The big news is that Americans are going to have to one day confront our national debt. President Obama is signing a bill to raise our debt ceiling. Great for now, but...
Our country needs to wake upand look at our lifestyle and recognize the need for true change. We need to reevaluate our lives and how money ties into domestic traquility. I know that my household is much more peaceful when our bills are being paid and we live within our means. As a country, we will live more peacefully when we do not owe so much to the world. Our comfort is in the hands of our creditors, which is a scary thought.
Maybe it's time to look at relative simplicity in our lives. Select sports may go out the window, as well as voice lessons and competitive dance teams. We may make more meals at home and invite friends over to spend the evening at our house and not the nearest restaurant. One parent may decide to stay out of the workforce and focus on the family and volunteering in the community or church.
This approach will result in a short-term economic struggle because consumption will not quickly resume to the levels that sustained our binge. This means our enemployment rate will not quickly come down, but it doesn't mean that our country will be in danger. It means that our country will have happier families which are the basis of society. If we have stronger families, we have happier and more productive children who will feel loved for who they are, not what they accomplish.
It's an interesting idea that will need time to take hold. Let's stop and ask our grandparents what they loved most about growing up. I remember my mom recalling her family's Sunday afternoons - drives to friends' houses, or the family coming over to play cards. Real interaction, not social networking.
This is a crazy time for many reasons, and I don't have the time to address every one of them in this session. I just want to start with the idea of fiscal domestic tranquility in our private lives - we need to be pioneers in restraint. Can we do it? Can we really disengage ourselves from the overconsumption of vacations and "me" time? Can we pull our kids out of activities that are over-the-top and really not beneficial?
We can't expect our politicians to do what we're not willing to do, so let's put our money where our mouths are!
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