Comments on: What I’ll tell my kids about the Great Recession

By: K Smith

K Smith — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:38:08 +0000

If all the fish are swimming in a lake full of poison, it is not their fault when they get sick – it is the fault of the person who poisoned the lake.

That is what we have. Our political leaders and economic experts have created a financial system that insentivizes debt and devalues our currency, while our politicians make trillion dollar entitlement promises that are impossible to keep. They were actually on TV today talking about another one – a health care plan that we can never pay for. Social Security will go broke this year. Medicare is not far behind.

The Fed is attempting to print our way out of a financial crisis, but we can’t fool those who buy our debt. When they stop buying, whatever is left of people’s life savings will be wiped out as the dollar goes into freefall. Our children and grandchildren face lives of impoverishment.

What we face is not our fault. It is the fault of those who hijacked our financial system by establishing the Fed, and those who perpetuate it today.

There aren’t any soup lines.

Yet.

By: Steve D

Steve D — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:26:33 +0000

So far I don’t see much indication of a fundamental change in attitudes. For example, Marty above seems to think keeping your nose to the grindstone is something “they” make you do, rather than something you owe society. How many people have vowed to pay off credit cards immediately? How many people are determined to pay cash as much as possible? How many people are determined to put off purchases until they can afford them? How many people have decided their personal welfare is their own responsibility rather than society’s? How many people have decided to keep things until they wear out rather than toss them whenever something new comes along? How many people have firmly decided that generic sneakers and jeans are just as functional as the designer jobs, or that a compact gets you places just as effectively as a Hummer, SUV or Lexus? If we pull out of this recession soon, people will go back to business as usual. In fact what separates this recession from the Great Depression (which my parents lived through) is that the Great Depression deeply marked the society. In the present recession, people seem more anxious for it to end soon so they can get back to living the good life.

By: Marty

Marty — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:44:37 +0000

I’ll tell my kids and grandkids that the way the system works is “they” the powers to be (elite)…grow the economy….and shear it back….every so often to keep this system and people in check. Keep people hungry and working hard with nose to the grind stone.
The derivatives in the creative housing market was just a ploy and a wonderful timely excuse to ride on while the shearing took place.
Why do things have to get sheared? Easy, the agenda was to formulate and develop the one world government and one world money system that you’re living in today. Back in my day we actually had forex exchange where currency of different countries could be traded.
Grandpa…was it painful, were you hungry?….no kids, I had seen a loophole and invested heavily in physical silver….so I did fine, rather well indeed.

By: Taylor

Taylor — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:54:03 +0000

“For so long, we measured our self-worth by the strength of our careers. Not having one felt like a personal failure.” —This is so true. We are identified by our careers in America. It is usually one of the first topics of conversation when you meet someone for the first time. If you don’t have a job, it is hard question to answer.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:48:38 +0000

I will say that it was truly the worst of times and the best of times. For most of us, the greed of Wall Street and the incredible arrogance of Government trying to manage the economy and our lives, led to fear. A fear that everything that we worked for would be washed away but worse the sacrifices of Americans before us were for naught and the dreams we have for our children are twisted into nightmare. But it was a fear that acted liked a forge to rework us into the people we could be, it took us back to basics. I will tell them that the strong America they live in was a result of the lessons we learned from living through this time.

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:13:03 +0000

I’ll tell them that their mom and dad were lucky (crazy) enough to build a home right in the middle of it….we’ve taken a couple hits (job salary cuts) but we are moving forward…I will also tell them this was the era that their mom became a Coupon Diva (did I say how much I love my wife )..we’ve learned to live life leaner….I will also tell them dad was lucky to keep his job while some close friends were not so lucky. Good post!

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By: Pop

Pop — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:46:55 +0000

Thanks for stopping by Trent.

It’ll be interesting to see if you’re right. Times that look apocalyptic can either be (a) overblown or (b)actually apocalyptic. It’s probably too hard to make that call right now.

By: Trent Hamm

Trent Hamm — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:01:23 +0000

Unless this recession gets worse, I imagine it’ll be a blip in history books for our kids, much like the early 1980s recession is a blip today (even though it looked nigh apocalyptic at the time).

By: Pop

Pop — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:41:28 +0000

@2cents: I have no doubt that you’re right. I almost felt like I jinxed myself by writing that I kept my job. *crossing my fingers*

@Rob Bennett: Thanks for the thoughtful comment. The idea of taking our lumps now so we have a better tomorrow resonates with me. Though next time, I hope we can find a way to a better tomorrow without the lumps. ; )