Things Are Not As Bad As They Seem

Good News! Congress is close to passing a housing bill to help struggling home owners. It looks like the taxpayer will be bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae after all. The bailouts are working and the stock market is happy to hear it. The stock market is going up and the Dow has reached the levels that it had 2 years ago. In addition, the consumer is still spending as major food retailers show gains. The price of oil is coming down; I saved 10 cents a gallon over the previous week on my most recent fill-up. Even the federal minimum wage is going up 70 cents tomorrow to $6.55/hr.

Thankfully, I can quit all of my bellyaching about how bad things are, recognize that Phil Gramm was right about us whining, and ignore the federal reserve drumbeat of economic doom and gloom. I was even brave enough to tally our retirement accounts today and they really are not so bad. At least we have the same amount that we had in 2006 in spite of subsequent contributions and here I was dreading the worst.

I need to learn that I have to stop worrying vicariously. I worry about the middle class. I worry that people are not affording what they think they can afford. I worry about my friends and family members whom I believe are being fiscally irresponsible. I need not worry when it is fairly certain now that bad financial behavior will be rewarded. The government is completely ready to bailout whatever financial fiasco we get ourselves into. Here I was struggling to pay down debt and jumping through hoops to preserve my credit score. I need to throw caution to the wind and start acting like everybody else. Good guys and girls always finish last.

Greed is good and I absolutely need to figure out how to get on that bandwagon so I can get my piece of the action. Besides, if I go out there and start spending, it will be great for the economy. In fact, I should stop worrying about finding a job because the government will save us. I need to try on this truth for size, it feels uncomfortable but I’m sure it will stretch after I wear it for a while.