How has the ressesion affected our hobby

I really like the "can do" values of most of the guys on here. Because ultimately we're all on our own these days. You can blame anybody and everybody, but we are all living with the results of too much easy credit, too much need to live high and too little respect for honest hard work.

To me the way to look at the current situation is not a "down turn". The fact is the time in America since the end of WW II was an anomaly in world economic history. Never in pre-war history were normal people allowed to "buy" homes on credit. Never in history were people able to lease a luxury mode of transportation. Never in history were ordinary citizens encouraged to "gamble" in the stock and commodities rackets. In fact the whole "collectible/classics/antiques" market grew out of the average man having more money than it required to survive. Our whole hobby is a luxury made possible by unhampered economic growth - supported mainly by consumer credit.

I hate to even think it, but we haven't reached the "new normal" yet. The new normal will be when everything is cash, when people with real skills and wits are valued above paper pushers, money changers, idiot talking heads, and politicians. But it ain't gonna be pretty. So get to work covering your ass and your family's safety. Educate your self in real trades and save as much cash as you can.

Well, you asked...

 

#135; " our country was founded on credit.we invented credit.the world followed us into credit hell. "

#137; " Money is debt and debt is money and it is all just paper bonds set out by the treasury dep . Our countries were built on debt . If there was no debt there would be no money."

How many people here are HAMB friendly, or at least remember when US currency was actually backed by gold bullion ??
Holy Jesus......... how the deregulated banking industry has deluded a generation.
Tom S. in Tn.

 

They're stealing the cast iron grates from curbside storm drains here in Nashville, and not just a couple but dozens in some areas and every one for miles in others. Upper 6 figures for Metro to replace.
Also saw where a kid called a commercial towing company to haul a car to the scrapper that was not his. Kid was brazen enough to hire a tow truck to steal a car for him right out of an unknown random victim's drive.
Tom S. in Tn.

 

As regards the economy, I have no answers. As regards car buillding it's time to travel back. I'm sure there are enough people like me on here who came of age in the 60's and 70's, when all your friends were either in school, apprenticeship programs or the military and NO one had any money, and remember what it was like. We traded for everything. Parts, complete cars, welding for painting, upholstery work for engine building, thats what Car Clubs were for. 6 or 7 members would gather at someones house, usually their parents, and help work on their car for hours. Cost nothing and those are lifetime friendships. That's how you learned automotive and social skills. Time again to remember that lesson and teach it to our kids.

 

They're stealing grates here in motown also... Sad!

 

Scrap is over 14 dollars a hundred here ...

D@#^ thieves are stealing anything they can and scrapping it.
I have a friend who has a couple hundred acres out in the country and he went out to his land the other day. He had 6 or 8 old tractors, a few old trucks and some farm equipment at the rear of his land, down in a small valley, not visible from any road.

ALL GONE !!

Had to be over 10 grand in scrap ...

 

Yet another reason NOT to allow people into your shop or on your property. You guys that show pics of what is inside your buildings need to rethink that strategy.

 

its affected me i cant get enuff cash to get my roadster on the road. i'm going to the devore model A swap this sunday to sell stuff i thought i never sell . owell come out and buy some stuff. billy

 

Bump....

 

The same people (if you can call them that) trading in the commodities markets that are inflating the price of metals, like iron and gold........ have been deregulated over the past few years and are setting the price of other commodities like crude oil you need to get to work, and grains for Wheaties to feed your kids with.
And I'm literally astonished by the comments I've read with respect (or lack of) to credit. I'm left wondering just how many people with a hot rod in the yard, pay some credit institution an interest at the end of the month on the very food they purchase and put on their table.

Isn't there anyone here who can remember the gold standard and what gold and silver certificates were we used as currency ? ?

Anyone here recall the 30's per chance? That's who we need to hear from; Tom S. in Tn.

 

This is what I am talking aboat, Helping each other, Guys , things are not that bad, we have just been spoiled for a long time, I was a kid in the sixties, My Dad was a doctor and made a pretty good living, but still, I had one pair of shoes, 3 pairs of pants and since I was the yougest, I got to wear hand me down shirts and sweaters, We had a pretty nice home and always ate well, but my parents never wasted money, and in ten years, my dad had paid off our house and remodeled it.

 

#162;
Miguel, the car going over the edge is very appropriate for this discussion. But, the coming months and winter will be very telling. Hopefully, the outcome will become one of God's blessings and a generations wake up call and learning experience as you and I grow older.

Keep in mind, writers to the HAMB here are like war vets. You only get to hear from the ones with a computer and electricity to run it, and never the nameless numbers who loose their voice and drop out of the media once their unemployment expires.
War stories, if ever told, are only from the few survivors, and never from the guys named on that big granite wall in D.C.

And I still get chilled to the marrow........... Tom S. in Tn.
We have crossed every HAMB boundary and are bound for censorship. I pray for lienency by the Alliance Members, but I am compelled at times to speak.

 

like I said before,made it through tough times before actually more than I care to remember being an Autoworker been handed walking papers many times,Cant remember it being this bad when I drive through Wilmington and see the line at the soup Kitchen,And I believe it all stems from Greed of the American Corporations wanting cheap labor and moving manufacturing to places where $1 a day labor can be found.Some would think that they are trying to turn America into a 3rd world country and succeeding at least it has here,the only way out of it is to make it a prioity to support your local hometown buisness demand american made products.Kinda hard to think of a hobby when you are trying feed and shelter your family.So help your neighbor

 

I agree 100%.....

 

Lost my business, my house, an shop plus all my cars ,parts an tools,but have been able to get a new start an its going great, already been promoted to a shop manager an have my eye on District manager. Able to pick up a '33 Ply coupe and getting some headway on it. God Bless America!

 

...but its not the companies that are wanting to do this.(mostly).its our "you know what"(G) forcing them to do this to survive, if you owned a company and kept getting fucked with by the man,EPA..regulations..etc and the unions, and the banks etc..found it was getting harder and harder to compete here, and you had enough money to take your toys to a different play ground where they didnt fuck with you...wouldnt you give it a try?
im not saying its right, im just bringing up the truth.

i bet you would, all in the effort to keep your buisness alive

these are the choices you have as a buisness owner here in the states..either you fold up and blow away, or regroup and try to take your toys to a better playing field..or contantly get fucked by the Man

we work too hard to develop these companies and buisnesses to let some short sighted stuffed suit tell us how to do it, but boy they sure are..
try running a company in this country..its a serious PITA!



when the "you know who" fired the PreZ of GM that was just the begining....theres a sign there people...are you paying attention?..get ready..again it isnt the majority of companies that want to do this..its the mind set of this establishment

 

Re: How has the ressesion affected our hobby

It has helped those who were looking for a car that was hard to get, and has helped with finding parts you need.

Even the older retired people that have good stable incomes/expenses seem to be selling stuff they never would in good times. That's because the steady news keeps telling them it is bad out there.

That's why you see so many cool old rods and parts being found/bought on many recent threads on hamb. ...and they are not coming from estate sales, the owners decided it's time to sell.

 

www.daveramsey.com

Lots of jobs back this way if anyone wants to give themselves a leg up.

 

Von rink Man I respectfully disagree with you,It Is GREED in big and small buisness,how many CEO s and Owners they do not want to share prospairty with their employees while making millions a year and and their employees get crumbs.When it is the employees doing the work.I mean how much millions does it take for them to live on while there employees work there asses off and barely survive,If you are a CEO or Owner instead of Making 5 million a year as a Ceo or Owner whats wrong with making 1 million and spreading the other 4 million to your employees the Walton Family of Walmart is a prime example their is only one answer GREED,You and I may be from different backrounds But I know how employers not all but allot could care less about their employees dont give a shit about their safety or if they make enough money to feed and shelter their family.My great grandaddy raised tobacco in Kentucky done well for himself but I know he never took advantage of seasonal workers either.It is a shame a person has to have a union in order to force the CEO s and Owners to pay and respect their employees safety but it is a fact

 

Classism is lame.

 

What hobby?

 

Sounds allot like that last place place I worked at....
Went 10 years almost without a raise...

 

well maybe some..but not all..especially us small guys who are stuggeling hard, and wish we could just move to stay afloat, rather than just be another closed door, or have this admin get its hands out of our pockets

my guys out in the field bring home more than I do, and have better benifits..but than again im not running a GM sized outfit either..greed isnt my companies problem..its the other "G"(the one we cant talk about on here)..and that G is very very greedy

you dont think the taxes your paying out of your check are showing the greed of this admin?., and every where else you pay tax??.you dont think a company that is opperating in this current economy are getting taxed right out of existance? think again, yeah you bet greed is a problem..the greed of this countries , "you know what" is one of the largest stumbling blocks to new start up companies or existing small companies that have no tax shelters because were not big enough like GE to tell em all where to stick it

and as far as safety ..in my company its paramount..we are at a .72 EMR..and for heavy industrial maintenance thats better than great

try running a show like this in todays government..you'll see, doubt it would make it thru the first few years before you would say fuckit, and the fuckit would come from the agrivation of dealing with way too dam many regulations and pit falls of this current admin and some of those before it

to put my views in context that they should be viewed as..Im not talking a muti billion dollar Corp..im talking about a family owned buisness that is prideful of its workers and have a vested interest in staying alive and keeping the people we have had for over 40 years still on the payroll..my employees are why my company still exists.(tallent).but this admin and some before it, sure isnt making it an easy row to hoe

I am not a publicly held corp..big difference..I have no share holders to impress..and wont ever eat from that table

 

Your right and wrong. Most people want to do good. Its corporations that are bad, their objective is profits for share holders. If the CEO doesn't keep that in mind he will be voted out.

Von rig fink is right in the fact that America fucks its businesses. As a business owner that takes very good care of his employees, its the city that takes away from my employees the most.

Most companys will tell you that its cheaper to make things in the states. Cheep labor and high shipping are equal to no shipping and high labor. You wanna build a company in America be ready to pay for every permit they can throw at you, OSHA fines, put in sidewalks, streets, fire hydrants, street lights, crazy landscaping in the desert, it is never ending with what they make you spend. then they change shit and make you pay double on their mistake. Thats why is cheaper to make products else where. You dont think people actually want to make things in china do you? They have to or go under.

 

We as a nation are Undergoing dramatic rapid change. I think eventually older vehicle,s will be singled out by the insurance companys. they will want to raise the rates to pay for the mega disasters that seem to keep on coming. I dont drive the V8,s as much since the high gas prices. The price of supplys like welding rods & wire oxygen and acetelyne paint new parts ect keep rising and my income keeps shrinking. No work at all for me this week. The kids are grown & Im out of debt and its still hard to have extra to spend on projects. For now im just doing things that dont require spending money. I dont know how those with familys& morgages are doing as well as the are. I hate to do it but some of my hoard will soon be at the scrapper,s. OldWolf

 

well funny you should mention it....i am thinking of "no" cost projects like painting the frame with a can of rustoleum and a brush....not very exciting but it takes up time and is costs next to nothing.


ps: President dwight eisenhower had it right when he said....every dollar we spend on guns takes a dollar away from our kids. these freaking wars are awfully expensive for us to pay for in terms of our kids lives and the $$$$$$$$....

 

Von Rink since you own a company of a skilled work force what do you call a Fair Wage?I do agree with you on permits and the like to me its like the seat belt law an avenue to compile funds for the county state or city.

 

Ya'll heard of a guy named Henry Ford? He started a car company a little over a hundred years ago. There is no way in hell he could have started it in the current day and time. The freakin regulations would choke him to death before he ever had a chance! We are legislating ourselves out of business in this country.

 

Tman,

You got it right. I am amazed daily at how many people around me talk about being "owed" by "fill in the blank". I started my first business at age 10 when got a lawn mower, a quart of oil and a gallon of gas. I had to work off the debt to my dad for the mower but learned a lot of valuable lessons in the process. So many people have forgotten that this is the land of opportunity not the land of entitlement. At least not until the present generation coming up it seems.

I have always found work to feed the family and keep a roof over our heads, not always what I would like but work never the less. I see people wearing high dollar Nikes and carrying $300 purses who complain that they can't pay their bills. I raised two boys and put a roof over our heads on $30K or less a year. We didn't buy those Nikes or $75 blue jeans but they are both hard working successful young men now. One is an engineer and the other is a Graphic Designer. Both went to college on academic scholarships, meaning they worked hard in school instead of skating their way through and asking for handout to get in college.

Live within your means, is exactly what a huge part or our populace can't seem to get.

 

I really dont think as a responsible business owner that it would be ethical for me to list what my guys are making,Im sure you wouldnt want your boss to do that to you, right? Not to mention you are really derailing this thread with a personal push on my buisness..

I also have to be competitive in my local area ..A "fair wage" is and should always be what that persons skill is worth..so bud, thats a moving target and there is no one set dollar figure for your closed ended question..but i can tell you i am very fair, almost if not to a fault
but guess what? im also regulated buy "you know who" as to prevailing wage(no not minimum wage, prevailing wage on a particular job as a contractor)..so i cant just work a guy for chicken feed, and i wont get the tallent and the level of responsibility i desire from a chicken fed paid employee, and i am well aware of that fact.
also area and state has a lot to do with what is a "good wage" ..in one place a hypotetical 23 bucks an hour might be great, in another area it might be shit.

1/2 my crew is union..i dont set the wage or the benifit package
the other guys that are not have health care, and other bennys..so that is also income

trust me..I have had 0 that is zero turn over of employees in over 20 years.(I had to fire a guy because he wasnt responsible, and had an attitude not reflective of my company. so it would have been more like 28 years if i didnt count him) If i was stiffing anyone , they sure as hell could have pulled up stakes and went someplace else, yet that is not the case, and yes i am talking about when "times were good"
and obviously if they are pulling down more than me as an hourly paid worker, than i must not be a dick or a greedy bastard...wouldnt you agree?

this is the last time i will adress this issue..so dont push
I can see you didnt like my opinion.. thats fine your entitled to think that way..but trust me ..spend a year in my shoes, you'd for sure see it differently