An Assimilation of Prosperity

A stimulant is meant to temporarily boost the activity of an organism. Hypothetically, the heart of government stimulus payments is going to give the American economy a booster shot.

President Bush hopes to spur consumer spending, an attempt that some view as a misbegotten idea sure to come short of what's needed to get the economy on the road to recovery. The formula that the government uses to give validity to a recession is more lenient than what is on the minds of most consumers. Recovery has little relevance to the pocketbooks of cash-strapped Americans.

The sad reality of the payments is that they are actually more like a loan, the repayment of which will be added to other debts placed upon the next generation, possibly two. Those of us in our 50s or older will be less affected, or so we think. But our futures will most likely provide less security as the social costs of Medicare bring higher deductibles and reduced benefits.

Very few are immune from this Administration’s relentless spending of money that just isn’t there. Corporate elitists are the exception. They too will get their share of stimulus dollars, however reduced with a formula that lessens the amount for those making over $75,000, but to them it amounts to pocket change, a dime in their pockets compared to emergency funds as viewed by most of us.

Some people are disappointed in the payment schedule. Payments began May 2nd with electronic deposits. People relying on postal delivery for the legal size envelope with a government-issued check are most likely those without bank accounts, living week-by-week or day-by-day with limited funds. Many will have to hang in there until the final batch of play dough is mailed on July 11th. We’re half way there.

It’s not likely that lower income citizens will spend their dollars as the government intends. Mortgage payments, car loans, outstanding credit card balances and medical expenses will be primary concerns to many people. Food and gas might take precedence above all else. You have to eat; you must get to work. Spending money on luxury items will be less common.

Sunday newspapers will continue to offer deals with pages of glossy inserts offering a myriad of enticements to tempt consumers

The government cringes at the word “savings” but people are beginning to realize that having cash reserves is a means to ward off future economically challenging times. Years of false security and promises of ever-increasing buying power have come to an end. Frivolous spending has helped damage the economy. Living on borrowed money has to stop.

When analysts suggest dwindling home values are a natural order to bring pricing to realistic figures, it also points to a change of consumer habits whereby discretionary spending may come to a dribble. This will be devastating to an already gloomy economy but it may be necessary to bring America down from its high-hat altitude.

For years, consumers have accommodated corporations and their executives with mounting fortunes. A 360 is in order. Their profit margins will have to right size the economy. Many sustain their profits by reducing their workforce. Wall Street has a history of going goo-goo every time layoffs are announced, ignoring the affects of declining wages and unemployment. Us poor folks can no longer fill the corporate feedbag.

Whichever way you look at it, bailouts by the federal government are poor business practices. Ultimately, it is put on the economic shoulders of every taxpayer; many are spent-out. This land of milk and honey is turning sour; the hive is near empty. For the past three decades, we have been led to believe the trickle down effect from corporate successes will bring us all prosperity. The tide has turned and the lost earnings of the millions of American jobs shipped overseas are biting these businesses where it hurts in the end: sustainable profits.

Perhaps the best any of us can do with our stimulus dollars will be to give a little boost to
local businesses where friends and relatives are employed. Otherwise, those loved ones may find themselves in the ranks of the unemployed.

Whatever you do with your stimulus payments, it will be an assimilation of prosperity. The real thing may be a long time in coming.

The Buck Falls Right Here

When I first heard about JP Morgan Chasing the Bear, I immediately got goose bumps and had a sense of vertigo. I didn’t feel good at all. The implications have yet to be fully realized and I fear the worst is yet to come.

The United States and The New World Order may find America of lesser influence in globalization than anyone could have imagined. We don't have oil, we don't have the funds and we don't have jobs.

Americans are debt-ridden, as is the Federal Government, and neither has a means to overcome the mismanagement of funds. The world community is unlikely to have the means, nor the notion, to resolve what has occurred. Bush’s War watered down the dollar bill and political scandals and financial crooks during the Bush years won’t bring us much sympathy.

Most of the planet has anticipated the end of the Bush Regime but neither John McCain nor the Clinton/Obama outcome suggests strong economic policies. Each of these candidates has shown that they put their own self-interest and ego above considerate direction that America must take for the future. Of course, in the weeks and months to come, they’ll all be touting how their personal expertise will bring sunshine and rainbows back into everyone’s life.

Perhaps American politics could take another course whereby the candidates are actually candid about their means of achieving their intended goals. With whom will they entrust their legacy? Who will be the vice presidential choice? Who will be given the all-important post of Secretary of State? Why should it be a voter’s guessing game as to who might be given positions in the President’s Cabinet? Why not bring forward the intended Secretary of the Treasury and A Plan?
It’s impossible to foresee which Presidential candidate is best for America when promises aren't meant to be honored or when professed experience belies the resume of a career. Who of us wouldn’t feel a sense of security with a future leader if names and faces were placed on the game board of a new administration? As unlikely the prospect would be, a coalition of minds and philosophies could remove much of the guesswork of a doubtful voter.

The current economic turmoil with America’s financial institutions is highly unlikely to be resolved prior to Election Day. No one can predict with any certainty how Wall Street will react to the New Year and a new President. The best of hope will see the choice as decisive, not divisive. The Fed can print as much money as it will but there’s still going to be a debt to pay and the payees are we, the people. We have been grossly disrespected by the very institutions that have relied on our generosity to support their well-being by overextending our limits of economic credibility.

The Greening of America, as expressed by author Charles Reich in the early 70s, has brought about a monster whereby corporations have consistently prompted consumers to acquire all the materialistic rewards that “funny money” could buy. Big business has taken too many pieces of the pie, feeling secure that global employment wouldn’t leave us without a means to maintain ever-increasing credit limits.

The piggy bank is broken. Goodtime Charlie’s got the blues but you can’t put the full blame on the poor chump; he was taught reading, writing and arithmetic but, when it came to responsible financial planning, the teacher was daydreaming about a new pair of shoes, an electronic device or a road toy.

Employers aren’t especially effective in promoting healthy savings plans for its employees either. The truth is, it’s not their responsibility nor should it be but it’s a catch-22 when the hardworking schmuck must seek a financial adviser. His stubborn self-righteousness convinces him that it’s a waste of money because if it were an important facet of life, then it would have been taught in school.

This economic meltdown puts Social Security’s future further in doubt. Also, corporations will likely limit their coverage to employee healthcare. Hillary’s health plan is a mindset that will most likely speed that process along. The most basic of life’s needs are in jeopardy: security in personal health and finance.

So, Russia and China are the future’s major global players of influence and economic stability. Neither Barack, Hillary nor John can turn the wheel of fortune back in America’s favor within whoever’s Presidency lays before him/her.

The Fed’s printing press is busy but invisible ink won’t put the bucks back into American’s pockets.

The bad news? It’s not just the banks that are in trouble, it’s you and me and we.

The embarrassing news? If the goal of the terrorists is to bring the United States to economic ruin then we have become our own enemy and accomplished what they haven’t done themselves.

Let's not take too long of a recess

Stocks have fallen to their worst levels since October 2006.

Consumer debt is heading toward 3 trillion dollars.

Job losses are at their worst in five years.

The housing industry has burst.

Lending institutions are broke.

To top it off, inflation in China is nearly out of control and expected to worsen, which means much higher prices on all those comfort goodies American consumers just gotta have.

It’s really bad when consumer confidence is as low as their savings account balances because the earnings on those accounts aren’t worth the interest. It’s a poor philosophy, but “spend it while you got it” can keep you going until you end up in financial ruin. In time, it may be the reality of many Americans.

And yet The Bush Boy has expectations that he can stimulate American buying power with a few bucks down the road when, in reality, he may suspect the middle class will use their credit cards now and then. It’s that typical mentality that says “I’ll get the check in time to pay off what I just charged.” The problem with that reasoning: it probably will become a truth in spending.

When a society is conditioned to spend now and spend later with the notion that being in debt is an acceptable behavior then, guess what?, they’re gonna do just that. This time around a family has little choice but to follow in those same habits just to make ends meet.

Time and time again economists and smart fellows are adamant that a recession is avoidable, as if it hasn’t already arrived to those homeowners who have received foreclosure notices. Careful, economic prophets, don’t let those stalagmites of financial discontent creep up your pantaloons – they are growing upward at a pace representative of the increase in consumer indebtedness.

Careful now, if the populous finds its buying power takes a recess for too long a period of time, consumers may become upset and, eventually, economically depressed.

Rudy's "very bad headache"

Rudy Giuliani, Republican presidential candidate, experienced a “very bad headache” on December 19, 2007. There was concern it may have been the flu but the following day he was released from Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, with assurance he was in good health. Perhaps, but since doctor-patient privacy laws prohibit sharing of information, it may have been a condition that could lead to other, more serious health concerns. Rudy was quick to bring attention to his bout with prostate cancer in 2000, reassuring voters the absence of recurrence and that his PSA level is “very low, nonexistent”. Nonexistent is surely good news. Very low indicates something other than the best of diagnosis. Which is it? It can’t be both. He may have been distracting journalists from posing other health related questions. Of more immediate concern that may put into question his well-being are possible health problems stemming from his brave gestures to expose himself to harmful dust, debris and contaminants from the fallout of the Twin Towers on 9/11. Terrorists undoubtedly killed thousands of Americans on that infamous day of national disaster but others are at fault for the ill affects that have endangered the lives of nearly 400,000 workers in Lower Manhattan. This doesn’t include those who have residency in nearby condominiums and thousands of others who may also be at risk in outlying communities. As the wind blows, so do the elements of life-threatening poisons. There are untold thousands, if not tens of thousands, of additional victims who inhaled the toxins in the air and buildings during the months following the initial days of the attack on American soil. Rudy was there, as were hundreds of other public servants and employees, at Ground Zero assuring the public that everything possible was being done to ensure the safety of those in close proximity. Rudy was indeed there, following the paths of the EPA and Bush’s Council on Environmental Quality to give guidance and faith that testing of air quality was being done with the utmost diligence and using the most accurate of equipment. Perhaps, but their findings were well hidden from the public. Rudy and Bush and every government department that downplayed the seriousness of the affects of the destruction of the Twin Towers have made New York City and the United States government subject to millions of dollars in law suits, if not billions. As many as 70% of those exposed to the dust have become ill as a result of being exposed to the contaminants. The days and weeks following 9/11, businesses and residents were “dusting off” the gray, sooty materials floating in the air and from air conditioning ducts. Clothes, furniture and floors were covered with particles of fallout, causing alarm to workers and homeowners even though city and federal officials proclaimed all was well and safe. There were multiple reasons for New York City landowners to brush the dust balls under the carpet of secrecy. If buildings were found contaminated, the value of the buildings and properties would plummet. The estimated cost to cleanup a single apartment would amount to $10-20,000. As it stands, many downtown business buildings have, or will be, demolished as workers continue to experience illnesses deemed related to the toxins. The chemical composition of the dust clouds included glass, fiberglass, asbestos from insulation, lead from thousands of computers, mercury from fluorescent light bulbs and pulverized plaster, various metals, cement and other products easily passed through the paper thin painter’s masks that were distributed. Dampened cloth provided no better protection. Few were given gas masks or respirators and anyone who momentarily removed the devices was also exposed. Workers, executives, housewives and home-based professionals weren’t the only ones experiencing problems. Consider children, returning to contaminated schoolrooms, and their pets are the innocent ones. Every mammal, bird and reptile is subject to health problems through their lives, if not an early demise. The symptoms of illness include difficulty breathing, coughing, stomach disorders and panic attacks, even cases of mental illness. And HEADACHES. Keep in mind that these toxins not only infiltrate peoples’ lungs but also flow through their bloodstreams. Most of the minute particles absorbed by every organ of the body are often impossible to allow full recovery. Many of the victims have no health insurance and do the best to treat themselves. The seriousness of some illnesses is vary alarming. Chronic coughs or, worse, asthma with a discharge of phlegm and blood. Failing gallbladders, spleens and livers. Immune disorders. The tens of thousands currently requiring medical attention may dwarf the numbers who will develop health problems during the next couple of decades. I have not found any reference to adverse affects on eyesight, but it took physicians a bit of time just to correlate what illnesses patients were experiencing the weeks following 9/11. Time will tell. So, that simple headache that Rudy experienced just a few weeks ago may purvey something more serious in the future. With the number of times he frequented Ground Zero to claim his moment in history with praise and admiration for the leadership he demonstrated there is little doubt the exposure to contaminants will lay claim to his health. Perhaps it’ll be another headache. Or symptoms of any variety of the flu. Or a cough. A grimace of pain. Sweat on the brow. Any visit to a doctor or another hospital could be signs of something much worse.