Daily Mood Quote
Day 241 – January 15, 2012
“When you undervalue who you are, the world will undervalue what you do and vice versa.”
~Suze Orman
I admire someone who speaks their mind, especially if he/she knows what they are talking about. Suze Orman speaks her mind and calls it like she sees it. In a recent report by CNN News, she states that, “1 in 3 Americans are living in poverty,” during a George Washington University speaking engagement (see following web link for news story:
She also said, “the middle class callers she once had, are now living in poverty.” How in world is this possible?
One in three Americans living in poverty, I have to repeat it to make sure that I heard it correctly, yes, I did. Have we fallen so far down the economic scale, that the possibly of the middle class becoming extinct is on the horizon? She also stated that 28% of children born into the middle class today, will be in poverty by the time they are adults. I guess it might be safe to say, that college is out of the question, because it won't be affordable. Even if a poor person gets a job, will the money be enough to buy food for the table and keep a decent roof over their heads? Or, is that too much to ask (Thank you Jimmy Stewart from It's a Wonderful Life.) It's not a wonderful life anymore.
There is real pain and suffering attached to the fact that the gap between the wealthy and those stricken with poverty, or at least “income challenged” in the new vernacular, is becoming wider and less easily crossed. I know that today I am on a bit of soap box, but I feel that some things need said. The first is, that we all have had a hand in creating this sad financial era. We as a nation have bought into the credit laden, underfunded, economic meltdown in several key areas. And I admit, for a while I bought into it too. Easy credit and the fantastical daydream that income would rise along with prices, cast a spell of consumerism, that helped drive so many families to the brink of disaster; it only took a single downturn to shove us over the edge. At the same time, we became apathetic and abdicated our civil duty to be mindful of who we elected into Congress. That little slip allowed law after law to be passed and the controls to the economy to be slowly and insidiously passed to the financial markets since the Reagan Era. It didn't happen over night. Nobody was accountable and nobody was at the helm and everybody believed that it was okay; as long as we got our new home and a 50” LCD television. We let the “experts” run the show. Kind of like the fox guarding the hen house. Ergo, shipwrecked economy. It wasn't a question of if, it was a question of when. History is cyclic and the Bush (W.'s) administration thought they could avert the oncoming recession by starting a war in the Middle East. That's how we got out of the Great Depression (WWII), but, it cost us millions of lives. And the Cold War spurred financial gains via new technology; soooo......
Unfortunately, we live in a much different world today and economies are intertwined so deeply; to hurt one is to hurt all, including ourselves. Oil prices jumped and the wealth went to the commodities speculators who sat on the cash, unlike those in the past who spread it around by hiring and building economies. The “Technology Boom” in the United States is also fading quickly, as formerly third world nations can build it quicker, faster and most importantly, cheaper. Remember the transistor radio and how it spurred the Japanese economy? No new technology, because NASA (which spurred the new technological breakthroughs, is now a shadow of its former self) cannot come to save the day.
So much for the history lesson and now we are at the bottom of the curve again. So how do we get out of this mess? This is just my humble opinion, from Southwest East Podunkville. Our parents, in some cases our parent's parents, had the right idea. First, get ready for a long haul and then stop digging deeper! Stop spending on credit (personally, I think credit card companies need to fail, as they prey on financially challenged people. Their era is over.). It took a long time to get in this hole, the balance of things means it'll most likely be a long climb out. The key is to not give up and start to vote out the “Bozos” who have “served” (I use that term loosely) more than two terms in Congress and demand that our government work together, or they will be unemployed too. Personally, I believe that last statement is probably a small affront to clowns, because they at least work for a living. Also, demand reform of campaign finance laws to return the balance of power to the people, not the corporate lobbyist. A business that cannot even vote, should not have more power to influence than a single voter. That's the way the framers of our Constitution wanted it (my opinion here). Secondly, The public in general needs to think about how we are spending, and saving. Don't trust your employer to “invest for you,” pension funds and securities backed 401Ks are a fraud. Granted, money is scarce; but instead of the big TV, get the smaller one, (only if you really need it) and put the rest away. Skip the 1000 channels and opt for the package that doesn't break you. Put it in a low yield “safe” savings bond, or in an SNL, skip the big banks, because their fees will make it evaporate. Yes prices will continue to spiral, but resist the urge to cash it in. Buy on sale and buy what you need. When you get a chance stock up a bit on essentials. Nothing kills a budget faster than constantly running out of something, then “running out” to get what you ran out of. When you have enough to invest without digging into savings, invest in companies that make things you like and use and be prepared for slow returns. Like Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko) said in Wall Street Never Sleeps, “The mother of all evil is speculation.” Be patient and never stop saving. Then teach your children the same and make it stick. Also, use the internet for what it is best at, providing information; learn everything you can about that which inspires your heart and about prudent economics.
Somehow, some where along the line, I believe we got lost or caught up in “keeping up with the Joneses” My name isn't Jones, so why should I try to keep up with them? Here is my thought, I have met the Joneses and those keeping up with the Joneses and personally, it's just not worth the effort, life is too short to keep playing catch up. I choose to enjoy life, not worry about the things other's have.
Rule #32, “enjoy the little things.” (thank you Woody Harrelson (Tallahassee) and Jesse Eisenberg (Columbus) from the movie Zombieland).
What kind of future are you leaving for the next generation?
Tune in tomorrow to read daily mood
Thank you for reading
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