Effects of the Worsening Economy

Last year I was disturbed by the number of vacant and for sale houses I saw here in Florida but the recession hadn't caused me much personal damage. That all changed this fall.

The first serious damage occurred when my lone mutual fund lost close to half it's value. The banking official I deal with has been trying politely over the years to influence me to put more of my life savings into mutual funds than I felt comfortable with but I resisted, reasoning that I couldn't afford to take chances and preferred the guaranteed investment certificates with their lower interest return. It turned out that I made the right choice because the bulk of my investments are now safe.

Then the gas prices began falling and dragging our Canadian dollar right down with them. I'd never realized before that the Canadian dollar only rose so beautifully because gas prices had risen. It doesn't make sense to me but that's the way it is.

All of the Canadians wintering in my park are taking the falling dollar with a grain of salt. We have no choice in paying our rent with the devalued dollar but we can spend less money in other ways while we're here. As of yesterday the price of gas slipped to $1.89 per gallon so at least we're saving there. Groceries are a necessity but restaurants aren't. Shopping trips will happen less often, too, but there are an abundance of clearance stores down here which offer true bargains.

I saw some of the effects of less personnel just recently on the highway near my park. Numerous loads of garbage were dumped up the road last week and they sit there to this day. Road kill is causing a nasty distraction because it doesn't get cleaned up. Stores seem to be overstocked and understaffed. I'm sure this Christmas we'll find fewer presents under our trees. We've overindulged for so long that cutting back will make us feel like failures instead of sensible people.

Losing a job or home will be devastating but if you're lucky enough to keep both then cutting back on spending will be the first step in securing your future. I know the ripple effect of spending less will result in some people losing their jobs but what other choice do we have? Maybe the unions could accept pay cuts so that their fellow workers are able to hang on to their paychecks. Maybe company executives could stop spending money on frivolous things like company jets and horrifically expensive think tank vacations.

Recession or depression seems to have hit the whole world at the same time like a ton of bricks. It's a time we hoped we'd never see but it's here and we have to deal with it. My hopes are pinned on Barach Obama and his chosen directors to make the sane choices to save the rest of us from total disaster. It's an awful responsibility but I believe that the way the United States goes, so goes the world.

Because of the bailouts for insurance companies, banks, and even auto manufacturers, we have to assume that free enterprise is a thing of the past. And if there is no free enterprise then those companies have no right to lavish public tax dollars on themselves. People are rightfully angry with executives who beg for their money and then use it to party like billionaires and pay themselves million dollar salaries.

This will be a new world, at least for a while. We'll face reality, at least for a while, until the economy once more flourishes and fools us into thinking we'll always live high on the hog. But some of us will remember how quick it all can fall.