Our economic woes; a reality check, hockey style!

A second economic depression on it's way??? Probably not, but our Country is in SERIOUS economic trouble and you could say i'm a little freaked out now. The stock market's nose dive this week is just a preview of the wild ride to come. Yes it has alot to do with people living above their means, buying more home that they can afford and racking up some serious credit card debt, but there's alot more to the problem. So what gives??? Well, our government for one; it gives, and gives out millions of dollars in a never ending wastethon. I could go on and on, but the short version is that the government has promised FAR more than it can ever afford, and it all boils down to a massive distortion in the division of responsibilty. It's a simple concept really, In fact we're teaching it to our kids right now with the kittens we got for them and with a chores for allowance program. Kids take out the trash and cat litter, clean their rooms, do the dishes, and we pretty much do everything else. In reality, the division of labor is like 1% kids, 99% Mom and Dad (even though in their minds we're brutal slave drivers breaking half a dozen child labor laws). My point is, problems quickly arise when people disagree on who is responsible for what. It happens on the family level and there are a few arguments and door slams, it happens on a national level to the extreme over decades, and we have an economic crisis. I'm afraid too many citizens see themselves as the kids in the example, and the government as the parents, and even worse, many in the goverment see it that way! In essence we live in an entitlment society, and it could just destroy us. I'm not saying the government shouldn't be there to help people, as long as it's helping us help ourselves. If we lean on Uncle Sam too much, the complacency can turn dangerous. This was made manifest in the Katrina disaster. Thousands of people suffered horribly, and the government really REALLY screwed up the rescue effort. Obviously no one in that situation deserved any suffering they went through, it just concerns me that the media and seemingly everyone else focused ONLY on what the government did or did not do. Let me explain it this way; my family lives on a tropical island that is pretty much guaranteed a devastating hurricane every 5 years. On base here, they make many recommendations which are largely adhered to. For instance, having a modest food AND water storage, mobile 72 hour kits, cash on hand (as ATM's are out of order), and owning a portable generator w/ fuel supply just to name a few. As far as we know, every neighbor of ours follows these guidelines. As a result, the people here are a little uncomfortable for a couple weeks without power, including air conditioning, running water, and other luxuries, but they avoid any true crisis. Now some of you reading this now might be thinking i'm a big heartless jerk who "shouldn't talk cause I wasn't there", or say that Katrina was far worse than most that hit here, but if so then you miss my point. It's true that all the preparation and boy scout like lifestyle couldn't have saved everyone in New Orleans, and the government should of course respond to it's citizens in peril, but it MUST be acknowledged that a HUGE amount of the suffering was due to people taking virtually no personal responsiblity to prepare as mentioned above, and evacuating despite ample warning. It's like a kid playing in the street with a car's headlight's shining on them thinking to themselves "Mom will get me if it's not safe." I mention this not to harp on the victims there, most of them are great people who suffered a horrible tragedy. I mention it because a similar tragedy is happening to our whole country in a slower, less dramatic, but just as dangerous way. As a nation we need more than just a tax cut here, or cuts in a program there; we need a fundamental attitude adjustment on what the government is really responsible for. To simplify it, let's explain it in a simple yes/no format. For starters: Protecting us.........YES. The military is one place budget cuts should NOT be made. As always we need to spend smarter, and adjust with the times and threats, but spend we must in this category. Student Loans....sure, because it's a LOAN, not a handout, so the government will get the money back PLUS it's a good investment in that the education will likely lead to a higher-taxpaying citizen with a better job. Healthcare.......NO WAY. I don't need to even expound on this because we have plenty of fellow western nations who've already played guinea pig for us and embarked on this disasterous road to provide all the evidence we need. Retirement.....absolutely not. Anyone of even modest income working for 25 years with just basic economic discipline can fund their own retirment. Social Security should of course not be cancelled on those receiving it now, but people my age, 30's and younger, do not need Uncle Sam to pay for our sunset years.

Another symptom of this overspending disease is manifest in the blatant disregard for the sacredness of money known as pork barrel spending. Democrats and Republicans alike are involved in this disgusting behavior. For example: The pork going through one Senator alone, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) totaled 47,326,000 including: $12,733,000 for Western Arctic Parklands; $7,000,000 for Alaska conveyance; $4,000,000 for a visitors center at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge; $1,100,000 for the Matunuska-Susitna Borough; $750,000 for the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park; $450,000 for the Bering Sea Fisherman’s Association; $400,000 for the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center; $150,000 for the Alaska Whaling Commission; and $98,000 for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission. (Source: Citizens against government waste). The government has spent, and promised, so much more than it can ever afford it's ALMOST beyond repair. TAKE 10 MINUTES AND GOOGLE "comptroller general glenn beck" and watch the You Tube Glenn Beck's interview w/ the US Comptroller General David Walker explaining the true scope of the problem. I'm talkin' Halloween on steroids scary.
The answer? As mentioned above, the most important step is getting out of this entitlment mentality, but there are other important steps. For starters, we need a President who will stop the wasteful spending and treat the government more like a business, a business with the responsibility to balance the books. For that reason most of all, and others, Mitt Romney has simply got to win the White House this fall. It's not all on the president though. Joe Q citizen is definately doing his/her share to lead us all down the slippery slope. Buying homes we can't afford with interest only loans that a kindergartner should know are bad news..."get out your crayons class and color your flags red." Living beyond our means for year after year can only last so long. The market will always have to correct and correct it will. Limited government, living financially responsible lives, and voting Romney. All right, that's enough...for now.

Best of....

So I figured it was my civic duty to inform everyone on the best of entertainment of 2007
Forget risky trips to Blockbuster, or tiring your thumb with the TV remote. Just let me sort thru all the media for ya and bring you all you need for 2007.

For reading, see my Recommended Reading list on the main page.

Movies: Let's just say Hollywood's productions remind me alot of our 2 kittens, they tug at your heartstrings at times, make you smile here and there, definately full of action, but often just dish out a bunch of crap. (litterbox hollywood....sounds like a good name for a rock band).
Anyway, one thing we love is a good family flick. And there were some great ones in 07. MR BEANS HOLIDAY, RATATOUIE, GAMEPLAN, AND ENCHANTED probably top the list.
Biggest dissappointment by far in the family category was "Bee Movie". When Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Speilberg can't come up with an even moderately funny flick, you know they just plain didn't care. Almost enough to cancel out all respect earned by Seinfeld, Jurassic Park, and everything else. Look i'm all for capitalism and making some money, but have a little respect for your audience before making a movie as crappy as that.

For more mature audiences, well 07 was pretty much the year of the sequel, so it's pretty simple: if you liked _____ 1, 2, 3, 7, and 34, go see the latest installment.
I'm gonna say it even though it takes the last shred of percieved maturity I have to do so, but Transformers was what alot of movies have failed to be lately...fun to watch! Especially watching it with my 8 yr old son.....what a blast. Rescue Dawn was a moving piece, starring one of Hollywoods best actors..Chrisitian Bale. (Not exactly a romantic comedy, but worth seeing).

TV: The following didn't debut in 07, but were back for outstanding seasons. 24 and PRISON BREAK are nothing short of genius. Well written and suspensful week after week, it's like a 5 month long adrenalin rush. Jack Bauer is a legend. (Shell's reminding me over my shoulder that he's not real, but neither is man made global warming but that doesn't stop everyone from getting worked up about it) So for those who love Jack, here's a great monologue from Rush:

"Who is Jack Bauer?" -By Rush Limbaugh
1. If you wake up in the morning, it’s only because Jack Bauer spared your life.
2. Jack Bauer’s favorite color is Severe Terror Alert Red, his second favorite color is violet, but only because it sounds like the word “violent.”
3. Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his car keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys to himself.
4. Jack Bauer got Helen Keller to talk.
5. Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin, heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
6. Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
7. Jack Bauer doesn’t miss; if he didn’t hit you it was because he was shooting at another terrorist 8 miles away.
9. Understand this: the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer doesn’t feel like carrying you.
10. Killing Jack Bauer doesn’t make him dead, it just makes him mad.
11. When life gave Jack Bauer lemons he used them to kill terrorists because he doesn’t like lemonade.
12. In grade school a little boy punched Kim Bauer, his daughter. Kim ran home to tell her dad. That little boy’s name: Stephen Hawking.
13. Jack Bauer doesn’t sleep. The only rest he needs is what he gets when he’s knocked out or temporarily killed.
14. In Kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for show and tell.
15. Jack Bauer has literally died for his country and lived to tell about it.
16. As a child, Jack Bauer’s first words were: “There’s no time.”17. Jack Bauer’s family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child...once.
18. Guns don’t kill people, Jack Bauer does.
19. Every time Jack Bauer yells, “Now!” at the end of a sentence a terrorist dies.
20. Jack Bauer could get off the “Lost” island in 2 hours...the inhabitants of that island have been there for two years.

Also on TV, GLENN BECK is simply an outstanding hour of television, weekday nights on CNN Headline News. Informative, entertaining, worth watching.
We also find ourselves watching more Discovery Channel. MAN VS WILD and DEADLIEST CATCH are down right entertaining.

Video Games/system: The XBOX 360 is a blast. Jordan loves Lego Star Wars II, Guitar Hero (owned by a friend) is another great one, but far and away Halo 3 is nearly flawless. The trilogy is flat out the best FPS ever and is only available on XBOX, a must have for anyone born after 1970.