Gail Shaw wrote:
> Now, I know very little about the economic situation in the US, other that
> what I read, so I may be waaaay off base but...
> Look how many of the comments are only blaming the government. Is everyone
> else completely without blame?

I blame the people.

Here's one comment I loved:

"The middle class is to blame for for middle class woes. Middle class 
America has been living lifestyle that exceeds their income for far too 
long.



governemnt starts giving out more handouts, middle class America needs 
to tighten their belts, live sensibly, and yes, maybe even cancel cable 
TV before sending out a lynch mob on the GOP and big oil."

I work in a bank.  I see people's finances.  And what I see scares me.

Now, to be clear, I'm not a pessimistic believer in the apocalypse, 
waiting for doom around every corner.  I don't believe this country, or 
any other, has to "fall", "be destroyed", or anything else.  I think 
widespread poverty, unemployment, and other ills *can* happen, but that 
they are, in many cases, preventable.  Especially in those areas where 
education is readily available.

The other day, I was talking to someone about saving money.  They tried 
the usual objects, "Oh, it's hard, I don't make very much, blah blah 
blah".  Of *course* they think it's hard, they've never done it! 
Anyway, I was telling this person that first, it's possible, and second, 
it's important that they make sacrifices to save money.  One of the 
other tellers butted in, agreeing with the customer that it wasn't 
reasonable to expect them to save money!  I practically wanted to rip 
her throat out for being so stupid, and undermining everything I was saying.

As long as society in general doesn't value thriftiness(1), sacrifice, 
or saving, then society in general will have all kinds of problems.  I'm 
not going to have those problems(2), because I'm not going to *let* 
myself have them.

(1) Thrifty != cheap.  I fully believe in investing money wisely, and 
spending it when you're getting good value for it.  I do *not* believe 
in choosing the cheapest option just because it's the cheapest.

(2) This is not to say I won't have problems.  However, I'm not going to 
have to worry about my financial future, or my ability to live.  I am 
completely in control of those things, and I know enough to take care of 
myself.

-- 
...Ben Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com

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