To the common Joe, how bad are things… really?
March 16th, 2008 by Grant in: Economics, FinanceI was watching Chris Matthews’ show this morning, and he was pinging both a republican and a democrat about how the government was handling the latest downturn in the economy. I didn’t catch the republicans response, but I did note that the democrat took to lambasting President Bush, saying that the President didn’t understand the full effect of these economic problems, and went on to criticize him for trying to sugar coat the economic problems we’re facing today in the finance markets.
My first reaction was in agreement. How could the President stand there and tell me that everything is rosy!? I’m outraged!
Then, my cup of coffee kicked in, and I started thinking rationally.
Are things really that bad?
Think about your own personal situation. If you removed any comment ever made by the talking heads on T.V. from your memory, and quit looking at your stock portfolio every day, are things really all that bad?
If you quit assuming we’re in for a recession, and look at the cost of every day life, it might dawn on you that things aren’t quite as bad as they seem.
If you stand back and realize that the media needs to make a big deal out of any potential subject that might keep you from changing the channel, do you still have a realistic outlook on the future?
The cost of gas is going up. The cost of food is going up. The cost of services is going up. Does this lead me to think we’re headed into a recession? If you only look at the stock market, maybe.
What do you think? Is the media blowing the severity of our financial problems up for ratings, or is this something the average Joe really needs to get mad about?
Tags: Chris Wallace | Economics | market crisis
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March 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
I think we’re three quarters away from being dubbed “America, the new Japan”……
March 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
That’s a good question Grant.
Now c’mon, we all know the President’s a nimrod, so his comments shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Do I think that things are all that bad? Not for you and me.
Personally, I’m “old school” with my finances (some may say anal).
As you may remember from my old blog, I was always promoting living “below” one’s means, and that’s truly the way I live. My home’s paid off, my vehicles are paid off, I have cash in the bank, and I have absolutely no debt. I even pay my daily living expenses (utilities, phone, insurance, etc.) a year in advance just to be prepared for anything.
However, I believe that the “average Joe” isn’t in the same shape as us. There are MANY folks who just cannot (or will not) manage their money frugally and live WAY above their means. The only thing keeping these folks going is that they’re still working. Once job losses start REALLY mounting up, like they’re starting to now, the **** will really hit the fan.
I’m lucky enough to make a decent living, but when I look at what a new home costs (in Arizona), what a new car cost, what health insurance costs, and now with rising gas and food costs, I just can’t see how the average working person can make ends meet.
Add on to that the irresponsible spender (and lender) with a ton of mortgage and credit debt, it makes the situation even worse. How are they going to pay their debts? That’s where the ball starts rolling downhill. That ball is about half-way down that hill now IMO.
The media mostly gets a bad rap. They don’t make up all this bad news, they just report it.