I've meant to get here for some time. I've meant to say a few things about spring and new life and hope. It's been one thing after another, though, and Im just now getting here.
We've been sick. It started with the kids and ended with me and finally Sandra. That took about a month to leave the house and we're just now getting back to normal.
Our yard was flooded, and we feared the same destruction that took place two weeks after moving into this house. The yard was under about 6 inches of water for a good part of the last month. Thankfully, the drainage system we put in place 8 years ago held true and our basement was dry.
We're reeling from medical bills. Sometimes I wonder how we'll pay them.
But still, I'm glad to say that we are hopeful. I think it comes less from the stimulus package or from the sunshine that has been far too elusive. It's from more than our desire for things to get better, or from our improving health. It comes from deep inside - from those places that only seem necessary when you're in dire straights.
It's from knowing without question that all this is temporary. Knowing that the economy is only a means to an end, as are the water-soaked basements and never-ending envelopes asking for money. It's in knowing that when all is said and done, we have fought the good fight and done our best - and in exactly Who gave us the strength to fight it.
Praise the Lord, He is faithful and true. His lovingkindness endures forever.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Keep the change
I've been pondering what the economic stimulus package is going to do to the country, vs. what it will do for the country. I'm afraid that the depth of relief given to middle-class Americans is a little too little and a little too late. Being one of them, I believe my monthly paycheck will see an increase of $25-40. Well, that's enough to buy my family an extra pizza each month, but it doesn't do anything to help ease the burden of my mortgage or credit card bills (and, for what it's worth, I'm not in a position where I fear losing my home or overwhelmed with credit card debt).
So Wall Street billionaires make millions more, Fannie Mae comes out smelling like a rose and the auto industry tags along. After years of financial mismanagement, corporate America gets bailed out and our children get the shaft. I say our children get the shaft, because if we take an honest look at the situation we'd see that our kids are the ones who are going to end up sorting this mess out - but after how much suffering?
I realize I'm not offering anything constructive and I'm just a pawn in the game here. I don't claim to have a clear understanding of economics from every perspective. All I can say is this: If I were to take the lead of our government, I would run out and charge every credit card I have to the limit and beyond. I would take every offer mailed to me every day and max those out, too. Then I'd buy my kids an extra "Big Mac" each month telling them not to worry about the financial ruin I'm leaving them.
Sound economic practice dictates that we not spend more than we earn - and that we even spend less than we earn. Why does sound economic principle not hold true for governments?
So, US Government, I'd say keep your "change." We can do without an extra pizza, but you could use the help.
Maybe I'll spend my "tax relief" on this.
PS - I realize that the economic stimulus is *supposed* to give us each enough to piddle away and not enough to actually make a difference in our own personal lives. The government does not want us to be free - they want us to be indebted to them and the banks in which they are about to take a major stake. We owe our souls to the company store, Brother...
So Wall Street billionaires make millions more, Fannie Mae comes out smelling like a rose and the auto industry tags along. After years of financial mismanagement, corporate America gets bailed out and our children get the shaft. I say our children get the shaft, because if we take an honest look at the situation we'd see that our kids are the ones who are going to end up sorting this mess out - but after how much suffering?
I realize I'm not offering anything constructive and I'm just a pawn in the game here. I don't claim to have a clear understanding of economics from every perspective. All I can say is this: If I were to take the lead of our government, I would run out and charge every credit card I have to the limit and beyond. I would take every offer mailed to me every day and max those out, too. Then I'd buy my kids an extra "Big Mac" each month telling them not to worry about the financial ruin I'm leaving them.
Sound economic practice dictates that we not spend more than we earn - and that we even spend less than we earn. Why does sound economic principle not hold true for governments?
So, US Government, I'd say keep your "change." We can do without an extra pizza, but you could use the help.
Maybe I'll spend my "tax relief" on this.
PS - I realize that the economic stimulus is *supposed* to give us each enough to piddle away and not enough to actually make a difference in our own personal lives. The government does not want us to be free - they want us to be indebted to them and the banks in which they are about to take a major stake. We owe our souls to the company store, Brother...
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