Countdown to the QC

I have tried not to date myself thus far in my endeavors in the literary sphere, but a very important birthday is quickly creeping up behind me, and I feel the need to share some perspective on its significance. So here goes… Hello world. I was born in the great year of 1983, a time when the cost of a stamp was 20 cents, the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA championship and compact discs made their first debut. Financially and economically speaking , our federal debt was over $1371 billion and the median household income was $20,885.

25 years. Over the past 25 years the cost of a stamp has more than doubled, the 76ers were consistently awful (except for those few years they had Iverson, but he was never really a team player anyway…) and the compact disc has given way to the mp3. As of April 2008, the US federal debt has crept over $9.5 trillion dollars, and to put that unrealistic number into perspective, that is about $31,000 of debt for each and every US resident. The most current numbers for average income are from 2006, during which time the average household income rose to about $48,200, mostly due to inflation and weakening of the US dollar.

Technology may be prospering, and the 76ers may one day see themselves in a championship, but the truth is that our country is in an economic crisis. The reign of the Bushes has left us with a disappearing dollar, neck deep in a misguided war driven by the promise of economic gains of the ruling few and a decrease in employment opportunities for our own citizens. And now, in celebration of my 25th birthday, our esteemed leader, in cohorts with the corrupt federal reserve, has somehow decided that sending out $600 stimulus checks to tax filers will somehow bring us out of an imminent recession. Happy Birthday! Here’s $600 to get you out of the financial troubles we have placed upon you. I only wish I could be as naive now as I was back in 1983…

For my birthday all I want is to stop feeling anxious; to stop thinking about the soldiers dying every day so oil men and private contractors can get rich, to stop thinking about the present farce known as a presidential election, to stop thinking about the fact that our government somehow thinks its ok to keep printing more money when faced with an economic fallout of epic proportions, to stop thinking about the fact that I should start saving for my retirement now as social security will be long gone by the time I am able to retire at 85, to stop thinking about the financial burden I would be placing on my family should I become ill – as I am presently self-employed and unable to afford health insurance, to stop thinking about the fact that we have become a worldwide joke.

If nothing else, over the past 25 years, I have learned that your present situation is ultimately a result of your actions and attitude. If you want to be obsessed with money, work a dead end job, and end up living your days as a miserable skeleton of a person, that is where you will be. If you want to find a profession you love, and deal with the sacrifices that come with pursuing your dreams, that is where you will be. So while our country may not be the utopian wonderland we all want it to be, you do have control over your own life. Your destiny is what you make it, and no one knows (no, not even Sylvia Browne) how many quarter centuries they will have in their lifetime, so you better make the most of where you are at today, even if it means paying $4.00 a gallon for gas.

Time for some Tastykakes and Herr’s chips:)