Balance and Hope

The powers that be say they do not use the "R" word because it will generate a recession. And once they admit we are in a Recession than there will be the "D" word to worry us: Depression. So our avenue of escape from this financial mess is to think positive and spend, spend, spend.

I want to remain hopeful and I want to remain in some sort of financial balance. At the moment those two concepts seem to be in direct opposition to each other. I feel a bit like a frog perched on a lily pad in a turbulent pond.

A year ago April 7th I began a home improvement project of adding 336 sf to my house. It is a studio/gallery which will hopefully at some time in the near future generate income without having to travel to as many art fairs. The state is even supporting this endeavor obliquely by beginning a art studio tour loop for tourism through this part of the state. So I am rather stuck in having to continue to do some spending over and above food and gas. I am sure my local economy loves it, because I cannot afford to run to the big city every time I need to purchase tile, or grout, or lumber for the deck, paving stones for the walkway, etc. I admit to doing this all a lot slower than the original schedule, however. I guess that supports those words of "economic slow down" Bush likes to use.

I guess this is all why Obama's message of hope resonates with me so much. I don't care if it is irrational but I need hope. We all need some hope. There are too many dashers of hope out there: McCain because he thinks we ought to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps, Bush because he refuses to admit we are in the deep shit here, Hillary that wants to continue to play the same old dirty trick politics I have come to hate and darken my dream of hope.

How about we all go to a hilltop and meditate on achieving balance in our lives? And actually I do find some of what is happening economically hopeful. I am shopping local far more and finding that I enjoy that even when it costs me a bit more. If I have problems with the mix of paint or a broken tile they are far more likely to make it right for me than Lowe's. And I can feel good about helping my local economy.

I had picked this image of a frog on a lily pad this morning. It reminded me of how tricky it must be to balance on a small pad in the middle of a pond especially if their is turbulence. But it also reminded me that global economy or no it is the health of my little pond that matters. Shop local but shop I suppose is the message. And match your outgo to your income. Balance. And Hope. Let us not forget hope. It gets us through the worst of times.

It is a Recession, Stupid

Not an economic slowdown.

I find all this debate about whether the United States is in a recession a bit irritating. Mind you I am not an economist but I do watch my economy. And it has changed drastically in the last year.

I am on social security which I supplement with income from my art. A year ago the rather hot art market started to really cool down. By fall it was totally frozen and many of my art friends started suffering some serious financial problems. Several entered bankruptcy. Fairs that were once highly competitive to be accepted into were calling an asking why they had not received my application. I personally was cutting down the number of fairs I did and selecting those I did participate in based on how close they were to home. There are no fuel efficient vehicles you can load all your booth fixtures and art into. Mine is better than most with 20 miles per gallon.

A year ago I also let my spa membership go. Not a frill since I deal with several potentially handicapping issues that linger from a bad accident. I used to do twice a week religiously. I changed to a punch card and now go the 23 miles only when my friend can go too so we can cooperate on the gas. And while in town we also do all our shopping and errand running. But most of our grocery shopping is now done locally in the tiny neighboring town of Angel Fire. This means I may pay higher prices on food but do not “waste” the gas.

Oh, and gas is $3.76 a gallon here. Way over the national average. No subway, no trains, no bus. So I travel a lot less. I don’t go to Lowe’s or Home Depot for building supplies for the studio I am finishing. I bargain with the local hardware store. I don’t have things delivered but fit them into that van used for art shows. Electrical rates are up and so are the bills even though I have gone to all those energy efficient bulbs that give less light. Seldom more than one on at a time in my house at night.

I have also gotten rid of my satellite television which means I have no connection to mass media outside the Internet which I need for business. I used to have the Qwest land line package with all the bells and whistles and it ran me $69 per month. I have reduced that to the lowest and most basic package which is $18 but 2/3'rds of that is taxes and FCC fees. All long distance calls are done on the cell phone (also a business expense). See why artists get in trouble? If you hope to make an art sale there are things you must pay for like website, merchant account, supplies, fair fees, travel expenses, fax and cell, internet. But if there is nobody buying art because they are in the same fix I am it is all outgo and no income.

So I have cut basic services to a bare-bone minimum. I do not drive anywhere I do not absolutely have to go and then try to buddy up with my neighbor. I am shopping for clothing at the thrift shop. And this week I planted my garden for the first time in two years. I plan to live like a rabbit on the lettuce it provides for four months.

If a recession is where consumers do not buy things then yes we are in a recession. We have been for a months. The only other things I can pare down are those necessary small business expenses. Oh, and that economic stimulus check we are to get in May. I believe it has to go straight to the Chapter 13 trustee, so it is not stimulating me to go out and buy anything.

Next stop the poor house as my father used to say. He lived through the depression. I remember those stories. They seem all too real at the moment.

Kitchen Table Economics

The new catch phrase when the rich industrialist talk of the economy is kitchen table economics. They have never sat at our kitchen tables. Some of those most hurt by the recent economic downturn do not have kitchen tables.

I have marveled at all the "economic stimulus" package suggestions and noticed they have missed the one thing that can be done and done instantly to immediately help the economy: Lower gas prices. But with major petroleum companies reporting once again record profits nobody has considered this simple but effective solution. In fact the reverse is being talked about in the form of extra taxes on gas to fund repairs to our aging infrastructure system.

As a kitchen table economist let me propose something here: 1) Delete all price supports and tax breaks now being given to the petroleum companies except for those that support the search for alternate fuels, 2) tax the profits of petroleum companies to repair our highways and bridges and build commuter train systems, 3) set a ceiling for gas prices to the consumer, and 4) for a set period lower the gas prices to the user. This makes wonderful sense. Our country would benefit by the extra taxes coming into our treasury and perhaps we could lower taxes on the middle class. Petroleum companies cannot sell us gas if we have no roads to drive on or if the gas is too high for us to want to drive anywhere but to and from work.

Lower gas prices will have an immediate effect on the budgets of all middle class and lower income Americans and their budgets. It will also allow the lowering of prices on commodities which have suffered price increases due to fuel costs and shipping such as groceries which would further help those most effected by higher prices throughout the economy.

And there would be no waiting to receive the cash rebate checks. This boost to our economy would be NOW. We have to ask ourselves if the people that run this company ever consider the people or just the major businesses. Well, if we are all too broke to buy anything those businesses are going to hurt too.