Four years ago I fell into the abyss that would come to be known as the Great Recession. In a matter of weeks, jobs were lost, paychecks vanished, and my lifestyle changed. I remember it now only as a sound: rapid, staccato bursts like the finale to a frightening Fourth of July fireworks display.
But I think about it every time I read something about the national debt. And I can't help but wonder if other people make the same strange connection between personal loss and public failure. If so many of us learned to adjust, adapt, evolve... survive... on so much less, why is it unreasonable to expect the government to do the same? Are people stronger and more determined than institutions?
Cut the extras. Stretch what you buy. And try to remember the things your grandparents told you about life as they knew it in 1929. You get by -- and once the shock and anger fade to resignation, you get by surprisingly well.
I'm not suggesting it's easy to live on less. It's not. It's tiring. Sometimes, it's exhausting. But it's possible. Eventually, you learn what's important. You finally set that elusive priority. And, yes, you miss some of the things you never knew you liked until you couldn't afford them.
What are the things I miss the most? My list is smaller than I would have expected:
Elaborate family summer vacations -- kayaking on a bioluminescent bay, sleeping among redrock mesas in a traditional Navajo-built hogan, reconnecting with my kids
A car with "everything," even the things I never used like seat warmers, extra cup holders, vanity mirror lights, and fog lamps
Eating at an amazing restaurant -- for no particular reason -- on a random Tuesday and leaving an unexpectedly large tip for someone who really earned it
Time to do nothing
The biggest luxury of having money is the freedom to do what you want. Cut the budget and you cut the time you have for anything unessential. But there's an upside, too. When you can't afford to waste money, you do more for yourself -- and learn more about yourself than you ever would from a therapist:
It's strangely satisfying to mow the grass.
One present is just as meaningful as two.
There's nothing too impossible to do.
Now we just have to hope our government can learn that last lesson, too.
I totally agree with you that there's nothing too impossible to do. If we decide to cut the extras, we are not only saving that amount but we are creating an opportunity to grow that money by investing it somewhere else.
Interesting you should bring up survival of the fittest in the context of economic distress. Survival of the fittest is a good starting point to understanding evolution. It's catchy and indeed it made a splash in its day.
There's a lot more to evolution it seems that has to do with group cohesion of like species. Of course families care for their young, but even on a wider scale, with a great many species, there is a social unit that ensures the survival and even peaceable enjoyment of its members, generally speaking.
Let's not forfeit our prerogatives to a power-hungry super-state, but at the same time, some kind of mutual assistance can and should exist at the community (or corporate) level. This can take the form of education, but doesn't have to. The important thing is that everybody participate.
Yes, the recession had made the “average” American, more resourceful and resilient.At the same time, it bothers me that while many of us are struggling to pay the bills and buy food, Washington seems to spend as if it is “business as usual”; arguing to raise the debt limit to accommodate their current spending habits.I think it is interesting that according to a recent poll conducted by FOX News, Americans would rather shut down the government than raise the debt limit,even though they believe it would have a dramatic effect on everyday Americans.I think the message here is that we as Americans are recognizing that it is now time to make the tough decisions in order to secure a prosperous future.
Regarding what the Government could cut to reduce spending; the answer lies in cutting those expenses that the Government has no business paying for in the first place.For example, Health Care.It is not the Government’s responsibility to ensure we all have health care.Another example is Education.Why is the Government involved with this?Where in the Constitution, for example, does it say that the Government should provide loans to students to pursue an education?Cut spending by getting out of these social programs and tend to governing.
Noreen firstly I am sorry about the financial hardship you have experienced because of the wicked recession we are all living through. It has made us all more resourceful and hopefully more resilient. I agree that we as Americans are learning to live without the extras we all thought were essential and entitled to just a few years ago, but I think the bigger lesson is that we are planning better for rainy days so that we can gradually get back some of the little luxuries we all miss. Our government seems somewhat unscathed by the weight the average American has had to carry I see government employees with generous pensions and healthcare while the average American is struggling to meet their primary expenses and pay for the education of their children. We need to see the belt tighten in Washington. Best of luck to you and your family.
Some people like to say "God gave me the propensity to make money so I can hire people to do the things I have no interest in doing." And that's fine -- as long as there are jobs and a flourishing economy. But what happens when the company closes, you lose your job and no one is interested in your latest entreprenurual scheme?
That's when adaptability and resourcefulness matter most. In the words of Herbert Spencer, "survival of the fittest."
It's not about being well adapted to cutting grass or any other task. It's about being smart enough to do anything you can, as long as its legal and moral, to support yourself and your family.
Modern industry allows, and to some extent requires, great numbers of people to be accustomed to a certain level of amenities. With trends in raw materials production flattening out, especially energy, this situation shows signs of running up into a Malthusian wall. Amassing and holding onto a fortune is possible in any economy, but may require a different skill set, and as with anything, some forward planning.
In any situation if you are well-adapted to lawn-mowing then you are the man or woman for the job. Others find they contribute best by being the employer and digging up funding, rather than turnips or carrots. In any case it takes all kinds of people in this world, no matter how the game changes.
I kept the cell phones, but cut the landline. I still have cable, but I don't have dozens of channels I never watched anyway. I still have insurance, but I shopped around when I got my renewals. (I live in New York--there are too many lawyers to make cutting back on insurance a rational move.)
It makes more sense to me to refine spending rather than arbitrarily chop things in their entirety from the budget. (I'd use that line Obama used over and over and over some more during the Presidential campaign--the one about making cuts with a scalpel instead of a machete -- but I won't as a protest over the fact that it hasn't happened since the election.)
It is amazing the things we think of as necessities, but are really luxuries. As Americans we are truly blessed, and we have to learn to not indulge as much. It is difficult to adjust to "making do with less," but once you get accustomed to the lifestyle, you will realize that it makes perfect sense. Then, once you are restored or recover to the place that you were before, you can save money by continuing to "make do with less," and only indulging on occasion.
I think it's a big challenge these days because there are so many more "essentials" than were needed in the past. For example, the monthly family cell phone bill is a bill that didn't really exist a decade or so ago. Do you cancel the phones? They are removing pay phones so where does your teen call from? Do you cancel the cable or FIOS? If so do you put an antenna back on the roof and get rabbit ears? These days we have everything insured. Do you cut back on insurance? I know people who raised their kids to adulthood without having life insurance and "won" the gamble, but do you dare *do* that?
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