have written so many books, Pamphlets, Stories, Letters to Politicians, Media outlets, over the years I think I am ready to give up but it is happening!.With that said world wide chaos aside, this is all coming to a head societally and of late I have found myself wondering at what point can average Americans no longer afford to work? Or to have to relocate because of the price of oil and gas! I hate to say it but I see some positive things coming out of all this. I keep seeing stories of people hawking everything they own so they can keep ahead of the debt collectors. There are daily stories of people Hawking their gold teeth and Pawn shops doing an increasingly lucrative business. Our society was going the route of the Roman Empire which is normal in the cycle of life of a society. Bush has merely sped up that process along with everything else. work place killings, murder suicides, and mass shootings and killings are increasing as societal conditions get increasingly tenuous.

I can remember after 9/11 when the idiots in charge stupidly said no one is going to change our way of life! in the same token I remember when oil first started skyrocketing and gas at the pump started climbing. People stupidly said they'll never curb my driving. Well! in both instances even a fool can tell you, you are only saying "Thank You Sir give me another" You are just asking for things to get worse. as a little child I learned shut up or put up period and most people are to naive to realize that. as I said about any fool! At a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Americans have curtailed their driving at a historic rate. The Department of Transportation said figures from March show the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded.Yesterday I highlighted that people are learning to compromise and some of you responded with your own adjustments. Today it is being felt deeper and moving rapidly! Consumers are feeling worse about their personal finances and prospects - far worse than government statistics about the economy would indicate. Only a few years ago, Americans who considered themselves middle class were scrimping to pay for their kids' college education. Now, many of them are struggling to cover far more basic needs - gas and groceries.

Take Stacy and Chuck Burris. The Pittsburgh, Pa., couple view themselves as solidly middle class. In recent months, however, they've felt anything but. Burdened by high cost of food and fuel, they are having trouble balancing their budget even though Chuck Burris earns a "comfortable salary" as a software engineer. The parents of five children, three of whom are grown, have essentially stopped eating out and entertaining and are considering canceling the annual family vacation to Maine. They keep to a Spartan shopping list and have planted a larger garden. Instead of buying their 12-year-old daughter summer clothes, they are turning her pants into shorts by cutting off the legs and getting hand-me-downs from family.

Never before in previous recessions have they had to cut back like this. "We are struggling to stay in the same place," said Stacy Burris, 47. "You don't mind pinching pennies to send your kids to college. You do mind pinching pennies when it's simply to buy some eggs." Many others nationwide are feeling similarly strapped. Recent consumer sentiment studies and polls show that Americans feel worse about their financial situations and the economy than they have in decades, even as economists debate just where things stands. And people don't expect things to improve anytime soon. "Consumers are very financially stressed, more than what's indicated by the job and income statistics," said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Economy.com. High fuel and food costs, coupled with miniscule raises and shrinking home values, led more people to report that their personal finances have worsened than at any time since 1982, according to a recent consumer survey by Reuters and the University of Michigan.

The future looks grim to them, too. Just one in five households surveyed expect their finances to improve during the next year, the least favorable in half a century. Three-quarters of those surveyed said they expected the nation's economic troubles to continue over the next year, the highest level since 1980. They predict the unemployment rate will jump by one percentage point to 6.0% by year end. "Consumers are the ones in trouble here," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist with consulting firm Capital Economics. Consumers are being pummeled by plummeting home values, a weak stock market and soaring grocery and gas costs. Weighing even more heavily on consumers is uncertainty about where the economy is headed, said Ken Goldstein, economist with The Conference Board. It's unusual to have such slow growth for so many months and Americans don't know how to respond. "What's really pushing consumers into a funk is the fear of what's coming next,

" Goldstein said. "You can't be sure you know exactly where we are or where we're going. Consumers are afraid that the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train." That's exactly how Chris Ackerman feels. He said that he and his wife, who live just outside Seattle, find that their paychecks no longer cover their rent, student loans and daily living expenses. That is forcing the young couple to turn to their credit cards to make ends meet. They've already cut out much of their entertainment and trips to visit her family and friends 30 miles away. If gas and grocery prices continue to rise, Ackerman, who works for an importer, said he'll have to stop contributing to his 401(k) plan. He doesn't see many other options. "The worst part is looking to the future," said Ackerman, 25. "What if everything keeps getting worse. That's the scariest part. Is my grocery bill going to double again? What will we do?" Making a good living, but still feeling strapped

* Today I reiterate The compromises are just beginning and I hate to say it when this is done we will be better, stronger, and more serviceable and functional as a society but we have some changes to make. Gas prices have been increasing for 20 straight days. Here in New England it is the price of heating oil next year and beyond that has me concerned! As I keep hearing of hot gas compensation, a gas tax holiday, using our oil reserves, curbing oil co. tax incentives, I hate to say it people but you are screwed. They have your number, they know Bush is complicit, and Congress is worthless. This is just beginning and I see $10 gas at the pump in the not too distant future. What would that do to your lifestyle? Let me give you an idea!

** People have begun to evaluate their daily habits.Do I have to go out to eat? Do I need those trinkets? new clothes? Can I find a cheaper place to shop? A closer place? Do we need that vacation? Can we stay local? Aah Local now there is the key. There is our future. Go back to your roots. It is normal but most Americans are not use to compromise. Get use to it. I was wondering how much higher does the price of gas have to be before many people can no longer afford to work and would be forced to make a compromise that in the end may be better for them, society, and our communities? Think of your situation or maybe you don't want to but last weeks AAA study showed it cost an estimated $850 per month to own a car. You can handle that at at $10 an hour if you lived with your parents, had a room mate, or cheap rent. $20 an hour would do it and give you a comfortable place to live and you could own a house and continue to drive to work if there was 2 making that money and you were lucky enough not to get caught by those teaser rate mortgage loans. What it all boils down to is many people are screwed and if they are to make it we have to go back to the way society was in 1942 and we will be all the better for it though you may not like it!!

*** I see the necessity for people to maybe take a lesser paying job to stay local. I see a return to down towns. A resurgence of local life. a return of local stores, local theaters, and local points of concern and interest. I see a return of public interest in their cities,more concern over what is happening their, more community involvement. I do not like what is happening but I see it bring many families and communities back together as only hard times can and sadly you see it every day. It will soon be not because of natural disasters but our own man made disasters. We will persevere! How do you feel today?

James Joiner

Gardner Ma

www.anaveragepatriot.com