Maybe Washington needs to take a lesson from the people?

 

Jim Toedtma, Editor of the AARP Bulletin, has a really good article for December.  He talks about the tremendous amount of money the American people have lost since the housing bubble of 2007.  12.9 trillion In home values have been lost.  He goes on to state that 6.7 trillion, about half of the total losses, exceeds the size of the entire Chinese economy or the size of Germany and France’s economy combined.

For many families that vanishing wealth would have been retirement savings, college tuition accounts or a safety net against job losses-or all three.

 

So how have we Americans responded?  His article states that we're saving more now and spending less.  In the current recovery, sluggish as it is, people have decided to do two things, save more and pay down old debt

What is the lesson here?

While Congress and the rest of Washington seem to be paralyzed, the American people move forward with a positive personal plan to improve their situation.  It's time that Washington took a page from the American people.  Look at the situation this country is in. Look at what this country needs to do?  Then make the necessary adjustments!!

If the people recognized that they need to toss their credit cards and open up savings accounts and pay down old debts, our leaders should do the same.  Jim's final statement in this article is simple.  It's a three step recipe - common sense, compromise and simple math.

It's long past time.  Our government needs to stop the spending, balance the budget, and close the tax loopholes.  Pay attention to the promises that they have made to the American people.  Now is not the time for our leaders to bicker like children.  We cannot wait another 12 months to get started.

When two people in a household realize that compromise is the only solution, then they can acquire as much as both of them want.  How can our government leaders not understand this principle?

What happened to me? When did I go all techno?

I remember not to long ago my son told me, that my communication skills were somewhere close to charcoal drawings on a cave wall.  My young granddaughter bought me a little bit closer to the 21^st century, by telling me that it was like Crayola crayons on the Dining Room wall. 

It’s true I avoided a computer most of my life.  When I was a kid a computer was something that took up an entire floor of the subbasement of the Pentagon.  They were big and most of us knew nothing about them.  A calculator was the size of some of today’s notebooks. (If you got caught using a calculator in school you probably got a failing grade for that day’s work.)

It’s true I shunned the computer most of my life.  I avoided jobs where I would have had to work with them.  But face it; I’m not big on telephones or writing letters either.  I had to have someone set up my TV and VCR.  So when did I go all techno?  I retired back in the beginning of 2011.  I now carry a cell phone, I own two computers and I am on them constantly.  My dear wife refers to herself as a computer widow.

I get most of my news; stock reports and entertainment offer the computer.  I have a spot on almost every social site there is.  I don’t think this is an addiction, but it’s coming close.

The things that bothered me most about the computer in the past, was that it intimidated me.  It was totally impersonal for me; I hated sending and receiving messages.  Now I send them by the ton.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like drawing on cave walls! 

Bah humbug I don’t do Christmas

Actually I don’t do any holiday, not that I’m a Scourge.  I’m not the Grinch who stole Christmas either. 

The holidays of my youth, seen through the joy, filled eyes of someone with a little less experience of how things work in this world. That joy has long since faded.  Life in those early years was full of wonder and excitement.  A sense of something very special.  Oh aye!  It was a day off from school, playing in the snow, and a couple of gifts, a big dinner with the family and a trip to church to hear about the amazing child born over 2000 years ago.  The whole experience had a very special feel to it.  The warmth of friends and family gathered together in celebration.  But it was more than that. It had a sense of belonging to something bigger.

I have grown older, wiser (but maybe a bit cynical) the friends and family have grown up and moved away.  Life has taken on different meanings and responsibilities.  Santa Claus doesn’t come down the chimney, but the credit card bill does come in the mail.  Holidays of all kinds are expensive.  I believe that we’ve lost the ability to just enjoy life without the extra expenses of supporting the holiday scenario.

Let’s just take a look at what Christmas would cost a family of four.  Mom and Dad and two children.  So Mom and Dad both work, both get the day before and Christmas Day off.  They both get paid holiday pay.  These are your average everyday hard working people so we’re going to assume they get holiday pay for the two days somewhere around $525.

Holiday dinner for four people with all the fixings and trimmings runs about $125.  A video game for junior about $60.00.  So being fair, they also have to spend the same amount of money on the other child $60.00. Mom buys something for Dad. Dad buys something for Mom about $125 each (250.00).  Of course we can’t forget Grandma and Grandpa.  Four more gifts at $60.00 each ($240.00).  This is just the immediate family; don’t forget brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins ($300.00).  You also had Christmas cards, stamps and those gifts that you bought for the office ($125.00).  But you’re not done yet?  Neighbors, friends and the post person.  The list goes on, but I don’t think there’s a reason to go on, you get the picture.  Holidays are expensive.  Dinner gifts and miscellaneous items $1010 minus you’re holiday pay $525 leaves $585 not covered under the holiday pay.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we should give up our holidays.  I just can’t remember where it went from a celebration of something very special, to a commercial endeavor.

Black Friday is meant to put commerce in black ink for that period.  It’s meant to put retailers over the top for the year.  When in fact Black Friday will put most consumers into the red ink for much longer.

I don’t know what’s wrong with this picture?

                                     I’m sorry I just don’t do holidays///enjoy your holiday

                                                                Best wishes for the New Year

You’re born, you live, and you die.

This is a simple statement of fact. We humans spend about 27,000 days on average in this life

We have no control over our birth.  We also cannot stop death. Some or all of the things we can do in the middle may, or will affect the middle and the last part of our lives.  But how we live our lives during those 27,000 days is pretty much up to us.

Now, I guess I’ve always believed that we have free will to live our lives as we wish.  I also believe that there may be some kind of predetermined destiny, a path, a direction, on which our life takes off that will guide us to our final days.  Now, I’m not talking about a straight line from beginning to end, from birth to death.  Not any kind of Life Energy, or a guiding hand that will take us to the first crossroads, or to any crossroads in life.  I’m only talking about the decisions we make, that will continue to lead us too many more crossroads in life.

In our first five years (1825 days) most decisions are made by our Elders, parents and those around us who are wiser and have more experience. All we know is that we’re hungry, cranky or happy.  Not much beyond that. (Oh yes, when we are messy too).  After those early years, life becomes an adventure.

Good decisions can extend our lives, make us happy, educate us and make life enjoyable: to live.

Not so good decisions will take us down different roads.

Example; A five year old riding a tricycle down the sidewalk, you have two simple decisions that could    affect the rest of your life.

1.       You go down the driveway and onto the road into oncoming traffic.  This could affect your ability to make it to the next crossroad of life or your next decision.

2.       Or you can sample, listen, to what you’ve been told about staying out of the street.  Living to enjoy yet another day.  Enjoying the benefits of making good decisions also gaining life experiences.

3.       A 13 year old, (4745 days old) who is now entering the age where they know it all!   After years of good advice, they decide to start smoking, drinking or doing drugs! All things that can certainly alter your course to the next crossroads. 

All crossroads, like all decisions, lead somewhere.  It takes time and experience to learn how to make good decisions, also like learning to read a road map, learning to read life’s crossroads takes time and experience.

So enjoy life, learn how to make good decisions, except the knowledge that you obtain from the bad decisions.

Try to always remember; decisions are like money, the more you make, the more you’ll enjoy life.

I can't believe the response

Reading this weekend, I found this little article and showed it ot my wife.

It reads= shortly before our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband send me 25 long standed yellow roses at my office. A few days later I dried the petals, and in anticipation of the romantic evening, spread  then on our bed. As I hoped, I got a reaction from my husband.  When he saw me he shouted " are those potato chips? "

Now my wife said " that's just like a man" I just don't understand?  I like potato chips, just not in my bed.

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

As true as that statement is, sometimes you’re able to make a good second impression.  My point being I seen an interview with Don King, on the bill O’Reilly show the other night.  Don King.  A man who I’ve always thought a little bit odd, flamboyant and outspoken.  Topic of conversation was about to Wall Street protesters.  Mr. King said that he was going down the Wall Street to speak with protesters.  O’Reilly made a statement that had the phrase African American in it.  Nothing negative, nothing inappropriate.  But I loved Don King’s response, and that was simply am not African American I’m just an American.  This is something that I’ve written about before.  This is something that I feel strongly about.  I’d love to see more people who have a public platform take a similar position.  We need to rebuild our pride in being Americans first, and then taking pride in our family’s background.  Good showing Mr. King!!!

Someone else in the news, who has been making a good second impression.  Has been President Clinton.  He seems to be on point out what’s going on in our economy.

Another person in the news was made a good second impression.  Is Newt Gingrich.  And started to like some always got to say in the sounds a bit more reasonable these days.  It’ll be interesting to see if he starts to rise in the polls.

Then, there’s Herman Cain.  When my book made a good first impression and continues to make an even stronger second impression.  But these are my opinions for this week.

Showdown at McDonald’s

  At least it was a good conversation anyway.

Yesterday I stopped off at the local McDonald’s for a cup of coffee. I grabbed a copy of the newspaper, went and sat down.  I had no intentions, other than to enjoy my coffee and read the paper.  But that’s not what was going to happen.  After just a few moments, a couple of young men took the table next to me.  They started a conversation between themselves.  I didn’t mean to ease drop on their conversation but it was hard not to hear what they were saying.  After a few moments of not agreeing with their conversation.  I must have snickered louder than I had meant to.  Because one of them turned to me and said, “So, I guess you don’t agree with me?”  And we’re off, because I said, “No, not at all.” 

Now before I can get into what we’re talking about, I’ll need to tell you what I found out about these two gentlemen.

Both of them are working for a radio station in a small town in Northwest Nebraska.  They are Radio Engineers and they were on their way to Denver for training. One was a black gentleman in his late twenties - early thirties, tech school trained, with some college.  The second one was a white gentleman in his early twenties, recently out of tech school, working a two year apprenticeship at the station.

The only reason I point this out is so you understand that the two of them were educated and in the business that would allow them access to the information, so they knew what was going on.

Now onto the conversation that, I overheard.  The younger guy started a conversation by saying something about, the occupied Wall Street demonstrations.  He pretty much agreed with what is going on, on Wall Street today.  Of course I don’t believe the same way.  The two of them discussed several things about the protesters or at least what they thought the protesters were there for.  The second guy made reference to all of the legal actions that Wall Street has taken the last couple years.  He felt that was why our economy is in such bad shape.  He then brought up how people like Warren Buffett, billionaires and millionaires pay fewer taxes than the rest of us.

I guess by this time their conversation had gotten to me.  I must’ve snickered or they caught me rolling  my eyes, because the black gentleman, looked at me and said I guess you don’t agree.  I then said that I didn’t totally disagree but I couldn’t actually agree with what they were saying.  So the younger of the two asked me what I disagreed about. 

I said first of all the protesters are in the wrong city.  Although Wall Street wasn’t the scene of the crime they certainly didn’t help when it came to our recent economic downturn.  But the real culprits are in Washington, DC.  They ask me how I figured that.  I then said, if Washington and the Federal Reserve actually set regulations to oversee the mortgage industry, such as Freddie and Fannie, banks wouldn’t have written so many bad loans.  Banks are in the business to make money for banks.  Then the other guy brought up Warren Buffett’s statement, about how he paid fewer taxes then his secretary.  Mr. Buffett, because of his money, is in a position to take advantage of all tax laws and loopholes, which his secretary may not be able to take advantage of.  I pointed out that Mr. Buffett most likely takes quite a bit of his income in ways that favor his tax situation.  I also pointed out that anyone associated with Warren Buffett and takes advantage of Mr. Buffett’s knowledge and experience. Makes money and probably pays fewer taxes.

The younger guy that brought up the inadequacy, of who has all the money, and how little he made himself.  I asked what he meant.  He said the big fat cat bankers and people on Wall Street make millions of dollars a year and that he couldn’t make enough money to pay his rent.  So I asked how much money he thought a millionaire might have made in their first job.  He looked at me like I was crazy.  Now I’m no millionaire, I asked them what he thought I’d made and my first job?  He looked at me, and said with all due respect, I guess a couple bucks an hour.  I then told that my first job out I school paid 50¢ an hour and at that time my father made less than two bucks an hour.  You could see on his face that he didn’t believe it.  But by that time two or three of the other local older guys had joined me at the table.  Some of them are as much as 10 years older than me and said that they had started work for less pay than me.

Again we went back to millionaires and billionaires and how Warren Buffett and a few others have said that they are willing to pay more in taxes to help our economy out. I appointed out that I am sure that they actually do not want to pay higher taxes, but that they themselves are in the position financially, that paying higher taxes would put a financial strain on them.  I personally believe that people now have been so blessed by our capitalistic system that people who used their own natural abilities and the education they have acquired, are willing to take the lead to help build a strong economy.

By this time they finish their breakfast and were ready to hit the road.  The older of the two said he hadn’t really changed his mind but he did have a new way to look at how he felt about what was going on.  The younger guy I felt was more angry than concerned about what was going on but it didn’t seem near as hostile when they departed.  Actually he offered to shake hand saying it was a shame they didn’t have more time to continue the discussion.

After they left my coffee mates, tried to say how misinformed these two guys were.  I reminded them how misinformed our views were and different back in the days of our youth.