I have all these things I have been wanting to blog about lately that I have not. With the kids starting school (and out due to a tropical storm that never threatened) and my last week of freedom for a while, I have been trying to get things in order.On Monday I start doing something I may tell you about later, but not until I get a feel for it. Also, I have been staying away from controversial subjects like church, theology and politics (esp. politics) due to some job searching. The last thing I want someone to think is that I have an opinion or political bent.
Of course, from a pure hose racing point-of-view, it has been fun to watch this thing so far. I may have something to say soon.
However, I will tell you about one thing kind of political. A friend of mine invited me to a screening of the film I.O.U.S.A. and town hall simulcast on Thursday. The film has been described as a financial Inconvenient Truth, showing the absolute meltdown this nation is headed towards because of our out-of-control spending (war, health care, social security, etc.), lack of revenue (tax cuts), trade deficit and the amount of debt owned by other countries.
While the film is a bit dry much of the time, the crisis cannot be overstated. As the makers said, the facts are not left or right, Democrat or Republican. The solutions can be bipartisan or fought about. But, we no longer sit around and let Washington do nothing but mortgage the future of our nation and our kids. Of course, the main crises is a deficit in political leadership. We have seen that lately and may in the next administration.
The hope of the filmmakers is to get people to talk about this issue and expect their politicians to actually talk about this and do something statesman-like instead of worrying about the next election only. One speaker said the potential is worse than any crises we could face short of a terrorist with a nuclear bomb.
anyway, here is the site and a review. Also, here is the trailer.
2 comments:
Rick,
Wow, this must be in the air. I woke up this morning around 4:45 and started adding up my debt. I'll be pulling a check out of my IRA to pay it off later this week. The really good news is that on top of the taxes and penalties, my retirement savings are down a large % due to the market's performance. I have no one to blame for this situation except me and my hubris. I say that becuase I am trained in finance and accounting. Although not good decisions, they were mine.
That said, I can't wait to see this movie. Despite my understanding of what I was doing, the banks and media sure did make it easy for me and many others. The lack of good decision and foresight at an institutional level is staggering. While executives and boards of directors were complaining about the cost of Sarbanes Oxley and trying to scale back the level of review, oops another issue surfaces. More money paid to the accounting firms to provide more oversight until another loop hole or short cut in lieu of good ethical business decisions. I wonder how much money is being spent in this country to pay debt service, pay the auditors and settle law suits for the blow ups. Actually, I don't care (at least not about another passing statistic that doesn't drive any positive change). Time to go call Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman.
Peace brother
Ron
P.S. McCain or ObamaBiden?
right now I am with Obama, but he could lose me. However, McCain lost me a while back, never to return. I will never vote for McCain (whom I voted for in 2000), so (if Obama blows it) I may not vote.
but, I think Obama will not piss me off too much.
Post a Comment