I have given those thoughts serious thought.

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My enduring personal, original quote: Many mistake what should rightly be called "passivism" for pacifism. Pacifism and passivism are COMPLETELY different.
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Ronald Reagan was not the only one to suffer from Alzheimer's Disease. America did, too.
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"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." --President George W. Bush.
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Los Angeles voters=dumber than rocks.

You should be afraid my friend. You have tough times ahead. And the times will only get worse as they go by.

We have built a defective model for long term population support. We can only keep on keeping on as long as the crude is free flowing and affordable by the masses.

It would be one thing if we all reverted back to rural living, burning trees for fuel and housing and living within our comfortable means allotted to us by nature, as our ancestors did back in the day. But seven billion people can't burn the trees!

We must accept that we have built our world on unsustainable means - a means built artificially on fossil fuel.

And when we live out of balance with natures intended means there is a price to pay to come back in balance with nature. And the price usually extracts pain from us in the adjustment process.

It has been estimated that for the earth to sustainably support its population without fossil fuels a 90% dieoff must occur. I don't know if that is the right figure, but I do know humans could not live as they do unless it was funded by artificial means via fossil fuels.

http://dieoff.org/

So if this dieoff happens, of course there will be great amounts of pain in the world. But it is natures intended balancing act. It also reminds us that nature does not bow to humans - it is humans that always bow to nature.

Animals live within their intended balance with nature and it is only man that destroys his environment and has to pay the price through pain and suffering from working against nature.

Let the rich pay for their bailout mess

Don't put in on the backs of the working class.

When we were in the darkest hours of the bailout meltdown, a commentator on CNBC complained how the 'poor taxpayer' will be stuck with all these bailouts. Then they backed off of their pity switching some of the blame to the taxpayer, for living beyond their means and consuming too much as a cause for Americas financial problems.

We complain when the consumer stops spending, so the stock market doesn't tank.

Then we blame the consumer for doing what we push them to do with ultra low interest rates, 24 hour advertising and loans that require no proof of ability that the loans can even be paid back aka "Liar Loans."

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liar_loan.asp

America has been built on debt and spending. 70% of our 'economic heath,' better termed as 'economic sickness' is based on consumer spending. When the consumer can't compulsively spend any longer our economy collapses...we are not a healthy country. Without compulsive spending and conspicuous consumption we would fail as a country.

In a TV commercial, Discover card was promoting endless consumption 'as a good thing' and they wished to do us a favor by helping us spend money better as we create more debt that we can't afford to pay.

Do you see the insanity of all this?

Add the rapidly approaching depletion of all fossil fuels and global warming to this pro consumption picture and we can see we have created a time bomb. Our whole system is based on an unsustainable model that will eventually collapse no matter how much money that is printed up by the fed.

Well, the fed can do what it likes. After all, it creates money out of thin air. Used to be the fed at least printed money. Now all that needs to be done to create billions is to magnetize a silicon chip. This is what fuels the hard commodity people that want something tangible for real wealth.

Wall street has degenerated into a greed fueled, legalized 24 hour crap shoot with the blessing and full faith and credit on the US of A behind it. It is like an alcoholic that has inherited a whiskey factory. More of their drug wont fix them - it only increases the sickness. Same with greed. Greed is never satisfied by attainment - it is only satisfied by contentment.

In simpler times, we had stock and bonds to invest in. Most accountants did their jobs and earning did not have to be restated year after year and earnings were real. EBITDA had not been invented and our US dollar was backed by gold and later by silver.

In 1973 stock options were added to the mix. Then the late 90's brought us internet day trading as a new way for the masses to gamble in the privacy of our own homes.

Fast forward to 2008 and things have become much more complex when it comes to financial gambling. We've got interest rate swaps, total return swaps, equity swaps, forex swaps, currency swaps, constant maturity swaps, basis swaps, volatility swaps, credit default swaps, variance swaps and many more 'derivatives' to place our bets on.

We talk of living in a sustainable world, yet our actions betray our true feelings. All we have to do is to look at the stock market to see what happens when growth declines even a little.

Even if a company yields stable earning, but does not grow its earnings it is looked down upon. Stability and balance is part of a sustainable footprint, yet we shun such balance.

With one breath we talk about cutting global warming and how we have to cut our dependence of fossil fuel.

Then with the next breath we demand no cut backs in our standard of living, we must spend and consume above all else...build more, build faster, build bigger.

The GDP must only go up, up and away...all the while this consumption just increases global warming and keeps depleting the fossil fuels faster and faster.

Sick...sick..sick mentality, buy more cars, build more houses and monstrosities of architecture, spend more but 'cut back' to save our dear fossil fuels. For all practical purpose we will be out of crude oil in 2 or 3 decades and possibly much sooner.

Consumption is ingrained in us and we know no other way. And even if we wished to amend our ways, how could all our retirement funds take the hit?
Our world population has grown to levels where it has passed the point of no return for supporting a sustainable human population as we know it today when it comes to their energy demands.

And what does all that consumerism lead to?

It leads to the mess we are in now and the bigger mess the world will be in once India and China pick up momentum to copycat the envious lifestyle that they have held in high esteem as the 'American Dream'

Fueling the problem of consumption is the games the Federal and World banks play with interest rates. They manage the economies in ways to fuel consumption and mask the real trend.

Witness the recent cries for Federal bankers to lower interest rates...so the stock market can go up...fueled by spending of the consumer.

It is drug habit that Greenspan got us hooked on and we just can't get away from.

Our economy is not based on sustainable health - it is based low interest credit to encourage compulsive spending, debt and living a life of constant consumption with a 'disposable mentality' when it comes to durable goods.

All this consumption to artificially fuel our economy to make our retirement funds only go up contributes to more and more global warming and the depletion of our natural resources.

Then the governments juggle the numbers to make the inflation figures seem artificially low, so everyone's retirement portfolio will make them happy so they will continue to buy and consume more...and on it goes....IT IS ALL WE KNOW and the bill is coming due soon!

Once we officially come clean with peak oil and accept responsibility as a country, we can at least be at a semblance peace with the outcome of our actions and recover a modicum of honor in the process as we restructure our country for a post carbon world.

Until that time, we are living in a dream world that is rapidly becoming a nightmare. We have the tiger by the tail and cannot let go...but our grip is getting tired and all hell is going to break loose soon.

I think Cngress should do nothing. We will see if Bush is really telling the truth this time if he is oops. He should not have lied so many other times and we might have still believed him.

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Bill Ayers for Secretary of Education
The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. Abbie Hoffman
Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people Sharing all the world. John Lennon
I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one. And I believe it could be someday it's going to come. Cat Stevens
Member: Bottom feeders Local 101

It's a bad situation, indeed.

Playing the blame game isn't going to help, but knowing exactly where it came from, and not just where you want to believe it came from, will help you make better decisions at the polls. By the way, Hamilton posted some helpful links on page 1... check them out and stop falling victim to what the liberals and socialists want you to believe!

As far as what "you" can do, to address the original purpose of this post, that's hard to answer without knowing your financial situation or background. In general, people need to stop taking out more credit. Our citizens have this completely jaded idea of what "poor" is. We do not know POOR in this country. We have this idea that everyone deserves credit, so they can afford the luxuries that we seem to think of as necessities by paying a little every month, but twice the value of the product they were buying! It's nonsense! It turns into false spending, a false overview of our economic situation, and more money actually "spent" than physically printed in the US! We have become a nation of paper value money, without the currency to back it! So, there is no easy answer... and it may hurt for a few years, but people need to stop buying things on credit! The mortgage industry is one of the few places where credit worked... back when people were required to put 20% down on a home. Again, research the mortgage industry, and see for yourself when that standard changed and why.

Capitolism works, and yes if you work hard to build a business, and you bust your tail to get to the top, you deserve every dollor you earn! If so many americans are willing to spend $1500 on a flat screen plasma, then the CEO of Sony USA, Howard Stringer, deserves every penny of his millions... that we paid for! Just like the star quarterback of a football team deserves a $30million contract if we're willing to pay hundreds of dollars to go to a game! If you don't like the way a company does business, don't do business with that company... simple!

As for the overseas comment... what incentive are we giving business owners to keep production here in the U.S. by increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 by the year 2011 (Obama's plan)? Tax cuts aren't going to cover the difference in wages paid! The government is forcing inflation on us by increasing minimum wage, and increasing corporate taxes! Understand that employees in the US (employeed workers, not business owners) paid some $28 Billion in taxes last year. Shell Oil, one SINGLE corporation, paid $30 Billion last year in taxes. Now, the liberals want to tax them MORE based on their bottom line! They are already funding our economy! Where is that cost going to go? Our pockets... more inflation. Big companies fund our economy, and should not be looked down upon! There will always be corruption, but that is what the government is supposed to be focused on, and protect us from.

It should scare the living daylights out of you that our government wants to take over these major financial institutions. Socialism leads to communism!

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"A government of laws, and not of men..."

John Adams

http://www.conservativepunk.com

http://www.hiphoprepublican.com

Get out and campaign for Obama and for your Democratic congressman and Democratic Senator (if up for election)

Let people know that McCain and Palin (Dumb and Dumber) will utterly destroy the economy. McCain believes in deregulation. That was the cause of the delima we are in now. McCain has 159 lobbyists on his campaign staff. Lobbyists are a big part of this problem.
McCain is Bushes 3rd term. In 2008, he voted 100% with Bush. In 2007, 97% with Bush.

Palin is simply a less educated version of Bush in drag.
She share his lack of curiosity and lack of interest in the world and this country.

Back the impeachment of Bush so that our current economic situation has much less chance of occurring again.

Corporations have the same rights as citizens. They should not. Work to put them where they belong.

Work to eliminate lobbyists. They are also a great part of all government promlems. Citizens rights for corporations and lobbyists take political power from "we the people" and give it to corporations and special interests.

We may have gone too far to avoid disaster, but the above steps will help recovery.

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I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts.
Abraham Lincoln
A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. Mark Twain

There are lots of other questions to ask as well;

1) How much over-valuation do we have in our society on everything from homes to cars to food to clothes to stocks, etc.? Some call this inflation but I wonder if it's more tied to greed and a false economy?

Perhaps we are experiencing a dose of reality and it's time for a major adjustment in prices? I recently had one piece of property go from a purchase price of $208,000 to a sold price of $375,000 in just three years. Sure this was great profit, but it was not right! It's out of control! I think all prices on everything need a 'down' adjustment back to reality. This will be painful!

2) We have 5-6% unemployment and higher in regional and local areas. What possible product or service can be created by the 'private sector' that will create more jobs?

Think hard about this and try to visualize which industry can do this with what products or services?? I can't think of any?

3) The population of the USA is predicted to increase 100 million in the next forty years! In reference to the previous statement above, what possible products or services can be created by the 'private sector' that will create new jobs for 75 to 100 million more people?

Following up on the previous comment above, if I can't think of private sector work for a few million currently unemployed, I can't even fathom how to find jobs for 75 million more?!

4) The nation and most of it's people are deeply in debt...living pay check to pay check. People and business and government are having one major crisis after another.

This $700 bailout is a joke to me since many people and all these institutions will be business as usual once they get the money and this places us right back in the same rut that got us here in the first place. This money will be forced on business and people in those easy-money contracts and this makes us suckers.

5) The federal and state and local governments are in debt. The federal government to the tune of $10 trillion and climbing!

These bailouts and other steps are sort of a form of socialism, and it appears this crisis is not over, and sure the government can create a WPA-type program and put millions of people to work updating the infrastructure, etc. but then again this is more socialism. And to do this all of us must either pay higher taxes or create more debt.


To answer your question Spanky...I think each of us should greatly downsize and do it quickly! Most of us do not need 2000 to 5000 square foot homes! Most of us do not need 2 or 3 new or newer cars! Most of us don't need to shop for $100 jeans, $200 shoes, or $500 jackets! Most of us don't need to go out to eat, or drink alcohol, or drugs, or cigarettes, etc.

Problem is if we do what is right and downsize from our gluttonous behavior, this adversely affects the economy--right?? The same (*)(*)(*)(*)ed problem or excuse we use in bailing out Wall Street and mortgage companies and banks and the Big 3, etc. is if we don't bail out, the crisis will become worse. So instead let's continue our gluttonous behavior and let's continue the false economy, and let the next generations deal with this.

I can't downsize too much because I'm a farmer and own property, etc. but we do not have debt, we are keeping our cars much longer, we grow lots of our own food, we cut back on extravagancies like $200 dinners, and really important is we continue to support local charitable events.

I will forever debate that all of our problems and solutions can be found by looking in our mirrors. Our greed and arrogance and self-serving behavior creates many of these situations and many of us know what we need to do to make life better...but we are frozen in place waiting for someone else or our government to bail us out...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

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"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." - Kurt Vonnegut

I truly believe that it is a spiritual problem showing up in the material world. (PLEASE NOTE: I did NOT say a "religious" problem...but a spiritual one)

We could pick the fruit of that problem all day long, but unless the root cause is dug up and eliminated, the root will send out new shoots, and produce new branches and - sooner or later - new fruit.

Unfortunately, and for many decades now, the vast number of people in the U.S. have been "ME" oriented. Being "ME" oriented is as much about shortsighted living and instant gratification as it is about neglecting to understand how the actions of the individual affect the Whole.

We need an awakening.

THIS is our wakeup call...and it's just the beginning....

Besides being disrespectful... It does not sound like you have done your homework, and you have fallen victim to the liberal media talking points of the Obama network, otherwise known as NBC. You're simply a puppet if you honestly believe the republicans, and deregulation caused this problem.
Read this, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...080919-15.html and tell me it's Bush's fault... remember, the President does not have power over congress... he can pass, or veto a bill, but congress sets regulations, taxes, etc. If you don't believe that, just read the responsibilities of the congress in the Constitution... it's very clear. The Dems were the ones saying all these years that Fannie and Freddie were strong companies, with a lot of integrity. Those same Dems, Frank and Dodd in particular, are now blaming the current administration? Give me a break! Bush did not force these GSE's to lend money to those less capable of paying back a loan... and McCain was on the forefront of bringing on an oversight committee on these very companies! It was shot down by the Dems that insisted there was nothing to worry about...

Why? If you start a corporation, you no longer have the same rights as your next door neighbor? You can own and operate a corportation, and still be a citizen! Where is it you propose they "belong"? Why do you see a corporation as the enemy when the corporate tax FUNDS this economy, not the taxpayer! Our contributions are a drop in the bucket compared to the tax contributions of corporate America! We're going to make them take even MORE of the burden? That will only give them MORE incentive to send jobs overseas. The problem is too many people feel like these corporations "owe" something to the people that don't produce a ******* thing to this economy! The less productive you are, the less you work, the less you do, the more the liberals want to GIVE you in freebies! And they want the corporations to provide the money to do that! There is no logic to this form of socialism and re distribution of wealth, other than government control!

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"A government of laws, and not of men..."

John Adams

http://www.conservativepunk.com

http://www.hiphoprepublican.com

Enlist.

Before the liberals gut the military.

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In God we trust, all others we monitor.