The cure for many of the things that we are going through is prosperity. Simple prosperity would allow us to clear our heads, and dedicate our passions to working through some of the problems we have. The health care issue is real, please do not misunderstand. But when many of us are unemployed, or have our hours cut back, or have no certainty about the future of our job at our employer, we start to get into a panic mode and what may have been a manageable issue or problem becomes something much more. For example, if our hours have been cut back on our job by say 25%, we start looking at ways to cut back, and some of us opt for things like higher deductibles on car and health insurance as a way to continue to put food on our tables. Imagine if gas prices were at the same point as last year, there would almost certainly be a collapse of our economy of some sort.
But why would prosperity alone, either nation-wide or even for ourselves, make a difference? True, the issues do not go away. But how we deal with everything becomes very different. With a secure job, hope for a raise in the future, new opportunities opening up, I know my attitude improves and i feel like i can take on anything. A short two years ago, i was managing the bills just fine, selling and buying a new home, welcoming my son into the world, and mentally this was MANAGEABLE. And because it was manageable from my mind's perspective, it became manageable in real life. I am not saying that bad things couldnt have happened to derail all of it one way or another, but the fact that this country seemed to be humming along contributed to an overall feeling of "I can handle this". Prosperity makes you want to do things, special things, with your loved ones. You want to go on trips, or surprise them with a present, or make time to be near them. How has this changed for many of us? What I find myself doing is a lot of second guessing when it comes to financial decisions. I don't plan as many things to do, always worried whats coming around the bend. And i dont believe that this feeling is just the result of watching too much bad news, or listening to too many pundits on the radio. I have had issues with work slowdowns, i am desperate to keep the job i have because unlike a couple years ago, i do not feel comfortable with the prospect of finding another job. The classified ads for jobs in the paper are the thinnest i have ever seen them, and all of these things come together to cause a lot of anxiety in my life. I am sure some of you feel that way as well. There is no quick fix, but our government is taking steps to further create difficulties in having prosperity, and i am not sure it is by accident that more and more people are having to depend on the government for the basic essentials of their life. More people are on food stamps and unemployment than i can personally remember, and with some of the legislation coming through having to do with punishing many of the manufacturing companies in this country, i cannot imagine it getting better. Is this what we are meant for? To be beholden and dependent upon government to live? For our food, our job, our health care?
Where did things go wrong? In studying habitats, sometimes you have to look to the smallest part to find out where the root cause of the illness is in the higher members of the food chain. I think it is just the opposite when it comes to this nation's financial well-being. The housing and auto industries represent two very large parts of our economy, because of all of the related economic components that go with them. The people that build houses and cars, they pay taxes, and purchase things with the money they make doing their jobs. There are ancillary jobs in the remodeling industries, aftermarket industries, and these people all pay taxes, and buy things which contribute to the economy as a whole.
The housing industry was ruined in part by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, who recieved as yet unknown perks from Countrywide home mortage before they went under. Loans were made to people requiring little or no background checks, and loans of 100% became common. Once people started defaulting and the cascade began, it was not long before we got in the mess we are now in. The auto industry suffered because people were A) afraid to spend money on a new car, given the economic climate and B) unable to buy a car because the job they thought they had was gone.
I wish i knew how to fix all this. I remember the words of Ronald Reagan, who said the government needs to be run like we run our own checking account. We cannot spend more money than we have. I just do not see the current group there both R and D being smart enough to do this.
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