I listened to our President's speech and wonder what will happen now? It occurred to me that many people might not realize the urgency of these issues. After all, some of us are still working, or in my case, happily collecting a Social Security check after years of paying into the system. If you have a job there is no recession. You can go about your life, drink your lattes and when you feel so inclined, even buy something.
It is a great time to buy, housing prices are at an all time low and there are great deals to be made on autos.
60% of us can still live "The American Dream".
The problem with this thinking is it used to be 95%. 5% unemployment has always been considered normal and desirable in our economic world. Our system worked well when we only had to contribute to these bottom 5% unemployed and those who needed our help.
The scale is now out of balance, what used to be 5% is close to 40% now. 20% unemployed or not even hunting for work and another 20%, the new working poor, those scrapping by and getting a little deeper in debt each month.
Not much was even said about National Health Insurance, that is the gorilla no one wants to talk about. Millions more of us are going without insurance ever month and I would hate to count the people who are under-insured, those who think they have insurance but don't. Lots of insurance policies pay 80% and it is so easy to get a $200,000 medical bill these days, leaving you with $40,000 to pay out of your pocket.
There is an urgency but in our sheltered lives these are just statistics, numbers that do not apply to us.
In listening to our President's speech I realized that we have forgotten our sense of unity. Maybe we only get this when we are attacked? Like 9/11 or Pearl Harbor? Something to drive us out of our place of
complacency? Something to create that feeling of us out of our isolation?
There are practical reasons to worry about these numbers. They are changing fast and we can soon find ourselves on the wrong side of the scale. My God, we have become them! Next Friday could become our pink slip. And then there are other reasons.
We are Americans and "United we stand." The divisiveness of our political parties is not working. I think there are personal agendas, corporate protections, and a reverence for the wealthy taking precedence, clouding the issues, dividing us and making us weaker.
I am not sure whether we can wait fourteen more months until there is another election. Our situation is getting worse faster than we care to think. Soon enough we won't have the luxury of considering what is fair
and just and equal, we will need to deal with what works to save this sinking ship. That will be ugly indeed.
Somehow history will show that we did something wrong. One problem with Democracy is that we are allowed to vote with our emotions, gut feelings without considering the consequences. Maybe there should be some kind of test for our elected officials? At least a civics exam and maybe the current price of a loaf of bread? Sometimes I think they are from a different planet.
Fourteen months will be a long time for something that could be decided now. It is difficult to get on with the business of living when the future is so undecided.
That is a contagious attitude. Even my daughters who are among the 60% employed have developed this attitude. They won't buy a house until they see what happens. They won't buy into the "American Dream"
because they see it as a failure. It is a contagion of defeat.
No one wants to play the game until they know what the rules are.
When I have a job, this is the website I take people to: HERE
It is a great time to buy, housing prices are at an all time low and there are great deals to be made on autos.
60% of us can still live "The American Dream".
The problem with this thinking is it used to be 95%. 5% unemployment has always been considered normal and desirable in our economic world. Our system worked well when we only had to contribute to these bottom 5% unemployed and those who needed our help.
The scale is now out of balance, what used to be 5% is close to 40% now. 20% unemployed or not even hunting for work and another 20%, the new working poor, those scrapping by and getting a little deeper in debt each month.
Not much was even said about National Health Insurance, that is the gorilla no one wants to talk about. Millions more of us are going without insurance ever month and I would hate to count the people who are under-insured, those who think they have insurance but don't. Lots of insurance policies pay 80% and it is so easy to get a $200,000 medical bill these days, leaving you with $40,000 to pay out of your pocket.
There is an urgency but in our sheltered lives these are just statistics, numbers that do not apply to us.
In listening to our President's speech I realized that we have forgotten our sense of unity. Maybe we only get this when we are attacked? Like 9/11 or Pearl Harbor? Something to drive us out of our place of
complacency? Something to create that feeling of us out of our isolation?
There are practical reasons to worry about these numbers. They are changing fast and we can soon find ourselves on the wrong side of the scale. My God, we have become them! Next Friday could become our pink slip. And then there are other reasons.
We are Americans and "United we stand." The divisiveness of our political parties is not working. I think there are personal agendas, corporate protections, and a reverence for the wealthy taking precedence, clouding the issues, dividing us and making us weaker.
I am not sure whether we can wait fourteen more months until there is another election. Our situation is getting worse faster than we care to think. Soon enough we won't have the luxury of considering what is fair
and just and equal, we will need to deal with what works to save this sinking ship. That will be ugly indeed.
Somehow history will show that we did something wrong. One problem with Democracy is that we are allowed to vote with our emotions, gut feelings without considering the consequences. Maybe there should be some kind of test for our elected officials? At least a civics exam and maybe the current price of a loaf of bread? Sometimes I think they are from a different planet.
Fourteen months will be a long time for something that could be decided now. It is difficult to get on with the business of living when the future is so undecided.
That is a contagious attitude. Even my daughters who are among the 60% employed have developed this attitude. They won't buy a house until they see what happens. They won't buy into the "American Dream"
because they see it as a failure. It is a contagion of defeat.
No one wants to play the game until they know what the rules are.
When I have a job, this is the website I take people to: HERE
5 comments:
StonePost with so many countries heading in the same direction, most citizens don't seem to realise the seriousness of the situation.
Where are we heading?
I thought the president had some great idea's but you could tell by the reaction or lack of from many in congress, that it wouldn't matter what he said they will never do anything that shows agreement with him. The way this country pulls together in a crisis is amazing but as you said it must be something like an attack on us for people to do so. Even though what's happening now is a crisis beyond crisis's people just sit in it and stew kind of like a frog that's slowly boiled.
My son thinks voters need to take a test before being allowed to vote.
I don't know about the housing at least in California. My daughter bought a house 10 years ago for $400,000. It went up to $900,000 before the recession and now it is down to $700,000. I think almost double the price in the midst of the biggest recession in history is still way too high! Housing got out of control and the business world is just waiting for it to take off again. I am pretty much out-priced for living by my daughter. My son just bought a house in Oceanside a few months ago for $200,000. Sounds great but it is a 1953, one-car, one bathroom house. You can't even fit a real dining table in the "dining room". It's no wonder people don't want to buy. And it's almost impossible to build your own anywhere and heaven forbid you want a small home - the cities don't give permits for small ones anymore.
There is a lot that has to change to bring the country back and I think it's time to stop thinking we need to hold a "reverence for the wealthy" as you say.
You are right about the healthcare too. It doesn't sound like 20% is too much but if you need a hospital stay it adds up too fast! I read an article saying people are forgoing knee and hip replacements due to that 20% but how do you opt out of a bypass surgery? You can't so you end up poor trying to pay the bill.
This is all to gloomy for me to handle well today. Something's missing in our culture now days. I can't quite put my finger on it. I know when I work around young people most of their values and attitudes are more fatalistic. They just don't care beyond their own selves much. This attitude was going on well before jobs started disappearing. I worked with a lady just out of college this summer who really does care, but in my experience she an exception, not the norm. All I find myself worrying about any more is if I am going to still be working next week or if I will loose my job and the retirement that goes with it. I know there are no miracles, but I'm fed up with our leaders not being able to lead very well, not being able to work for the good of the country and its people. Politics in the end is just that, politics. It's all about politic anymore.
Hard not to feel defeated, quite honestly, Jerry. I'm feeling it.
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