My Economic Solution

I've been thinking about the economy lately. Which puts me in the same boat, bin and bag check as 98.9% of the rest of Americans, right?

At first, I was somewhat depressed. You can get that way, looking at the numbers. But you shouldn't. Why not? I'm so glad you asked.

First off, you shouldn't be depressed because on your worst day (ruling out a death in your immediate family) living in this country, you are still better off than more than 95% of the rest of the world. Truly.

Still panicking? Why? Worried about India? So was I until I hired an Indian team to build my website. Did you know they have 174 "festival days" every year. Can you really get behind that type of work ethic in a modern economy? After a few months of working with them, I stopped seriously considering India as a competitor.

China is what really worries you, right? Have you looked at their numbers and size? Ok, they're huge. But consider this: the U.S. economy is roughly 2.5 times the size of theirs. They're huge, they're coming, but they've got a long way to go. We're experiencing the same level of panic that our grandparents did in worrying about "the Rooskies" in the 1940's and 50's. Inhale. Exhale.

There is enough for them to be successful, too. It's ok. We don't have to clobber them to still have life pretty good.

Now as it relates to the rest of the economy, I have this thought: a sizable amount of the problem with the economy is that we, as Americans, don't have faith in it. We can't afford more government, but cutting our spending will cause an implosion as the nation's (and world's) biggest employer cuts faster than our already overwhelmed employment programs could possibly absorb.

What can we afford? Most of us don't want to spend more. We're saving every penny we've got. Americans are desperately trying to unload debt. We're just having a freak-a-zoid meltdown moment in our national courage level. How do we turn that around?

We're going to have to get tough. And perhaps while we don't want to pay more taxes or spend more money, perhaps its time to do that.

On behalf of those of us who don't want to pay more taxes, how about if we take another positive action? Perhaps if we gave something to someone in need? Since most of us feel like a dollar taxed is a dollar lost to the machine, how about if we take a step forward in consumer confidence, go around the taxing-spending-welfare machine that this country has become and we summon up our courage and faith in the economy to spend something on behalf of our fellow man?

I don't like giving money to people with signs up and their hands out at freeway exits. First off, I'm usually alone in my car and it concerns me to open my purse and my window to a total stranger who looks very different from me and well, somewhat desperate and dirty. I have no idea if he'll spend it on something that he truly needs... or drink it. So I try to make sure that he drinks it. I offer bottled water. If the person is truly needy, he's very grateful for some fresh water. If he's not, then he better act like he is or the guy in the car behind me won't give him a dime.

But how about if each of us bought that person a t-shirt or jacket? We would spend a little more than a bottle of water, but offer something that person truly needs. And more important than an actual t-shirt or coat (in the bigger sense, obviously) we'd circulate the dollars. We'd boost the economy without wasting any money sending the dollars into the expensive to operate government machine, right?

I'm not saying go out and buy someone an expensive coat. Just what you can reasonably afford. What you can freely give. If it comes from Macy's, Walmart or Goodwill, I'm not the person to say. And if you truly can't afford it, then God bless you, keep the money to buy yourself a warm coat. I'm just saying, circulate the money. Skip the government and help your fellow human. And maybe we'll finally start to veer towards easing up on the level of agony we see on the streets.

I'm pretty sure this isn't anywhere close to "The Solution." But I don't see anyone else offering anything better at the moment. (Maybe later this week?) Of course, if you have a better or other solution, I think we're all open to it. Give it up now.

Celebrating July 4, 2011

I celebrated the Fourth of July a little early. Here's how I did it:

That's right; I cut up a credit card.

Nothing to get excited about. This was my "spare" American Express card. I still have another one. I closed this account because I don't need two and spreading credit around like that isn't healthy for my credit rating.

Do you want to know what American Express' response was? They immediately doubled the credit limit on the one I didn't close. Yeah. Helpful, aren't they?

Obviously I don't have "problem credit." I pay off my monthly credit card bills in full. I never carry a balance and I don't want to go down that road.

So I invite you to join me. What's in YOUR wallet? Maybe it should be a little less? And look what I found online:

Bold letters and small mirrors, tastefully decorated in discarded American extravagance.
Perfect for any home or office! Have a good weekend!

Tucson's Humiliation

I've been watching the events play out in Tucson along with the rest of the country. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) being shot, along with more than a dozen other people, has shocked and horrified all of us. It reminds me of other painful times for the United States.

It reminds me of the school shootings in Columbine, CO., when I would get up early to watch the news before going to work, and cry my eyes out with sadness that children were shooting each other. I'm generally considered to be a person accustomed to going to tragedies, but that one really bothered me.

And it reminds me of something I read about Dallas, Texas after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated there. I read that the city felt embarrassed at its part in the death of a U.S. President. They were humiliated at being at the center of the action that so deeply wounded our country.

I see what's going on in Tucson and I think "how embarrassing for Tucson." Arizona has always been one of my favorite states to watch, politically, because they just "call it like they see it." They do what they want, when they want and the way they want, from the border issues to polygamists to how they set their clocks and carry guns. They do what's best for Arizona, whether it works for the rest of the country or not. Call 'em names but don't call 'em late to the party. They get it... they just don't care. You have to sort of respect that type of independence.

For some reason, that thinking of their prominent streak of independence that seems to make me sadder for them now. They collected a little part of the blame in this because of those gun laws and unusual immigration tactics.

To be sure, they have some interesting laws in that Western state, but I grew up in a place with trucks and gun racks and men and women who believed in those individual rights. I don't blame guns; I don't blame politics. I blame someone who was not in his right mind. Maybe he can't be blamed because he's incapable of being responsible. What I do know is that it's wrong to try to use rational thinking to interpret a crazy man's actions.

But I feel for Arizona and Arizonans and, well, all of us right now. We are better than this. And I hope Tucson remembers that in coming days. They didn't deserve this either.

Photo courtesy of NBC Photographer Brian Humphreys who has been busting his tail for NBC Nightly News all week.