Ummm, Price Collapse?

Hell, I think I'd almost PAY to do that. LOL

 

I think critical thinking skills are lacking in more than just kids. It’s a serious problem with humanity as a whole these days. It’s really depressing considering we have more access to information than ever before. Pretty much the whole of human history and knowledge is readily accessible to everyone, yet few bother to actually learn anything. We all just parrot what fits our own narrative, never giving thought to its accuracy.

I’m starting to digress a bit much now. I’m thread jacking the thread jack at this point.

 

I feel like this subject itself deserves its own thread. LOL

 

Well I called dibs, so get in line. And yeah, if someone hurts the people I care about there will be consequences and repercussions.

 

Isn't this what caused the housing market crash in 2008?

 

That and banks/unscrupulous lenders making subprime loans to just about anyone

 

Wait, wasn't it just two guys hitching the whole wall street? Or did I dream that up?

 

Well, I can personally tell you I saw the lender thing happen in WA state when I was up there during the crash.

 

True......

 

I'm sorry this happened to you. No kid should have to go through that. I think we, as parents, have the ability to either continue the abuse with our own kids or choose to go in the utterly opposite direction. My father chose to go the opposite direction and I'm so glad he did.

 

Maybe they will make a movie about this and starring Christian Bale.

 

Thank you for this

 

This 100%. If they can't think for themselves, someone will do it for them.

As to the economy...I wish I had some of the optimism I've read in this thread. I think we are in for some serious turmoil. Stock up on the essentials. We haven't eve seen what actual shortages look like.

 

I think we’re going to be ok.

 

eh, is Canada accepting citizen applications?

 

They’re too busy indoctrinating to teach.

 

I appreciate it, but to be clear, I wasn't looking for pity. In fact, while no father would 'wish' this, I would say that in the whole scheme of things, I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't value my life, my kid, my wife, etc., anywhere NEAR as much as I do, and likely wouldn't stand for the things I do now. All is well.

 

Agreed.

On the note above, I remember seeing a story a while back about a fairly well-known theological expert asking one of the heads of one of the major media companies why they so heavily influence their 'journalism' with biased content. Their answer?

"About 5% of the population knows what they believe, knows how to think critically, etc. We're catering to the other 95%."

 

Catering…. Now that’s a charitable term for the context.

 

Agreed. Using “because I said so” over and over just exasperates and frustrates kids. It beats them down, and that is not our job. I do often explain the rationale behind everything I tell my kids to do, but sometimes they ask when they already know. They’re protesting or trying to get out of it. There needs to be some discernment on our end as parents. When they respond to an imperative with “why?”, are they’re genuinely curious or confused? Or are they just stalling or testing boundaries?

My kids often intentionally delay obedience by asking why when they know exactly why. And I do respond with my version of “because I said so” which is, “I don’t need you to agree with me right now; I need you to obey.” In the moment, I’m not going to entertain their defiance with, “well, over time I’m helping you build the skills necessary to be a responsible, self-sufficient citizen”, or “I’m trying to keep you safe; I need you to respond to me first time so I know that when you’re not paying attention to your surroundings chasing each other out into a parking lot, you’ll stop as soon as I tell you so you don’t get hit by a car.”

My kids are like velociraptors. Always testing the fence for weak spots. It is healthy and natural for them to do so. Kids are happiest when they know their boundaries and can trust that we mean what we say every time.

 

I think the access to information and the general lack of critical thinking/knowledge are directly related. The sum total of human information can be accessed by the small device in my pocket; why do I need to have a working command of how to utilize that information? Or even a working command of logical thought?

And it’s horrifying what younger generations are (not) learning. As someone who used to have his kids in various public schools (including a widely celebrated charter school), I think they just simply stopped educating and now focus almost entirely on socialization, compliance, and teaching kids to celebrate themselves. In some areas, kids are graduating high school without the ability to read at a 5th grade level. That is an abject failure of all the adults in their lives. And universities literally shield students from having to rationally defend their own thoughts, let alone how to navigate being exposed to things they might not agree with. (The horror…)

I keep saying this about various situations, but it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. I do see that parents are awake to what their kids are not learning; I’d like to think we’ll correct course, but for at least a couple generations, it seems the damage has been done.

 

So much to love right here.

 

Oh I know you weren't looking for pity and I have none to give as that's just not how I roll. I have empathy though and I feel that for you as that kid in the closet as I know there are others out there as we speak in similar situations.

The main reason I never wanted kids is that this world stinks and it's getting worse everyday. There will be a day I won't be here to help my kid(s) deal with what I brought them into and I didn't want that.

 

They aren't doing well either.

 

Here is your answer from the Congressional Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. I couldn't read all 662 pages but it's an interesting report. There is a summary of the conclusions at the beginning of about 25 pages. It's very multifaceted but can be summed up as greed, fraud, and a lack of oversight of our financial systems.

Sadly, as we can see today they did not determine how to eliminate greed, fraud, and laziness.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...4QFnoECBIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3wt2rEkUfpcANiCM6lc_UJ

 

Just had this conversation with my wife last night. She mentioned that schools aren't teaching more of what kids actually need in their lives. Why does the average person need to know Calculus or even Algebra 2? Or even Area and Perimeter? I have largely taught elementary Math and I argued that a lot of it has to do with what's on standardized tests (a whole new rabbit hole to go down) and while I agree more time should be allotted to finances and working with time, things like Area and Perimeter are used anytime we want to know how much carpet we'll need in a room or how much sod is necessary for the back yard. How much fencing is needed to re-do the fence? To which she replied, "Well I can just Google it."

Noooooo I don't want Google to tell me everything. There are things we should know. Things we should pass down to our kids....I know we all look stuff up and there is something to be said about researching video for extraordinary instructions on complex tasks but when is it too much? I say when you're needing it to tell you how to do Area and Perimeter lol

 

Do you think I was reading well above my grade level at an early age because of good schooling? Or was it more likely because my parents read to me often, helping me develop a love of reading and gave me access to a wide variety of books?

 

I sometimes have to Google the equation for the volume of a cylinder or sphere but that's strictly a function of my terrible memory.

 

The new car industry is likely going to continue its stagflation trajectory because of supply issues, prices will continue to rise. The used car market is a different animal. Demand destruction because of oil/gas is already rippling across the auto industry as a whole. Defaults and delinquencies are up in the sub prime market. The real shocker recently thought are the prime credit delinquencies are rising sharply. Brandon’s energy policies is pushing the auto bubble to the forefront in candidates to pop first. If you have the flexibility to wait it out for 3-6 months, and won’t need credit, i would wait. Once the banks start taking significant losses on the auto loans they’re going to restrict lending heavily, but used car prices should crater.

 

lower/middle-middle classes are struggling with inflation. Food, fuel, basic necessities, etc. are becoming difficult to afford. Entry level position wages are rapidly increasing while professional/career position wages are relatively remaining the same.