The Hair of the Stimulus Dog. Over the past month I find myself responding with this time-worn phrase, regarding the economy and Democrat’s stimulus package. The words are accompanied by staring down at the floor while shaking my head, as if the next thing to do is to make sure my ‘affairs’ are in order. Suffice to say that America’s future is not looking too bright, in my view.
So why the ‘hair of the dog’? It goes that the best short-term treatment for a hangover is to take another drink, even though this does nothing but stall the inevitable alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Yet stall is what we do when elected officials and voters don’t want to face the real issues. Indeed, if one could drink away the rest of their life, without greater penalty, this might be a viable response. But we know with alcohol, as with this economy, this is simply not possible.
Printing or borrowing money and mainlining it into the veins of Americans is no more a real solution than is tossing down a Bloody Mary at day break. Regardless of whether this consumption jump-start is through stimulus tax cuts, or pork-laden infrastructure spending, it’s all the same – the hair of the dog. Taxpayers are not any smarter with their dollars than the politicians they elect. And let’s not be confused that John McCain and his inclination for the Feds to buy up, and thus shore-up, the market for home mortgages was just as ill-conceived as anything the Dems and Obama are pushing - different looking dog, same hair.
What no one is saying, starting and ending with President Obama, is that what America really needs is a 12-step program to stop drinking. Our country’s entire philosophy of consumption, and the mechanism that delivers its false promise, needs to be taken out back and put down. We are over-housed, over-fed, over stimulated, and over coddled. Our people under-contribute to a shallow and material way of life we errantly have come to believe to be a birthright, rather than a sentence.
Until we in this country undertake educating ourselves to make stuff that billions of Asians (including Indians) want and need to make their lives better, we are hanging by the rim of one long continuous flush. Lasting confidence will only grow when our deficits grow smaller and GDP larger. This is the way of competitive progress. When designed, made, and/or assembled in America means value to us and the rest of the world, the result will again be a true basis for an American dream, rather than the current nightmare bearing down upon us like a runaway train.
James C. Collier
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6 comments:
I understood that our country was turning into England, I just didn't expect it to happen in 6 months!
Thank you Jesus! Finally see the light huh?
Here's were your money, jobs, government, and freedom have gone:
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=24066
"World's Longest Bridge over the Sea Opens in China Connecting Shanghai with Ningbo"
Glad to see the kool aid wearing off James! It's not about racism, it's about survival and freedom thanks for getting on board. You do consider this your country don't you?
Focus, the fog will clear, and you can block the brainwashing and distraction techniques of the criminals and enemies within from destroying and robbing us blind.
sorry, but i don't see a lot of solutions in your post.
"a 12-step program to stop drinking. Our country’s entire philosophy of consumption, and the mechanism that delivers its false promise, needs to be taken out back and put down."
and replaced with what? and outmoded idea that we can make all our own stuff and stop depending on other countries for inports and exports? capitalism wasn't the issue, even consumption wasn't the issue, it was unregulated consumption, allowing too little oversight over the way things are done. and it bit us in the tail, certainly, but ending our economic system and replacing it with, what, exactly? doesn't make sense.
"We are over-housed, over-fed, over stimulated, and over coddled. Our people under-contribute to a shallow and material way of life we errantly have come to believe to be a birthright, rather than a sentence."
sorry, this country has been at record levels of productivity for years, this slide notwithstanding. and what is being overhoused, overfed and over stimulated? did folks take on homes they couldn't afford, in some cases, yeah, but that's not the overwhelming majority of americans, by a mile. this is not the problem of people buying up megahomes but banking institutions and shadow lenders being allowed to get their tendrils into everything without having to prove they had the money to deal with problems (credit default swaps, if i remember it right).
"Until we in this country undertake educating ourselves to make stuff that billions of Asians (including Indians) want and need to make their lives better, we are hanging by the rim of one long continuous flush."
no, until we can afford to make those things by dealing with health care costs that mushroom and help, in part, send jobs overseas; deal with an education system (even to take your idea) that fails too many but doesn't have the funding to do much better; until then, we're screwed, and boo hooing and saying the politicians are just ignoring the problem is silly.
Fine post Mr. Collier.
Before the "age of credit" people worked, got payed for that work, and lived within their means of that pay.
If they wanted something that was outside their means they saved for it or just did without.
That mentality keeps a person out of debt, in his house, in his car, and out of bankruptcy.
My wife and I listen to both Clark Howard and Suzie Orman.
We are astounded by the calls they get with people asking how to get out of tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt and not because they have no job but because of lifestyle choices, because of living outlandishly outside their means.
Eventually it catches up to us as it is doing now.
I see people everyday that have stuff they don't need and it's obvious they have that stuff to keep up with their peers that have that same stuff.
So how do people learn their priorities are the result of a screwed up value system?
I don't know. It takes some serious soul searching that most won't take the time to do.
well said.
I must be in the Twilight Zone, John Stossel and the MSM aired a piece on 20/20 last night titled "Bailout or Bull"
The big "O" must be stealing money from the wrong pockets..........
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