The Economy: Are You Concerned?

Posted on June 27, 2008 by Bruce Keener

Continued record-breaking oil prices and market plunges are sure catching my attention, and no doubt yours as well.

And there seems to be no end in sight. Yet, in the US, our chicken-sh*t Congress thinks more of its vacation than it thinks of coming up with something to at least halt the rising prices and market concerns.

I don’t feel a serious pinch, at least yet, but I do have concerns about the economy, and I especially wonder what my natural gas bills will look like this coming winter. For months, the pricing of everything seems to have been rising. It seems like there is a price bump in something every time I visit the grocery store. A few weeks ago, an older lady in front of me in the grocery check out line said something like

“A hundred dollars, and no meat. How do people with families make it?”

My son is raising three kids, and drives an hour to work every day. I know this is having a toll on him, and I think he is pretty representative of a large cross section of America.

Is the economy pinching you yet? Are you concerned that it will? When your mind tries to assign blame for the mess, do you see the face of a particular person? Or a country? Or a culture?

For me, I have decided against getting a new guitar and have also decided against getting an iPhone. I had kinda looked forward to getting myself a new guitar for my birthday, but now it just seems like such a waste of money, given that the money could be more usefully spent on the winter’s increased heating costs.

Is the economy causing you to do anything different? Are you traveling less, eating out less, spending less of your disposable income because less of it is disposable?

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  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com/blog Bill Myers

    Am I concerned about the economy? You betcher @$$ I am.

    In addition to the usual concerns about having enough money to pay the rent, buy groceries, save for retirement, etc., I have another concern: air travel. I live in Upstate New York but due to some unique circumstances am traveling to NYC regularly to sell technology services to a global financial services firm. If the cost of air travel becomes too prohibitive, my fear is that my company will “ground” me and relegate me to inside sales once again. There’s even been some talk that my city could lose all airline service if the cost of oil isn’t brought under control.

    What really makes my molars grind is when I hear people blaming one political party or the other for this mess. The Enron loophole that removed regulation from the oil futures market is what got us into this mess. That loophole was created during the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration is in no hurry to remove it. Two different presidents, from different parties and with different ideologies. And both screwed us over in order to pander to one of the filthiest, most unethical corporations in history.

    Yeah, tell me again why one party is dramatically better than the other.

    Geez, I tend not to be so angry when I post here. But this issue has me livid. I’m trying to build a career and pursue the American dream by working hard and adding value where I go. But the government is getting in my way with stupid policies. Where they should be intervening, they don’t. Where they should stay out, their footprints are all over the place.

    Huh. I’ve realized all I’m doing is kvetching. On Saturday, I’m going to write my Congressional representatives to demand that they work for a repeal of the Enron loophole. I’m also going to urge others to do the same. After all, in a democracy we get the government we deserve.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts and concerns, Bill. I’ve done enough flying into upstate NY over the years to know that it’s always been a high-priced zone anyway, and I can imagine it is absurdly high at this time. It is scary indeed that many cities face the prospect of losing airline traffic altogether. It could take many, many years for them to recover from that, if they ever do.

  • capo

    Hmmm. Bad timing – I just picked up a new guitar this afternoon ;-) . Then again, I’m several months into a plan that I hope will cut me free from 9 to 5 and let me make a living primarily with music. (a very meager living, granted, but hopefully a happier one) Concerned about the economy? Yes and no. I’m somewhat of a pessimist in that I don’t expect a reversal. Face it – gas isn’t going to go back to $1.50, no matter what we do. I think ‘we the people’ are to blame – we put too much faith in the gummint (I’m with Bill – neither major party is worth a bucket of warm spit) and expect others to do for us what we should be doing for ourselves. Like think. But at this point it would take an unimaginable (to me) change in our culture to reverse that, and I just don’t see it happening. However, I’m also an optimist. I have a higher authority in Whom I put my trust. Sometimes the storm gets scary, but I still expect a rainbow after the rain.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

    “Sometimes the storm gets scary, but I still expect a rainbow after the rain.”

    Kewl. Great attitude, capo!

  • mike

    An excellent topic!! Yes, it’s getting very expensive everywhere and it’s also obvious that some price increases occur because of headlines. In any case I look at it this way….this will correct itself in due course. As everyone knows as prices go up people stop buying which leads to lower profits at company’s followed by layoffs and eventually price reductions in a last ditch attempts to make money any way company’s can. Nobody likes this process but that’s the way it works and we have to wait it out.

    Personally I seriously doubt any President or any politician can change the global economy of today, they can’t even control the lobbyist army in Washington.

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  • Hal

    Ditto on all the comments! As you are aware I travel a lot, and it always involves rental cars. The company we used has so many “additional” surcharges and taxes lately (probably to cover the cost of fuel!!) that I’m beginning to doubt the wisdom of using them for our short trips.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

    Hey Hal. Good to hear from you. Yup, I bet it’s getting outrageous.