The State of Things

I briefly commented on this just a couple blogs ago, but I feel the need to say more.  Why?  I don't know.  Maybe I'm masochistic.

I’m not an expert of politics, the economy, or laws pertaining to such.  I’m a middle-classed, married mother of three (with one having already flown the nest).  I'm even a grandmother now at the ripe old age of 42.  :-\  I worked administratively for 16 years, mostly in the medical field, and have a couple years of college under my belt.  With the birth of my second child in '98, I chose to leave "the work force" and become a full-time mother ... a full-time job in itself!  (Who knew?)  These days, I can’t really call myself a “stay-at-home” mom because, I’m in the middle of a lot of volunteer and community efforts that rarely give me the opportunity to enjoy time at home.  But the reason I'm so involved is because I want to improve my community and encourage my neighbors to do the same.  I'd like to see the efforts infect all neighborhoods across the globe.  I live in a neighborhood full of mostly '20's craftsmans, but dotted with a few victorians and some occasional other styles.  Once upon a time, this was a bustling community with almost all necessities within walking distance.  There were at least two mom & pop groceries within one and three (short) blocks from my home, not to mention many other necessary businesses that helped complete the community.  All of the schools are even within walking distance (one of which is the very loved 1916 elementary school which I and my neighbors are trying to save).  What does all of this have to do with anything?  I am your everyday, ordinary average Jane. 

Now, onto my "average Jane" thoughts.  I rarely have my television on, but everywhere one turns, there's unavoidable daily banter of "the big three bail-out."  Just behind this, there's "big news" about major budget cuts that are affecting every level of government.  Because I've immersed myself in trying to save a very important part of my community (the school), and all I've come to learn about how negatively the loss of a good school can affect a neighborhood, not to mention working to create a neighborhood watch to decrease crime, along with a slew of other efforts, I can't help but think about ALL of these things together. 

Educationally, we (the U.S.) have been falling below the mark in comparison with the rest of the world.  This is nothing new ... it's been the case for quite some time ... and I guess that's how the "No Child Left Behind" act came about.  However, our country’s future successesdepend on our children of today (whether you're a parent or not) receiving stellar educations.  The kind of budget cuts that have been happening for a few years now - and that are assuredly to come - will not only halt our current mediocre educational system, but start an even faster decline to the quality of American’s education.  Education is the foundation of … everything. 

Also, in this kind of economic stress, crime sky-rockets.  People are stressed and have shorter fuses (can you even imagine road rage worsening?).  Others turn to theft while even more (than in the current population) will turn to chemical substances to numb themselves from their worries.  Then, we'll have those that will suffer more health concerns because there's no secret that stress promotes a number of health problems.

But, due to the declining economy, there are budget cuts across the nation that are drastically slashing our emergency services (causing great loss of manpower to police, fire and EMS), as well as to our already limited educational system.

So this brings me to the proverbial elephant in the room (of at least my own head).  In regards to the bailout to “The Big Three” – WHAT ARE THEY THINKING???

I understand the enormous impact and domino effect the failure of these companies would create, not only for the United States, but other countries, as well.  What I don’t understand is why we’re considering bailing-out (for-profit) companies that, due to their own irresponsibilities, have dug their own grave, when our country’s most important foundational structures that are most needed (schools, police, fire, EMS, etc.) are being crippled by these severe budget cuts.

Growing up, I was taught "you make your bed, you have to lie in it."  In other words, make responsible decisions or pay the consequences!  I'm a firm believer in tough love.  When my children make bad choices, I don't bail them out - - if I did, they'd never learn from their mistakes.  Therefore, I obviously don’t agree with bailing-out self-made victims.   Poor planning on their part should not constitute an emergency on our part.  How … why … have these too-large companies been allowed to get so big?  It’s one thing for a small mom & pop shop to fold.  We lose one pawn in a game of chess.  It’s quite another to lose a significant major piece such as a queen, as it will very likely lose the game.  But this was one of the reasons the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was specifically put into place over 100 years ago - - to prevent these types of long-reaching negative fall-outs from entirely too-large of companies!  So not only has "the big three" been irresponsible, so has the United States!  We've allowed these colossal companies to do as they please, which means "huge profits" at any cost (and at the cost of all of us!?).  This has not only depleted all of the "pawns," (a huge problem in and of itself) on the game board, but has also enabled them to move many of their game pieces to a completely different (less costly to them) game board - yet still play the game - affecting not only our own economy, but the economy of other countries as well when the game goes crashing to the floor.  Why? Why? Why???

I could be a little more sympathetic if this wasn't their fault.  But these auto industries in question have been struggling for several years, yet chose to ignore the warning signs and make responsible changes.  But there are auto industries out there that AREN'T failing because THEY have made responsible decisions and adjustments along the way. 

Unfortunately, this is where I falter.  I don’t have any magical suggestions to this dilemma anymore than the next guy (or gal).  But in my everyday life, when I’m doing something that isn’t working – I step outside of the box and try something completely different.  So maybe what we need to do as a country is not hand-over even one dollar to irresponsible parties, but take that same money and find a constructive way of creating beneficial and good industries to help bring jobs back to the United States.  Imagine if we returned to making 90% of our own toys rather than just 10% - how many jobs would that bring back?  What if Walmart brought all of their factories back into the U.S.? Then there are green industries that we truly need to jump into.  It seems like a no-brainer that bringing "industries" back into our own country would obviously create a good number of jobs, thus creating a "wash" for the job losses incurred by the fall of entirely too-big and too-irresponsible companies.

The other "problem" stems from the "gotta have it" and "have it now" people.  No credit?  No problem!  We don't care if you don't make enough money to pay for your heart's desire, just sign on the dotted line.  PEOPLE!!!  GET A FREAKIN' GRIP!!!  If you don't make enough to put back a savings to pay for something you want, how do you think you're going to be able to pay for the credit card or loan payment PLUS INTEREST?!?  The media keeps hyping how credit is the root of the economy.  Huh????  Our country existed for 150 years without credit cards!  Home and property loans were also granted (or denied) by your neighborhood banker who also knew you because you BOTH lived in the SAME COMMUNITY - where your reputation meant something.  If you were new to the community, or young and just starting out, then your well-known parent or other responsible party (who taught you to be responsible as well) *might* co-sign for you.  What happened to those days?  Oh yeah ... entirely too big monopolies, loss of community, and loss of parents teaching their children how to manage money.

*sighs*

Again, I’m not very knowledgeable on these issues, and I'm kind of blonde, too - maybe I just don't "get it."  But from where I sit, I am genuinely perplexed.  To me, I don't see this as rocket science - I see it as a disassociation from "the basics."

*edited to add*

I'd also like to comment on the unions.  Unions, once upon a time, were a GREAT thing.  I have a couple family members who great benefited, fairly, from unions a couple decades ago.  However, the pendulum has swung entirely too far and what was once a fair and protective organization, has gotten way out of hand.  We just went through a horrible negotiation process between our school board and our teachers' union.  In the end, all teachers received an equal and across the board raise.  I do not deny that they deserved a raise, as they hadn't had one in about three years.  However, I do take issue with job performance not coming into play.  As great as it would be if all teachers were identical in their abilities and efforts, they're all individuals and should be treated as such - thereby receiving raises according to job performance appraisals.  So this is why I do not support the unions of today.

The Economy

We all keep hearing about bailouts and who should and shouldn't get bailout money.
But here is what keeps me up at night:  All the while these companies whose poor planning has left them with their hands out begging so they can continue to profit - many (maybe all) the cities and towns across the country are struggling with major budget cuts and therefore cutting funds to emergency, fire, police and even schools - the places where money is needed most.  I realize that when a big company goes tumbling, the ripple effect causes others to crumble, and lots of unemployment.  But why are we even considering bailing out companies who made their own beds with greedy hands - when areas where money was already too tight to begin with are being told to cut more??
Without adequate firefighters and emergency responders, your home will burn and you won't make it to the ER in a timely manner when the heart attack hits.
Without adequate police - there will be even more crime.
Without adequate school budgets - our already behind-the-global-grade schools are going to fail even more.
Where is the logic in all of this?  Why has "the fall of Rome" been echoing in my head for weeks now?

Leaf

~by Kathy Ayres
Yesterday you provided shade when the sun scorched
and oxygen to the depleted atmosphere.
Today you blaze in fiery glory
turning reality into an artist's canvas.
Tomorrow you will feed the soil
which will, in time, give you life once more.

The Dream

~by Kathy Ayres
Sophia awoke herself by screaming-out from a frightful dream. She sat bolt upright and found herself gasping and in a cold sweat. It was the same dream again. She was a young girl, maybe 15 or 16 and being chased; she was running for her life. Just as she reached the gate, someone grabbed a fistful of her hair from behind, pulling with all of their might, causing her to fall. She screamed and awakened.
Although the bed was warm and cozy and she knew the hardwood would be cold, she had to get some water. Sophia’s mouth was as dry as cotton! She sighed and got out of bed to head to the kitchen. Every time she had the dream, she always awakened with such a dry mouth, she would swear she’d really been running.
The dream was always so real when it came. But who was chasing her and why? Why would she be running to a creepy graveyard at dusk anyway? But somehow she knew that beyond that graveyard, there was safety.
As she drank the water, she pondered what might trigger this dream over and over. Is it something she eats? Is it stress? She tried to remember how old she was the first time it came, but the dream has always been with her – for more than 27 years now. Sometimes there will be months between and sometimes only days. Nevertheless, it always left her feeling odd afterwards. She somehow knew it was more than just a dream. It felt as if it was a memory just beyond her grasp, like a word on the tip of her tongue that she never seemed to find.
She padded back to bed and struggled to go back to sleep to no avail. Every time she closed her eyes, she’d see that fence with the gaping hole triggering the fear of what she knew happened next making her heart race and keeping her sleep at bay.
At 6:00 AM, the alarm blared. Rather than doing the snooze alarm tango as she usually did, she went ahead and got up since she was awake anyway. Maybe a long, hot shower would wash away the fatigue. It didn’t. But, she laughed to herself with the thought that at least she wouldn't smell like she’d been running all night. She dried and styled her hair and did the best magic she could with her make-up, taking extra care to cover-up the strawberry birthmark on her temple, to make herself appear as refreshed as possible.
When she walked into her office, her co-worker and best friend since kindergarten, Ivy, took one look at her and said,
“Wow! I hope the reason you look so tired is because you had a great date last night.” Ivy knew Sophia better than that but always had a silly sense of humor. Sophia sighed in response,
“It was the dream again.”
“Again?!?” exclaimed Ivy. Ivy and Sophia had many sleepovers throughout the years. Ivy had seen the results of that dream many times. “Girl, what do you eat before you go to bed?”
Sophia just shook her head and gave a small smile. The smile was really because she was thankful she had Ivy in her life.
She and Ivy met on the first day of kindergarten, yet felt as if they’d known each other forever. For them, it seemed more like a reunion rather than an introduction. They soon learned they shared the same birthday and even resembled one another enough that they were often mistaken for sisters. Many times, they’d absentmindedly finish one another’s sentences. There were also regular occurrences of clairvoyance with one another. As young children, they didn’t realize how unique this was, but the adults around them were continually surprised by the many ironic events that happened only between the pair.
As Sophia filled her coffee cup, she reminisced about their long, close friendship and was happy they were able to remain close even in their professional lives. She couldn’t imagine life without Ivy. She filled another cup, added cream and carried it with her. As she made her way back past Ivy, she sat the extra cup of coffee on Ivy’s desk, just as Ivy was swallowing the last drop from her own cup.
“Just the way you like it.” Sophia stated as a matter-of-fact. Ivy smiled and thanked her as Sophia proceeded to her own desk to settle-in for what she knew was going to be a long, tiring day of boring meetings.
By noon, she wondered if the day would ever end. Still in a meeting, lunch was boxed sandwiches, catered by the corner deli. Sophia and Ivy worked for a large insurance company and their jobs were to secure accounts with other companies. As the lunch meeting started, the Director started the power point presentation on the next company. The first slide showed the next company of interest: Willow Pharmaceuticals. The slide was a picture of their logo which was a beautiful willow tree next to a pond with the setting sun at the horizon. Suddenly, Sophia had an odd feeling wash over her. It felt as if the blood was draining from her face and she felt light-headed. The room began to move around her as if on a merry-go-round. Or was it a train? There was a dark tunnel closing in around her. Everything faded to black.

Her name was Nadya. She was 14. She was traveling in a wagon with her family. They were Romani and fleeing the gypsy round-up. The year was 1938. They were headed to a church in France where they’d heard they could take sanctuary. They had traveled many miles over many days and were almost there. Their mood was lifting as they got closer. However, Nadya’s grandmother was very sick. They made camp for the night in a dark thick of trees below a small cliff which was situated just beyond a graveyard. Her grandmother was suffering from crippling pain and kept telling the family to leave her behind for fear she would cause them to get caught. Nadya couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her grandmother behind. They had always shared such a special bond. Nadya decided that while her mother and father were setting up camp, that she would go in search of some white willow bark and feverfew to brew a tea for her grandmother’s pain. She thought she had remembered seeing both not far form the camp. Her mother argued with her – telling her she wasn’t going beyond the camp. But she argued back that grandmother was suffering and she told her it wasn’t far from the graveyard. Eventually, her papa ended the argument by saying, “be back before dark.” That didn’t give her much time, as it was very late in the day. She kissed her papa on the cheek and then turned to her mother and assured her she would stay in the shadows. She left the camp and headed out of the graveyard, through a gap in an old, broken fence, and headed toward the pond where she’d seen some willows. There was plenty of feverfew growing wild everywhere, so she picked that on the way. Sure enough, there was the pond with two, mature willows. The branches looked as if they were swaying to some unheard melody.

After cutting what she thought was a few days’ worth of bark from the trees, she headed back to camp. Dusk was setting in, so she didn’t think she’d be noticed if she took the shortest route back – through the open field. About halfway between the pond and the fence, she heard shouts.
“Anschlag! Anschlag!” Her heart stopped! She turned to see half a dozen Nazi soldiers coming her way. Her heart then raced as did her mind! Maybe if she stopped and spoke to them politely in her best German accent, maybe they’d let her go. However, she knew with her dark hair and eyes, they’d realize right away that she was Roma. She panicked. She was far enough ahead of them that she thought she could outrun them and lose them in the graveyard. She bolted. They immediately pursued, all of them screaming “Anschlag!” She was almost to the gate when suddenly, she came to a screeching halt when something – or someone – grabbed a fistful of her long, dark hair. She faltered and fell to the ground. She screamed as she saw the butt of the soldier’s gun coming at her face. There was brief searing pain at her temple, then everything went black. There was complete silence. Time seemed to stop.

There was a pinpoint of light. Slowly the light grew, as did sound. She was two. She was sitting on her mother’s lap. Her mother was so pretty with her long, blonde curls and bright, blue eyes. Her mother was smiling and playing pat-a-cake with her. Her mother tickled her tummy and then hugged her close and sang out, “My sweet Sophie!”

“Sophia.” Her mother’s face faded.

“So-PHI-a!” She wasn’t two. Where was she? The surface beneath her was hard. She opened her eyes. The light was blinding.

“Sophia, are you okay?” Sophia winced but saw Ivy’s face slowly come into view, furrowed with worry. “Sophia, you fainted!”

She realized she was on the conference room floor. Beyond Ivy she could see all of the committee members gathered around her. How embarrassing to be flat on her back on the floor in front of them all, especially the department head. She tried to sit up, but felt too weak to stand. Ivy handed her a glass of water. As Sophia drank, she realized her mouth was just as dry as it was after her dream the night before. She reached up to stifle a pain that shot through her temple, exactly where her birthmark was. At that moment, the butt of the gun flashed before her and the realization of what she’d just seen while unconscious flooded her mind. She looked Ivy in the eye and asked her to take her home. Ivy understood Sophia’s expression more than her words. Sophia found her feet with the help of her friend and they made their way to Ivy’s car.

Once in the comforts of Sophia’s living room and settled down with some hot tea, Sophia told Ivy the whole story – the rest of the dream. After a pause and sip of tea, Sophia added,

“…and one last thing, Ivy – you were my grandmother.”

Dreams

By Emily (age 8)
Dreams can make you fly away.
Dreams can make you hide away.
They are yours to keep forever and always.
Mine is mine and yours is yours.
They are dreams.

Thy Are Beautiful

My 8-year-old daughter just gave me this poem:

Thy are beautiful

Thy are beautiful in every single way.

Thy are beautiful every single day.

Thy are beautiful in every single May.

Thy are beautiful in every single bay.

Thy are beautiful in every single way.

by~Emily

Recession?

I don't know about the rest of you, but in my little world, it has seemed like, economically, we've been swirling in a recession. However, no matter how much I kept telling my husband that's what was happening, the government kept saying that the economy was fine. I just couldn't understand it! Were we SO BAD at budgeting? But, technically, as long as people are still making purchases and holding jobs, it's not a recession. Well, I don't see it that way.

The problem has been that masses of people have been making those purchases by accruing debt up to their eyeballs. Somehow, accrued debt doesn't come into play when considering an economical recession or depression. But suddenly, with Christmas 2007 behind us, the foreclosure epidemic, and the struggling stock market, we're starting to see that the masses are feeling the pinch of debt. It can no longer be denied with recent headlines, like todays:

Economy much weaker than expected

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/30/news/economy/gdp/index.htm?postversion=2008013008

You know what I think? I think that, to prevent mass hysteria, there was denial about the weak economy even a few years ago - - which also kept people shopping. But now that the pendulum has swung too far, it has to be admitted - - and so now we're getting it spoonfed to us a little at a time. First, it just wasn't a booming economy, but with a little work, it'll be fine. Then it was concern over Black Friday after Thanksgiving - - and even more concern as the shopping days for Christmas ticked away and stores were still struggling to get out of the red. Then there have been drops in the stock market and now: "weaker than expected." - - or should it read: "weaker than suspected?"

I just figured out income - - my husband's net is 55% of his gross. Yes, we do get a bit of a tax return, but it's not earth shattering, and even last year, we had to save a significant portion of the federal return to pay into our state taxes. So, it's not because he has the withholding too high. We have a significant amount going to taxes, insurance, HSA and a tiny drop of it going into his 401k.

Looking at our living expenses compared to the “standard American home,” we have very modest debts that should be paid off (with exception of our mortgage) before the end of this year. That leaves strictly our mortgage, utilities, insurances, gas and groceries.


Am I grateful for the bonus tax return we are supposed to get? Very! It may help us pay off those debts even sooner! But do I see it as truly helping? No. I see it as an aspirin for a brain tumor.

Currently, our healthcare system is absolutely a disgrace. No, I'm not going to sit here and say we should go to a national healthcare system. I don't think that's the answer at all. But I do think that private corporations shouldn't be profiting from our health "care" (that's an oxymoron!). When pharmaceutical companies are allowed to mark-up a drug 2,000% so they can profit, pay extra "legal drug pushers" to go around and convince doctors to prescribe their drugs, advertise on television, radio, billboards, magazines and other media - - well, I have a problem with that. I should be able to depend on my doctor's education to tell me what I'm "suffering" from - - not a television ad!

Further, while good doctors (emphasis on the word "good") do deserve to have a decent salary - - I think it should be fair. How many doctors went into the field because they had true concerns for healing the sick? If we put a top on their salaries - - would we still have people seeking riches going into the field? Please don't misunderstand -- some of my best friends are doctors. But I've worked with doctors for years and I know plenty that could care less about the blood pumping container sitting in front of them!

As another thought, why are our school teachers given such sad salaries when they are the ones that shape our future?

There should be annual evaluations of these jobs and increases given for performance - - not for title.

Just because one wears a white coat and uses a scalpel only specifies that s/he is a physical brain surgeon. Our teachers are non-physical brain surgeons!


*sighs*

Blast away at me - I expect it coming.