Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Real World Wednesday

Is it Wednesday already? How did that even happen?

Other than being caught up in the Heath Ledger news coverage, I am mildly aware that there is more going on in the world.

I know that the Republicans are in chaos, that Hillary and Obama are running around insulting each other and that library customers are angry that they can't register for the primary anymore (like it's my fault your voter registration had to be postmarked by 5 p.m. yesterday, Mrs. You're 45, why haven't you registered to vote yet?).

I now that the football world is all in flurry about Tom Brady maybe faking an injury.

I was thrilled to learn that Juno got nominated for four Oscars (and I seriously wanted to write my RWW post about Hollywood and it's happy turn towards indie films).

And I now know that a five-legged cat must have surgery first before she can be adopted.

So, yeah, I'm glad I've made an effort to keep updated on the news!

There is something to talk about, fear not my loyal reader(s).

The recession.

Oh yeah, the economy might be tanking. Did you know that?

Just as I decide to hop out into the world and see what jobs might be around, everything just...starts to slide. I'm glad I didn't do anything silly like quit my current job!

What does a recession mean? I recession means even more folks pouring into the library to figure out how to create a resume.

A recession means a possible hiring freeze at both the state and locallevels.

A recession means homeowners hoping just to break even on their home if they move in the next five years.

A recession means an odd presidential race as people try as hard as possible to hang on to their money.

I'm not going to get into the politics of a recession, though I am sorely tempted to talk about the fact that hiring freezes just shouldn't happen if things are handled right.

According to reports, though, part of this recession can be blamed on consumer spending. So, while retail stores were cheering, banks were running scared (I had a source for that, but seeing as how it's from an online news source, I can't retrace my steps, and all I can find now is how Britney Spears missed another court date).

In any case, I read that consumer spending was up at leas 4 times the average over the past 16 quarters. Apparently, like our government, we Americans have just spent, spent, spent, over the last four years.

But there's so much to buy. There are iPods and cell phones and Starbucks and Wii! How can I Americans not shop? Why isn't spending money good for the economy?

Ah, right, I get it. It's not my fault, it's those darn people who get credit cards, max them out and then don't pay them back.

So, who do we blame?

The Credit Card Companies. The evil of our nation.

That seems like a satisfactory answer.

So, the recession's coming, and it's all because of a little thing called "credit."

In other news, remember my famous post about fossil fuel? Well, Michael Pollen has a new book out! Go! Read In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Me? I'm waiting to get it from the library. Don't want to be tempted into using my credit card, after all.

1 comment:

Diane Mandy said...

People are rightfully spooked by the economic swings these days. Really, it goes from one wild swing to another. Why can't we just have a nice even keel?