Be Careful What You Ask For, You Just Might Get It

If I can find any good in this government shutdown, it's the fact that Republicans can no longer claim they are the party of fiscal responsibility. Depending on who you listen to, this shut down will cost the taxpayers  $100 or $200 million a day. So in essence, this shutdown becomes another one of those GOP debts that they aren't going to want to pay. Where I come from, if you don't want to have to raise more revenue, you don't run up more debt.

These past 2 days I am remembering all the lovely people who thought, back in 2007, that the path to fixing our problems was to vote everyone out of Congress. In essence that's what happened, eventually, and we are now in a much bigger mess than we ever were to start out with. I wasn't too popular back then, I kept saying that we needed to be careful about how we voted since placing people in Congress who have no idea what they're doing could get dangerous. Apparently I was right, and apparently no one has a clue that they are part of the problem, since I'm already hearing opinions on what's going to happen next.

I was talking to the son of one of my clients today. He's someone who is a supporter of privatizing Social Security. In the next breath he spoke about losing his pension from the company he worked for due to an unstable economy that put the company out of business. He also lost his shirt in 2008-2009 stock market. At nearly 60, he has nothing left EXCEPT his Social Security, but he wants to privatize it. I looked at him, and apparently my face said more than I wanted it to. One of my 'OH DEAR GOD THIS MAN JUST GREW TWO HEADS' looks must have occurred since he got somewhat annoyed with me.

After being treated to some of his anger I finally spoke up. I asked him how on God's green earth would a privatized retirement fund not be subjected to the same unstable economic effects that caused him to lose both his pension and his portfolio? I am, some 5 hours later, still waiting for an answer.

I don't know where or when we started thinking that Life was a question that required very simple one size fits all answers. I also don't know why people seem to think that doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results will work this time. I've always thought that was a measure of insanity. I'm not very bright obviously.

I am bright enough to form my opinions not on what some cable news pundit said on FOX, CNN or MSNBC. My opinions are based on what I see with my own eyes and what problems I have to deal with on a daily basis. As far as I'm concerned our problems exist because of who we are as people. We caused our own problems when we stopped caring about our neighbors and started caring more about the things we could buy with plastic money. Well, the bill has now come due, and like it or not, you're going to have to pay it.