I haven’t written in awhile…there has been so much going on with the transition from summer to fall and of course the ‘falling’ of our national and local economy. Just like all of you are probably doing, I’ve been talking with friends and colleagues and the ‘people on the street’ …’joe six pack’ as one of our vp candidate likes to say. I know there is a great deal of nervousness out there.
As a Realtor, I have a range of clients dealing with the situation in various ways- for some, this is not really affecting their personal day to day life very much. Other clients are having to sell an asset such as a car or furniture or get an extra job to create some additional income to aid their situation. I think this is a vital time for Americans to remember the sacrifices our prior generations and forefathers have made in building this country. At the time they didn’t know what they were giving up by working as hard as they did, but they did it for a better life-without really defining what better was. If “better” meant access to education and health care for all Americans, and enough food for every individual and family and a place to call home…to me that was a pretty good dream.
Unfortunately the past two generations of Americans have taken that dream to mean that we are entitled to having anything we want at anytime. That is not only unrealistic but also in my opinion, unhealthy. It is like giving a young child the dessert without earning it by eating the meal that their bodies really need. Short term ’yum’ for long term ’unhealthy lifestyle choices’. Well, if kids can learn to eat well and take care of themselves to become healthy adults, then we as Americans certainly can take better care of ourselves too. We built this country on principles of hard work, sacrifice, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit – as Nike’s slogan says… Just Do[ing] It!!
So, this is a time to welcome the challenge before us as an opportunity to show ourselves how what we’re made of. What’s the old saying? “when the going gets tough…the tough get going” We need to think long term and not short term (what is the best thing for a growing child? -the good healthy food she needs to grow or the quick fix as in the dessert ?) and as the economist, Thomas L. Friedman said in an Opinion column this past Tuesday, Sept 30, 08 in the Seattle Times, we need “a Buildup, not a bailout”. He explains that we need to get back to making stuff based on real engineering and not just shuffling financial paperwork… Americas No 1. resource are its people. We are not afraid of hard work and embracing change and a vision and enginuity…in fact..it is what drives the engine of our country states Mr. Friedman. In a green economy, we would rely less on credit from foreigners “and more on creativity from Americans,” argues Van Jones, president of Green for All, and author of the forthcoming The Green Collar Economy. Van Jones continues by stating, “It’s time to stop borrowing and start building. America’s #1 resource is not oil or mortgages. Rather, our #1 resource is our people. Let’s put people back to work — retrofitting and repowering America…You can’t base a national economy on credit cards. But you can base it on solar panels, wind turnbines, smart biofuels and a massive program to weatherize every building and home in America.”
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