With all the bleak news reported daily and seemingly updated by the hour, it is impossible to not be aware of the panic surrounding the economy and where it is headed. The downturn in the economy does not just affect the United States or the wealthy; it affects everyone across the globe. While you can’t fix the problem single handedly, each of us can work hard to minimize the effect it has for our personal lives.
Every headline you read about personal finance right now says to get out of debt. With the economy crashing, the last thing you want to carry with you is debt, right? Well, yes and no – you do want to get rid of any credit card debt, for sure. But what about your mortgage, car, or student loan debt? Is it that important to get rid of all of that right now as well?
Not really.
Man, do I hope not. The first stimulus check cost us $168 billion dollars, and that was before we had this meltdown in the financial markets which has cost us not only $700 billion of our tax dollars, but also trillions of losses in the stock market. They tried for another one a few months ago, but it was defeated. But now they are trying again for that second stimulus package, which is estimated to cost $150 billion – money that we just plain don’t have right now. Everyone knows by now that I think the government should spend money on social programs, but handing out cash to every single American is not a social program nor a way to help the economy. Surprisingly, this second stimulus package is not scheduled to be voted on until after the election – which is rare that politicians would miss an opportunity to pander to the electorate with promises of “free” money. I have said it before and I will say it again; these stimulus checks are akin to your Class President in high school promising a Coke machine in every classroom – it’s the buying of votes. I truly am surprised that they are waiting until after the election on this one, but there must be a reason for it that I am missing.
I just finished reading an article over at CNN titled “Keeping up appearances in the credit crunch“. Are you kidding me? Seriously? This is what is wrong with this country and at least partially to blame for the situation we have found ourselves in. And some writer at CNN decides that now is a good time to write an article talking about “keeping up appearances” while the economy crumbles – like that is the most important thing to do right now when people are worried about buying groceries or retiring in 2009. Heaven forbid you cut back anything in these times!
