Remember This? Re-visiting the Chris Martenson Videos On Our Economic Situation

Two things.

First, I am slowly working on re-writing my missing post, the letter to my children, and I will post it again as soon as I have it done. I think it will be worth the wait.

Second, remember waaaaay back in October (2008) when I posted this link: http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse. I hope if you didn't watch it then, that you will now. I am very interested in discussing this with other folks.

"Bushvilles"

Some Thoughts on Food

Have you all seen "Depression Cooking With Clara" videos? If not, check them out. I was struck primarily by the notion of turning off the stove and letting pasta cook itself just by sitting with the lid on.

Though Clara's egg drop soup recipe is nothing like "traditional" Chinese egg drop soup as far as I know, I liked her idea of bulking up egg drop soup with potatoes.

I make egg drop soup frequently for myself because it is basically zero Weight Watchers points and is surprisingly filling. I make a really simple version for reasons of economics and time: just broth, with egg whites dropped in through a fork (to break it up) once it is boils. Rarely I thicken the broth a little with a tiny bit of flour whipped in. I use egg whites alone per the standard recipe. Since I can't afford to waste yolks, I cook those up for my kids. Or sometimes I use egg substitute, as it is often more economical if I buy egg sub in bulk at BJs...it only works with Egg Beaters though, no other brands.

I might try Clara's recipe as another egg soup recipe. I also think I'll start adding finely diced carrots and onions in my egg drop soup for more nutrition.

(Photo courtesy of Cake Wrecks)

Something interesting is happening between me and food right now. You know how some people find fats troublesome, and some people find sweets troublesome? As in, some people find they can't control themselves around fats, and others can't control themselves around sweets?

For many years, I have struggled not with fats or sweets, but with both of these. I love food, and I frequently crave fats and sweets. Nothing has worked to rid myself of the cravings, including attempts at getting through some type of "withdrawl" period and quitting "cold turkey."

Recently, however, I've found my desire for sweets to be very low. So low in fact that the idea of having something sweet at times is a total and utter turn off. It's not that I never crave sugar now. I do. But the cravings are less strong and far, far more infrequent. Yesterday I turned down a delicious-looking piece of from-scratch chocolate cake, two different types of ice cream, and an offer of Peanut M & Ms. I'm back to watering down any juices to basically flavored waters, something I have done only periodically over my adult years. And this morning when I saw ice cream sandwiches in my mother-in-law's freezer, they only caught attention briefly before I moved on.

I do think this is more consistent with my genetic make-up. In my family of origin everyone enjoys some sweet treats, but no one as far as I know is overboard in any way like I have been over the years. That watering down juice until it is flavored water thing? That came straight from my mother.

I don't know what is shifting, but I think this will be a nice wave to ride for a while. I am hoping the change in taste preferences is permanent, and for a good reason (growing out of sweets or something) rather than a bad one (my body compensating for wildly fluctuating hourly blood glucose levels from stress and life changes over the last couple years).

Either way, for now, I am quite happy and have a renewed sense of hope about getting my dietary life and overall state of health back in gear. Only problem is, my salty fats cravings have increased slightly...I'm finding that at times, in place of wanting a big slice of cake or something, I want a big snack of potato chips. That said, I'm not worried yet, as the increase is only very minor and might just be a matter of adjustment.

Is Your Income is Dropping to $500,000?

Someone on one of my Mothering Boards posted about Obama capping the CEO salaries at $500,000 for those companies receiving federal money ("bailout bucks").

Stealing an idea from another mom, I'd like to offer this to any executives who are facing tough financial issues such as needing to sell their homes or reduce personal employee salaries:

I can help you successfully live on $250,000 a year. I am available for consultant services, and I will help you navigate the changes in your personal financial life. The fee for my services is $250,000 per year.

:)

No, seriously.

In Case of Suffering...

Dearest Family and Friends (an open letter),

In case of suffering, please call me.

I don't want any of my family or friends to suffer silently in these hard economic times. I don't know how many of my local family and friends actually read my blog, but just in case, I want to say here and now that I offer the following:

• Shared housing while you are trying to get back on your feet. G and I are having trouble keeping up with all our bills in this new year. It was tough before, but now I have received a salary cut and G is job hunting when jobs are scarce. Come stay with us for a bit if you need a place. Contribute what you can in rent, even if a small amount. It will help us while helping you. Or simply help us out with home repairs or pool maintenance, or car maintenance, or as of this spring, building small raised garden beds for our urban food garden.
• Dinner. Sharing meals can help us all keep our spirits up and, done right, will ultimately be cheaper. Let's split some costs and enjoy one another's company. Your house or ours. Bring the ingrediants you can scrounge up and we'll bring what we can scrounge up at our house. Then we'll cook and eat together. The "new economy" will at best give us the vehicle to redefine the good American life. Hopefully we will all play more music together, break more bread together, and play more games together.
• And another option for dinner. If you like vegetarian food, when we cook something, every-once-in-a-while, we can make a little extra for you to have fresh or put in your freezer. You can do the same for us when and if you are ever able, but no pressure. We can also get together to share in the task of baking and cooking from scratch, especially those items that can be frozen or stored well. The more we all have in our freezers, the less convienence food we will all buy and the less we will eat out. Also, a full freezer is cheaper to run than an empty one and a full oven is cheaper when on than one that only has one or two things in it.
• Shared heating. If you are worried about your energy and heating bill this winter, let's talk. By turning down the heat (as low as it will go without bursting the pipes) and by keeping the lights out for just a couple of days (or even for a night), you can save money. Come over for a night or two, then catch us on the flipside.
• Bulk memberships. If you need to stock up, let me know so we can schedule to shopping together. We have been given a wonderful gift of a membership to both BJs and Costco. I can tell you when we are headed out there next, and you would be most welcome to join me and share in our membership. I'd also be happy to split items when the cost of buying is cheaper in bulk but neither of us needs quite that much of something (pickles or whatever).
• Gardening, with prep starting in early spring. G and I are entertaining ideas about how to eat locally and in season (redefining our entire diet) and grow more of our own food. Neither of us have a green thumb, nor do we have much space for gardening in our yard. However, if we can get together with folks who have more of a green thumb/more knowledge, as well as someone who has some space, we can offer some of the labor. There are no "community gardens" accessible to the public in our city currently as far as we can tell.
• Clothes and toys for your kids. If you have a child under three, we might be able to help. We are not done having children so would like to keep our items, but if you are willing to keep track of anything with our name on it, we are happy to loan out clothes for little ones who have outgrown their wardrobes as well as toys for little ones who have reached a new developmental phase and need some new toys.
• Women's clothing exchanges. Sizes change, tastes change. If you are needing or craving something new to wear and are around my size or a bit smaller, call me. I'd be happy for you to rummage through my pile of clothes I've sadly outgrown, etc. Maybe I'll have a thing or two of interest to you. (And if you have anything you think might interest me, let me know that too.)
• Make cleaners in bulk with us. If we buy the supplies together in bulk, we can make cheap and healthier (than store bought...also more ecologically sound) household cleaners including laundry deteregent. By doing it together, we'll also have more fun. We'd have to learn how, but I'd also entertain making soaps and shampoos and other personal care goods together.
• If it feels like your home is falling apart around you, but you can't afford the work and don't have the man-power to do it yourself, let's talk. We can come help you at your house for some number of hours if you come help us at ours. By sharing the work, we make it more likely that we can "do it ourselves" which will save money.
• I'm open to other ideas to about how we can help each other out.

For those of you who are not local, I still am here offering to be a good listener and to hold you in loving prayers.

Please don't be prideful. Now is not the time. If you need help, reach out. We're all in this together.

Love,
S.M.G.

Worried About Money Again

My January check may very well be a reduced one. So far the word is that they're looking at 5-15% cuts if the board goes forward with across the board cuts. The board is projecting a $63,000 income loss next year, so staff is definitely going to take a hit. But apparently I'm not even going to know what is going to happen until the end of January, just before checks are scheduled to be cut. What will that mean for checks? Will they wait until February to make the cuts? When will our contracts be renegotiated? The decision making process that happens before our big annual meeting is very loosey goosey, and I'm left in an uncomfortable position.

I'm the only one here who has young children. I am the primary "breadwinner" for my family. I have a family to support here for goodness sakes, and survival plans to put in place!!! Since I don't qualify for unemployment and partial unemployment, I need more time than the average bear.

Here's to hoping the one-person personnel committee will actually call me in to meet with him tomorrow or Tuesday so that I get a better sense of the leanings at this time and can advocate to the extent I am able for my work. This is just disturbing.

Feeling Okay

So I posted yesterday about how freaked out I was about the economy and job security. Part of why I was freaked out is specific to how the congregation I am serving has learned to approach money and staffing over the years. I don't think it is in the best interests of the congregation to cut program staff. With enough time, that will hopefully change. In the meantime, as I said, I need a plan B.

In just twenty minutes of conversation, G. and I were able to come up with at least one plan B. It makes me feel good to know that we have at least one option, and that if we thought on this some more, we could likely come up with another plan or two.

My plan:

Should the congregation decide to cut my salary, they will need to be aware of a realistic picture of what that will mean in terms of staff hours. What I will do as prep is to create a list of all the work I do, and should it come up that they will be cutting my salary, I will let them know how many hours that will give them and ask them which part of my work they would like to cut. This will not be something with which they will have experience, but I think it is important in part because on a reduced salary, I will need to have enough time to have a second job. Also, it will be important for the congregation to have full information about what they are asking of me.

Our plan if I am then working, say for example, 25 hours per week, is to open a home-based Montessori-inspired half-day preschool for six children (in addition to our own). This is something that would be very exciting to offer our community, use both our skills very well, fill a need we believe there is in our community, fit well within our lifestyle, and enhance the education of our own kids to boot because I'll have more time for teaching. It's not an easy road in the least, but it is a challenge I would enjoy and something I feel very passionately about in any case, and I feel really good about this option.

Of course, we are still hoping and praying that I will be able to continue working full time with my current salary, but having a plan I can get excited about feels much, much better.

The challenges will be much bigger if they can't fund my position at all, or if they cut my salary, but not enough to give me time for a second job. I'll continue to think out my approach if either of those end up being the case.

What I've Learned

Okay, I've done a little research, and here is what I've learned...if I understood everything correctly:

1. The good: It looks like there is a such thing as "partial unemployment" if hours/wages are reduced by the employer. This would make it worth it to stick around.

2. The bad: I just saw that it looks like I would be ineligible for unemployment anyway because I work in service of a church.

Plan B

I am really worried about the economy and the security of my job. We had our monthly staff meeting yesterday, and things are not looking good. I am the last person to be hired here, and it is possible that this fact will influence me in being the first to go.

I've never been in such a position, and am completely ignorant. The scary thing is that we used up all of our savings during our move a little over a year ago when I came out for the job (my employer paid for a goodly sum of the move, except that the move went all wrong for a number of reasons including the economy and the struggle to sell our house...so things went haywire). I had hoped we'd have time to rebuild our savings, but we haven't...and that was a lot of money.

G. is starting to look for jobs, but she needs one anyway, even if my job continues to be secure. Despite this, her earning potential is relatively modest. Either way, until she finds a job, I am the sole bread-winner of the family.

I am praying hard and visualizing things working out. But what if they don't? I think it is time for me to do some prep, just in case.

If my employer decides to reduce my salary instead of lay me off, I may need to ask to either be fired (if they aren't satisfied with my work) or laid off (if the issue is truly just the money). My family is already stretched as thinly as we can be. We have a very, very modest budget. We simply couldn't make a lower salary stretch to fit, and this wasn't the agreement I had with my employer when I made the decision to move for this job.

Before I decide what my reaction should be if my salary is cut (which is only one of several potential scenarios...they might also just lay me off or fire me), I need to know if it makes a difference in terms of unemployment whether one is fired or laid off. I also need to know how much unemployment I would be able to collect (assuming I am looking for new work, which I will be) and for how long. And finally, I need to know how long it would take for the checks to kick in. Seems I have some research to do.

I'll keep you posted if I learn anything interesting.

This Looks Really Interesting

On one of my mommy groups, a mom posted this as a must-see: http://www.chrismartenson.com/crash-course

I just started watching it, and it looks interesting. Join me! And post your thoughts.

Our Strategies For Keeping the Heat Turned Down Lower This Year

...Okay, so check to make sure if weather stripping isn't cracked...got it. Other ideas...

• 2 Layer Minimum: All family members have happily agreed to wear long underware under our clothes. Sweaters are encouraged but do not count as a layer.


• Socks and Hats Required: We plan to wear socks all winter long. Two layers of socks, with wool on top, or even just wool socks by themselves are preferable. Slippers make a great addition but are not necessarily necessary ;-). Hats are a must at all times outdoors, but also are great when folks get chilly indoors. If one of us is cold during the day, we'll try a comfortable hat before turning up the heat.


• Tea as the Standard Drink: During the winter, we plan to drink warm drinks throughout the day. Options include warm milk, apple cider, or our current favorite: tea. The children enjoy a child-friendly herbal (thus naturally caffeine free) tea, lightly steeped. They like Celestial Seasoning teas such as Sleepytime, Chamomile, Peppermint, and the Berry one (can't recall its name at the moment). They have yet to try the Orange Zest tea. Coffee is also an option for adults and hot chocolate is a favorite among everybody on special occassions. All of us will drink something warm not just during the day, but especially before bed.


• Warm and Spicey Foods: Cooking and baking not only keeps the house warmer, but eating warm cooked meals helps to warm people. We won't be having meals that are served cold this winter...hardboiled eggs, most types of sandwiches, etc. Since everybody in our family likes spicey food, we'll also be eating plenty of that because it can noticeably warm us up.


• A "Downsized" House: We will be closing off a number of rooms for the coldest months of the winter. We don't have multi-zone heating, but we do have radiators that can be shut off individually in rooms, and as I understand it, this can save on heat. I know a woman who has shut down the entire upper level of her house, setting up bedrooms on the first level (which she decided to make the "open for business" level due to the location of the kitchen on the ground level). I guess that is always an option. We have three rooms downstairs that could be transformed into bedrooms with a little creativity if absolutely necessary.


• Cold Means Get Out: The library and the ecotarium (to which we have a membership) are two of probably several places we can go that will not be keeping heat any lower this year than last year.


• Rice Pack Warmers: We have at least one already, and could make or inexpensively buy several more. Heated in the microwave for a few minutes, these can warm beds before bedtime, couches, and even chairs throughout the house. They can also be used by any of us if we just feel a little chilly.


• Blankets, Blankets, Everywhere: Reading books under blankets on couches can be a fun activity for everyone! Blankets can also be used by any person who wants one for his or her lap while doing a puzzle, playing a card or board game, drawing, writing, or otherwise staying put in one place.


• Fans on Reverse: I have heard that putting a fan on the "reverse" setting, if one is available, helps disperse heat throughout the room. I will be checking to see if either of our fans has this setting.


• All Appliances Run During the Day: In the summer, we have a rule that we don't vacuum, do laundry, cook, or run the diswasher during the day because it makes the house hot. Now that winter is here, this can be part of a great strategy to keep warm during the day. At night it is great to run appliances too for heat, but it is easier to stay warm at night under the covers than it is during the day.

Other things we'll possibly do? I am going to keep my eye out at the thrift shop for soft, wool clothes. Unfortunately, we can't do just any wool clothes because wool is very itchy and none of us tolerate itchy wool. But maybe we'll find something. If not, I am at least going to buy wool *socks,* no matter where I have to buy them. I also am going to look around for heat-resistant radiator reflectors to put on exterior walls behind radiators to prevent heat escape, and hopefully we can swing it (assuming cost) to get our radiators fully serviced this winter. If the project looks manageable for non-do-it-yourselfers like us, I'll use 2" certifoam insulation around rim joists, which are in between floor joists in the basement, to help keep the floors warm. If we have enough when that is done, we will also get flannel or fleece sheets for the beds. And finally, I hope to make "draft dodgers" for doors between rooms, especially rooms we won't be using.

My Tight-Wad List

In many ways, I am super privileged to even be making this type of list. Eating out? Organics? Come on! Many, many folks live without these largely "middle-class" luxuries. But for us, these all represent a significant lifestyle change. And some of these will sound pretty extreme. No pain, no gain, I guess. More like, "let's survive the new economic realitities." But really, weren't many of these just how people lived 100 or 150 years ago?

• NO eating out EVER, except for really, really, really special occassions... I know this is the usual for most folks, but for us, eating out has essentially become the biggest part of our (formerly $200) monthly "entertainment budget." In fact, we did overspend in our entertainment category on a not-irregular basis, and most months, eating out was the only culprit. We cut the budget to $100 upon our move, and thought that was all we could realistically expect of ourselves, knowing how busy we are and what a big change that was for us already. But not too long after, we realized we had to make this into a really significant lifestyle change. No more entertainment budget. None. Ever. This is the change I resent the most.
• Far fewer organics. While the change above is the one I resent the most, this one is the one I worry about the most. The organics order of priorities is: (meat, which we don't eat), dairy, then fruits and veggies, then grains. While we have gone through other times in which we have been able to buy organic fruits and veggies only when they are the almost identical in price to non-organic, we've never had to cut out organic dairy. Now, however, we will be able to buy organic dairy much more rarely.
• At the same time, I commit to recontacting our raw milk source, which is competatively priced (though we will have a drive to pay for to pick it up, so I will have to crunch the numbers). We will try making our own yogurts and cheeses if we can get enough milk for that purpose. This will require a significant shift in use of time. I am most looking forward to this change, though I am dreading contacting our source only because I contacted him last year but never had the time to follow-through and feel guilty. Also, next year, if we do the CSA (and given that we are having to cut down on our other organics and that the CSA is low cost, I am inclined to say we will as long as we can get a payment plan), there will have to be a moratorium on buying any other produce. No other produce expenditures at all. Ever. Somehow or another, we are going to have to live with eating only leafy greens when that is the only thing in season.
• Soda almost never. This one has long been a goal of mine, but I've put if off far too long in fear of the withdrawl period. I'm in withdrawl right now (actually, I am sipping on a soda I found after hunting desperately in the pantry for just one unopened can), but I have reduced my soda intake by about 75% in the last week or so. Soda is going to have to become a drink for only very special occassions. Withdrawl symptoms include exhaustion, extreme headaches, complete irratibility, mood swings, unquenchable thirst, physical intolerance for changes in blood sugar, anxiety, and trembling muscles. On the plus side, I think I am finding some anecdotal evidence for the outlandish theory that my soda intake has something to do with my neurological issues. I am in the middle of a 72 hour EEG, and I have had almost no "events" to record.
• No more canned beans or soups, and no more instant/convienence foods and frozen meals. These can all be cooked at home more cheaply, even if cooked and frozen ourselves.
• No cell phones. We should have one contract ending this month, so that is good. But we might have to pay to get out of the contract on the other. We'll keep our prepaid phone for emergencies, but we recently discovered it is not working very well (keeps shutting off even with a charged battery, and has to be plugged in to work even half the time).
• Changes in transportation. I've talked about this for a while, and have begun making some changes. Since moving, we've cut down on a great amount of driving. This will have to continue, and the next phase will be even more difficult because the bus system here is so incredibly unreliable and once it starts snowing (due to the fact that snow here turns to thick sheets of ice that never melt until the spring), biking (not that I even own a bike) is simply not possible. G and I found a garden wagon at Lowes on sale for $50. I think we are going to get it because it is large and would fit both kids plus a couple bags of groceries if not more. It also has these big, sturdy wheels that will work well for many surfaces. This would make walking to and from the grocery store more possible.
• Lessened use of heat. See my next post.
• A significantly changed Christmas. This year we will use a couple gift certificates we have saved after receiving them over the last year as gifts, etc. to buy the kids Christmas gifts. We'll be making all other gifts. Mostly, we will reduce by a good deal the amount we do gifts for the season. We also will modify the way we do Christmas cards, if we do them this year at all.
• Natural lighting only during the day. To understand what a big deal this is, you have to understand where we live. Where I grew up, after it snowed, the sun would *eventually* come out and melt everything and bring some light for a while. Not here. Here, once it starts snowing, you don't see the sun again until the spring. It will be grey straight through. Also, as I mentioned, the snow here doesn't melt. The snow here becomes white ice once it hits the ground. Every time it snows again, a new layer goes on top of the old, which makes the first even more solid and compact. Think of the most painful kind of snowballs, and you know the kind of snow I am talking about. You can tear a pair of jeans on the ice just trying to shovel your driveway. In order to avoid SAD, we'll need to shovel our way out and spend time outdoors even when it is super cold and the ice on the ground is at thigh-level. And because the sun will be behind the clouds, I am talking about more than a few minutes outside each day. Time to get out the snowsuits and think of cheap activities to do when we are stuck home in the snow.
• No lights after 8pm. The kids are in bed asleep by that time, so they won't be impacted in any way. But this means, if G and I are still up (what an incentive to go to bed early), if I am just getting home from a meeting or whatever, I will go by candle-light, or the light from the computer if G is watching a movie or working on the computer or something.
• 90%+ homeade homeschool supplies. I can't really spend money right now on our Montessori lessons. I am going to have to find a way to collect cheap stuff to make the lessons from.
• Home computer use limit of five hours per day total for the family, and turned off between useage. ALL other appliances unplugged when not in use.
• A return to dial-up? No home internet? After the changes above, our monthly budget includes only food, medical care, mortgage, and basic utilities, except for the internet and driving back and forth to visit G's parents and sister (an hour and a half drive). We can't reasonably cut the latter. G's parents are advanced in age, and our visits with them are important. Also, we combine it with a trip to K's therapist, who is in Boston which is on the way. However, we are changing our lifestyle so much for this winter that I also don't think I am quite ready to say no more high speed home internet. That said, a few months down the line, I'll probably reconsider.

The good thing about all this? I think if we are successful, we are going to spend less time goofing off on the computer, and more time playing games, writing letters, and at the library. I think we are going to be getting better sleep and become more in tune with the natural cycle of the day.

Money, Money, Money, MONEY

While our elected leaders continue to debate what to do over one significant facet of the economic crisis we are in, life goes on for the rest of us.

My dw G and I, like many Americans, are feeling vulnerable at this time. For us, perhaps more so than some of our friends and family. The reasons for this are:

1. Though the political focus, at least for the time, has shifted to Wall Street, and as an extension, Mall Street (a caller on an NPR show had a good point that Main Street has already had its crisis, which came about with the "Big Box Stores," and that now, Mall Street is really the next street down from Wall Street)...fossil fuels are still a *huge* issue.

For folks out west, most of you probably see this crisis primarily in terms of transportation. For many of us in New England, our homes are heated by oil and we are seeing immediate and direct effects of the crisis. In my home, oil is not only our source for home heating, but also hot water. Worse still, we live in a particularly cold and snowy region of our state. The winters here are very difficult.

It now costs well over $800 to fill up our oil tank. If we were to heat our home and use our hot water normally, we would need to refill our oil tank every two to three weeks. Obviously, this is not financially feasible even for folks securely in the middle class.

2. G became a stay-at-home mother last year. This has really held our family together on so many different levels. It has truly been a blessing. We knew when we bought our home (which was truly *cheap* for our area) that she would need to return to work at least part time. We envisioned her working two or three evenings per week, and us continuing to maintain a schedule similar to what we have now with her at home. However, now that we have been in our new home for a few months, we are really aware of how close we are teetering to financial doom. G needs to get a job and *fast,* especially before winter hits, but even sooner. It looks like she will need to work three evenings per week for sure.

Definitely time to batten down the hatches. So my next post will be my tight-wad list. What's on yours?

I Signed This

Check out this bail out proposal, and maybe even sign it if you like it:

From U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders

My Political and Economic Feelings Last Week

By the way, I am thrilled about how I feel post-debate because this was a little bit of how I was feeling last week:



Let there be hope.

How It Went Last Night: Part Two (The Debate)

As for the debate, it is funny because the economy is said to be Obama's strong area, but I thought he really picked up speed after a while in the foreign policy discussions. By the end, I felt he was smokin'! I almost was sorry to see it end.

Of course I don't agree with everything on either side, but Obama did exactly the thing that makes me want him to be president: he gave a highly intelligent and cogent presentation that didn't rely on knocking down his opponent with criticism but instead on peeling back the layers of complex issues and looking at each thoughtfully and carefully.

Listening to a little of the post-debate talk this morning on NPR on my way to work, it seemed folks felt neither candidate came out significantly more strongly than the others, though I know there was a lot of commentary in newsmedia this morning, much of which said Obama led just by a hair. I was surprised more folks didn't see the same thing I did about how he really gained some momentum in the last half of the debate.

I admit I got a little annoyed with one of the commentators this morning who said that Obama didn't show "the fire"...the willingness to attack his opponent that "his supporters want to see." What?!? I am among his supporters, and it is hard to believe that I am the only one who wants a president who will attack ideas (not people) in a calm, and reasoned manner.

Last night a commentator on CNN characterized it as "intellectual generosity." The commentator was using the term as a negative, saying that such intellectual generosity doesn't win elections. However, as a voter, I see such intellectual generosity as a tremendous asset in a president. It seems to me that "intellectual generosity" is a good sign of being able to consider and weigh information from all sides of an argument, and to make determinations based on reason rather than theoretical ideology.

I don't dislike "dirty politics" simply because it is awful to see opponents attack one another. I dislike dirty politics because I think it highlights a character flaw that is significant when selecting national leaders. That is, the inability to be reasoned participants in the political process and to reach out for common ground. If there is one thing a president needs to be, it is reasoned and able to mobilize a wide range of people.

Oh, and by the way, I am absolutely *horrified* about McCain's "spending freeze" option he said he thinks worthy of consideration. That is, the spending freeze on everything except the military and veteran's benefits (and then he sort of murmured something about other entitlement programs...thank heavens there was some measure of logic there). Did I hear that correctly?! Do we really want a guy for president for whom such a thought has even crossed his mind? Um, military state?

...Especially with the economy in the state it is in when more and more folks are going to need help to be well enough to keep the economy going...

That really came out of nowhere because I have to believe that Obama would have been able to list out dozens of important programs and the people impacted who would be in deep trouble if this happened. Not to mention that entitlement programs (that is, as I understand it, programs which are legal obligations of our country for eligible entities...the government's bills, you could say) are among some of our larger expenditures. But you can't just say, "oh forget them! Let's seriously cut them out." Not only because it wouldn't be legal, but because it wouldn't be moral or ethical when you actually consider, oh, just for example: foster children, who otherwise have nothing.

One of my only regrets about the debate is that Obama didn't have much to say about that.

But you know, it really seemed the way McCain said it, like he just pulled it out of the air. And that is one more thing that freaks me out about the guy as a candidate for the U.S. presidency. His impulsive nature seems to outrun his ability to reason when under pressure. Unfortunately, his impulsivity leads him only to those things he knows well: the military, for example. That doesn't leave much room for hope for those of us who are working poor or struggling middle class.

Perhaps McCain's own statement was enough said.

On a final note, as well as I thought Obama did, why oh why is Obama continuing to let "off shore drilling" be characterized as a "bridge" or interim option by McCain? Why oh why is "off shore drilling" even still on the table for either candidate? That is crap! I am telling you: just look at the science.

On the marketplace beat

As talk of recession becomes more and more dominant in the public discourse, I find myself challenged to balance my views of the long-time human practice of predicting impending doom with the fact that yes, bad things do happen. The depression happened. Recessions happen. People lose jobs and houses. I could lose either or both. We all could. Things could get really messy around here.

While putting on my shoes to head out to work this morning, the image of the famous photo at left, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother (1936), flashed through my mind. The woman in the photo is Florence Owens Thompson (who later said she wished Lange had not taken her photo reportedly because Lange did not give her any compensation, did not send her a copy of the photo, and did not take her name or ask her anything about her story, etc.). She was thirty-two years old when this image was taken. That is, very close to the age I am now.

In many ways, my family is among the especially financially vulnerable right now. This possible recession has been precipitated by a housing crisis rip tide that we were swept into. We are carrying a rent and a mortgage at the moment as we live over 3000 miles from the home we own, a home which we have been desperately trying to sell for over a half year now. We've had to talk about foreclosure, though fortunately we do believe that we can avoid it.

The home we are renting is heated by oil. Before we knew what it would cost to heat this home, we spent $800 on oil in a matter of twenty days. We live in a rather cold climate.

In terms of income, I support my four-person family on a low middle class salary, with plans for my dw G to supplement this with her working class earnings. My job is not among the particularly secure. Our savings were wiped away in our move. We are already living beyond our means, despite the fact that we have no other debt besides our mortgage and home equity (which we took out to prepare to sell our home before the market took the dive that it did, and which also has actually and ironically been paying our mortgage) and that we are conservative spenders living a pretty simple life. It wouldn't take much to correct this, to get our budget back on track, if only the housing market could make it out of this slump. It is the housing that is killing us.

Predictions of the immediate financial future of this country and the world seem to vary wildly. One interviewee on NPR (Marketplace, I believe), who had proper qualifications, claimed that based on the patterns of previous recessions, we can safely bet that if we go into an actual recession, we are going to come out of this much more quickly and much more safely than folks are predicting. Many others are recommending that folks batten down the hatches. They are taking a moderate stance. They are explaining that this, like all recessions, are a natural correction/pendulum swing in the marketplace and that things will get pretty bad for a while but that we should all ride this out with some sense of patience and calm because at some point, we are going to come out of this. I've heard multiple people in this camp say, "Just start storing some nuts for the winter."

On the other end of the scale, there are a few who are predicting a devastating and long-lasting financial turn for the worst. A buddy of mine online, who apparently successfully predicted the "housing market boom" that occurred over the last couple of years, is suggesting that we all prepare for this to become not only a full blown recession, but for the recession to develop into a depression worse than "The Great Depression." The reason? Our whole economy is built around having cheap energy, and we are depleting fossil fuels at a breathtaking speed. Of particular concern, OIL. Batten down the hatches is an understatement for her recommendations. Think Y2K.

Here are the links she recommended:
http://www.richardheinberg.com/
http://www.peakoil.com/
http://www.energybulletin.net/
http://www.postcarbon.org/
http://transitionculture.org/
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.kunstler.com/

She basically is suggesting that we all prepare to be as independent of the economy (built on finite fossil fuels) as we can get. Stockpile food while you build a garden that you can use to feed your family. Harvest rainwater. Find ways to cook without cooking fuel. Move close to the places you need to go. Find ways to light your home without electricity and stockpile candles. Get a wood stove and secure wood sources. Consider moving to a climate without extreme hot and cold.

(more of Florence Owens Thompson from Dorothea Lange)

These are good earth-saving if not money-saving, and thus, potentially family-saving suggestions. However, if she's right, I fear my family is doomed. Not only did I just move over 3000 miles from a place of moderate, survivable temperatures to a place with extreme cold in the winter and extreme heat in the summer, but I also have not the slightest green thumb nor do-it-yourself ability. And since I've just moved to a rental home, I don't have the power to insulate, start a garden, install a wood burning stove, replace windows, nor do anything else to improve our chances of survival, at least not without permission from the landlord. And it is probably not in my best interests to invest in this rental home where I have a short-term lease, unless I end up signing for a longer lease or am committed to buying it down the road.

Of course, as another online buddy pointed out, the most extreme end of this side of the spectrum lands smack dab in conspiracy theory: http://www.projectcamelot.net/norway.html. And someone else aptly concluded that as humans, we tend to predict the apocalyptic in these types of scenarios. She's right. People have been predicting the end of civilization since the beginning of civilization. People have seen reason to have no hope for at least as long as history has been recorded in writing. Consider for example, this quote, which I've seen attributed to Hesiod of 8th century B.C.

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint" - Hesiod, 8th century B.C.

Perhaps we not only tend toward the apocalyptic, but also the apocryphal.

So yes, bad things can and do happen, and I will try to be disciplined enough in the next month or two to indeed batten down the hatches here. There is much I can't control, but I can at least start with these :

• Pay off some large bills that have gone unpaid for far too long...work on my credit score
• Get a renter in the home we own
• Re-evaluate our monthly budget and cancel any services we no longer use, etc.

At the same time, fretting over a recession is just going to contribute to the emotional response that seems to be dooming the stock market right now. While I find it an interesting intellectual exercise to consider how folks would respond to a depression in these modern times of ours when we are used to living longer, for instance (a post for another day, perhaps), I don't find it particularly calming to my own already high stress level to predict what may come to be known as apocalyptic and apocryphal stories. I'm visualizing instead, a stable future...for my family, the United States, and the world.