Philadelphia Gives Condoms to 11-Year-Olds

[moostraks]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/philadelphia-kids-young-11-condoms-nations-highest-teen/story?id=13373272

Read the whole story if you get a chance. I was a bit aghast at how perverse childhood has become for our children and I grew up in Miami during the '80's!!!!! If ever there was an article to inspire homeschooling this should be one of the top ones I would suggest at least for the portrayal of inner city school children left unattended.

After our bout with public education for our eldest who has sold her soul and believed(s) that she was/is entitled to explore her "needs" I thought it was part and parcel of her other issues. It seems this is much more prevalent in the public venue than even I suspected. Color me horrified...

[Krugerrand]

"Let's face it," he said. "You can't stop kids from having sex if they want to. It would be great if they hold off, but we can't stop it. What we can do is improve responsibility. So while we have to be thoughtful about randomly distributing condoms in the first grades, sex behavior and its consequences are part of the lives of young teens through young adulthood."

Does it count as improving responsibility if you teach a child to rely on somebody else to provide a condom?

[cubical]

As much as I want to stop a burglar from entering my house, they always find a way in, even after I tell them to stop. I usually just keep the front door unlocked now to make it easier for everyone.

[iamse7en]

Speaking of Krugerrand, i had a dream last night that the gold price crashed to around $400/oz, and then I bought my first 1 oz gold coin - the one I chose was a krugerrand. I was sad when I woke up and realized it was a dream. I could use a collapse in precious metals. I don't have enough!

[Roxi]

Unfortunately this is about the right age to start giving them out. Many kids are becoming sexually active at 12. I personally will lock my daughter in a cage before I allow anything like this at this age, but then again, we homeschool and won't be allowed to go to boy/girl parties at that age.

I wasn't able to read the article since my internet is being weird, I do hope though that the city isn't paying for this, and I don't agree with anyone handing out condoms to children unless it is the parents, family members, or health care professionals.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

And yet any 11 yr old engaging in such activity is considered to be breaking the law. Welcome to the world of sending mixed signals...........

[specsaregood]

I'd rather they give out condoms to kids that request them than hand out abortions later.

[fisharmor]

And, he said, most teens have no idea that they are exposing themselves to the dangers of risky sex. The organization's 24/7 hotline gets questions like, "Can I get pregnant standing up?" or "Can I get pregnant with anal sex?"

So, let me get this straight.... I'm pushing 40 and I still try to unroll it the wrong way half of the time, but we're expecting kids who ask stupid questions like this to know what to do with a condom?

Here comes the clue bus, nanny-staters... those kids are yanking your chain. They know exactly what's going on. The ones that are in orgies know exactly what the risks are.
They also learned your lessons well, public school - they know how to use the condom, they know which drug stores have a front and back door that they can use to their advantage to shoplift them, they know what their "options" are if they get pregnant, and they know exactly what kind of services they're going to have to perform in order to get the money for that "option" and exactly how many google searches it'll take to find the place to get that "option" performed.

It's an inescapable fact that brings crystal clarity to the entire system once you turn around and acknowledge it... public schools assume that our children are stupid.
They're not. The only ones that will listen to this statist crap are the truly stupid ones. The rest of them shut down the second you take that attitude with them. So it doesn't matter what the fuck you do, if that's your assumption from the onset.

[moostraks]

And yet any 11 yr old engaging in such activity is considered to be breaking the law. Welcome to the world of sending mixed signals...........

+1

[LibertyRevolution]

This is nothing new. Schools have been handing out condoms to pre-teens for years around here...
When I was a teen hanging out on the block there were MANY 10-13 yearolds having sex for alcohol, drugs, or to get into parties.
Most of the guys had a don't ask don't tell policy when dealing with the girls.
If they don't tell you they are underage, and you don't ask them, then they feel free to hit it.

It it bad when the 11 year old from the apartment upstairs is pregnant and doesn't know who is the baby daddy because she fucked 10 guys at the party that night.
But don't worry I am sure her 13year old sister with 2 kids will help her raise her kid..

Point is even when handing out free condoms, they don't get used...
The guys are like nah baby, you'll be fine, ill pull out, oh oops I came inside you..

The shit I seen growing up... makes max hardcore looks like softcore porn...

[Freedom 4 all]

Speaking of Krugerrand, i had a dream last night that the gold price crashed to around $400/oz, and then I bought my first 1 oz gold coin - the one I chose was a krugerrand. I was sad when I woke up and realized it was a dream. I could use a collapse in precious metals. I don't have enough!

I remember back when gold was at $800 an ounce and I figured I'd buy some when it goes down a bit. I'm still waiting...

[ChaosControl]

That is extremely disgusting.
News is seriously a great way to hate society and become depressed.

If I have children, you can be certain they will all be home schooled. I wouldn't trust these schools with a pet rock, trusting your kid to them is a form of child abuse as far as I'm concerned.

[2young2vote]

Let the scum fail and decent rise up in society. I really don't care about these kids who can't control themselves (I edited this sentence so I don't get in trouble for saying what I really think of them). It isn't my problem what they do at that age, but it just REALLY irks me that they can't just control themselves. They are like little hamsters who run around and think with their instinct and not their mind. I guess it isn't totally their fault, though. They have bad parents and are in bad environments for growing up.

[moostraks]

Let the scum fail and decent rise up in society. I really don't care about these kids who can't control themselves (I edited this sentence so I don't get in trouble for saying what I really think of them). It isn't my problem what they do at that age, but it just REALLY irks me that they can't just control themselves. They are like little hamsters who run around and think with their instinct and not their mind. I guess it isn't totally their fault, though. They have bad parents and are in bad environments for growing up.

I understand your disgust. However parents as the scape goats is a bad idea. We had one child out of seven that used the state to demand a public education and she turned into every bit the over sexed fiend described in the article. She was having sex in unattended classrooms at school. She would refuse to come home and ran away numerous times to indulge her "needs". It is a bizarre mentality that the weak willed are embracing due to a collectivist mentality which usually descends to the lowest common denominator in a group setting. We (and the state as well) were at a loss as to how to stop the behavior as no amount of punishment was effective and she eventually aged out of the juvenile justice system. The bad environment is very well the very education system that wants to point the finger at the families for being abusive when it is the lack of accountability by a system that demands the majority of the student's waking life while raising them in unattended herds in a group think, relative ethics vacuum...

[dannno]

I understand your disgust. However parents as the scape goats is a bad idea. We had one child out of seven that used the state to demand a public education and she turned into every bit the over sexed fiend described in the article. She was having sex in unattended classrooms at school. She would refuse to come home and ran away numerous times to indulge her "needs". It is a bizarre mentality that the weak willed are embracing due to a collectivist mentality which usually descends to the lowest common denominator in a group setting. We (and the state as well) were at a loss as to how to stop the behavior as no amount of punishment was effective and she eventually aged out of the juvenile justice system. The bad environment is very well the very education system that wants to point the finger at the families for being abusive when it is the lack of accountability by a system that demands the majority of the student's waking life while raising them in unattended herds in a group think, relative ethics vacuum...

Dude I hate to say it but it sounds like your daughter was a nympho, there's nothing wrong with that, and nobody else in your family including yourself has the first clue what she was going through.. You can't say that she was weak willed until you experience yourself, you shouldn't be so judgmental. It sounds like you're Christian, and you're in luck because Jesus is supposedly very forgiving and I'm sure she will be fine in the end.

The reason she became promiscuous was not because she went to public school, she obviously went to public school because she craved a social scene. A lot of kids thrive and that. I would home school my kids too, but if they wanted to go to public school THAT bad I would probably put them in private school, unless there's a descent public school then I'd just let them do what they want. If they were THAT hell bent on having sex, I would encourage them to find a monogamous partner and keep them safe. It's just part of life, most people used to get married very young, it's not natural to wait until you're 20 years old to have sex. Those who are able to wait have below average sex drives which is why Christianity is fading in this country. A wait till marriage approach is just not compatible with our higher education, graduate when you're 22+ system.

[Dr.3D]

It's not natural to have to spend at least four years in college to make a decent living either. Seems like it would be better to concentrate on getting a good foundation (ability to pay family expenses) before deciding to have children. Now that it takes so long to become a stable wage earner, nothing is going to be the natural way it was before such an "education" became necessary.

[jmdrake]

What's probably going to happen to most of these condoms.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeTgQRKCGpA&NR=1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jXwOYkZDgY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjxiANqXSCQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnYp_nbzOcE

Hey, aren't you supposed to not let kids put plastic bags over their heads? (No pun intended).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrjD41gcjUY

[NYgs23]

We've banned kids from working (including teens), we've segregated them into hellhole schools where they're expected to do unproductive busywork for no reason, we've essentially isolated them from the rest of society. Then we're surprised when their values and reasoning capacity degrade and they develop as cesspit "youth culture"? Who's to blame for that?

[moostraks]

Dude I hate to say it but it sounds like your daughter was a nympho, there's nothing wrong with that, and nobody else in your family including yourself has the first clue what she was going through.. You can't say that she was weak willed until you experience yourself, you shouldn't be so judgmental. It sounds like you're Christian, and you're in luck because Jesus is supposedly very forgiving and I'm sure she will be fine in the end.

The reason she became promiscuous was not because she went to public school, she obviously went to public school because she craved a social scene. A lot of kids thrive and that. I would home school my kids too, but if they wanted to go to public school THAT bad I would probably put them in private school, unless there's a descent public school then I'd just let them do what they want. If they were THAT hell bent on having sex, I would encourage them to find a monogamous partner and keep them safe. It's just part of life, most people used to get married very young, it's not natural to wait until you're 20 years old to have sex. Those who are able to wait have below average sex drives which is why Christianity is fading in this country. A wait till marriage approach is just not compatible with our higher education, graduate when you're 22+ system.

You didn't live it. The misbehavior and mindset was more than someone with a high sex drive. It was a group of underage people indulging in whatever they deemed fit. Drugs, alcohol, prostitution, and violence against anyone or anything that dare to get in their way. I know many of you believe that it is fine to have very lax morals but there is a point where the innocence of childhood has been corrupted by group think and herd behavior. The older they get the more extreme it is becoming.

You have no right to call me judgmental as you have no idea how hard I tried to help her find peace and this child was/is not at peace after all that has happened. Walk a mile in my moccasins before you start making character insults...

As for private school, it was not a financial option at the end of her time with us (she had been in one at one point when she was younger) and with her discipline issues she was not a candidate. I could not even have her home school again because she was a danger to the character of anyone she was in contact with in a position of authority. At one point she accused me of being her pimp after having taken me through the state on prior occasions claiming I was an inhibited prude for not letting her date 18 year olds when she was 12. So you are seeing but a small glimpse into our hell.

[moostraks]

It's not natural to have to spend at least four years in college to make a decent living either. Seems like it would be better to concentrate on getting a good foundation (ability to pay family expenses) before deciding to have children. Now that it takes so long to become a stable wage earner, nothing is going to be the natural way it was before such an "education" became necessary.

You mean like the many people with college degrees who have no job or potential for one right now who lost their careers without notice in the 'Great Recession'?

[amy31416]

You didn't live it. The misbehavior and mindset was more than someone with a high sex drive. It was a group of underage people indulging in whatever they deemed fit. Drugs, alcohol, prostitution, and violence against anyone or anything that dare to get in their way. I know many of you believe that it is fine to have very lax morals but there is a point where the innocence of childhood has been corrupted by group think and herd behavior. The older they get the more extreme it is becoming.

You have no right to call me judgmental as you have no idea how hard I tried to help her find peace and this child was/is not at peace after all that has happened. Walk a mile in my moccasins before you start making character insults...

As for private school, it was not a financial option at the end of her time with us (she had been in one at one point when she was younger) and with her discipline issues she was not a candidate. I could not even have her home school again because she was a danger to the character of anyone she was in contact with in a position of authority. At one point she accused me of being her pimp after having taken me through the state on prior occasions claiming I was an inhibited prude for not letting her date 18 year olds when she was 12. So you are seeing but a small glimpse into our hell.

+rep, you were a lot more civilized in your response to Dannno than I would have ever been.

[Dr.3D]

You mean like the many people with college degrees who have no job or potential for one right now who lost their careers without notice in the 'Great Recession'?

Yeah, I guess times have changed back to when people didn't need a college education and they could go down the the local shop and do line work. Oops... I forgot, all those jobs went overseas. Well, I guess it won't matter if a person has a family they can't support educated or not.

[scottditzen]

That is extremely disgusting.
News is seriously a great way to hate society and become depressed.

If I have children, you can be certain they will all be home schooled. I wouldn't trust these schools with a pet rock, trusting your kid to them is a form of child abuse as far as I'm concerned.

Just to be clear, this is the City of Philadelphia giving away condoms, not the schools. Though, reference in the article was made to a school in Mass. that started a condom campaign last year.

[moostraks]

Yeah, I guess times have changed back to when people didn't need a college education and they could go down the the local shop and do line work. Oops... I forgot, all those jobs went overseas. Well, I guess it won't matter if a person has a family they can't support educated or not.

I am wondering what industry/career is safe at this point because it seems there is little other than gov't jobs that isn't being offshored.

[moostraks]

+rep, you were a lot more civilized in your response to Dannno than I would have ever been.

Thanks!

[Dr.3D]

I am wondering what industry/career is safe at this point because it seems there is little other than gov't jobs that isn't being offshored.

Perhaps that's the plan. :(

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

We've banned kids from working (including teens), we've segregated them into hellhole schools where they're expected to do unproductive busywork for no reason, we've essentially isolated them from the rest of society. Then we're surprised when their values and reasoning capacity degrade and they develop as cesspit "youth culture"? Who's to blame for that?

We've also denied them their most fundamental rights. We've made it a criminal offense for an older man/woman to shack up with them if the younger person so chooses. Who gives a fuck if they are fucking? People make bad decisions in their life every day. Criminalizing such decisions is what leads to all these unintended consequences. Extend to them their full and equal natural rights at the onset of puberty and let the chips fall where they may. I fail to see how doing so could produce a society WORSE than what we have today. The 'cure' was worse than the supposed disease.

[moostraks]

We've also denied them their most fundamental rights. We've made it a criminal offense for an older man/woman to shack up with them if the younger person so chooses. Who gives a fuck if they are fucking? People make bad decisions in their life every day. Criminalizing such decisions is what leads to all these unintended consequences. Extend to them their full and equal natural rights at the onset of puberty and let the chips fall where they may. I fail to see how doing so could produce a society WORSE than what we have today. The 'cure' was worse than the supposed disease.

Really? Really???

Clearly you have never been taken advantage of by someone older than yourself. Society has a problem because the state has become the parents and they suck at it. A pregnant twelve or thirteen year old stands a good chance of having very serious physical complications.

[dannno]

Clearly you have never been taken advantage of by someone older than yourself.

No, but one time I had someone take advantage of me who was younger than myself.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

Really? Really???

Yes really, really.


Clearly you have never been taken advantage of by someone older than yourself.

In point of fact, I did. Difference was I had not reached the age of puberty. What I am advocating is in no way, shape or form what you apparently are thinking.


Society has a problem because the state has become the parents and they suck at it.

Yes, and by criminalizing a perfectly natural act (among other things) and making to where teenagers do not have full and equal access to their rights in society, we have created the very problems we supposedly are trying to prevent.


A pregnant twelve or thirteen year old stands a good chance of having very serious physical complications.

So do women of any age. Again, criminalizing it only creates more problems.

[dannno]

Yes, and by criminalizing a perfectly natural act (among other things) and making to where teenagers do not have full and equal access to their rights in society, we have created the very problems we supposedly are trying to prevent.


Another argument related to this I would say, is that older guys who have a future and are descent people, who may just happen to be attracted to younger girls, or a particular younger girl, who won't 'take advantage' of them or screw up their life will end up avoiding dating them because they don't want to get in trouble with the law.. Then that same girl will probably end up dating an older guy anyway, but it will more likely be a guy who doesn't have as much of a future and is more inclined to break the law. That's why so many younger girls who date older guys end up with more guys in the douchebag category when they could be going out with descent guys in the winner category if not for the criminalization element. Or they just end up having sex with guys their own age. I'm still really not sure what the difference is there.

[Kregisen]

Another argument related to this I would say, is that older guys who have a future and are descent people, who may just happen to be attracted to younger girls, or a particular younger girl, who won't 'take advantage' of them or screw up their life will end up avoiding dating them because they don't want to get in trouble with the law.. Then that same girl will probably end up dating an older guy anyway, but it will more likely be a guy who doesn't have as much of a future and is more inclined to break the law. That's why so many younger girls who date older guys end up with more guys in the douchebag category when they could be going out with descent guys in the winner category if not for the criminalization element. Or they just end up having sex with guys their own age. I'm still really not sure what the difference is there.

How old are you dannno?

[dannno]

How old are you dannno?

Late 20s, and no, I don't have any intention in the world of going out with a girl in her early or mid teens. I just remember what it was like when I was 18-early 20s and how ridiculous I thought all the laws were.

[moostraks]

Yes really, really.



In point of fact, I did. Difference was I had not reached the age of puberty. What I am advocating is in no way, shape or form what you apparently are thinking.



Yes, and by criminalizing a perfectly natural act (among other things) and making to where teenagers do not have full and equal access to their rights in society, we have created the very problems we supposedly are trying to prevent.



So do women of any age. Again, criminalizing it only creates more problems.

So what am I thinking? I am quite tired of people here assuming the know me or what I think.

Furthermore you have no understanding of the changes in the human body that occur during pregnancy that would adversely effect a body that has not fully matured or you would not make a comparison such as you put forth. The small stature and lack of completed physical development is much different than what a mature body will experience. Any man who has half an ounce of respect for his partner would not put them in a position where their life was in jeopardy to the extent that childbirth in early teens would be...

Criminalizing pedophilia has not stopped the behavior. The problems with over age people having sex with children will exist whether it is criminalized or not.

[NYgs23]

We've also denied them their most fundamental rights. We've made it a criminal offense for an older man/woman to shack up with them if the younger person so chooses. Who gives a fuck if they are fucking? People make bad decisions in their life every day. Criminalizing such decisions is what leads to all these unintended consequences. Extend to them their full and equal natural rights at the onset of puberty and let the chips fall where they may. I fail to see how doing so could produce a society WORSE than what we have today. The 'cure' was worse than the supposed disease.

As far as that goes, I'd say one-size-fits-all age restriction laws should be abolished altogether and replaced by a system in which competence is determined on a case-by-case basis through the court system. If there's a dispute in which one person is claimed to have been mentally incapable of giving consent--whether it be over sex or a legal contract--this question should be adjudicated in court, not assumed based on an arbitrary standard like age.

This is what we already do when it comes to adults who are claimed to be incompetent through mental disability. It should be the same thing with young people.

[NYgs23]

Really? Really???

Clearly you have never been taken advantage of by someone older than yourself. Society has a problem because the state has become the parents and they suck at it. A pregnant twelve or thirteen year old stands a good chance of having very serious physical complications.

Well, people mature at different rates, so not everyone under eighteen (or sixteen or whatever) necessarily lacks the mental capacity to give consent. If they don't, they have the right to make their own mistakes. For that matter, not everyone over eighteen necessarily has the capacity to give consent. That's precisely why I say it should be judges individually and contextually in the judicial system, not through legislatively mandated restrictions.

Furthermore, your argument only works with vaginal sex between older males and younger females. It doesn't work for same-sex couplings, older females with younger males, or even non-coital sexual acts between older males and younger females.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

So what am I thinking?

Apparently EXACTLY what I thought:


Criminalizing pedophilia has not stopped the behavior. The problems with over age people having sex with children will exist whether it is criminalized or not.

I wasn't talking about Pedophilia, goddamn you! A goddamn Pedophile is someone who has sex with a PRE-PUBESCENT, aka a child. A person who has undergone puberty is physically indistinguishable from an adult because that is the demarcation line between childhood and adulthood.


Furthermore you have no understanding of the changes in the human body that occur during pregnancy that would adversely effect a body that has not fully matured or you would not make a comparison such as you put forth.

A body that hasn't matured is a pre-pubescent one.



The small stature and lack of completed physical development is much different than what a mature body will experience.

Do you even know what the fuck PUBERTY is?


Puberty

Puberty is the period of human development during which physical growth and sexual maturation occurs. - Fauci, Anthony S., et al., editors. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997


Any man who has half an ounce of respect for his partner would not put them in a position where their life was in jeopardy to the extent that childbirth in early teens would be...

:rolleyes:

Too bad biological science disagrees with you.....

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[moostraks]

Apparently EXACTLY what I thought:



I wasn't talking about Pedophilia, goddamn you! A goddamn Pedophile is someone who has sex with a PRE-PUBESCENT, aka a child. A person who has undergone puberty is physically indistinguishable from an adult because that is the demarcation line between childhood and adulthood.



A body that hasn't matured is a pre-pubescent one.




Do you even know what the fuck PUBERTY is?

- Fauci, Anthony S., et al., editors. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997



:rolleyes:

Too bad biological science disagrees with you.....

http://www.medicinenet.com/puberty/article.htm


"Puberty is the time at which a growing boy or girl begins the process of sexual maturation. Puberty involves a series of physical stages or steps that lead to the achievement of fertility and the development of the so-called secondary sex characteristics, the physical features associated with adult males and females (such as the growth of pubic hair). While puberty involves a series of biological, or physical, transformations, the process can also have an effect on the psychosocial and emotional development of the adolescent.

The onset of puberty varies among individuals. Puberty usually occurs in girls between the ages of 10 and 14, while in boys it generally occurs later, between the ages of 12 and 16. "

Yeah, I do know and a girl of 10 who gets her period is capable of getting pregnant but will be severely adversely affected by the process. We haven't even hit the psychological effects of having children raise children when they don't even have the knowledge of self-government much less the ability to raise another human being at that stage of emotional upheaval due to all the changes they are going through.

Sorry about the derogatory term but I feel that adults who prey on children who validate their stance based on early pubescence as a marking of sexual ripeness and fruition of the physical as well as emotional capabilities (esp. considering the overwhelming number whom are reaching that phase earlier and earlier due to food modification) are pedophiles as much as and perv who would molest a 5 year old. It is a self serving argument to fulfill a sick fetish that has nothing to do with respecting the opposite sex and their "maturity" beyond a so called arbitrary age number. In my experience most 18 year olds lack responsibility enough to manage adulthood nowadays. You should count your blessings the state set the bar that low...

[moostraks]

Despite the pedophile condemnation being strong whenever this topic comes up I concur with NYgs23. For a long time on this forum I have advocated evidence of consent is demonstrating freedom from charity.

But people can't handle reality and the reality is kids are fucking like rabbits because. The War on Sex has created a lot of blow back.

There isn't a war on sex. They are handing out condoms not arresting them. They are giving tacit permission. Get the facts straight. The war is on modesty and respect of one's person until they are physically and emotionally responsible. There is a reason for this as it keeps people tied to the state because when you have a child when you are a child you most likely won't be financially independent. This makes both the birth parent(s) and the new children directly accountable to the state under very invasive monitoring. Save the rhetoric for the real wars on fill in the blank issues. You guys are real liberty lovers by advocating the state adjudicate each individual. Great idea, why don't we license them. More money/more power for the state...

[Krugerrand]

I am wondering what industry/career is safe at this point because it seems there is little other than gov't jobs that isn't being offshored.

Personally, my best bets are on food and energy. Those are items that can have a market outside of the US.

[moostraks]

Personally, my best bets are on food and energy. Those are items that can have a market outside of the US.

Aren't they the same ones we are getting in large part from outside as well? (not being argumentative but wondering based on what I read and see) I was thinking fuel not energy. Now that I think about it, I have suggested to Dh that green technology is what tptb seem to be putting their eggs into one basket on and anything related to that field would be a safer bet than other industries at the moment.

Dh is now employed in two different industries which are unrelated in order to hopefully combat the possibility of both tanking at the same time. One he has had experience in for 20 years or so, and the other is the mainstay of the area we are located in. We also paid off our home and will have 3 cars paid for, with the fourth (and last) paid off within the year. So we have moved/ing to extremely low overhead expenses. Next will be to work on the heating expenses...

[Krugerrand]

Aren't they the same ones we are getting in large part from outside as well? (not being argumentative but wondering based on what I read and see) I was thinking fuel not energy. Now that I think about it, I have suggested to Dh that green technology is what tptb seem to be putting their eggs into one basket on and anything related to that field would be a safer bet than other industries at the moment.

Dh is now employed in two different industries which are unrelated in order to hopefully combat the possibility of both tanking at the same time. One he has had experience in for 20 years or so, and the other is the mainstay of the area we are located in. We also paid off our home and will have 3 cars paid for, with the fourth (and last) paid off within the year. So we have moved/ing to extremely low overhead expenses. Next will be to work on the heating expenses...

Yes and no. I live in the Marcellus Shale region. Natural gas is pretty much always going to be a commodity to sell. There is still oil and coal extraction in the US. Even if when the dollar tanks, people will fork over other currencies for natural gas, oil and coal. Who knows what will happen w/ nuclear power ... but that's an expertise we can export as well.

Now, even in a depressed US, people will have jobs to support that ... and even if they can't afford anything else, they will have to eat. Thus, food production. Plus, we export a great deal of food even as we import food. Food production has the added benefit of personal sustenance as well as for-profit potential.

[moostraks]

Yes and no. I live in the Marcellus Shale region. Natural gas is pretty much always going to be a commodity to sell. There is still oil and coal extraction in the US. Even if when the dollar tanks, people will fork over other currencies for natural gas, oil and coal. Who knows what will happen w/ nuclear power ... but that's an expertise we can export as well.

Now, even in a depressed US, people will have jobs to support that ... and even if they can't afford anything else, they will have to eat. Thus, food production. Plus, we export a great deal of food even as we import food. Food production has the added benefit of personal sustenance as well as for-profit potential.

Gotcha...Marcellus Shale region, we are in NE Ohio so I understand your position on the natural gas. Great for those sitting on a source. They really are trying to give coal in this area a beating,though. Dh did temp work when we moved here for the coal power plant nearby. That is one nasty job they had him do. I told him if he continued I couldn't afford the clothing bill and he would have to hose off in the yard. :D

Food production is so heavily controlled by corp interests and the legislation they lobby for to hamstring small producers. It seems the only bone they're willing to throw is becoming a migrant farm worker. There is a good deal of farming in Ohio but more on the other side of the state than here. It is also very expensive to be competitive since they want to drive out those niche markets.

Pretty dismal all in all. Here is to hoping we can be effective in driving back some of the more oppressive legislation that benefits only a select few at the expense of the rest of us...