Budget madness

I'm sure nearly everyone has heard at least something about the budget battle going on here in the USA?  Well, at least I thought nearly everyone had..... until the last couple of days.  Can you believe that there are some who haven't heard a word about it?  I mentioned to a couple of my neighbors that I was a little worried that the government checks might not come out on time.  WHAT?!  WHAT?!  What are you talking about was the response from the neighbors.  Apparently they had been so busy watching movies on cable that they hadn't heard anything about the budget battle.  Good thing or bad thing? 

I guess it's all in how you look at it.  What's my opinion?  Well, I've always believed sometimes a child must fall before they know not to tip a chair backwards.  So what I say about the budget crisis is.......

LET IT HAPPEN, GO AHEAD AND DEFAULT, OR WHAT EVER ELSE WILL HAPPEN

because America needs a wake up call to reality.

Today's generation doesn't really think of consequences; they only think of ME and RIGHT NOW.  I think we all need a reminder of what debt really means to us and our daily living.

As a child that was born in a time when America was still suffering from food shortages and lingering ration stamps, I know how hard it can be to survive on very little.  Although I was too young to remember actually using ration stamps, my Grandma Mama and Grandpa Papa taught me the ways they lived during those hard times.  Just because the ration stamp programs ended, it didn't mean my grandparents would suddenly start spending like nothing else mattered.  They continued to live a frugal life until their death.    

Younger generations haven't a clue how very hard life "could" be.  When I was a child I was taught the value of hard work.  From an early age.... maybe 3 or 4.... I had chores to do everyday.  If the chores were not done I knew there would be consequences.  A stern look from my Grandma Mama was usually the thing that made me take notice of my actions.  As I grew older I never questioned that the chores became more frequent or more adult in nature.  If Grandma Mama said go beat the rugs.... I beat the rugs.  If Grandpa Papa said go milk the cows for him that day.... I went to milk the cows. 

I sat on my front porch a few days ago and happened to hear one of the neighbors tell her 8 year old to go pick up a piece of trash he had thrown on the ground.  His response was..... F*** you B***h, pick it up yourself.  So she did.  I know my Grandma Mama was holding her ears and nearly crying in heaven at such a sight.  I just felt very sad.  Sad that we have lost all control over the younger generations.  This was not the first time I've heard that woman's children curse and be disrespectful.  They are not the only family with children like that in my neighborhood.  Around here it's normal to act that way. 

Hard work was expected of me as a child because I was a part of the "family" and family meant business.  Hmm.... how to describe it?  The household was run like a business with every member being a part owner.  No business can be successful if only some of the workers do their work while the rest do nothing.  All money was put into the family business and each member had to ask for something they needed or wanted.  If I had to compare a tv show to the life I lived as a child it would be the Walton family. 

The tv show about the Walton family living in a rural area was very much like the life we lived.  The Waltons were never seen in a field with a mule and plow but I could imagine they did.  The Waltons were never shown with wash pots boiling in the yard or children gathering eggs from the hen house but the wash got done and the eggs got gathered.

Did you know that the same kind of budget battle talks happened to President Roosevelt?  He wanted to start the WPA work program and congress fought him about it.  He wanted to raise the debt limit and congress fought him on that too.    Yes, a whole lot of what is being seen in congress today is a repeat of things that happened back then.   Maybe President Obama should quote some of the history he claims to have studied?

So maybe it really is time to let the government default and get it over with.  No more childish arguments back and forth.  No more selling of votes in congress.  Let the younger generation learn it's lesson just like the generations before them learned their lessons.  Let people learn that debt really is slavery and begin to say we no longer want to be slaves to foreign countries. 

Ok, I'll get off my soap box now. 

Do you remember?

Does anyone remember the Y2K threat about the internet going dark because of some kind of virus?  Does anyone remember that when it didn't happen then suddenly someone popped up and said it wasn't supposed to happen in the year 2000 but much later?  Like 2011?

Well, guess what?  For the last couple of weeks it has "felt like" it has finally started to happen.  I've read time after time people complaining about not being able to make comments..... even on their own blogs.  I've had the same problem here too.  Also, I can get some email, some of the time.  I can send emails, some of the time.  Other times I can't.

Some bloggers are thinking they may give up blogging because no one is commenting to them.  If you are not able to send me comments.... it's ok.  I can't always send comments either.  For the moment I can't answer comments even if some do get through to me.  I wrote a grouchy post about it a couple of days ago.  That was before I noticed so many having the same problem all around the world. 

No, I don't really believe that the Y2K virus.... that was later predicted to happen in 2011.... has finally come.  But, the problem sure must be one really big headache for the owners and workers of Blogger right about now.  Can you imagine them all huddled around a computer screen trying to track down the problem? 

Some of the issues may be related to weather problems too.  Many places have lost not only power but whole buildings in storms and floods and fires.  How many of those places are connection points for the strings of the world wide web?  If the web breaks, it takes awhile to get it built back. 

I can't help but wonder..... how many people relying on the internet would become lost if it suddenly did shut down completely?  How much communication would come to a halt?  Many of us have formed small internet communities as we read the blogs of others or they read ours.  Many of us belong to email lists and have many friends there.  There are other friendships formed on things like twitter and facebook and other ways.

If everyone woke up in the morning and there was no more internet what would we do?  Would you be able to contact your long time internet friends the old fashioned way with a pencil and paper?  I don't think I would be able to contact more than a couple of people.  Would you go through an internet withdrawal?  I probably would because I read several blogs.  Not all of them every day but I get to each of them every few days. 

Ok, my thoughts are starting to get a little too deep and scary for me.  Thinking "what if" doesn't do much good except for emergency preparedness.  For now, I'm just going to keep on writing and keep on reading.  There will be plenty of time for comments when the issues have all been cleared up.

Hmm.... just in case.... let me say how much I appreciate each and every one of my readers! 

HUH? What?

*** note, I wrote this post a few days ago but failed to post it.  I'm putting it up even though it's a few days late.

Pardon me while I get up on the soap box and vent a little.  Before I go on let me explain that I believe there is a big difference being rich and being wealthy. Rich is like a self centered movie star or spoiled hotel chain owner. Wealthy is someone who works hard, lives thrifty, gives to charity, and saves for the future. The rich flaunt their money. The wealthy are like your next door neighbors.

I think the government people have lost their minds or maybe I'm just seeing things differently than I used to.  I was watching the Fox News Channel (FNC) about 3:30 am this morning.  I watched John Stotzel (sp?) talk about government subsidies given to the rich (himself included) while the poor can't get them.  It's a matter of the richest people cheating to get all the breaks while the poorest can't get a break.  The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. 

John pointed out that the people who really need certain things can't afford them in order to qualify for the subsidies.  Like, for example, solar power for homes.  The poorest people can't afford the thousands of dollars to invest in solar panels and wiring but the wealthy can.  So the wealthy get money from government every year because they install solar panels on their mansions while the poorest people, who desperately want solar, can't afford to get it.    The poor and middle class people are the ones who would benefit most from solar powered homes; yet, these are the ones who can't afford it in the first place.  In my opinion there should be grants for the poor and middle income people to install solar and no subsidy for the rich.  Or at the least a very limited subsidy for the rich.

Another subsidy John talked about was the rich having honey bee stands on their property.  John talked about how rich people have a bee keeper bring and store one honey bee stand on their property.  They have the bee keeper take care of it.  And they now qualify to get a government subsidy every year.  That's clearly cheating.    The intention (I believe) of the bee subsidy was for farmers to keep the bee population going... not to simply give the rich people a way to cheat.

I wish the show would air again because I missed about half of it.  Hmm.... why was this show aired at a time when most people are still sleeping?  It should be shown in prime time so more people see what's happening and then ask themselves who in DC is voting for those subsidy things.  It just irks me to see all the ways the millionaire rich cheaters get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class get squeezed in between.  Many people don't even realize what's happening.  While there are talks of cutting spending for a balanced budget..... why are these subsidies going to those who don't need them and social services are being cut?

Later, during another show, I saw where one state is planning to tax people who are over weight and those who are diabetic.  Aw come on.... what's next, a weigh in before filing a tax form every year?  A CPA certified weight?  Are there going to be weigh stations for people placed on sidewalks and country roads where people must get on the scales in the same way the trucks do?  If you are going to penalize or tax people for being overweight.... you should first offer healthier foods at reasonable prices.

Taxed for being diabetic?  What about infant diabetes?  Are they taxed too?  All I can say about this tax is that if the poor are to prevent diabetes, they must first have access to healthy foods and education.  The cheapest foods are fattening and unhealthy foods.  Look at a discounted package of sugary, deep fried, cheap donuts next to a bag of tomatoes or lettuce.  The tomatoes and lettuce cost way more these days.  If someone is simply buying food to keep from starving, on a very limited budget, the donuts will win.  You get the most volume from the donuts.  Volume fills the tummy.  Visit any food bank and you will find foods given out to prevent starvation but not intended to be healthy.  Again, the most volume, which is meant only to prevent starvation.

We finally have a farmer's market on this side of town.  There are usually one or two vendors once a week during the summer.  Their produce prices are as high or higher than a grocery produce department.  I'm really happy to see a small farmer's market day in this neighborhood.  I'm hoping some people will do what ever possible to buy the fresh veggies like I will be doing.  Yes, the cost is prohibitive for many in this area.  So where are the government subsidies for these farmers so they can lower their prices in low income neighborhoods?  Where is the subsidy for food banks to buy and give out healthier foods?  You see what's wrong with this picture?  The rich get richer.... the poor get poorer.... and the middle class is just one paycheck away from being poor.  What's next, a tax on being poor?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great when a rich person enjoys the money they have.  If I had it, I would enjoy my money too.  It's just that there is a big imbalance between what really qualifies as a good government subsidy and one that's designed to help rich people cheat the system.  Paying a bee keeper to store one bee stand on your property should not be rewarded with money from the government.  Being an actual bee keeper and tending lots of bee stands, wherever placed, should qualify.  Being a mega farmer with thousands of acres of crops being sold to mega processing plants should not qualify.  Being a simple truck farmer making healthy produce available and affordable to the poorest neighborhoods should qualify. 

I guess I should explain again.... that I believe there is a big difference being rich and being wealthy.  Rich is like a self centered movie star or spoiled hotel chain owner.  Wealthy is someone who works hard, lives thrifty, gives to charity, and saves for the future.  The rich flaunt their money.  The wealthy are like your next door neighbors.

I guess what it really comes down to is that I believe the government is broken and no one is agreeing on how to fix it.  The current subsidy programs are designed to create cheaters among the wealthy while the low and middle income people suffer the consequences.  

I believe the problems are only going to get worse as the economy changes.  No matter what the government  reports say.... as long as prices on basic foods keep getting higher the economy is not improving.  As long as a larger and larger chunk of our income goes for basic needs like food, shelter, utilities, gas, and health insurance..... the economy is not getting better.  Is there anyway to stop this train wreck?  I don't know.  I wish I had the magic answer.  Gee, I wish someone, anyone, had the magic answer. 

Ok, I'll get down off the soap box now and put on my flame proof pants.