What Is The State Of The Nation And Can Anyone Do Anything About It

During the evening news hour one day last week I received a call from someone conducting a national political survey and I was asked to participate in the poll. I don’t normally accept these types of calls but I agreed to participate that evening. The questions I was asked included my views regarding political candidates and a host of other issues. But there was one question in particular I found impossible to answer.

I was asked to select only my three most important issues from the following list: 1) The environment and global warming; 2) The war in Iraq; 3) The current state of the economy in the United States including the rapidly rising deficit (expected to reach a record $400 Billion when the fiscal year ends September 30); 4) Health care coverage for all Americans; 5) The price of oil and the rising cost of gasoline; 6) The latest employment figures in the United States indicating rapidly rising unemployment; 7) The fact banks are now failing in this country for the first time in years; 8) The real estate and mortgage crisis that includes a record number of foreclosures; 9) Should our government bail out the airlines potentially going under….my mind shut down at this point and I cannot remember the last question I was asked. When I requested the question be repeated I was told it could only be asked once. Holy cow.

As I was listening I can remember nodding and thinking to myself “Gee, that issue is really important so I will probably select that one”. But I was thinking that every time I was asked a new question for me to consider. The fact is, I am beginning to better understand why some of my friends and family members don’t wish to watch the evening news any more. They say it is too depressing. When someone tells me they want me to select three issues from a list of ten that are the most important to me and I find them all equally important, and of critical mass proportion with regard to the current state of our great Nation, and then I cannot decide, wanting to pick all ten….folks, we have a huge problem.

For most of my life I have seen any half-filled glass “half full”. For the first time in my lifetime, as I read daily reports about the record financial losses in the auto industry, housing industry, mortgage industry, restaurant industry, the fact many people are working two and three part-time jobs and still not earning what they used to make before they lost a blue OR white collar position in the past couple of years, well, I have to admit I too am perplexed to the point I no longer see the glass half-full.

My heart aches for the thousands of families that are now in crisis due to the downward spiraling affect occurring in this country. Until recently I thought all the bad news would stop soon, things would “bottom out” and we would begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But it still seems nothing is yet going in the right direction and I am not reading about real recovery occurring any time soon.

Everyone uses different metrics when analyzing data. I just went to the Internet and looked at Berkshire Hathaway’s stock performance for the past 6 and 12 month periods. Is Warren Buffett not one of the smartest investors of all time in this country? What does it say for our current state of the economy when even Mr. Buffett has not been able to maintain his phenomenal growth performance and his treasured Bershire Hathaway stock, which I consider a bellwether indicator, has taken a serious nose dive.

Perhaps you read about or noticed print media is suffering with losses in circulation and local newspapers are cutting back. Even the giants in the newspaper industry are in complete disarray. Our daily newspaper is a shadow of what it used to be. There is still news to report, but fewer businesses are advertising. One new and unique twist is now appearing in our daily newspaper. The section announcing New Business Permits Issued has been replaced with Recent Bankruptcies Filed. Even those folks who in the past may have thought Chapter 7 was a one chapter in a book now know that means a business is closing or has closed and is liquidating, leaving creditors behind, most of whom are owed a lot of money.

Florida has always been a poorly managed State. Compared to States that have a Personal Income Tax (shhhh – nobody in Florida would permit such a tax to be passed and imposed) Florida has for decades, not years, has tried to find enough money every year to build new roads, improve our notoriously poor educational system, and create higher paying jobs. What a joke. I can remember everyone’s shock when New York City went broke. Those of us who live in Florida are about to get a wake up call. Our politicians continue to find ways to reduce taxes which then forces cities and county governments to cut back on badly needed services for our residents. This November we will be voting whether to further reduce taxes in the face of a rapidly rising deficit of our own. Proponents are lining up to get real estate taxes reduced. Opponents have pointed out we may have to close schools if the Bill passes. In the past this would have been a no brainer – pass. This year, as bad as the economy is, even those who are still earning the same or less than they were in years past, and I mean for several years not just last year or the year before, I am hearing serious concerns about what will really happen if this Bill is passed. This kind of resistance to lowering taxes in this State would have never been considered a close vote before now.

Finally, I cannot help find it ironic the United States has a new problem to solve. Due to the high gas prices people took the advice of many in leadership positions in this country and have begun to use mass transit where available. Many have stopped driving except to get somewhere that required them to use their personal vehicle. Well, the folks that provide mass transit in some cities were not prepared and are having problems catching up to the new demand. They need more money and don’t have it. Worse, the money that is collected in the form of a tax when we purchase gasoline at the pump which goes toward repairing bridges and roads is now millions of dollars under budget so many bridges and roads that were slated to be built or repaired – won’t be. Can you say Catch 22?