We Are So Screwed… Or Is This The “Best of Times”?
Oh No! Charts and Graphs…AUGH!
But I Was Promised There Would Be No Math
Truth, Facts, Reality
Most people like the truth. Don’t you find it helpful to know what is really going on? Truth, facts, reality. These are the cornerstones of middle-class life. If you fail to hammer your kids to do their homework, you get dumb kids. Sluff off on the job, get fired. Skip the mortgage payments, lose the house. Eat too much, get fat. Act like a jerk, live alone.
Truth and consequences. Most of us do not ping-pong between extremes of hope and fear. Steady on course. One brick at a time, we build security for ourselves and our families. Truth, facts, reality. We swim in a sea of action/reaction. Do immoral stuff, get corrupt fallout. Take virtuous actions, get wholesome goodness.
Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith. Pour your life into meaningful deeds. Your kids will be OK. Loved ones will surround you. You will not be alone. Or broke. Christian folks are also assured that: “[T]here is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8 KJB So you’ve got that going for you, which is nice.
If you are like me, you understand: “different strokes for different folks”. We are everyday people. We don’t all see things the same. “Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong.” Opinion, belief, attitude, outlook. “We got to live together.” Respect, conversation, acceptance. “And so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby.” (1)
Dedication to Truth. Respect for Each Other. That is how we got here. The most prosperous nation in the history of the world. The most accepting. The most generous. The most loving.
If you are like me, doesn’t it drive you nuts when somebody starts insisting on “their” truth? This truth, that truth? As if truth were blob of jello. Why can’t they just admit they have opinions? Perceptions? Points of view? Same as me. Same as you. Is their arrogance driven by insecurity? Some deep-seated emotional disturbance? Who knows? Who can know? I sure don’t.
What I do know is that facts are stubborn things. Get all the fancy degrees you want. Make impassioned arguments. Smoke a whole lot of weed, er, I mean “recreational cannabis.” Desperately convince yourself of “your truth.” But take away cops and bad guys come out to play. And steal. And murder.
New York (40%+). Chicago (55%+). Los Angeles (30%+). Tucson (38%+). Austin (55%+). Milwaukee (95%+). Minneapolis (72%+). Portland (52%+). Seattle (74%+).2 And so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby. (2)
Just The Facts, Ma’am, Just The Facts
We all have our opinions. Sometimes our opinions blind us to truth. So whenever possible, I like to use research from people whose politics and perspectives are different than mine. Use the other guy’s version of the facts. Approved by Harvard University and Brown University. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Liberal enough for you? And what did those folks find? (3)
Rich Folks Did Great, Middle Class Folks Got Hurt, Poor Folks Got Hammered
Everybody got whacked at the beginning of the pandemic. But low- and middle-income workers got it worst. And now, a year and a half later, turns out that high income people actually got more jobs. Up 2.4%. Middle-income folks are on the path to recovery. Down 4.5%. And the poor folks got screwed. Still down 24%.
How did that happen? Was it the inevitable, unchangeable Laws of the Universe? Bad luck? Random chance? Or do you suppose the magical creation of money by government wizards, coupled with unemployment payments exceeding normal take-home pay might have had an effect? If you do, you are most definitely a terrible person. Even worse if you wonder why there are three unfilled jobs for every unemployed person. What does it mean that a Boyne City sandwich shop pays $18 per hour and still cannot find “sandwich artists”? Makes you wonder, eh?
The More They Help, The Worse It Gets
Some governors like to protect us. Protect us from our own poor choices. (Except when it comes to weed, er, I still mean “recreational cannabis”.) What happens when government controls us? Uses a natural (or perhaps unnatural) disease pandemic to impose unprecedented, unconstitutional (according to the Michigan Supreme Court) executive orders? When government tells you to shut up, do this, do that. and don’t worry your pretty little head, is that a superhighway to success?
You could take a look at this Harvard-approved, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded chart. Government controls lead to deeper small business depression. And when the controls come off, squashed small businesses do not recover as quickly or as well. Did not see that coming!
Who runs small businesses? Middle-class folks making middle range money. Who works for small businesses? Lower-wage workers.
Why it is almost as if all these consequences were connected!
And They Sacrificed The Future
Education is the path to freedom. You know this. That is why you spent more to buy a home in a “good” school district. That is why you put up with the rolling eyes, the protests, the whining and everything else to get your kids to do their homework.
But now it is the teachers who do not want to go back to school. With disastrous consequences. Once again we see the same pattern. Rich folks kids… drop off and recovery. Middle-class kids… much steeper drop off and much less recovery. Lower-wage family kids… bottomless pit!
Who can see this without compassion? Who can claim that it has to be this way? Who lacks the guts to stare reality in the face?
The Only Answer: Middle Class Values
Do you feel, as I do, that this could be the “best of times” for the middle class? For the truth that nothing good comes without hard work, dedication, and perseverance?
Do you see the consequences of today’s path? The dizzy disaster of multiple “truths”. The moral bankruptcy of cancel culture and pitting Americans against each other. The bloody, murderous, drugged-out despair in our cities, large and small.
Life-Plan™ Salvation for the Middle-Class
How do we convince the kids that our values are the best? Going broke in old age for long-term care may not be the best strategy. Middle-class savers, workers, builders can live well and leave a legacy of values. You get the nursing home bill: your guts turn to water, you are about to puke and you are desperately searching for a place to sit down. Relax! You took care of it… you have a LifePlan™. Be the hero… fight and win!
Not Chance, Your Choice
You know there is nothing inevitable about nursing home poverty. You worked for and deserve peace of mind and security. It is a choice. People tell me, “I never heard of this before! Why doesn’t everyone do it?”
Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.
No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.
Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812
(1) Sly & The Family Stone, Everyday People
(2) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z9b5mIwztAwmEHJW7Q5DHMjS14-Rs7XIXOt33Al_rDw/edit#gid=1757262194
(3) https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/tracker_paper.pdf
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