A Life Unraveled

As I watched President Obama sign the tax compromise bill into law today, I couldn't help but think of the many unemployed people who will receive no further help. I'm talking about the group known as the 99ers. Even though the new law extends the eligibility for existing federal unemployment programs for 13 months, it doesn't add any additional tiers of compensation for those who have already collected the maximum benefits. They are left to fend for themselves. I wrote this verse with these unfortunate people in mind.

A Life Unraveled

All his life he worked so hard
To build a better life
Made sacrifices just to please
His children and his wife

And just as he was reaching
His precious golden years
He lost his job and had to face
The worst of all his fears

And searching for employment
His savings dwindled down
Despite his desperate efforts
Employment was not found

And everything unraveled
Through no fault of his own
He wept himself to sleep each night
So weary and alone

And when the unemployment checks
Were gone forever more
A once great proud provider
Took his place among the poor

And now he begs for handouts
And wonders every day
How this could have happened
In his precious U.S.A.


Steven Pein
17 December 2010
.

Some thoughts about our economic plight.

Why does anyone in their right mind believe that our problems can be fixed by the people who caused them in the first place, be they Democrats or Republicans? If you let yourself get caught up in the political blame game, then you're falling into the trap of believing one party or another can fix this mess.

And, by the way, the Tea Party isn’t a political party. It’s a grass roots movement of people that want less government in their lives. They’re fiscal conservatives, and that’s why they lean toward the Republicans. But to “equate” them to Republicans is a terrible political mistake, as many rank and file Republicans are going to discover very shortly.

How about stepping back from Washington and looking for totally out-of-the-box approaches? For example, stimulate the economy by allowing all 401(k) and IRA money to be withdrawn totally free of taxation for people 55 and over. That would provide so much investment capital that new businesses would spring up left and right. If you also dropped the Medicare age to 55, lots of people could afford to retire early and open up the labor market. These are just some of my thoughts. I’d rather try to come up with some unique ideas than sit around with my thumb up my butt blaming one politician over another.

That’s my take, and I’d like to hear yours. You can comment anonymously to this Blog.

.