I do not mind being poor. I am okay living within my means. I am okay with sacrifice. I believe that it makes us stronger. I am willing to pay $1/lb extra for organic beef than conventional. I am willing to pay 2x as much for organic bananas to stay healthy. I am willing to pay $5 a gallon of gas if it will force Hummers and Suburbans off the road. I am saddened that fuel is back down to under $2. We are not encouraging alternative resource development when we keep oil inexpensive.
I would be thrilled if the price of diesel were double, I think that it is worth it to me to not have the Semi Tractors on the road. SERIOUSLY. I think that Freight trucks are a HORRIBLE waste of resources and that we were completely ignorant to not maintaining our train infrastructure in this country. I do not advocate banning freight trucks all together, I think that by doubling the cost of diesel, and putting train tracks to every major city (population of 100K) and actually HAVING direct train service between cities is one answer. We deserve safer roads, and better access by train to the rest of the country.
I am okay paying more for food, if it is benefiting the farmers. I understand that for the $2.29 for flour tortillas, only $.29 is for the flour from the farmer, and $.10 is for the oil, and $1.00 is for the store and $1.00 is for the shipping companies. It is my own fault for not wanting to learn to make my own flour tortillas and if I did, like when I learned to make my own bread, that I could make it less expensively and healthier. So I am willing to accept responsibility for my own actions of not learning to make my own food.
what really just torques me off to no end is that I made a choice to live in a modest house and I made a choice to get a mortgage that was equal to my families annual salary and I made a choice to bake bread, not use a dryer for my clothes and shop resale and support community agriculture and I am still expected as a citizen to bail out banks that made mistakes and that use a few foreclosures as a cover story to drum up sympathy and support for an economic issue that is seriously not my fault and I am just furious. I seriously do not believe that these companies will pay it back. Bailing out the automakers is just wrong. Subsidize alternative fuel research, but make the surcharge for trucks and suv's so cost prohibitive that it is not even an option. I sacrifice by driving a civic hybrid, the smallest hybrid on the market and yes about twice a year I need a large utility vehicle to move large items. that is easily solved with a rental, but for the other 363 days of the year, a nice small 4 cylinder car is more than enough for a family of 4. I vote No to bailouts, Yes to retooling factories for american made vehicles with Ultra Low Emissions and alternative (Natural Gas / Electric) energy not biofuels.
My own daughter who is also completely overwhelmed with the repercussions because she is married to a marine who is preparing to go to Afghanistan and while he knew that was a real possibility when he enlisted 13 months ago, and we are okay with that risk an know that it is his duty. It is just not right that they do not make enough money to buy diapers and keep the cell phone on while living on base in California. We OWE their family more than that. She only has $75 a week to feed her family of 3 and that really doesn't cover diapers and wipes. It is just wrong that I can not help her and that she can not help herself. Our military deserve better pay.
My other daughter had a good job, but her job was outsourced (direct tv customer support) and now she has no insurance and she had an emergency appendectomy, she has been paying off that medical bill $50 a month for 4 years and is still paying. She lives 8 miles from town, is driving a 1989 Chrysler car and is applying for a $6.75 / hour job in a state that the minimum is $7.15/hr but it will give her 40 hours a week, and at $7.15 she is only getting 20 hours a week. It is just wrong that I can not help her and that she can not help herself. Our poor deserve affordable health care and fair wages.
My third daughter has autism and she is a junior in school, what is her life going to be like with cut backs in programs and medical? I do not know, but I do know that we would have to make some sacrifices and give up those programs if we are ever going to get out of debt as a country, but to say no to her needs and then bail out a flipping CEO with MILLIONS in the bank is WRONG on so many levels. No the goverment doesnt owe my daughter anything, but if they can afford to waste money on foreign aid, which I DO NOT SUPPORT then they can damn well reprioritize and TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN FIRST. .2% is still .2% when we are personally paying a hellofa lot more in interest in loans to china.
wish list: Honda Civic Natural Gas car.
