Mark West
America...one trade away from destitution
By Mark West
Scoping my daunting to‐do list I am inescapably enthralled by the glory of getting it done. Yet, my path to grandeur is blocked, impassable. Between my manly goal and I is one major hurdle...lack o' da moola...or more simply, not enough money!
I have this problem because I refuse to go one penny further into debt.
Unfortunately, I share a modern day foible with many fellow Americans. My debt accumulation outweighs my cumulative market value. In other words, I am financially at an imbalance. What I own and make in income is LESS than what I owe. So my punishment is that now I must...Oh man, take a deep breath for this one...SAVE!
I must save the money I need to complete the items on my to‐do list. All the while I must juggle alarming levels of debt for materials lacking substance.
I have mixed emotions about this because my current personal financial bind is the product of my own poor planning and decision making. Habits of mass consumption drove me into the malicious cycle of just making the monthly payments, leaving less of my income for today's use.
This dire peril of payments has left me with nothing to spend on things that I need, because I'm too busy paying for the things that I wanted. Sound familiar?
I'm surprised at how simple this novel process has been so far. I make a list, estimate the price, then save till I can afford to do the work. I often find my self searching for bargains to help trim the bottom line. I recognize how counter‐cultural this is in the fast‐food, have‐it‐my‐way‐NOW society that exists. But it is exactly what we need today...isn't it?
How many of you have spent years worth of income for things you wanted only to find yourself maxed out, emotionally and financially, when the time arrives to take care of some actual needs? You can only stretch a dollar, or a budget, so far before it collapses under the pressure.
Our government isn't immune to the aggressive plague that is demolishing our national foundations. Decade after decade of government spending, by politicians seeking nothing more than re‐election has left our nation teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Depleted cash and credit leave our nation in dire circumstances as it advances into a new age. We need things that we can't afford. Tragic!
Our national legacy has always left the next generation better off than all those preceding. Yet the new America is on the brink of handing down the Pinto while enjoying the Lexus! We egotistically demand of the future generations, payment for our Lexus, knowing that we can only honestly afford the Pinto.
A new normal is being established of paying more and getting less.
Imagine if our government was limited to a shoestring budget like the rest of us during this time of distress. Maybe, it would invoke restraint and bring the inevitable end to fiscal negligence. I believe America's most pressing national security issue is our national debt!
We are poised on the precipice of economic depression, and cannot continue the faltering financial policies that created this dilemma. America is just one trade away from monetary destitution!
This is our problem in this new age of austerity. We've enjoyed the phony profits of decades of decadence. Now it's time to pay for our extravagances...it's truly troubling and I am just beginning to describe the new Age of Austerity that is upon us.
© Mark West
July 21, 2010
Scoping my daunting to‐do list I am inescapably enthralled by the glory of getting it done. Yet, my path to grandeur is blocked, impassable. Between my manly goal and I is one major hurdle...lack o' da moola...or more simply, not enough money!
I have this problem because I refuse to go one penny further into debt.
Unfortunately, I share a modern day foible with many fellow Americans. My debt accumulation outweighs my cumulative market value. In other words, I am financially at an imbalance. What I own and make in income is LESS than what I owe. So my punishment is that now I must...Oh man, take a deep breath for this one...SAVE!
I must save the money I need to complete the items on my to‐do list. All the while I must juggle alarming levels of debt for materials lacking substance.
I have mixed emotions about this because my current personal financial bind is the product of my own poor planning and decision making. Habits of mass consumption drove me into the malicious cycle of just making the monthly payments, leaving less of my income for today's use.
This dire peril of payments has left me with nothing to spend on things that I need, because I'm too busy paying for the things that I wanted. Sound familiar?
I'm surprised at how simple this novel process has been so far. I make a list, estimate the price, then save till I can afford to do the work. I often find my self searching for bargains to help trim the bottom line. I recognize how counter‐cultural this is in the fast‐food, have‐it‐my‐way‐NOW society that exists. But it is exactly what we need today...isn't it?
How many of you have spent years worth of income for things you wanted only to find yourself maxed out, emotionally and financially, when the time arrives to take care of some actual needs? You can only stretch a dollar, or a budget, so far before it collapses under the pressure.
Our government isn't immune to the aggressive plague that is demolishing our national foundations. Decade after decade of government spending, by politicians seeking nothing more than re‐election has left our nation teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Depleted cash and credit leave our nation in dire circumstances as it advances into a new age. We need things that we can't afford. Tragic!
Our national legacy has always left the next generation better off than all those preceding. Yet the new America is on the brink of handing down the Pinto while enjoying the Lexus! We egotistically demand of the future generations, payment for our Lexus, knowing that we can only honestly afford the Pinto.
A new normal is being established of paying more and getting less.
Imagine if our government was limited to a shoestring budget like the rest of us during this time of distress. Maybe, it would invoke restraint and bring the inevitable end to fiscal negligence. I believe America's most pressing national security issue is our national debt!
We are poised on the precipice of economic depression, and cannot continue the faltering financial policies that created this dilemma. America is just one trade away from monetary destitution!
This is our problem in this new age of austerity. We've enjoyed the phony profits of decades of decadence. Now it's time to pay for our extravagances...it's truly troubling and I am just beginning to describe the new Age of Austerity that is upon us.
© Mark West
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