Oh, the wonder of…

managing your cash flow. Of course this will be Chimpy McHitlerburtons doing.

16 Responses to “Oh, the wonder of…”

1. Cullen says:

   September 20, 2005 at 12:26 pm

   HOLY S@#T! A forklift operator earning SIX FIGURES!!! His pay was reduced to $87K.
   I have no sympathy. Absolutely none.

2. Crusader says:

   September 20, 2005 at 12:35 pm

   That is what I was thinking. People need to base their lifestyle on about 80% of their base pay, not 120% of it.

3. Mr. Bingley says:

   September 20, 2005 at 12:51 pm

   Damn. All those extra cars and boats and twinkies for Michael Moore can get expensive, I reckon.

4. Crusader says:

   September 20, 2005 at 1:06 pm

   Esp the twinkies and the lattes to wash them down…..

5. Mr. Bingley says:

   September 20, 2005 at 1:07 pm

   Well, you don’t expect the Servant of the People to wash them down with Dunkin’ Donuts, do you?

6. Cullen says:

   September 20, 2005 at 1:58 pm

   Who doesn’t make mistakes with their finances at some point? I’m still digging myself out from underneath my youthful follies. However, half a million dollars? At what point does someone realize that maybe they need to slack off a bit?
   Admittedly, that number probably includes his house, but GOOD LORD! That’s an amazing amount of debt considering what his salary is. My total debt is much less than my annual income (‘course I’m still renting an apartment). His is more than 400 percent of his annual income!!!
   Where do you draw the line?

7. Crusader says:

   September 20, 2005 at 2:23 pm

   Where do you draw the line?

   I suppose it depends on the person, but to me, overtime and bonuses are not something that you should figure into your budgeting. That seems to be what was getting these people into trouble. If you can’t pay all your bills on your base pay, you may just be over your head, but your mileage may vary.

8. Cullen says:

   September 20, 2005 at 2:42 pm

   Oh, I agree. I find it hard how someone could get that much in debt and not realize that they’re in a very bad state of affairs. It’s scary.

9. John says:

   September 20, 2005 at 3:10 pm

   Crusader, loan officers used to draw the line for you: total mortgage value of no more that 2.5 X one year’s base salary, and monthly debt service of no more than 50 or 60% of one month’s base pay. Now, with the banks offering interest only mortgages and instant second mortgages (that’s often the only way people can afford a house in NYC) no one is putting a lid on debt. Not that that excuses this guy – people need to take charge of their own finances.
   I still can’t fathom $87,000 to run a forklift. When I worked for &^@#$^&%$ Moving and Storage, forklift operators got about 2 – 3 X minimum wage.

10. Cullen says:

    September 20, 2005 at 3:23 pm

    That’s my biggest problem I think. Fathoming that much money for that kind of work.
    I don’t think that anyone should put a lid on debt, per se, but we need better education. Kids in high school don’t learn any of this crap. No business maths at all … maybe an elective. Lets load ’em up in Algebra, etc. but teach ’em how to balance a checkbook? Hell no.

11. nobrainer says:

    September 20, 2005 at 3:43 pm

    A few points:
    My old roommate drove a fork lift to get through college (and waste a lot in the markets and gambling) and made about 3x minimum wage. I guess he should have just moved to Detroit 10 years ago.
    Some states at least do require you to take a one semester econ class… not that it seems to do much good.
    Oh, and my broke fork-lift driving ex roommate, was a finance major. Figure that one out.

12. Crusader says:

    September 20, 2005 at 4:02 pm

    Yeah, that forklift pay is what blows me away.

13. The Real JeffS says:

    September 21, 2005 at 1:37 am

    That level of salary seems to be pretty common in the auto industry, if I read the article correctly. So it’s just more than fork lift operators. It appears to be anyone in the United Auto Workers.
    I recall reading about one laid off auto line worker who complained that he shouldn’t lose his job to automation. He spent 22 years doing the same thing, and was replaced by robots. What was his job? Putting tires on cars.
    So, stepping back here, and looking at the big picture, I’d say that the UAW has a hand in this. Granted, unions are there to benefit the workers. But paying $87K a year for a fork lift operator is extreme. I also notice that the UAW offers legal services for bankruptcy. Maybe they should offer financial counseling services as well, eh?

14. Mr. Bingley says:

    September 21, 2005 at 8:43 am

    Heck, I don’t begrudge somebody the salary that their boss is willing to pay them, but jeez louise I would reckon they should be able to scrape by on that sort of pay!

15. The Real JeffS says:

    September 21, 2005 at 8:54 am

    Mr. Bingley, this is an example of where a “luxury” mutates into an “entitlement”.

16. Cullen says:

    September 21, 2005 at 1:22 pm

    I agree with both Bing and Jeff. It’s a person’s responsibility to manage their own finances and to not expect to be entitled to that salary.