Lots of people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Even if it is not a holiday you recognize it is a good thing to pause and give thanks for what you do have. Even in tough times we have things to be thankful for. Many in this World (not limited to U.S.) are without jobs. I have been there before and remember being thankful for family and friends who cared enough to reach out to me. If you are having a rough time economically, health wise, relationship issues or anything else, remember one thing we ALL have and no one can take away:
The feeling of being violated can come from many types of actions. Your car is stolen, your house is broken into and the thieves go through your belongings, your pocket is picked, you are the victim of violence. You did nothing to deserve the action and you feel violated.
Identity theft is one more type of action that will make you feel violated. It can happen to anyone. I had someone use my identity to start services I did not request. I have no idea who the thief is, how they obtained my personal information, and they could reside anywhere in the World. I still feel violated.
I suggest using Equifax, Experian, Transunion or other reputable agencies to receive alerts if someone tries to steal your identity. I would not have learned about the theft without this type of service. Most likely, I would have not learned about the incident until a collection agency started making calls demanding payment for service I did not request or authorize.
This blog has been as active as job creation in Sacramento. Not very. Where is the California economy going? It seems like nowhere. We have no leadership. The Governor is clueless and the legislature is even more so. Dumb and Dumber. State workers are taking it in the shorts. They did not get paid much before the “Furloughs”. Outside of Sacramento no one knows anything about furloughs. No one cares about furloughs once you leave Sacramento. The overall economy is stuck in neutral.
Small business and job creation is crucial to the economy. We can not be raising taxes and playing collection games while pretending these actions help. When it comes to State workers, furloughs accomplish nothing. Get rid of the dead beats at all levels and this would save real dollars. Who has the courage to do this? No one that I have seen or read about. Encourage small business throughout the State. Small business is what makes California great. Small business will also reduce trade deficits and provide the tax revenue to pay for the 75% of State workers who do work really hard.
Bottom line is:
Encourage small business growth
Get rid of the dead beats in State government
Stop playing accounting tricks and give real tax reductions to all workers private and public
Pay workers for their productivity in private and public jobs
Save for the next rainy day so we can stimulate growth when it is needed
Come on Governor and Legislature. This is all really, really, really basic stuff.
Where is the economy headed is the question that reverberates each and every day. The only agreement from most economists is interest rates will not be going up anytime soon. Maybe not the only thing agreed upon. Most Americans including economists conclude jobs are not being created and are still being cut. I was listening to NPR on Saturday. During one of the shows the commentator wryly commented that since security had not come and tossed him and his co-anchor out of the building they had during the week saved two jobs for the economy.
Jokes aside it looks like we are going to have much of the same ups and downs that have become familiar in the past year. The stock market may go up on Monday 200 points and be down Tuesday by the same number. The days ahead seem likely to bring more announcements of increased State deficits and cuts to the income of State workers. This does nothing to help the economy which is so dependent on consumer spending. The bottom line right now seems to be forget the consumer. Business will have to drive the economy north. Until business begins to rehire and unemployment drops significantly expect this manic economy to be up one day and down the next.
Grandma was right. We should have been saving for this rainy day.
Economic indicators are showing growth in the U.S. economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) the broadest and most sited measure of economic growth or constriction rose 3.5% in the third quarter. Little job growth has followed, but that is not unusual. Job creation comes later in the growth cycle.
Eventually jobs will be created. Sadly, the politicians in Sacramento are still determined to starve the California economy. Law suits clog the courts with furlough cases. These cases make a strong argument that furloughs cost the State much more than they save. At the same time the California legislature is focused on accounting gimmicks to cut the deficit instead of working diligently with the Governor to come up with real savings.
It will not be a shock when the rest of the country sees unemployment drop to 5 percent while California remains locked in at 10 percent. Will there be a rainy day fund to help California get through the next recession? Floods in Death Valley seem more inevitable.
Opinion-"I'm Just Saying" | blog4boomers November 26, 2009 | 
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