Monday, April 19, 2010

Back to the 50's?

I just turned 56 yesterday. I don't want to go back to the 50's. I don't really remember much about it except having fun playing those now forbidden games of dodge ball, tag, musical chairs at school, and entertaining ourselves with playing war, and throwing dirt clod at each other.

I don't what to go back to the '60's either. Fun times. The Beatles showed up along with all those entertaining hippies, but by the end of the decade I was seeing the cracks between what the "Free Love" generation idealized and what happens in the real world.

The '70's, still mostly a fun time for me. I really, really fell in love for the first time...I actually got engaged, but we grew apart (bummer), but I started working regular jobs (in hospitals), making money and being able to support myself. Made a lot of dumb decisions that taught me about how life works. All the years of my Dad telling me that applying myself would reap benefits started to sink in, although America had hit a low. The Carter years of "don't hope for better because we're past our prime".

The '80's, I hit my prime I had a job that I liked, met a good woman and got married, bought a house, had what turned out to be a great kid, and the country rebounded under Reagan.

'90's...My life was stable, but things stared to change. Job that I liked, but my good woman started to phase herself out of the picture. The owner of my company, and best friend, died and the company was bought by a bunch of yahoo's that didn't understand the oil industry.

'00's, new job at a underfunded company, my wife and I separated, my boy grew up and joined the Army and left the nest.

'10's, we'll see, but it's looking ugly.

The reason for this?

I keep being told that Conservatives want to go back to a period they idealize. I don't! I've lived through five decades and some were good and some sucked, but I don't want to live them again or live them over and over. I love the advancements that have been made in my lifetime, however, I see the pitfall we are leaving to the future generations.

I want my grandchildren to enjoy these advancements, plus more, but with the debt we have already foisted on our children and with the shift to government directing where spending will go, My dreams that my grandchildren will have a better life than me is now just that, a dream.

As of today, I, my wife, and my son each owe $41,500 just to pay off the incurred debt. Ever run up a credit card debt and work to pay it off? It took me a long time to pay off an amount a hell of a lot less than $40K! And that was after I stopped spending. The government just keeps piling additional debt on us and telling us as soon as they can, they promise to stop spending and will pay off the debt....really!!! Any year now.

I am angry! I live on the front lines of what this country is turning to. ( A long read, but worth it) We are turning this country into a system where there are more bureaucrats and government workers than there are people actually producing something besides rules and regulations that they will tax or fine me with.

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