Thursday, August 04, 2011

Short Ends?

The past couple of weeks have seen all kinds of reports in the news -both the printed and the visual media -about the dire straits of our government -with the Debt Ceiling stuff.

One of the things that was being reported, almost constantly, was that if something wasn't done, if nothing was signed, that certain factions would not be receiving their checks scheduled to be sent out the beginning of the month. People like those in the military along with Social Security recipients, the media stated, were at a huge risk of not getting that check when it was due.

Speaking as one who relies totally on my lovely, but not that large, monthly check from Social Security, news like that is a bit more than disconcerting. I already experience a whole lot more month over which to stretch that check now so what would or could I have done if the worst would have happened?

There are times now when the thought crosses my mind that maybe I need to deal with check city payday loans now -or sometime in the near future -just to make ends meet. Unfortunately, those things also create a new problem -I think it's commonly called "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" syndrome as they have to be repaid and thus creating just a bit more of the short fall in the checking account then.

Economics, being what they are though -which is to say things not just in the good old USA but world-wide -are actually pretty punk these days. It's not just those of us who rely on Social Security for our survival but a whole lot of other folks, people who are fortunate enough to have employment, but sadly, all too many of them have what are considered to be the dead-end types of employment with low wages and no benefits whatsoever. Having spent a good deal of my work-life in just such types of employment, I can easily empathize with those who have to cope with that situation, day in and day out.

Wish I could figure out some brilliant method that would give some perks to those facing these issues or to the government too, that things could be better dealt with for everyone in this country.

Frankly though, I have to say I am more than a little disgusted with so many of our politicians, especially those in the federal government. Both parties are to blame for this situation -and both parties have been to blame for many, many years now as the government struggles with the economic woes. The one little piece of advice I would give to those officials in Washington though -try to recognize HOW to spend the money coming in from our tax dollars, etc., in a much wiser fashion! I would like to think they should regard that money not as "ours" but theirs and not squander it on foolish purchases to pay for silly, very over-priced things, as they often have done in the past, such as hammers, desks, even toilets! (Remember the senator from Wisconsin -can't remember his name now -but he used to post some award he concocted to people who were responsible for spending tax dollars and they would purchase things that were grossly over-priced?) I thought then and still do, that these people need to follow a much more realistic approach to how they use/spend those tax dollars. Try putting the theory I used to preach to my kids into play when determining what to buy or not buy -the Want vs. Need theory! Just because you WANT something doesn't necessarily mean you NEED it and if the funds aren't there to begin with, then don't try to spend 'em too!

Of course, I've often also believed that the best thing that could happen in our country would be if they put women in charge of the budget -especially in the "what should we buy" department. We often can be extremely frugal shoppers and can find lots of ingenious methods then to find things of equal value but lesser costs.

Come to think of it -maybe my daughter here would be an excellent candidate -as she would probably advocate that the government go to places like Goodwill Industries or the Salvation Army to shop for some great deals in the "gently used" department, which in turn, makes using the funds in the old checking account a little more "gently used" too!

Just a thought, ya know!

1 comment:

Maggie May said...

I think no matter what our country, things are really worrying and it is difficult to know just what to do in these situations.

Maggie X

Nuts in May