It's The Economy Stupid

Remember that slogan from the Clinton campaigns? Well that was the focus then and it's the focus again now. Not just in the world of politics and the upcoming presidential race but, also in each of our daily lives from the US to Europe. Our economic woes have been largely self inflicted from a ballooning government spending more money they do not have, to businesses relying on constant growth (history has shown this does not happen) and the never ending need to please their shareholders. So what are we to do about all of this, how do we fix it?

Well the simple answer is, elect some new people to run the country! The reality is not so simple. What I cannot seem to figure out is that so many people around me complain about "politicians" and how we need to get them (career politicians) out of office. Yet, when it comes time to vote many of these people either don't vote or just pick the candidate who is the lesser of two evils. This of course means that who they just voted for is still "evil" and therefore not likely to change much from the last person who we put into office. There is a true need to break the system if our great country and many others around the world intend to survive into the distant future. Problem is I have no earthly idea how in the hell that is going to happen, at least gracefully. Sadly the future I see us falling toward is one where a massive global depression reshapes the economic and political world we live in.

I like to think there is an alternative but I have yet to see one that is attainable. It can happen, but I doubt it will. So the other opinion I always seem to hear is, we need to move to China because the own the US anyway. What these people do not realize is when China (or any other country for that matter) decides it is no longer a good idea to buy our debt, we will start to default on that debt. That means we are out of money, but it also means the trillions of dollars we owe will not get paid back, so China loses out too. Do you really think that won't hurt them? They might not be quite as bad off, but trust me no one is a winner in that scenario.

So all that leads back to the first question, what can we do? Elect some new people to run the country. Unfortunately what those who we might elect need and will do is cut back on what the government spends so that we can begin to repay our debt. That means cuts in military funding, healthcare, education, infrastructure, corporate tax breaks, ... So of course everyone needs or wants one or more of these things so anyone running for office that suggest cutting one or more will never be elected.

So what can we do? OK, this is starting to sound repetitive (intentionally). You get the idea, if you want to get elected don't cut spending/funding of anything. If you want to get us out of this economic/financial mess cut spending/funding. Bottom line, we're screwed. I just know that I don't know what will happen when it all comes crashing down, so I don't worry about it. In the mean time I will voice my opinion with my vote (and not waste it by voting for the lesser of two evils) and try to do what I believe is best. You should do the same.