In which I think a little bit about what the past months have wrought.
In attempting to keep with my new theme I realize I have not actually posted since I made the announcement. And so, a goal. Despite an ambitious (and exciting) month in front of me, I am going to attempt to post to this blog every other day.
Intriguingly, since I settled on my new blog theme, the rest of the country seems to have fallen in lock step behind me. Main Street? I don’t want to hear about Wall Street and Main Street once more.
So here I am, 26 years old and in the midst of “the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression”. Well, guess what? From where I stand today is pretty much the same as yesterday, and I don’t expect tomorrow to be a whole lot different either. I don’t have a mortgage, and my investments in the stock market are laughable. Does that mean it doesn’t matter? Of course not. But what is far more concerning to me is the fact that the APR on my previously reasonable credit card has skyrocketed over the last six months.
Here in the “getting by” section of the world rent still needs to get paid, and healthcare is something we are lucky to have (at least everyone is on board with that). So I have full health coverage again (I was on COBRA for most of the last four months) and I can tell you that realistically, I’m not too impressed with the health care proposals from either of the major party candidates. I dismiss McCain’s plan out of hand because it will directly HARM me (gee… I sure would hate to pay income tax on my health benefits, since it is one of the reasons I can justify making so little in the first place). But Obama? Where does he plan to get the money for his plan? Of course with the choice in front of me (and if health care were the only issue), I would go with Obama’s plan, because at least it doesn’t hurt me. But really… with as much going on right now in terms of government spending… there’s just no way that there can be any follow through. Clinton couldn’t get universal health coverage ten years ago, and the economy was far stronger then than it is now.
Just one lay-person’s thoughts from the peanut gallery… but hey, if the big bucks politicians want to spend their time talking about the disappearing middle class, trickle up/ trickle down, and all of that other jargon I figure I might as well chime in.
