Lend A Hand

Despite my love for my country and my faith in my fellow citizens, a poor economy brings out the ugly in people.

So here is the debate: Our government is stuffed with employees that are unneeded and just sucking up taxpayer money. We could easily cut thousands of jobs across the nation without the efficiency of our government suffering at all. However with an unemployment rate nearing 9% nationally, do we really want to take jobs away from a few thousand more people?

The thing that confuses me the most is that the lousy economy is costing government jobs but not in the clerk’s office and the many assistants but rather in the police stations and fire stations where we can’t afford to lose people. Who’s brilliant idea was that?

There doesn’t seem to be any easy answer and no one seems ready to comb through the over employment of the government. Consolidation could help our country but until these are jobs to replace the ones lost, we probably shouldn’t mess with government jobs. Otherwise we’re losing tax revenue, spending more on unemployment benefits and opening the door to more foreclosures, homeless families and necessary state aid.

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*This is the first of the new features I’m introducing on Lend A Hand this month*

Not even three months in the Oval Office and already President Obama is in a fight with Congress. Well he said he wanted both parties to agree and they do – both sides hate Obama’s proposed budget.

It was to be expected. No one can cut taxes, reduce the deficit and fix the giant mess this country is in at the same time. You need to make something a priority and go from there.

My personal opinion is that Obama is trying to do just that. He’s focusing on pulling America out of the “Great Recession” first and foremost. These are desperate times and sadly call for desperate measures. Keep in mind that not only are we in trouble but that our troubles hurt the Global economy in a big way as well.

Obama’s budget is being criticized for its increased spending for economic growth. It’s criticized for asking for money for the military. It’s criticized for requesting money for even more bailouts. Most of all, his budget is under fire for the way it will increase the deficit instead of reducing it the way Obama promised during his campaign.

While I believe that there must be ways to cut the $3.6 trillion budget plan, I realize that President Obama was elected into a huge mess. And I mean huge. Despite our immediate gratification society it is going to take time to pull ourselves out of this. Change is going to require risks be taken. I know we’re all nervous but maybe we just hear Obama out before we claim that his budget is the road to hell.

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Poverty is a major issue in America today. More than 37 million live at or beneath the poverty level which is pathetic at only $21,200 for a family of four per year. The fact is most people/families can’t live at or slightly above the level of poverty. Statistics show that an average family of four (two parents, two children) need at least twice that to survive – which means just the basics; no braces, no glasses, no college, no extra activities.

This year, as our country’s recession deepens, we must make a commitment to fight to combat poverty. We can do this by getting informed about poverty, getting out there and doing our part in food kitchens, food and clothing drives, donate money, food, clothing, anything that you can spare – most of all your time. As a society it is our responsibility to share what we have extra with those who have-not.

Visit these links to learn more about poverty: U.S. Census, Health and Human Services, Global Issues

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I have a highly unpopular view about taxes and by unpopular I mean ridiculed and severely criticized.

It’s not that I like paying taxes or that I don’t think some taxes are unfair. I firmly believe the system is broken but I also believe the fundamental principles are sound.

I absolutely do not think taxes are a punishment. When I heard Mr. Joe The Plumber talk about why should he be punished for working hard and achieving more success I wanted to throw an American Flag at my television.

Taxes pay for a lot of stupid things I know. Earmarks and special projects suck away our tax money and leave worthy causes lacking funds.

However we have to remember that our taxes pay for mail service, hospitals, police and fire and services, roads, prisons, bridges, and schools. The provide us with valuable information. They defend our country and provide assistance when the real stuff hits the fan like during 9-11 and Katrina.

So with all that they provide and we have come to expect, why don’t we see paying taxes as a patriotic duty instead of some form of governmental torture? Things are tough right now and those of us that can pay should be more than happy to give what they can for the renovation of our nation.

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When I talk about government handouts I’m not just talking about the “stimulus payments” most taxpayers received earlier this year. I’m talking about tax refunds, credits, welfare, social security, health care and anything I may be forgetting to include in this list. We have so many people getting a little bit from the government that I’m not surprised that corruption, crime, disorganization and mismanagement run amok throughout each individual system.

A little bit of U.S. History and then a little bit of personal history followed by a personal opinion based on facts.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed a collection of policies, The New Deal, that began a bunch of program intended to help the people who had been hardest struck by the Depression, stimulate the economy, and put safeties into place to prevent future depressions. These programs began, in large part, the beginning of deficit spending and the government taking responsibility for people who couldn’t seem to handle their own problems.

Many people look back and believe this was the beginning of the end.

Charity is a wonderful concept and should be practiced generously and passionately. The government should help the needy and those who are in trouble. The problem arises when the members of our society come to expect to be taken care of and feel entitled to help no matter what the circumstances or how they came about.

It similar with lawsuits. So many times people sue just because they have undergone some sort of inconvenience or discomfort. Life is lumpy and not every lump ends in a lump of money.

A teenage girl who makes a poor choice and ends up pregnant should receive medical care for her and her unborn baby if she chooses to keep it. She should receive housing help, clothing, diapers, and food for her and her child. But then when she gets pregnant again, and again, and again and before you know it she’s 23 years old with five children under 6….that’s not poor judgement. That’s a sense of entitlement and no interest in rising up to be anything more than she is.

Unfortunately statistic show that this is a cycle that will likely repeat itself. And all along, taxpayers are paying the price and the deficit gets worse. And that’s only one program.

Handouts help. In certain cases they can be a lifesaver. At one point in my life I was on welfare and it helped me support myself and my two small boys while I worked and went to college. In my case it was the only way I would have survived and been able to keep my family as well fed and healthy as I did.

The problem comes when people abuse the system and valuable man-hours that could be spent helping more people go to hunting down the abusers. Someday I hope that the system will be fixed but if you pay attention to the news it looks like most municipalities are simply whittling these programs down into non-existence.

If you see a program being hurt by cuts, get inolved. Offer to volunteer some of your time in order to help raise funds, look over financial management, whatever you can do. In my city, budget cuts closed all of the head start facilities. Taking education away from at-risk youth….what could be more depressing than that?

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I know, I know, you’re sick to death of hearing about the mortgage crisis and what can be done to help it. Should the government help out? Should the people who got themselves into this mess be left to sink or swim on their own? What about the poor people who bought houses in the same neighborhoods and are now dealing with sinking property values as their neighbors are all foreclosed upon?

Their is some, but not much, debate for most people as to how and why the “Mortgage Crisis” happened. Just about everyone involved made mistakes – some knew they were making them and some were completely ignorant despite what the critics say. In the end, property values couldn’t continue to rise and loans taken out with the hope of refinancing later on expected equity couldn’t possible work.

Peopl were dumb – I won’t deny that. Lenders were vicious and purposedly put people into situations that they couldn’t handle. Loans were sold at lightening speed like some sort of financial institution game of hot potato. Now the big lenders and the big spenders are left hold the bag full of holes. And the question is being thrown about – Who’s the real victim of the mortgage crisis?

I don’t think it matters. We’re all being effected whether we own one of these bad mortgages or not. Odds are we know someone in trouble. I’ve already mentioned property values going down whether your neighbors are in forclosure but certainly moe severely if they are. The government will have to end up doing something and even if it doesn’t directly use our tax dollars, it is taking up our representatives time which costs up something somewhere down the line.

Who’s the real victim? America is.

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“Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

Ever since I began to notice things in America going to hell in a hand basket, I have been devouring U.S. history books as fast as possible, in particular the era of The Great Depression. I have seen some frightening similarities. Despite some deliberate differences, I believe our country may be heading for the worst time both economically and socially, that it has ever seen.

Main factors leading up to the Great Depression are considered to be the greatly unequal distribution of wealth (built up during the roaring 20s and the Coolidge Prosperity), and extensive speculation on the part of investors in the stock market.

Big Business has taken a very powerful hold of our nation through the ineffeciency of our government. CEO are making approximately 400% more than the average worker while their stock holders continue to lose money. The Oil Companies are recording record profits and, due to speculators and panic over natural disaster like hurricanes, our gas prices continue to rise to a level that the average working person can not afford. Many people who couldn’t really afford to on their own merit invested in real estate during the boom from 1999-2004. Others were lured into home ownership but easy to obtain mortgages, many of which were eventually foreclosed upon.

Companies have been outsourcing our manufacturing jobs slowly for years but thanks to the prevalence of computers across the globe, even our skills jobs are being lost to other countries. Factories can’t afford to make things in this country because the competition with other companies who have cheap foreign labor in other nations can sell their finished products in this country for so cheap. Apparently none of these outsourcing monsters have stopped to think what will happen when fewer and fewer Americans have jobs to earn money to buy those consumer goods made by people willing and able to work for pennies an hour.

When I watch the unemployment rate rise, the education level of our youth fall, the food and energy shortages (and water is soon to follow), the health care cost fly off the charts so that people can’t afford to get sick or take a day out of work (something quite popular during the days of the Great Depression), you can see why I believe we are heading into rough waters – in fact, the roughest waters possible.

Financial “experts” are saying that we aren’t in an “official recession” due to GDP growth or the tiny bump of a rise in consumer sales. I say these experts are obviously not living in the real world where people are choosing between food and medication. Where we were once living from paycheck to paycheck and not are living with the knowledge that every month something will have to go unpaid. We are calling our mortgage companies, utilities companies and medical professionals to set up payment plans because we can’t afford to pay the whole bill at once. We are baking our own bread and using baking soda and vinegar to clean rather than expensive brand-name (or even cheaper store-brand) cleaning products.

We are looking for second jobs, part-time jobs, freelance jobs, work-from-home jobs, and side jobs just to make ends meet. We are going without so we can get through to next month. Meanwhile, the jobs are leaving, the taxes are rising, the health care costs are impossible, and food and gas are running a race for which can squash us first.

My advice to you: Study history because I believe we are about to be doomed.

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It’s nearly impossible to turn around today without hearing a report or reading an article on the state of the economy. Most of these reports are negative, frightening, and downright depressing.

While I’ll admit that the worsening economy is squeezing almost everyone in some way or another, some of us are struggling more than others. So what are some of the economic problems faced by my family and those in my local area?

1. Gas costs – I don’t think there’s a person living in our country today that isn’t complaining about gas prices. Actually prices have fallen a bit in my area and are under $4.00 since early this spring. It scary to watch the lines at the gas stations that are offering the lowest prices, if only by a few pennies. It is frightening deja vu of the seventies when gas shortages led to long lines at gas stations everywhere. At the beginning of the month I went to fill my mini-van (before you say anything, realize that I drive less than 100 miles a month and rarely go through a tank of gas in one month) and when I hit $75, the gas pump automatically shut off and a display flashed saying “Fuel Limit”. So there we have it – Gasoline Rationing. Nobody I spoke to knew that this was in effect and I guess it would only effect someone like me who fills up a 21 gallon tank once a month. Still, I find this a scary thing to face.
2. Utility Costs – In Rhode Island, the PUC just approved a 21.7 percent increase in the price of electricity and an 8 percent increase in the cost of natural gas. The water and sewer company is fighting for an increase of their own, further squeezing the lifeblood out of RI citizens. People on a fixed budget, like the elderly and those on state assistance, have little hope of paying these price hikes without turning to the already financially strapped nonprofits for help. And the electric and natural gas companies continue to boast high profits despite their insistence that they are in financial trouble too. Just another case of the “little people” getting stepped on because we have become dependant on silly necessities like light, heat and water.
3. Food Costs – In the decades of food shopping that I have done, I have never seen prices rise so sharply and so rapidly. A loaf of bread was around a dollar at the beginning of  the year and is now up 30 cents at least. Eggs, milk (all dairy products in fact), seafood, meats, and fresh produce seem to be the hardest hit by the increase in food prices. Grains also are more expensive and harder to come by. All of these increases have reasons behind them, mostly driven by natural disasters. However, corn prices have gone up due the increased demand from companies making ethanol. As American Families, we are going to have to start examining the way we buy food and how much we are willing to pay for the “extras” that we always throw into the cart. As the price of staple foods go up, cookies and chocolate syrup are going to get left by the wayside. And what do you think that’s going to do for the economy?
4. The Mortgage Crisis – This is a touchy subject no matter who you talk to. Some say the lenders were evil and knew the consequences of the loans they were giving to people who obviously couldn’t afford them. Others say that the people should have done their homework and known what they were getting into. After all, just because someone is willing to give you a bad deal, doesn’t mean you have to take it. I’m somewhere in the middle. My husband and I took out an 80/20 loan in order to afford to get our first house. We refinanced the following year for a 5-year interest only loan with a “teaser” rate. This was not the smartest thing we could have done and we should have stuck it out with the 80/20 loan so it really is our own fault in our case. In three months our mortgage is set to go up $400 a month and we are working to make sure that we increase our income to cover that difference. Although we are going to try to refinance, we don’t have our hopes up and we don’t expect the government or the American people to bail us out. That said, I believe other people were not as informed as we were and made bad decisions based on what brokers, agents, and lenders were telling them. We were told to refinance in a year and to keep refinancing until we had something we “could afford”. The person who told us this knew that the market was going to be in a downslide soon and we would be left with no equity within a very short amount of time. I can only imagine how many other people he led to believe that the horrible mortgage they were signing was only a “temporary arrangement”. So before you judge these people to harshly, realize that many of them were first-time homeowners who were ignorant but not malicious and are now in real trouble that will not only affect them but will crush property values and weaken the nation’s economy even further. With that in mind, you should be more than willing to help out and support any measures on the part of the government to help these people out.

With all of that on our plates, we are also dealing with job losses to outsourcing, a failing education system, illegal immigration and a outrageously poor health care system. Is there a turnaround in our near future? What do you think?

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