The Government’s Financial Recovery Plan (Mess) Is Mirroring Our Personal Lives

         Ok, I dont understand this whole financial mess…I admit that.  I am no financial genius.  However, I do know that if you keep spending money that you dont have…you go deeper in debt.  How in the heck is the government going to get money from people who dont have it to give?  From taxpayers….correction…from taxpayers who have JOBS.  What about all of those people who dont have JOBS  or will soon be loosing their JOBS?  The American family is in crisis.  Many dont have jobs or they have to have more than one part time job to make ends meet.   Some don’t even have homes because they have lost them to foreclosures.  Some of their family members dont have jobs or can’t make enough to pay their bills.  But when you are barely making it…you can’t help anyone else out in a meaningful way either.  The Government financial recovery plan (mess) is mirroring our personal lives…they just dont know it yet!  Still, some of the leaders are using fear to try to get people to put their stamp of approval on their plan of action; they are saying that this might not be the right answer…but we have to do something or else!

         Obama’s treasury chief has announced that this country needs 2 trillion dollars to save the banks.  This is on top of the bailouts that have so far shown little return on the investment for the average American citizen.  Where is this whole thing going to end?  Why not give the money to the citizens and let them dig themselves out of their own very deep holes first?   That in turn might just have the added benefit of allowing them to pay off their loans and homes to those banks and businesses that made the bad loans in the first dang place!

          We are being told that all of this lending and loaning may or may not work….that they might make mistakes.  But that doing nothing would be a catastrophe.  How do we know that?  Maybe those businesses and banks should go under.  After all….once this money is loaned to these businesses and banks…they are going to expect tax payers to go into debt once again with these banks and businesses to circulate the money.  Who in their right mind is going to create an even bigger debt load on themselves with such uncertainty hanging over this country’s head?

        After President Obama’s treasurer spoke the Dow Jones dropped 3.5%.  This is traumatic news to everyone.  Confidence is more than shaken….it has suffered severe trauma.  We may never recover from this extreme mess as a nation.  This isn’t some meaningless recession.  We are bleeding money and we dont have the confidence in our leaders, our banks, our businesses to recover from it. 

         Former Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain calls this plan “generational theft”.  He says we are stealing from future generations their hard earned dollars and laying on them debt of incredible proportions.   He is right.  Where will it end?

           The Government thinks it is going to help everyone out by creating JOBS and bailing out banks and certain industry giants.  Helloooooooooooo…is anybody home out there?   How in the world are they going to do this?  By hitting the taxpayers out even more than they have already.  So far, no one has had a solution that has made a positive enough impact to change the direction of this massive financial failure!  What makes them think that throwing more money into the mix is going to make things better?  Can a government file bankruptsy…cause that is what it feels like is happening here…what is the old saying….borrowing from Peter to pay Paul?

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Hillary Upset!

         Don’t take this the wrong way or anything…it isn’t like i am saying she should have won the nomination…because as I have said before…i haven’t been terribly thrilled with any one of the choices we have had, put before us as a Presidential candidate; however, i was in my mind’s eye, thinking how “interesting” it would have been if when Hillary got up to give her speach for unity, if she would have said…ummmm..ya know…i have had alot of support thrown my way and well…i was thinking…maybe i will run on the party of a DemoPublican ticket.  LOL  I will just take my supporters and run with it!  Wouldn’t that have made a statement?  We all know how dissatisfied the Clintons have been with the process.  Still, from all reports, Hillary stood her ground and called for unity…and buried her alledged upset at the situation.

          I just hate the way that this whole thing has played out.  People will vote who they want to vote for and that is as it should be…vote your conscience.  However, i just don’t like all of the political maneuvering that has seemed to take place behind the scenes.  I don’t like all of the celebrity hoopla that has gone on in this campaign.  I am not a fan of let’s play pretend and say that we are a united party when you know, at the truth of it all…there was probably intense pressure, power plays, and promises for future support or endorsements; if only you do this for us…then, we will do “that” for you down the road.  Who do they think they are fooling with all of this circus entertainment?  It is detracting from the candidate and the foundation of his campaign.

            If the point of a national convention is to make the candidate stand out and shine in their moment of nomination…why  do we have all of the distractions that we have been hearing about for the last week?  Trot out the old school and relive the glory days, have the national anthem sung by a former American Idol contestant, negative attack political commercials, bring in the star power endorsements, celebrity poker games to benefit world hunger, twist the arm of a former competitor to push for unity from her supporters, placate her husband and give him a podium to voice a message that we all understand is crucial to our country’s well-being…terrorism…instead of his forte, which some claim is strengthening the economy, pick a running mate that can growl like a tiger…say what you really want to say and take the flack for it, tout the experience of said running mate who is embedded in the old school ways of running the country; all the while, taking the focus off of the inexperience and uncertainty of whether the nominee is qualified to run the country in his own right.  Don’t forget to add a little flash and dance celebration and emotional triggers about how historic this moment is to the evolution of our country to finally have both a black man, and a woman, running for President of the United States. 

           I could buy how far we’ve come as a nation, just for that particular milestone; if in fact, we didn’t pit those two “historic” candidates to run against each other in the same party, at the same time; and, if we didn’t have other members of the black culture calling the black candidate the “N-word” when they should have been extending him the respect he deserved as the candidate of choice.  The Republicans are getting ready for their moment in the sun soon…wonder what we can expect from that particular convention?  Oh man…isn’t it November yet?

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Presidential Dollar Coins-For Collecting or Using?

       Have you heard about the Presidential Dollar Coins?  The US Mint is honoring our Presidents in the order of their service to our country; by producing coins with their likeness on them.  The goal is to honor the Presidents, and to save the country millions in production costs that the paper dollars incur just by the wear and tear that they receive during their use.  The coins are expected to be more indestructible.   By lasting longer than the traditional paper dollar; it will save the United States, a good chunk of change 🙂  Sorry, I just couldn’t resist saying that!

       This year’s coins are:  Presidents, Monroe, Adams, Jackson and Van Buren.  On the back of each coin is an image of the Statue Of Liberty.  Along the edges of the coins are the words, In God We Trust and the year as well as the minting mark.  You can check out their site here:  http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/%241coin/ and there you can find out the release schedule as well as how to direct order the coins and coin boards.  Most banks or credit unions either have the coins or can get them for you as well. 

       I have been seeing television commercials encouraging the use of the Presidential Dollar Coins.  In fact, there seems to be an experiment going on by the US mint to try four test marketing communities.  There are four cities that are being used to test the public’s willingness to use the coins in their daily lives.  Those four cities are:  Austin-Texas, Charlotte- North Carolina, Grand Rapids-Michigan, and Portland-Oregon.  These cities will be urging their citizens to use the coins for everyday tasks; business owners will also be part of the plan of encouragement.  It is hoped that this experiment will increase the demand from other cities to trade paper dollars for coin. 

       I wonder though, if technology will keep up with the experiment.  Will vending machines, automated car washes, pay telephones, parking meters, toll booths, and the like accept the coins, in place of the traditional paper dollar?  Will you be more likely to use the coins, use traditional dollars, or, use the coins for collecting purposes?

       

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