So with a battered economy, a world about to crumble financially, thousands without jobs, endless congressional battles over how to fix the economy, and a list of problems longer that the amazon river, should we even celebrate Valentines' day? Should the world leaders stop for a minute and celebrate love and friendship rather than continue their creation of ingenious ideas to save our world? The answer to the first question is a resounding an absolute "YES". Love is an intrinsic human emotion that drives us to be the best of us, or god forbid to go psycho sometimes. It is a quality that often heals our wounds and sparkles our imagination. It is simply the best thing we have and the only way we could ever save our country and our world. Forget about "hope", all you need is "love" said John Lennon once. Jesus himself said we should love each other and that would solve all our problems. So with this in mind, I would like to propose my own stimulus plan. What does it consist of? Simple, take all the love savings you have in your inner account and spend it like crazy. Invest it in a future possible gorgeous girlfriend, allocate a big chunk to your family and friends (without being too gay of course). Diversify your portfolio: Invest love in people you don't know. Donate a percentage so you could get a tax deduction. Reinvest that big IRS love check. Don't just love"American": Love your fellow foreign countries, even the French. Increase the minimum love salary exponentially until you don't want more of it. Let the unions get as much love as they want to. Ban love tariffs across the globe. Abolish the love tax starting with the next tax season. Get rid of all currencies and make love the new one with 0% inflation or deflation. Eliminate the federal reserve: There is no such thing as reserving love, we are going to spend it and invest it all. This is basically the gist of my plan. You may be wondering about the cost so here is a breakdown. Total cost to the taxpayer, $0. Total increase to the national debt, $0. Amount given to special interest groups, $0. I know this is a working draft plan that will require input from all parties but it's a good start.
With respect to the second question, the answer is a definite "Hell no". Our leaders must work day and night on a plan to revitalize this nation. We cannot afford to waste all that brainpower and Ivy-league degrees, and the occasional community college one. Having only one plan is usually not a good idea so while "liberals and conservatives" of all denomination work on their own plan I recommend us "Americans" to work on my own plan. Having said that I hope everyone that reads this blog (Mike and my brother, and the occasional lost soul) a happy Valentine's day.
A few years ago it would have seemed implausible that the entire financial system of the world could be turned completely upside down. For years, Americans have wholeheartedly embraced the concept of credit. It seems as though for a while people actually believed money grew on trees. That’s the only logical explanation to the idea of borrow today and hopefully repay some day. But now that we have been given a reality check and a big slap in the face, we must cope with the situation and learn to save more, invest wisely, and use credit in a responsible manner.
As the holiday season approaches, it is becoming more evident that sales will suffer significantly. The purchasing power of many has been drastically scaled back, not by choice but rather but the current financial realities. This will undoubtedly be clear during the opening-presents time this Christmas as people will spend less time opening gifts than in previous years.
There is no reason to be happy for these terrible times, but it is unavoidable not to mention a positive byproduct of this crisis. Almost anyone would agree that the traditional meaning of the holidays has been severely diminished. Christmas used to be a time in which people would celebrate Jesus birthday, even if all they did was a mere reference to that, a time in which the family would get together to share fond memories, love, and be united. It used to be a joyful experience in which the least important thing was to buy expensive presents for everyone; Presents that sometimes would be inappropriate for the occasion, or simply disliked by the receiver.
This time around, presents will be relegated to a lower priority status, a place that is more fitting. The number one priority should be family and everything the word entails. However, this can also be an opportunity in which gifts can be bought or made with careful consideration and lots of love. The deciding factor when giving something should not be cost or status but rather how the present will help someone else or how it will make their day a little bit happier than the previous one. Here of course happiness is to be taken in a meaningful context and not the greedy type that comes from the pleasure of owning objects that are stylish and pricey; Gifts should make the soul happy.
Gifts as mentioned above pertain to a level of priority and importance below family but I am in no way against the idea of buying presents for people. In fact, buying is good as it creates jobs and helps the economy. However, I do stand against buying expensive gifts when people can’t afford them. There is no reason to go overboard when buying a present. We should give to the extent that our wallets can take it and not a cent more, even if it is a plastic cent. Those credit card purchases should be done if there will be funds to pay it in the near future and not 5 years later and at twice or more the original cost.
Gifts serve as a mere courtesy during the holidays; something that lets others know we thought of them and also something that can be fun. It is like the appetizer before the main meal and it should not be over emphasized. If you can afford it, then by all means buy it. This Christmas buy gifts you can afford and give the one thing that can’t be bought and that is underrated and almost completely ignored by everyone: “LOVE”.
