The Economy–”Jims Quote of the Day”: Last night, before finishing our Monday post, I just happened to check out Jim Rawles survivalblog (survivalblog.com) and briefly scanned his 3/3/09 post.
I got down to the end to “Jim’s Quote of the Day” and read it. I then quietly pushed aside the economic material (I generally read 15-20 sources/day) I had thought was important and decided instead to go with this: “Jim’s Quote of the Day”, from the early 3/3/09 post of survivalblog at survivalblog.com.
“For what, after all, is the stimulus package attempting to stimulate? A restrained life of living within our means? No. It’s stimulating CONSUMPTION (caps ours). All the big talk of get the markets moving again, banks healthy again, balance sheets strong again, comes down to this: we need little Susie [homemaker] to get a loan for a really cool new car she can live without, drive to a shopping mall to buy cr*p she doesn’t need with a credit card she shouldn’t have, and return to a home mortgaged at a price higher than she can afford. That way, when she can’t keep up with all of it, she’ll have to fall back on other credit cards, and the bank balance sheets will be strong again. Great!” — Jason Kelly
PrudentHome Comment: The foregoing is a sad, pathetic and true snapshot of our current economic situation resulting from the economic policies of our greatest economic and big business minds who: come from the same great schools, with the same great professors, offering the same great view-points, to the “brightest and best” minds, who move up the ladder of success in the interchangeable worlds of business and government. And we stand all amazed at what’s been wrought!
Where’s some of the common sense that must be applied by a by a stay-at home- mother-of-four whose husband brings home a good, basic pay check? She works her budget magic on the back of an envelope, with the help of a hand calculator and a pencil with a big eraser, knowing that she must stay within budget to meet current and future needs as well as plan for possible future upsets.
Our economic future seems to be in the hands of men who can’t find the very essence of themselves with both hands in their back pockets. Who would have thought that William ButlerYeats was a rank optimist?
Food–It’s the Bees Stupid!: “Honeybees under attack on all fronts” writes Deborah MacKenzie, New Scientist (courtesy of Energy Bulletin at energy bulletin.net for 3/1/09).
Ms. MacKenzie writes that the worlds huge honeybee die-offs appear to be the result of a combination of causes (such as pesticides, lack of food and infections) working synergistically, to shove bee survival to “a lethal tipping point”.
She goes on to point out that one-third of human food is dependent on bee pollination and that the huge die-offs in the U.S. and Europe are now spreading to Asia.
Note: It’s always the simple things that seem to trip you up. We’re going to have to watch this topic more closely in the future as food security is already becoming a world-class problem.
Until a little later in the week then, keep your eyes on the horizon as the weathers changing fast.
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