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Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Rise and Shine
Good Morning, Delaware County!
It's amazing the money being thrown out for professional athletes. The 76ers are just the latest, giving forward Elton Brand 82 million reasons to leave Los Angeles for the East Coast. Just last year, the Los Angeles Galaxy gave soccer star David Beckham $250 million to leave England for Hollywood. In 2001, Alex Rodriguez was able to convince the Texas Rangers to give him a 10-year, $252 million deal. You know, looking from here, it's all funny money. Except for feeding your ego, do you really need $100 million to play a game. Sure, some players who get big deals stay in shape and help their teams win, but, more often than not it seems, that money goes to waste. Remember in 2002 when Jim Thome became the highest paid Phillie ever, taking a six-year, $85 million contract to jump away from Cleveland. Sure, he hit some home runs and all, but the Phillies never won with Thome cashing his checks. Back in the day, for those who remember back in the day, the Phillies actually started all this madness. Early in 1979, the Phillies went out and gave Pete Rose (only the best hitter baseball has ever seen) a four-year, $3.2 million deal. OK, the first year the team didn't make the playoffs, but Rose stirred the Philies drink over those four years. They won three division titles, went to two World Series (of course, winning in 1980) and were a model other franchises followed. Then the crazy money started. Philadelphia teams never seemed to be big players in this, which made the fans crazy. Now, the 76ers are making a splash. Let's hope Elton Brand is the next Pete Rose.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so... Anybody notice how we keep hearing about how high gas prices are getting, but we really aren't offered any solutions. Sure, we're told to cut down our driving, walk more, ride bikes or stay closer to the house. Really, though, how can we do that? We have to get to walk. We need to stock up our kitchens. We need to get the children to the library, to the park or to the pool. We need to get around. It's not like the public transportation system offers much help. Have you ever tried to board a bus while only carrying a $5 bill? The driver doesn't even laugh. You have to find change somewhere. It reminds me of the movie 'Falling Down' starring Michael Douglas. It's about a guy who is just fed up with everything. He takes matters into his own hands and just tries to get home. The ending ruins the better parts of the movie, but it might have been a little bit ahead of its time. We're all getting fed up with high prices and the like. You shouldn't have to work three jobs just to make ends meet. If this truly is the 'Greatest Country in the World' as we like to say, then we need to get a handle on everything. The divide is getting too big. We need to take care of each other.
By the way, comedian George Carlin died Sunday. It's kind of tough to find a video of him without language that, well, would offend some. It's not impossible, though, and here's a classic:
It's truly amazing and, maybe, a bit unbelievable. We've become a nation built on fear. There was a time, probably not so long ago, where we weren't cowering in our milk. We weren't hiding inside our houses. We weren't dreading the next day before this day even begins. This, at least in one opinion, started back in 1999. Remember when we were told to hoard canned goods and water because, 'Y2K was going to crash all our computers and render us helpless.' Well, that passed, but at least we had canned goods and water. The tide really turned Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks on New York changed everybody, one way or another. We no longer were safe, so we were told. We couldn't expect things to be so rosy. We were going into an extended version of the dark ages. Heck, many of those who actually voted for good ol' W in 2004 said they did so because they needed to feel secure. A change in administration somehow was going to lead to the downfall of civilization. Now, it's all about the economy. Turn on any of those 24-hour news stations and you'll hear how bad things are right now. You'll hear about how we are approaching more dark times. You'll hear how the stock market is going to collapse. You'll hear about money woes for everybody. Yesterday, CNN, with it's 'Issue No. 1' is at the forefront of the fear-mongering, actually had an 'expert' who said we needed to have a year's worth of our salary squirreled away in case of something happening. Without that, forget about everything. Hogwash. Yeah, the economy is bad. It's also hot outside in June and gets cold in December. Everything runs in cycles. It gets bad, it gets better. My grandparents used to tell stories about the Great Depression. About how they had to walk three miles to work for pennies, then try to feed their families. You know what, they made it through. They lived happy lives and were always singing. Here's an idea: Tune out the fear. Don't listen to these so-called 'experts.' Remember, they are getting paid to make it sound bad and to get you to panic. The more you panic, the more they get paid.
OK, it's another 'HUGE' primary day where voters will go to the polls in Indiana and North Carolina and vote for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Still, no matter how it turns out, there will be another 'HUGE' primary day coming soon. Then another. Then a big convention where one of them will be nominated for president (and, in a likely scenerio, the other being vice president). The latest rhetoric coming from the candidates, including GOP leader John McCain, is about suspending the gas tax for the summer to 'help out' people filling the tank. OK, 18 cents is nice, but, really, is it going to make much of a difference? 18 cents. By the time our Government decides to make such a move, gas prices will have risen by about 50 cents, so that 18 cents does absolutely nothing. It sounds good, but it's not going to help when we are paying close to $40 to fill up a Saturn. How about this: Don't drive. Yeah, it's simple and it's been said before, but if we limit the amount of time on the roads and, say, make one trip to the store a week, that gas bill will no doubt go down. Anyway, here they are worried about 18 cents a gallon when there are other wars out there, so to speak. Not even mentioning the joke in Iraq, how about the war on the streets? If somebody can get a Chinese-made assault rifle to gun down police, there probably not going to think twice before taking your car or busting into your house. Money is one thing, life is another. Are there any good uninhabited islands?
OK, a couple of weeks ago (actually it was just over a week, but I can hope) we were inundated with the voices of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. They were here, they were there, they were on TV, they were on the radio, they were in the newspaper. Then, the PA Primary happened and we haven't heard as much of the rhetoric. Sure, it's still there, but the candidates are all in North Carolina, so we aren't beat over the head with their talk. No, now, since there appears to be nothing else going on, we are hit again and again about just how bad the economy is out there. We hear about gas prices (like talking and yelling will lower the price anytime soon). We hear about food prices. We hear about a 'slowdown' which is actually a 'recession.' We hear about the Fed lowering rates, although it doesn't seem to have anything to do with our bottom line. Do we need to hear the depressing news every day, every hour. The talking heads on TV seem to be happy to tell us it's horrible out there and we aren't going to survive. Some nuts probably are starting to build bunkers in the back of their houses. Hey, it worked during the Cold War, why not during the Money War? So, here it is, the economy stinks right now and we need to tighten our belts a little more. We'll all survive in the end. That's it on the economy. Instead, think about this: What sound does a grape make when an elephant steps on it? None. It just lets out a little wine. Or this:
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OK, so the government stimulus check is going to be in our bank accounts over the next few weeks. While extra money is always welcome (in fact, if anybody wants to send me some now, I'd be thankful), this round of 'stimulus' I don't think will offer much help to the economy. Why? Well, it's simple, when people can barely make ends meet right now, no amount of extra cash will lead to extra purchases. When you struggle to fill the gas tank on the way to work, that big-screen television isn't going to make much of a difference. The government, once again the money is great, would be better served making things more affordable for the everyday working person. When a Saturn takes $36 to fill the tank, that's just too much. I can only imagine what kind of gas those big SUVs and pickup trucks go through. When you add together gas for the car, home heating, and the regular bills, that stimulus check is going to disappear than a plate of chocolate chip cookies. It's a help, but we need more. Now, I'm not looking for the government to come in and rescue us all by throwing more money out there. Maybe we need to look at all our expenses and try to trim things down. The bad part of that, though, is when we spend less, companies lay off workers. That puts us all in a bad sort. We should be going after big companies and banks and hold them accountable. When Exxon/Mobil is pulling in record profits and our cars are getting by on fumes, somethings wrong.
Whether its sitting in the newsroom, getting a cup of coffee or walking down the street, I hear people say: "It's not like it used to be." My reaction is always the same: "The world's not like it used to be." Case in point, while growing up the first thing I did each morning was reach for the newspaper to see how the Phillies/Sixers/Flyers did the night before. Now, all you have to do is turn on the television or click on the Internet to find out the answer. The newspaper might still be on the front steps, but it's not the first place anybody looks anymore. Hey, if you can grab your iPhone and get an entire report, including video, of late games or election results or traffic problems, than so be it. Yeah, the world's not like it used to be. Here's another thing, it used to be a community group (be it school or neighborhood) would band together to put on an event. Schools had parent groups, but they worked in conjuction with the schools to put on dinners, plays, whatever. Neighborhoods got together for block parties, Christmas parties, Easter egg hunts. It was a chance to see everybody and, well, just talk. Now, everybody stays cooped up in the house, then jumps in the car to head ... whereever. The school thing really has me perplexed. Somebody I know has decided to help out with an event and needs just a minimal amount of help from teachers and administrators. Yet, helping out now seems to be a no-no. Here's the biggest difference in the world. People used to have a stake in what was going on. You wanted to make things the best, be it work or play. Now, it's easier to just sit around and complain. Clock in, clock out, go home. To me, that's a sad thing. We all wish for a simpler time:
