Thursday, January 24, 2008

"I'll take it because it will help me afford the candy bar that I have been saving for."

The talk is everywhere. The housing bubble has burst. The price of electric is going up, this summer...again. The Feds cut the interest rates to the lowest in 10 years. Plane loads of foreigners are here shopping, taking advantage of the low dollar. Oh la-la!

Maybe it is the company that I keep, but I usually only hear 'broke' people talking about their lack of money and it is never in the context of the state of the economy. Today I was talking with some friends about the pluses and minuses of the "stimulus" that our elected officials have negotiated and all the talk has me worried. I mean if the 'haves' are talking about things, what are the 'have nots' doing?

As it relates to the economy, I did two things before I left for Vegas. One, I called my mortgage company to get some information on refinancing. I mean the rates are really unbelievable. Two, I opened my 403B statement. Let's just say I put the statement in my "I could really use a drink" file. It really frightens me to think that I am working my ass off and may be getting poorer. Now I don't want anyone to think I am starving, certainly I am not. I eat quite well (perhaps more than I need to be). My house is warm (and I am not ashamed to admit that I curse each time I see the amount I tithe to BGE). I just returned from a very lovely weekend getaway (that involved airline travel) for goodness sake!

What kicked off this conversation with my friends today was a comment that I heard a reporter from CNBC say about this "stimulus". Truthfully, I am not sure what to do with it. I do know that I'll need to chew on it a bit more before I can let it continue the mental digestion process. The reporter said, "I think the stimulus is a good thing because it is directed to poor people and we need them to jump start this very weak economy. They spend money."

Before I end today's little rant, I need to give a shout out to my friend Bippy. His view on the "stimulus" is the title for today's musings.

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