Quote:
Originally Posted by Halle
Steve,
I believe from your previous posts that you work for the Federal Government. You are very fortunate in that your job is relatively secure and will probably not be eliminated. Government employees are not the norm as far as most American Workers go. They are not as dependent on the economy and therefore have more job security. If you are able to look beyond your own situation and look at the U.S. Economy as a whole you may be able to understand the fear that many are experiencing reference our economy. Many hard working Americans are in trouble through no fault of their own. They followed the rules worked hard,lived within their means and now they find themselves in a situation they could never imagine, without a job and possibly without a home. I don't have the answers to the current problems, I wish I did but I do know doing nothing is not a solution. Just being tough and telling everyone to suck it up will not work. This is a time when we need the proven (successful) experts on the Economy to work together to do what is best for the country as a whole.
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You are correct. I work for the Government - started in April 2004 and will end in April 2009. Came onboard, as did many others from the private sector, because of homeland security issues. So, in that sense, my job is "self-eliminated" in 6 months. Then the commuting between TV and DC ceases.
Prior to that (except for the Army time) is all private sector, running my business and those of others. That includes qualifying for and receiving lines-of-credit for operations flexibility, dealing in currency exchanges (present and futures market), and all of the other business rigamarole to include marketing, personnel matter, cost-and-pricing determinations et al. That 3+ decades of experience as a businessman is why this "credit crunch" stuff makes no sense in the honest marketplace. It also makes me question all of this "panic" mode, as I was taught that panic-buying-or-selling is folly.
From today's mail I shredded three unsolicited credit card applications and two unsolicited "here's checks to go with your credit card" sheets. On the radio I heard commercials for "LendingTree.com" and two banks. On television last night the financial services firms still advertised, telling me how they will make investing so much easier. What credit crunch? ? ?
The reality is not matching up to the hype.
I listened to Sen. Obama's comments regarding the upcoming Senate vote on the bailout/rescue/snowjob as "Think of this like a fire. First you put the fire out, and then you fix the blame."
Sounds really pretty, but most firemen I know what to know what started the fire and what is accellerating it, so they know what to use on it to put it out. Sometimes there really isn't a fire and it's all "smoke" with no impact. Sometimes throwing "water" on it makes things worse, and a different suppression means is necessary. Sometimes you must fight fire with fire to break the cycle.
In this case, these particular politicians want to use money like water, without knowing if that will actually put out any fire or make things worse. That's not too smart at all, but we are supposed to be too dumb to question that.