Mr. Me

A little glimpse of me.

Why Change?

· by Mr. Me · General · 5 comments

I understand that people are a bit upset right now.  I understand that for the last few months, the stock market hasn't been doing so well.  (Big understatement, yes.  I just looked at my annual 401k statement.)  I understand that unemployment is rising and that banks are failing.  I get it.  The economy has been better.

Yet this is something that is neither unprecedented nor unsurvivable.

It's a popular thing to blame the Bush administration right now.  But is that fair?

Are you better off than you were 8 years ago?  I am.  My salary is somewhere between 35% and 50% higher than it was 8 years ago.  I don't have $20,000 in student loans and $10,000 in consumer debt that I had 8 years ago.  I don't have car loans like I did 8 years ago.  I live in a house that is 2 1/2 times larger than the one I lived in 8 years ago and I'm not up to my eyeballs in mortgage.  (Yes, I have a mortgage, but it's manageable.)  I just purchased a car, and when I say "purchased," I mean "wrote a personal check for."

Other than the last six months, which, admittedly, haven't been very good for the global economy, I'm way better off financially than I was 8 years ago.  Even with the hit that my 401k has taken in the last six months, I'm still doing well.  Fortunately I have many more years before I NEED that 401k, and it'll recover and continue to grow by leaps and bounds as this correction in the economy finishes its course and it rebounds as it always does.

Some blame the government (i.e. the Bush administration) for not stepping in and stopping this from happening.  That smacks of socialism.  The banks and companies who are being bailed out by the government got in the position they are in through tactics that, though legal, weren't smart and it's coming back to bite them in the butt.  I believe that they made their beds and that they should lie in them.

But seriously...

Are you better off than you were eight years ago?  Maybe I'm an isolated case, but most of the people I hear complaining and hoping for this change that our new president has promised have been caught up too much in a short-term market correction and have listened to the doomsayers in the media.  But if they stopped and looked at their life eight years ago vs their life now, they might not be so rabid in their calls for change.

I'm not saying that I won't support our new president and I'm not saying that I'm against change.  I just hope that change doesn't happen for change's sake.  I hope that if things DO change, that sane minds and cool heads prevail and that we don't leap before we look into a more socialist society.  It didn't work for the former USSR, and I don't think it would work for the USA today.

We shouldn't rush into change without deciding first WHY change should happen.  If the reasons are good.  If the result is a stronger economy without sacrificing sacred freedoms, then I'm all for it.

Do I want Obama to fail?  No.  I'd just like to make sure that any changes he makes will make me say that I'm better off after 4 or 8 years of Obama's leadership than I am today.

5 comments

Comments are closed. These are preserved from the original blog.

  1. Giggles

    Change simply for the sake of change is not good change.

    I don't want anyone to fail, especially someone who affects so many other people. So I'll wait.

  2. T.J.

    Hello,

    First off let me say I am not pro-Bush nor am I pro-Obama. I am however pro-people so I certainly hope that regardless of the changes around us, the United States and the other several hundreds of millions of people in the world that this change affects are better off as a result.

    You said, "Are you better off than you were 8 years ago? I am," and followed it up with something like, "Am I am isolated case?" I would venture to guess and confidently state that you are among the few in this regard. This is not a bad thing. Your salary is better probably as a result of your investment in education and persistence at excelling at work. Granted the economy does have a play in the average salary, but standard inflation rates help control that growth to a modest median. I suspect that you have no more debt and paid off the 30,000 dollars by learning to save money and spend it wisley -- a very important lesson for anyone. I am not sure that the Bush administration had much to do with this directly. Same with the car, the house, etc.

    You are a very smart man, I will grant you that, when it comes to dealing with reality and ensuring your continued success. However, I am not sure how your ability to better manage your finances (by any chance are you a mvelopes.com user?) is a direct correlation to the impact that a presidential administration could have played.

    I really do want to agree with you that change should happen for the right reasons and not out of panic or media imposed beliefs but I also do not think your post here is an accurate representation of the summary and title of, "Why Change?"

    Thanks for indulging me.

  3. Mr. Me

    T.J.

    I think you make a very good point. I don't think that the Bush administration had a direct affect on whether I am better off now than I was eight years ago. I also don't believe that if I were worse off than I was eight years ago, that I could blame the Bush administration either.

    You're right. It comes down to how I have learned to manage finance in the last eight years. You're right. It has nothing to do with the Bush administration.

    This is exactly why I don't believe that change just for the sake of change is a good idea. The economic situation that the nation (and world) is in today is, in great measure, due to the decisions that a lot of individual people made, not due to the decisions made by any administration, so a knee-jerk reaction to quickly do something different to get us out of this financial crisis might do more damage than good.

    I'm not opposed to change. I just want any change to be thought through carefully so that it's made for the right reasons. If the change benefits 300 million Americans and billions more people throughout the world, then bring it on! If the change will limit or curtail economic freedom, I don't want any part of it.

    (Oh, and I've never heard of mvelopes.com. I'll have to check it out.)

  4. T.J.

    Ah! I see your point. I appreciate the indulgence as I enjoy the opportunity for a mind stimulating conversation.

  5. Giggles

    I saw a bumper sticker today that said:

    Change is inevitable
    Growth is optional

    I'd rather be in a nation that is growing, rather than one that is just changing. I certainly hope we aren't just changing.

    It's a bit like understanding endurance. Enduring to the end is more than just living till you die, we are all going to do that. Enduring is living well to the end.

    May we endure and grow rather than just live and change.