You have complete and total control of your life and the direction you want it to go.

If you keep blaming everything on your "dead end town" and don't take some serious initiative, then before you know it a small $2000 check will be the least of your worries.

you know what your right. i got to stop being so passive. thats my problem and i end up getting screwed. thanks man i needed that. btw i take accountability its just somethings i really cant control, like with health, stupidity from others, theft, etc etc.

Those student loans aren't getting paid off either. But we'll talk about it some more just before elections come again.

yeah man that was cold blooded af, im one of the students who would of greatly benefited from that. again my choice to go , but at 17 18 and teachers/ society pushing you to go......whats one to do .....

Yeah I know they really should do another round of PPP handouts. It will all trickle down eventually right?

Lol. Definitely not. Fucking laughable program that was.

I'm excited to see if these companies ever get audited for where the funds went.

I’ve been paying on mine for almost 15 years. Paid back $65,000 out of around $50,000 that I originally borrowed. That $10,000 would have zeroed me out. I about cried when I heard it I have enough money banked to put a decent down payment down but I guess that will have to wait another year. Yeah I hate it here too man.

Where did you want to move to?

Doubtful. There is no mechanism even in place my understanding it was outside of the IRS jurisdiction. It was a handout to placate the petty bourgeois.

somewhere close to NYC/TRI STATE AREA for the time being, theres no jobs here and though philly is cheaper than nyc nyc kinda has more what im looking for.

plus im more famliar with nyc than Philly. life is short and these dead end towns are not it. covid really did mess up my mojo. do you think i should buy a car first or used that money for a room?

That’s a tough one used cars are so damn expensive anymore but anywhere outside of the city public transportation kind of sucks it seems.

Thank God no. They gave out too much to begin with.

Yeah, paying minimum wage workers 2 to 3x or more what they were making is so Bourgeois. 🙄

People think telling a starving man to eat less is good advice :(

There is enough money for the state to send another 2000.00 but the ribs refuse to send it. It is money that should have been sent out but never has been.

*too much to Big Businesses to begin with.

Those trillions of dollars should have never went to those large companies with MILLIONS in revenue and MILLIONS in savings, with MILLIONS still going to there corporate owners/high ups salaries.

They gave out too many PPP loans....not stimulus

Stop voting in republicans. Easy.

I don't know, paying people MORE than they were making while working wasn't the smartest thing to do. They should have been paid the amount they were losing, but not more.

Yea except that didn’t happen in like 2/3rds of the situations. 66% of business PPP loans never made it into the hands of the laborers

being angry because my neighbor has an extra $12 this month

​

your comments here are either very ignorant, or outright malicious. I believe the former.

No one made more than they were working. It was a $1200 check. Once. That's less than most ppl make in a few weeks.

When you have the rich getting richer. You get mad saying "printing money" causes inflation.

So that means money is a limited resource.

If it's limited, and the rich get richer, that's less and less for the rest of us.

You seem to be brainwashed by propaganda thinking people got more than they did or something

You really shouldn't be. I'd be happy for them. Just let it go.

You guys seem to think it is some right handed down from God to own a shitty restaurant or small business. Nobody has a “right” to profit. If people aren’t being paid an amount they can live on then it has no point of existing. I’m not sure why this is so controversial.

Remember "free money" comes back in 2 ways, more taxes and higher inflation. The dust has not even settled as to what is going to happen yet.

A few sedition convictions and Bob's your uncle.

You got at least 3 less voters from that family that couldn't take it that trump lost and killed themselves over there.

Shame it's a crazy cult.

My bad. I'm thinking about the EXTRA $600 per week people were being paid while on unemployment.

I never got a stimulus check, but never needed it. My job didn't change at all during the pandemic.

Well, business got theirs, and is now taking everyone else's by way of higher prices.

Yeah idk about the 600 extra weekly unemployment.

Though I would be for a universal basic income for qualified in individuals, specifically if the only jobs available are like Walmart or family dollar bullshit that under pays and doesn't provide benefits.

But the system will be forever broken until it gets bad enough, the masses feel the need to revolt, or enough bad actors are voted out of Washington.

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exactly. if you’re a business owner and can’t pay your employees close your business. you’ve failed

and when i say pay i don’t mean 7 dollars.

>Those student loans aren't getting paid off either.

Thanks Republicans! I for one am grateful people aren't getting aid but the poor downtrodden wealthy will get tax cuts and laptops get investigated 50 times!

I’m of the opinion people should have got $2k a month. Money really doesn’t matter in a world where we can print it but they like to watch hard working people suffer and austerity us all to death. Live fast or build for a future outside the status quo cus shit is getting worse

Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.

It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.

Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.

Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.

Just saw a headline that big oil is making record profits

Funny how often you'll see that headline over the years.

PA has a lot of dead end towns. Even the ones that are doing well are only working for a small group

Smart bot ✨

Don't blame the town. Leave.

Plenty of places in the country hire seasonally and house you. Spent half of my adult life bartending for tourists in different states during different seasons. Did 6 summers in Ohiopyle, most of them living in a vehicle.

You either got it or you don't.

The grass is always greener my friend. I think this is a national maybe even global issue

You won't know if the grass is greener or not unless you go for the hike.

Sounds like you just like to run away and avoid something. Fair enough. But you can seize the day in more ways than fleeing just saying

trust me bro I know this, im still wondering how tf did i go from living in nyc to this lol. im leaving i just need to figure out how im going to make real wages without having to commute 2 hours for decent work.

...?

There are billions of people on this planet and an infinite number of things to see and do and when someone says "leave your small town there's a lot of opportunity everywhere" your immediate response is "the grass is always greener, sounds like you like to run away".

I've snowboarded lone peak in Montana, I've done some of the biggest whitewater in the US, I've piloted an aircraft, my tattoo artist is in the UK, I've lived in a van for 6 months in Big Bend nat'l park, I've backpacked Mexico for a month, I have a wedding to go to in Africa in April, I've hiked sections of the AT and PCT...

And I'm from a poor family in Fayette fucking county.

I wouldn't be surprised if you... Got married, had children and bought a fucking house. (Correct me if I'm wrong: acknowledge if that's your dream).

Fuck outta here with your speculation and criticism.

yeah its hard to find a decent car under 4k.

I sure hope not. You should move on, quit relying on the government to help you and get out there.

Not sure why this comment is getting down voted. But you are absolutely right.

Like what do you want me to say ‘good for you’ whenever people voice something about how they are struggling there is always that guy that’s like ‘my life is great because I hustled, I wouldn’t get it…’ what does it serve but your own ego. I’m assuming you mean well but its tone deaf in this context. Some people just want to talk without breaking down their resume sometimes ya know

They need to leave!

This has nothing to do with resumes or ego. It's a dead. end. town.

There's one outcome: a dead end.

Throw it the fuck away and move on.

I literally offered advice on how to get out. Work for a ski resort in the winter. Work for Nemacolin in the summer. They will house you and pay you well. If you like the place and want to move up the ladder, by all means go for it.

The least valuable advice is "stay put sweetie, the grass is always greener".

You know it, I know it.

Pack up, ship out, throw yourself out there, create opportunity. You could have $0 to your name and a well-traveled spirit and be in a better mindset than sticking it out in a dead end town waiting for a $2000 check from the President.

Yeah I have family telling me to move more west since I live in one of the most expensive areas in pa and I don’t know how many ways to phrase it that there is nothing there. Even though I pay a lot to live here I can commute without a car so that helps me save up. It’s all about weighing what you value. It’s a bad time for a lot of people. The fact that you’re thinking about it is great.

Yeah that’s gonna be hard. I’m in the coal region I bought one for 6k a few months ago. I went to HS with the guy he has a good reputation around here for being a straight shooter some of these places are just out to scam people.

Yeah I agree I probably would. I was just speaking on the issue being systemic and if you are struggling there are very real forces keeping you down. I’m not one to accept this condition but it is very real. That’s just what I’m speaking on. I’m all for people living their best life, but $2k is way better $0.

It's a little rude considering the circumstances. The daughter could have definitely gotten help if the parents weren't such wackos.

The really sad thing, if it was a liberal family with a trans kid in the same situation, do you think fox news and Tucker Carlson would be using it as ammunition?

I did. Went in on an apartment with 5 friends that I made in my travels and found a job when I got there.

Multiple moves across the US with no job or house lined up. Was homeless in Denver for a week because they wouldn't sign the lease for the apartment until I had a job offer.

I lived in Lidia's parking lot in Pittsburgh in 2014 while I worked there. They had no idea. Made friends, found a room.. well an unfinished basement, but it was warm.

We're capable of so much more than you give us credit for.

I'm not sure how? All tucker could say would be "look what our policies did", and them types aren't exactly known for introspection.

theyd blame it as a mental disease and other comments and saying this is what liberal ideas lead too....

It has nothing to do with their policies.

I am sad for the daughter- the parents are certainly to blame for this situation.

At least they didn't kill the dog.

It sounds like you’re just saying the only way to do things when poor is be homeless or begging for work… am I a dick for saying this… but like you can understand how that’s not super appealing to everyone

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Nah. We're going to suffer for all the businesses and people that got loans and money by means of fraud. Standard stuff for us middle classers lol I love money but like a creepy man with bad intentions our government makes me uncomfortable...I don't even want their money or mine back

Thank goodness - I was really worried about those guys with their razor thin profit margins. /s

If you're poor, you're already homeless and begging for work.

The sooner you accept that, the easier it is to move forward.

If you have a home and no money at the end of the month, you should be begging for work.

Complacency is the problem. It's easy to find a job and a place to live. A great majority of the population already does that. I've done it more times than I can count. Can you max your IRA, though? Can you really support your family? Do the kids get regular haircuts? Do you have time to cook every day? Do you contribute to a 529 plan for their future education?

I would rather an income, retirement contributions and a vehicle than be house poor. I've never, ever gone without a vehicle. It's an absolute necessity and can be lived in easily for significantly less than a house. I'll never be able to really afford children, so I won't have them. These are logical conclusions, unfortunately. I've accepted them, despite not being super appealing.

The easy life is hovering around a family in your hometown, barely making ends meet and bitching about politics and global economic problems. It's easy to look forward to the game on Sunday and the 7 familiar faces that are showing up to check out your new air fryer. That's definitely not super appealing to me.

It would be great to have come from a wealthy family. I didn't win the genetic lottery.

We only get so many rotations on this rock.

Time to make the best of it.

Wait. Y’all got stimmys?

There hasn't been a stimulus check since 2021... Those checks helped fucked up the economy, and you want more?

I hate to agree with you. But you’re not wrong. It seems that we spend trillions on everything except what helps the average person.

Is there a source for trump losing being a driving reason behind what happened? Horrible either way, but if that was a reason.....sheesh. How...."sad" isn't the right word, maybe someone could help me out.

I did drive by a house in York county yesterday that still has huge Mastriano signs up. May or may not have yelled "your fascist lost!" when I drove by (windows up, I'm not crazy enough to taunt someone who likely is more pro-gun than pro-woman).

York Daily Record has an article about it.

West is more expensive than east.

Feds refused to enforce the terms of the PPP loans. Ended up being open-ended grants to companies and individuals that did not meet/fit the qualifications.

Definitely not. Maybe north east is better but I’m in the middle of some the largest cities in the country. Maybe you’re in Pittsburgh

If I pay in, then I want something in return. That's how it should work.

The final $2000 was split into two payments, $1400 and $600. That was it.

It was a feature not a bug.

So she was homeschooled and fed constant conspiracies and a lot of people suggested she was starting to show signs of schizophrenia.

Everyone described them as super pro trump and had a lot of ramblings about how "evil won" and how bad Biden is.

The 'driving' reason was probably mental illness brought on by her upbringing and surroundings, which included a lot of pro trump and religion conspiracies.

Damn. Awful.

ETA - I don't support trump, never have a day in my life. Dunno why the downvotes, even though I disagree with everything trump stands for, it's still an awful situation to be that unwell. Makes me feel bad for people who are suicidal (been there done that, y'all).

Big business*

Small businesses are struggling right now.

Republicans keep stopping it. They never want to give anything. All they talk about is taking things away. They say we can’t afford it, but they always find the money for another tax cut for their rich buddies.

Conservative herd animals think you should be grateful your job pays a Chinese slave labor wage with no benefits then get pissed when all the local businesses go out because nobody can afford to use them. But hey, trash can only be trash.

If you don’t vote republicans there will be nothing to hold the Dems to keep their promises.

Dems will sell you out to the corpos just as fast

6 Dems voted against raising minimum wage. 200+ republicans voted against it.

But tell me again how it's the same??

Foolish.

Everyone's making record profits. Cal-Maine Foods owns the big egg brands in our half of the country and they're cleaning up on the current egg prices.
 
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/13/business/egg-prices-cal-maine-foods/index.html

 
$1600 directly mailed to the working poor was just too much money, though.

The Democrats aren't doing jack shit, either.

 
Josh Shapiro is forcing workers back into the office during an ongoing pandemic that's killing around 3500 people a week in the US. People in this state were playing him up like the next FDR. Turns out he's just another cop.

> . Money really doesn’t matter in a world where we can print it

The massive money printing of the last two years and subsequent inflation shows the impact of printing trillions. We could cut funding in plenty of other areas, however.

It was a generalized statement as the economy and things always do better under democrats,

Also you act like republicans haven't been back to work since 2021....

But yes, blindly voting democrat isn't the solution you still need to vote for the better democrat but it's generally safe to assume in today's society any republican will be worse

In order to keep the current shitty state of affairs going, Dems have to run the table.
 
For Rs to win big and fuck everything up for the rest of us, they just have to win big once.

 
Not a great state of affairs.

Have you ever tried to "take some serious initiative" and move out of a dead end town? Just wondering.
 
Nowdays if you want to move from nowheresville PA to Pittsburgh, like I did a long time ago, you're looking at first and last month's rent and a security deposit usually equal to another month's rent to move in. Median rent in Pittsburgh is $1462 right now.
 
So over $4k just to move into an apartment, in a place where you have no support network and don't know anyone. That's not even counting moving costs or finding a job.
 
If jobs in Tamaqua paid well enough to save up that much, you wouldn't need to move to where the jobs are.

Hey now! It's my right to shoot myself in the foot as long as it hurts people I don't like! If you don't like it you can move to communist California!!

They did not fuck up the economy. They did add to the debt but no more than the PPP and certainly less than the stupid Trump tax cut. The reality is we have a very strong job market and the stock is the stock market. It goes up and down. The real calamity was the PPP loans that were fraught with fraud and graft. No politician should have been able to get one but it seems so many had there hands out.

Ughhh it is not free money. It is our taxes. You shitty circumstance is your own fault.

Don’t bother. Some people are just pessimistic

GOD DAMMIT, really. ugghh

I really think you should read the 15 comments down this chain that I've posted.

You know how they say people live 1000 lives?

That's me. I've lived 1000 lives and have 1000 more to go.

I'm from a poor family in Fayette county and I bet my dog has seen more of the world than most people you know.

I don't give a hot wet fuck about your life, I'm saying that leaving a dead-end town takes a lot more than "serious initiative" nowadays. You're making it sound simpler than it is.

It actually doesn't. Every major ski resort and cruise line in the US will house you and pay you. Just between these two simple mentions you have a year's worth of work every single year for as many years as it takes to build a nest egg of cash without needing to buy or rent.

Staying put, buying and renting is the simple life*

Wow. You built a family and bought a house. Way to think outside the box.

Tourism is free housing and if you're in the service industry, an insane amount of money.

You should try speaking from experience rather than inexperience.

A shallow closed mind isn't something you should be carrying around "nowadays".

That's nice, a lot of people don't want to work in the service industry because it's a dead-end career, rife with substance abuse, and your life experiences do not apply to everyone else.

 
You should try speaking from experience rather than inexperience about other peoples' lives.
 

I'm quite literally speaking from experience. Working seasonal jobs that offered housing broke me out of my hometown and has allowed me to travel the world while still maxing my IRA and over-investing for retirement.

Still don't make enough money to actually afford a child a child though, and I do pretty damn well these days.

It's a shame that all of the unintelligent and underprepared people are the ones that keep popping out children and bitching about socioeconomic hardship when they came into parenting without a plan in the first place. Most parents can't even contribute to a 529 for fucks sake.

Buncha dumb people we have walking around this planet.

... Are you one of those people, by chance?

Most people do not want to live in their car while working at Ohiopyle, or sling drinks on a cruise ship for years. That's a dead-end career. It worked for you. Most people want more out of life.

Republicans have held the state Senate since 1994. And until later this month, they’ll have had the State House 23 of the last 27 years. Nobody should blindly vote for a party but if this state is in need of balancing, it should put in more democrats, not more republicans.

How's it dead end if it maxed my IRA and 401k contributions every year while still allowing money to toy with in the market...?

It's free housing and massive money to break you out of your hometown. You don't have to do it for life, but you open a lot of doors, meet a lot of people and are granted a free ticket out of a shit town so you can breathe and figure out if you want to learn coding or how to fly an airplane.

I chose airplanes. Wanna know what it feels like the first time you pull the yoke and leave a runway? Sounds pretty cool doesn't it?

You can do it.

Might want to ask Josh why he's putting Republicans in his administration, if they've been driving the state into the ground.

Did I say Republicans were driving the state to the ground?

No, I didn’t, but I think it’s absolutely fair to say that the state legislature has been dominated by the GOP since 1995. Good or bad, that’s up for each of us to decide for ourselves, but it’s a fact.

I absolutely think they're driving the state into the ground, which is why it's bizarre to me that Super Cop Josh Shapiro is stocking his administration with them.

Lol you're right but I feel like any time they "help" there's a catch. I'd rather just avoid the us government at this point

I tend to agree with you however there’s only been a handful of relatively moderate republicans he’s nominated, I wouldn’t use the word “stocking.” After all he does still have to work with the GOP-controlled state Senate and only a one-seat majority in the House and this could buy a little goodwill.

It's 2023, there are no moderate Republicans.

> Just saw a headline that big oil is making record profits

That's how inflation works.

If inflation was 20% in the last 2 years, but your business is -10% in the same time, you still can set a "record" since it is measured in inflated dollars.

Does it make you feel good to defend large corporations and the ultra wealthy as they are actively gouging you for profit?

I'm a Democrat and I wasn't a big fan of the student loan forgiveness proposal. I think $125k is too high of an income to be eligible for it. I also think it would cause tuition to go up if not paired with a policy that actually addresses the rising cost of college.

the freeloading is ending, everyone back to contributing.

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I'm explaining basic economics, sometimes even basic math.

>basic economics

Yes you are, you are attempting to distill complex corporate economics down to the level of a household budget; and then deriving truisms from the comparison. It's dumb and self defeating, unless you are a corporation benefiting from record profits. Are you actually a corporation and thus defending yourself?

According to the White House their are plenty of jobs. So there’s that

The PA-specific checks were Wolf's idea. Shapiro has shown pretty quickly that he has no intention of continuing Wolf's policies. Plus, the Federal government is ending the Covid crisis, and the latest economic reports suggest inflation is slowing and we're not going to see a recession. So, no, I doubt there are any more checks coming.

You can get a $1,600 annual check from the state of Alaska every year if you become a resident.

UBI/stimulus checks are by no means a dead subject. Politicians of both major US parties have recently floated ideas occasionally that would provide direct payments to individuals.

Yea, it’s definitely still a talking point. I don’t think the idea just died.

First thing Biden isn't ending COVID, it wouldn't surprise me if he vetoes the recently passed bills to end it.

Second the US government is too busy sending resources and money to Ukraine and other countries to care about the American people.

Third if you are in a dead end town with zero opportunities then move. Sitting around waiting for the government's handout isn't going to change your situation. Opportunities don't just fall on your lap you have to go out and find them.

So to actually answer your question. We are heading towards a recession that is probably going to be worse than 2008. Inflation is through the roof which the government could fix but they won't. More and more the elected officials are failing the American people so no there will not be anymore stimulus checks.

If teachers and society pushed you to jump off a bridge would you do it? You have to make and own up to your decisions and do what you want to do. As far as all of this "free" stuff that everyone wants, here's a news flash NOTHING IS FREE. The money has to come from somewhere. The only way to fix things is to get the costs under control but that will never happen because the rich wont get richer.

should have moved on 3 years ago ya bum

The massive money printing went almost entirely towards the capital class and small business tyrants. The wage-earning class saw very little of that.

The last 3 years concentrated a lot of wealth. Even the small businesses saw very little of the money. A friend of mine applied for small business relief the day it was available, they asked for more information that next day and she replied the same day. That was too late. All of the funds were spent.

Source on that Covid death figure? The 7 week death average has been floating around 300 - 500 since the summer with and exception of a large spike around early November.

https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-US&mid=%2Fm%2F09c7w0&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

as a guy in his late 20s yes now i know that but 16 17 year old me NO. and my parents were absolute morons.....still are if im being honest.....

i hear you but thats why i was needing that 2k..... in dead end towns jobs cut hours have low pay, ugghghh you know the drill.

at the end of the day i did this to myself, i allowed myself to get used and it costed me. being too much of a nice guy cost me big time. and im an adult. so no one cares......

if i have to move to a poor neighborhood or live in a car, so be it. i cant believe life is this hard, one mistake can cost you. people in bigger cities have more opportunities and can network.

i do have another chronic issue but now its get rich or die trying so fck it. if i die i die.

this world is cruel and i cant believe i was so dam naive. not saying that i will become heartless and be selfish but now i understand what people are capable of.

​

but again thanks

lol this is true. and its sad. i wonder if rich people do this cause they are bored. like i couldnt imagine being rich and so petty.

any was for me i didnt ever think it would be this hard to freaking leave a town. its the lack of transportation that really kills me. and unlike NY i cant walk or take a bus...

honestly and im going to run this by you do you think i should buy a car and then drive to the town i want to, find an empty car lot and just live in the car until i find employment.... im going to try for government housing and im going to look again for that lottery thing they have.

this is messed up to say but when they said nyc was dying due to the pandemic i was sort of happy only because i thought things would get cheaper and i could go there for next to nothing . i was even willing to risk getting covid.....but who knows.

Bro. You got this.

Make a small plan, that's all you need. If you have a vehicle and apply for a summer job somewhere, figure out how much it costs to get you there, save best ya can and make it happen.

If you don't have a vehicle yet then that's step #1. Learn money things like financing costs and what you can afford in a month if you work x/hrs and make $y/hr. If your credit sucks, that's the new step #1. If you don't have kids or a mortgage then you're already ahead of the people who dream of doing this but are kind of stuck.

If you break it down to "I need to start working on my credit so I can buy a car and leave this place in 6 months" then you have a real goal you can break down into how much money you have to make to make it happen.

While you're putting this plan to action, start reading about the hundreds of seasonal jobs you can scoop up, pick a few and fire off some applications. If you want housing included, focus on resorts/cruises.

It will take some time to establish yourself at a spot you love. Just work hard and you'll either get full time, year round employment or be invited back next season.

Before you know it you'll be able to breathe again.

There's no mention of tRump in there though, only the whole "evil took over their lives" part and that there's no more info on it (in that article, anyways).

The total for 2022 was around 267k, or 5,135 a week. So worse than the number I gave.
 
https://imgur.com/Mq3xfwH

 
States are not reporting consistently and dumping totals every few weeks. Daily averages over short periods of time aren't reliable.

 
Covid-19 is the leading cause of death in America that is not heart disease or cancer, is going to remain so for the foreseeable future, and forcing people back into high-transmission environments while it's still killing massive amounts of people is cruel and unnecessary.

According to this article, it was in the York Dispatch: https://www.businessinsider.com/family-found-dead-suicide-pact-were-hell-bent-trump-winning-2023-2

There is another $2000 waiting for us

Don't hold your breath while you wait...

I've set record lows for being underpaid in my career field for my experience level, every day pushes me to the edge of mental collapse because student loans aren't affordable.

I'd wait and see, elections always bring gifts to voters in the form of promises.

Obviously. But it is there being constantly blocked previously, so I don’t understand why the Democrats are not sending it out