Thursday

I have a doctor's appointment at 10, then a few errands to run. I joined a gym this week, so I need to pick up a combination lock and a few other odds and ends.

 I managed to watch most of the game last night and -- thanks to the magic of DVR -- also saw "Modern Family" and "Top Chef." Click! Click! Click!

 I can't claim to be much of a Yankees fan, but I guess seeing the home team get trounced on opening night was probably one way to get our blood pumping. 

 Revenge!

 In other news, I spoke to a good friend the other night who is a small business owner. She was for Hillary early last year, eventually went out and campaigned for Obama and is currently (like so many of us) suffering in an economy that is crushing her.

 Between taxes and health care costs (not to mention late-paying clients who are also suffering) she is at the end of her rope and looking for someone to blame.

 She also shared the ire she has aimed at the banks and AIG.

 I felt awful listening to what she is going through. But I'm not sure what she wanted to hear. This president isn't a magician -- any more than the last 43 were. And if there's one thing I feel sorry for where he's concerned, it's that we have no way of knowing what COULD have happened if the bailouts had not taken place.

 All I do know is that we're not in a depression at the moment, even if many of us have plenty of reasons to be depressed. A lot of people have lost jobs in the last year, but how many more people would have lost jobs if our economy had completely collapsed and then began the mystical process of 'self-correcting?'

 When people are going through hell it's hard to cheer them up by telling them how much worse things could be. I don't envy the president or anyone else who has been working to get things back on track, but, of course, I also feel for everyone else who remembers the robust '90s and assumed that things were going to stay that way forever.

 Right now our leaders have to fix this mess and hopefully prevent it from happening again. Unfortunately, the enormous greed at some of these institutions has become an institution unto itself. On the one hand, I can't blame people who have the opportunity to make so much money and grab it. On the other hand, I feel for the struggling middle class which is bearing the brunt of this and which knows that it will be many years before things for them are right again.

Comments

[dawniris]

I feel like a lot of people are "let's blame Obama for everything" even when it's unreasonable to do so (he just got in office in January; these problems started before he was elected so he clearly is not to blame for it all (if any of it).

I think that many of these people were unwilling to complain and blame over the last 8 years; some were scared because of the atmosphere during the Bush adminitration (one of fear to force loyalty from people) so now, they are "brave" enough to complain; it's just that they are complaining a little bit too late and blaming the wrong man-Pres. Obama.

He is not a miracle worker and shouldn't be expected to do things that none of the previous presidents before him could do in such a short time.

Yes, times are very tough and many people are suffering, but did Obama cause all of that? No.

[Eduardo]

President's are like weather men. They take the blame and credit for thing's over which they have very little control.

It's no comfort to those in economic pain right now, but if blame must be assigned I believe the lion's share belongs to our culture. We have come to believe that we have a right to happiness rather than a right to the pursuit of happiness. We have lost the capacity to plan for the future by delaying gratification in the present. For decades people have been buying what they can't afford with money they do not have. Into this culture were born the current captains of industry,finance and politics but also the teachers, plumbers and truck drivers.

As a society we need to re-learn the virtue of self-denial. A good start would be to get rid of credit cards.

[nan]

Interesting pov, Eduardo - a lot of what you say makes sense to me - I don't buy what I can't afford - it's the way I was brought up - but I see overspending all around me - and I find it very distressing that so many of the children I have taught over recent years have excessive amounts of electronic games - and tvs in their bedrooms - Do prek and kindergarten children really need to get everything they ask for?

[mikeymike]

nan, we, in our house, over provide, over gift our children, sometimes because it makes us feel good. we justify it by thinking it's educational, or beneficial to their development or it's possibly just something we think is cool.
immediate gratification is america's mantra at the moment and has been for quite some time. our economy depends on it and our industrial leaders depend on it. our society has always defined itself by it's stuff.
while i agree with eduardo's sentiment, what he states is unfortunately, un-american!

[Tom McAdam]

Things are starting to turn around--starting being the key word here. It will not be all better for some time to come, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, if we have not emerged from the tunnel already. It's difficult, I know, for the people who have lost their jobs because of this, but I think we can safely say it this point that the president is doing a pretty good job guiding us out of this mess. Now let's see what happens with the mess in Afghanistan.

[Earl]

In defense of the common man (and woman): this talk about the over-extension of personal credit doesn't explain the fundamental problem that we're facing. It was caused by ever-decreasing regulation of the finance/banking industry and their incessant grab for the last dollar. THEIR malfeasance caused the $11 trillion (or so) debt that we have, that and the reduction in the value of the dollar, due to the actions of the FED. So, before assigning blame to the average person, not that most people today (the folks who still have jobs)are working harder than ever than ever before and for the same money, or less, than a few years ago. Of course there are individuals who over-spend. They didn't cause the societal problems we now face. The Bank of Last Resort (aka the FED) caused it, and you and I are responsible for paying it off.

I didn't start out thinking this way, but read the short book by Ron Paul, called "End the Fed". The story of the Federal Reserve, the Gold Standard and how the banking industry got the gold standard removed for their collective benefit, makes for fascinating, yet disturbing, reading.

[deb]

Gym... 24 Hour? If so, it's awesome! Almost a year there and hardly miss a day.