I’ll be good tomorrow

One of the things that we are trying to teach the kidlet is the value of delayed gratification. The idea being that by learning this valuable lesson at a young age, he might be able to avoid some of the pitfalls that have tripped up Mom and Dad (fortunately not too bad – just some bruises, no broken bones). Tis tough to explain this concept to a toddler.  Still it gets better every day.

For example, about a week ago he found some ‘Lightning McQueen’ stickers at the craft store. I really don’t like the whole merchandising phenomenon that surrounds these types of studio movies, but he loves the movie ‘Cars.’ However I don’t mind buying stickers, so when he brought me the page of stickers that he wanted I relented and allowed them in the cart. We brought them home and he forgot about them until the next morning when he requested the page. He was perusing the various images that he could affix to his t-shirt and was about to go for the largest Lightning McQueen sticker on the page when I suggested that he might want to save that one for last and furthermore only use one sticker per day (I’ve watched him blast through a page of stickers in 15 minutes and the lingering malaise that afflicts him after one of these binges is a sight to see) . He paused after I made my suggestion. I could see that he was really thinking about my suggestion, browsing one by one the multitude of stickers and carefully selecting just the right one. He lay the page before him and told me that today he would wear the ‘Sally’ (one of the characters – I think Lightning McQueen’s love interest) sticker and that he would wait to use the big Lightning McQueen sticker. Each day since he has taken a moment after breakfast to thoughtfully choose his sticker for the day and apply it to his shirt. Yay, he is learning to defer his gratification and savor things rather than glutting himself.  This rather big lesson is making its first impression on his little brain.

This same lesson is one that is having rather troubling ramifications in our world today or rather the lack of our having learned this lesson is causing major problems. Basically for the last 30 years or so, we’ve had representation in power, running our government, telling us that no, they weren’t going to raise our taxes. In fact they were going cut taxes and provide services at about the same rate i.e. regular janes and joes would see little or no difference in their day-to-day business.  If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. From the housing bubble to the recent stock plunge mixed up with the deficit, today we find ourselves in a HUGE financial mess that is going to takes years and years to unravel. Most people that you and I know that is 95% of the janes and joes out there are going to take a massive hit to their financial well-being. This is the beginning of our HAVING to put off gratification in order to ensure that future generations have some chance to enjoy what we have taken for granted.

I have heard people rant about welfare and socialised medicine and meanwhile drive home on the socialised freeways that allow them to live far away from the city’s core. It’s funny how people go crazy when you take “their” money and “give” it to someone else, but when you take “someone else’s” money from those other people and “give” it to them, they don’t mind too much. Social welfare gets people in a lather, but corporate welfare seldom stirs up anyone’s emotions. This election day we have a chance to take some fiscal responsibility. Since our politicians hate taxes, they have been foisting off their job on us. How’s that? Well, all these bonds that have gotten so popular in California these last few years are simply taxes under a new name. Take out your property tax bill and look under “Your tax distribution”. There you will find a little dirty secret. Instead of raising taxes, politicians have been convincing us to finance needed adjustments by refusing to do their jobs and funding our schools and water improvements, so that we the voters will say ‘By golly, our schools shore do need some $$$. Let’s vote for this here bond and funnel some money to those poor kids.’ Doesn’t sound too bad does it? Whatever, right? It’s just taxes under a new name. This is what’s wrong with it: almost half of the money goes to the financing of the bonds. If our politicians would have some gumption they could say ‘Hey, look people, instead of hocking the cow to buy a horse just bite the bullet and ALL of the money can go for this very important thing.’ But very few politicians care to go that route and all of us with our eyes and ears closed to the truth go along and say ‘Gee, that sounds like a good deal!’ Eventually this house of cards will come crashing down, perhaps it’s already starting.

Hasn’t anyone else wondered why California, a state that was enjoying a relatively prosperous period, has had so many budget crises within the last few years? Shouldn’t there have been a surplus? Where is all this money going? Why are we paying taxes and getting so little in return? Much of that tax money is going to service these bonds, which are basically state-size mortgages. Incredible. This is why I urge you to read all the wording of the bonds before us this year and vote NO across the board. Many of these projects are noble efforts, but we need to pay cash for them or else we are looking at further undermining our collective financial well-being. Austerity, now.

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*Thank to my co-blogger for the link to Juan Enriquez’s 10 non-partisan financial commandments for the President elect above