very good article I read:
Worth the long read.
Worth the long read.
STRUGGLING THROUGH THE HORRIBLE U.S. ECONOMY
Apparently much of our society was never taught one of life’s most basic truths; you simply can’t have it both ways.
Every day we awake to new catastrophic stories about the horrible economy of America. We’re told that people are suffering. Some are being forced to sell their personal items just to pay their bills. Woe is us.
Every single major economic indicator shows that none of this is true. The foreclosure “crisis” effects less than 1% of homeowners, all of those stories of people “walking away from their mortgages” have been proven to be a myth, 96% of us are still paying our bills on time, factory orders are up, housing prices are stabilizing and showing signs of beginning a rise within 8 months, Costco reported better than expected earnings (although when you read the actual reporting of this news, it is littered with bias not supported by fact…including the fact that Target posting a 3% increase in sales in April is good, but not good enough) and on and on the list of facts goes. Last week it was confirmed that we are not in a recession. In fact, we are not even in the beginning stages of a recession since it takes two consecutive quarters of negative growth to a recession make. Yes, the economy has slowed down, that is not arguable, however, we are told that it feels as though we are in a recession, and therefore it is so. This is where my head spins off of its’ swivel.
http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-fi-walkaway11-2008may11,0,7862151.story
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/05/02/afx4963518.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803346.html
The United States of America is the greatest economic creation in the history of the planet. While our national economy is constantly mismanaged by our politicians, the “real” economy is always self regulated by the American market(s), and continues to outpace the quality of life of every other nation on Earth combined. In America, you are defined as poor if you own fewer than 2 televisions. In Africa, you are the King of Chad if you own 2 televisions. Get a grip.
Enter the hypocritical double standard. When it is pointed out that America’s economy is just fine based on every factual and anecdotal piece of evidence, we are told that all problems are relative. In other words, while it is true that wealth in other nations is poverty in America; it still feels like an economic crisis when gas goes above $4 per gallon. Yet these same people who argue for relativity also refuse to use it as an equalizer. If all problems are relative, then one must use their empathy to realize that relatively speaking, you’ve got it pretty damn good here (and thus have nor right or reason to complain). Don’t think so? Move. Relatively speaking, I’m willing to bet you’ll be back pretty damn quick.
If you were diagnosed tomorrow with Diabetes, would that make it okay for you to bitch and moan about your restrictive diet to the face of a dying leukemia patient with no chance of survival? The answer, of course, is no, because while your diabetes is real and annoying to you on a daily basis, it is nothing, relatively speaking, when compared to a horrible, fatal disease. The U.S. economy has diabetes. Eat a cookie and settle the hell down.
While we’re on the subject of how ignorant and spoiled the American people are, let’s interject a few more facts to go along with our entrée of logic and reason. Gas and food prices are through the roof, yet airline bookings are at an all time high. I wonder how it is that we can be such a delusional people that we legitimately try to claim that the American people are struggling, yet we’re all gallivanting across the nation in record numbers. It’s 2008, for the love of crap; flying has never been less necessary to do business than today thanks to our whirlwind of technological advancements, yet we’re flying in record numbers. Not, it turns out, for business reasons, but rather for vacations. Hotel occupancies are also up slightly. How can that be in such an economically depressed nation?
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/04/11/summer.travel/
Last week, Callaway golf announced an incentive to entice people to consider purchasing some new golf equipment in these atrocious economic times; buy a new driver and receive a $100 gas card. Hello! You are still spending $500 on the damn golf club! Is this really what we’ve come to? Claiming that spending hundreds of dollars on toys is a hardship? Chrysler is willing to lock in gas at $2.99 per gallon for three years if you are willing to spend $25,000 on a car. Tough times…heavens to Mergatroids…how depressing it must be to have to be enticed to buy a brand new car that is worth more than the average salary of 90% of the world.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/BUSINESS01/805060337
A few weeks ago I wrote of my disdain for the media’s coverage of the economy by
trying to paint relatable pictures of hard-working blue collar Americans struggling to get by. In story after story, after we hear about how angry, sad or destitute the person in the story is we then come to find out that they are in the process of transporting their Arabian horses across the country, or being forced to auction away their Versace suits.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/23/gas.prices/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24375110/
This is where Americans simply can’t have it both ways. For decades, our society has chosen collectively to define itself by our material possessions. The issue has never been whether or not we could afford what we had, the issue has been how we can buy it. I live in a gated community that is one of the area’s more prominent neighborhoods for those of us who are doing well, but are not yet “super-rich.” We moved into our community as it was being finished and I could immediately spot the people who could afford to live in such an area, and those who were simply trying to show off to society that they were able to “buy nice things.” Since then, that latter group has been forced out by economic conditions. This does not define a recession nor a struggling economy; it defines vanity, stupidity and poor planning.
One such resident is the manager of a construction company. Two years ago when he spent more than $1 million for his house, business was booming; so much so, he declined an offer I made to him to do some work on my home. Today, he is literally begging for work and has been forced to try to sell his home (at a loss) and may even lose his business. This is not an example of a hard working American who has had his dreams crushed by our unfair and oppressive economic system; it is an example of an arrogant man who chose of his own free will to live well beyond his means and not economically prepare his family for the inevitability of slow economic times. Yes, it is sad, but no, it is not anyone or anything’s fault other than his own. We, the people, have created this alleged recession by insisting on living beyond our means so that we can appear successful to others.
I have a friend who literally lives paycheck to paycheck while paying more than $600 per month to Verizon wireless for his one cell phone. Meanwhile, I own a company that has five brand new, state of the art cell phones for five different employees who have unlimited internet access and up to 5,000 free minutes per month with no long distance or roaming fees with Verizon Wireless. My monthly bill? Less than $250. My friend is not a victim of being gouged by oil companies or the “bullshit economy” as he calls it, my friend is an idiot and a whiner.
Last week my wife told me that a friend of hers is so desperate and upset about gasoline prices that she has been forced to cut back her pedicures from weekly to monthly. I am not making this up.
These are not problems nor are they an indication of a sick national economy. These are indications of a spoiled culture with no clue about real struggle, hardship and actual sacrifice. It is true of these specific stories and also to those people who aren’t giving up pedicures to pay for gas, but rather are giving up cigarettes to pay the rent (who told you to smoke in the first place)? It is true of the single mom with three kids who can’t afford day care any longer because her food prices are too high. Last time I checked, birth control was still free and she should have obliged herself of some. People who argue that life “throws you unexpected curves” as an excuse for failing to adapt and overcome are nothing more than the worlds’ losers. Sadly, it seems that their ranks are growing.
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