It's a kind of a quiet week, so let's check out the news.
1. The Iraqi shoe-tossing hero was sentenced to 3 years in jail. Some are saying this is too harsh, but I can't argue. In fact, for that part of the world, it seems downright lenient. He did assault a visiting Head of State. Say what you want about the target (and there's nothing good to say) it was a crazy gesture. And I can't help but think if he had actually hit the target, the prison sentence would be a lot longer.
1a. I don't miss Bush.
2. Tent cities in the US. There was a story from California on the news last night about 300 people who've been unemployed for 6 months to a 1 year or so, and are now living in tents because they've lost their homes. It was weird and disturbing. Can things really go that bad that quickly? It is true that not a lot of people have savings, and I suppose a lot of them had debts. But it just seems like it's too soon into the recession for this. When will we start riding the rails and singing Woody Guthrie songs while strumming on the old beat-up guitar?
3. Also, several stories lately about the "new" people going to food banks in the US. Call me callous (you're callous!) but there is just something wrong about some well-dressed woman going to a food bank in her SUV. Why do I think these types of people haven't given up their cell phones or any other number of mod cons?
4. In international news, Pakistan's a mess again this week. Oh sorry, that's not news, that's just life. What a crap country.
5 comments:
Sadly, there are way too many people who live from pay cheque to pay cheque (with absolutely no savings)...I know here at work, they have meetings from time to time with the plant employees to educate them on this fact (and let me tell you, our factory workers are very well paid...probably in the 38,000 - $45,000 range) So, you just have to think about those who are in the minimum wage or low $30 M...Fortunately for me, you know how poverty paranoid I am.
JAW fan
funny it's the opposite here - teh blue collar guys seem to be more financially responsible than the professors here...they own more and owe less on less...Me? I'm in the middle somewhere. Own a bit, owe a lot but am not deluding myself...oh and I don't have a cell so don't bother trying to reach me anywhere but home. mrs. A.
I was raised by parents who grew up during the Depression. Other people used to call me cheap, but now they're all poor too and suddenly how I live so frugally is quite the topic of conversation. I do not have a credit card and my cell phone is pre-paid. My car is 11 years old and in great shap....I think I may get 20 years out of it. Some is how much you make, some is just mind set. We were raised to believe you only borrow for short periods during dire emergencies, otherwise do without!
LLJ, you are even more frugal than me, and I pride myself on being Miss Frugal.
It isn't easy, imagine trying to be frugal surrounded byt all those crazy spending-money-they -don't-have Americans!
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