As I write this we are in the middle of a wind advisory in Olympia. No big deal; we get these storms blowing in off the Pacific on a regular basis, and it will blow through and make way for the next one, and life will go on.
The imagination of a writer….I was looking at the advisory and I thought it was a shame that we don’t have an economic advisory that flashes on the screen when things are about to turn stormy. Wouldn’t that be handy?
I toss this out for anyone interested, which will probably be me and Bev when she reads it. LOL Am I the only one not fooled by reports that our economy is slowly improving? I look around me and I’m not seeing improvement. Sure jobs have increased but most of them are part-time jobs and really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. In fact, homelessness has increased…buying power continues to decrease….well, you get the picture.
I’ll tell you what really concerns me, besides the fact that the top 1% control most of the wealth….what really concerns me is that 70% of the U.S. economy are consumer goods industries. Now I have to ask myself this: if consumers have no money to spend on consumer goods, what happens to 70% of our economy? And if prices are increasing and the only response is part-time jobs, what does that do to the millions of citizens who are hanging on by a thread right now?
Solving the economic ills of this country is a mammoth job; we are literally looking at a decade at least before we see significant change because you all know how quickly things change in this country….that’s another ten years of things getting worse for about ¾ of the people. How much longer can things get worse before the bottom falls out of the entire economy?
All I can do is raise awareness through my articles, and take care of my family. We have been taking steps towards self-sufficiency for two years now, and in two years we will be close to achievement. I can no longer trust my government to do the right thing for its citizens, so it’s time I took care of myself and loved ones.
I wish you all a smooth ride, but I suspect it’s going to get pretty bumpy.
Bill
“Raising awareness one person at a time.”
A Moment With Bill 
This fits in well with the hub you wrote yesterday. It’s like THEY play constant mind games: be afraid, be very afraid! but don’t worry, things are getting better! Two contradictory extremes, neither of which can be trusted. We’re constantly spending more money on things that we don’t produce–and the best-paying jobs in this country don’t produce anything! Gah!
Lizzy, I could write about this subject daily but I’d be depressed in a week. There are so many things wrong with our economy and we haven’t seen the worst yet. Oh yes my friend, there is a great deal of fear out there.
Totally agree with you on awareness with this and will say that the economy is definitely still in trouble and it takes one who stays on top of this to indeed know it. So, yes you are so very right about this. And was actually just having a conversation about this a few days ago with a security guard believe it or not at the girls’s preschool. But as much as we know it, it is Friday finally and wishing you a wonderful one now! 🙂
It is Friday Janine; I have one more article to write and then I am done. Have a great weekend and of course, thank you!
I am certainly not fooled. And when they mention job increases this time of the year, I laugh. Tons of new SEASONAL retail jobs (part-time) are added this time of the year. That doesn’t signal recovery or progress. It is only temporary, dependent on many people spending loads of money, and then the majority of the workers are let go, with barely any warning or thanks. Obviously many of the new jobs are not retail, but since we are a consumerist society, most of them probably are.
Kathryn, as you noted, we see a great deal of this at this time of year. In no way does this signal a growth in economy; in fact, I often wonder if it really does any good at all to add jobs and then sweep them away in three months. 🙂 Thanks for your thoughts.
It is amazing how the media reports that things are improving while continuing to imply that Wall street is somehow reflective of Main street. Nothing could be further from the truth. China continues to buy up gold on the open market while we make in roads into both Africa and the Pacific rim in competition with them for the world’s natural resources among other things. The new agreements we’ve come to with these countries will only drive more jobs out of the country and allow American companies to pay cheap labor and make even greater profits. It is a giant shell game and we are the pawns in that game I’m afraid. Their is no allegiance in any of these companies to the American worker or indeed to the country in general. It’s all about the bottom line for a very few. One quick more comment if you will. If anyone were to argue that is the way of Capitalism, I would only suggest our economic system has nothing to do with Capitalism. Don’t believe that then I would suggest these 4 words, “to big to fail” That my friends is not capitalism. What to do then—-become as self sufficient as possible. Believe nothing the govt tells you and do everything you can to take care of your family while being as good a neighbor to your friends as possible.
Larry, I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t weighed in on this. I don’t care what political party one affiliates with; this has nothing to do with parties. As you said, this is a shell game, and the rich will continue to get richer as the poor scrape the bottom of the barrel. Capitalism? What the hell is that? Talk about a misnomer.
Bill, you’re not the only one who sees that things are not improving as well as it is being reported. It’s just, the people who can make things happen are sitting idly as if everything is going to magically shake out smoothly in the end. I know better. Living a sustainable life has been something my husband and I have been planning since 2010. We bought some property in the foothills – paid cash for it so that no one could ever take it from us. We’re building a tiny little house on the property and the rest of the property is devoted to growing our own everything. I want to live a lifestyle where I don’t have to depend on anyone for anything, least of all the government. They don’t care about me, so I have to care about me – and my family. So while our “powerful” government sits watching things fall apart, I at least want my family to be able to survive. Oh, don’t get me started. 🙂 Things are moving at a slow pace toward my goal and that’s why I get a little down sometimes, but thanks to you and people like you who encourage me, I have a lot of joy on the way to the finish line.
Marlene, Bev and I are moving towards the same dream. In two years we will buy property and then slowly step away from the economy. I don’t trust the government any further than I can throw it; sad that it has come to that but only an idiot would think the government is looking out for the little guy. Thanks for your thoughts my friend.
I like the idea of a debtmometer. Who do they think they are kidding? I see my bank balance dwindling and cost of food escalating. Are we stupid? I’d like to think not. Are we gullible? Many are. Are we vulnerable? Hell yes!
Stop preying on the weakened, Uncle Sam! If you call yourself my uncle, why do you lie to me? Why do you look to the welfare of countries over yonder instead of your own back yard?
Yep, I agree, Bill. I’ll devise my own plan and it concerns the welfare and well-being of my family – not those who tax us in order to ride high on the hog then turn around and tell us the government is broke. Bullf***ing shit!
Sha, your last two words say it all. LOL Thanks and obviously I agree, but you put it much more eloquently than I did. 🙂