Unrealistic Expectations

The inauguration of America’s first African-American President will soon be upon us. No one can argue that this is a historic event in our country’s history. Who knows? Some day we may even elect a woman as President.

I’m not here to talk about gender or race though. What I do want to discuss is the unbelievably vast amount of things that many people are expecting President-Elect Obama to be able to accomplish when he gets in to office. I fear that there are going to be a great many disappointed people when they discover that our new President will not be able to wave a magic wand and make everything that they want instantly appear.

Our country is in the midst of an economic and social crisis. The official types have finally admitted that we’ve been in a recession for almost a year. Will we continue to fall and wind up in a depression? The rate of job losses and home foreclosures shows no sign of slowing. At this rate we stand a good chance of falling into a depression.

With a massive national dept, several wars, job losses, and all the other problems facing us our soon to be inaugurated President is going to have his hands full.

History is an excellent teacher. Let’s take a look back to see what happened to other President’s faced with national crises during office:

• Franklin D. Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression when unemployment stood around 25%. I find it interesting that he blamed the depression on bankers and financiers, the quest for profit, and the self-interest basis of capitalism, a situation very similar to the one we are in now. While he was able to pass much legislation during his first 100 days in office, there were many who opposed him. This opposition followed him into his second term where he was unable to pass much legislation through Congress. Roosevelt was elected to a historic 4 terms in office, but what really brought this country back to its feet was World War II. Personally, I don’t think we need any more wars.
• Jimmy Carter had his share of economic problems while he served in office. When he took office in 1977 America was suffering rising economic inflation and an energy crisis. He accomplished a great deal of good while he was in office: creation of the Departments of Energy and Education, establishment of a national energy policy, the famous Camp David accord, and the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, he had many problems with Congress and was unable to get much of the legislation that he wanted passed by Congress. Very few people think of him as a good president.

So, what does this say for our next President? We need to be realistic about what he will be able to accomplish. Cities, counties, states, and even the Federal Government are getting fewer tax revenues to use to pay for all the services and support that the people need. With little funds to draw upon, there is only so much that anyone can do. We’re in a big mess. We did not get here overnight. We will not get out of this mess overnight either.

I’m not the only one thinking this way either. Check out this political cartoon by Chris Jurek. It was selected as one of the top 10 political cartoons by Time magazine.

Taking care of ourselves

I don’t have to tell you that the news has not been particularly good lately. The bad times are going global, and about the only good news is that the price of gas is going down.

Are we headed for another Great Depression? I hope not. However, do you know how the last one started? Here is an excerpt from a commentary posted at CNN:
“The Great Depression resulted from a series of economic and financial shocks -- the end of a housing bubble in 1926 and the end of a high-tech bubble in 1929 -- but also from truly breathtaking neglect and incompetence on the part of policymakers.”
Sound familiar?

So while governments and the World Bank rush to bail out the big guys what happens to the rest of us? For me, the only thing that comes to mind is a line from an old Beatles song: “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Family, friends, neighbors. We’re going to have to pull together to get through this. I’ve been using the barter system for some of my medical care, I’m hoping to use it now to trade for other essentials. Here’s a few other suggestions:

• Carpool with neighbors when going to the store to save gas.
• If you don’t have to go very far, consider walking or riding a bike.
• Check out the public transportation available where you live.
• Save money on food by cooking up a couple of big meals then freeze them in easy to heat portions. It will give you the convenience of take-out at a much lower price.
• Instead of buying books, magazines, or newspapers, visit your local library.
• Team up for savings. I needed to have my roof replaced, but it turned out that two of my neighbors had roofs of the same age as mine. By having all three done at once we were able to get a great deal from the roofer. The roofer saved too by having his team working in the same area.

It’s a tough world out there, but if we just pull together we should be able to get through this.