For An Optimist I'm Starting To Feel Worried

You can't exist in the United States right now without knowing or understanding that we are currently more a reflection of the 1970's than we are a reflection of the late 80's or the boom town 1990's. The real estate market bubble has burst with a resounding ripple effect that has shaken the rest of the economy. Energy costs, especially gasoline are climbing at a rate that is far out pacing any amount of cost of living increases that workers are receiving, and that's only if they are receiving an increase instead of a pink slip and a I'm sorry from their employers. The inflation rate in the consumer foods market has increased at a rate of 9% this year, in comparison to historical rate increases of just 2% or less per year.

Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like 1970's all over again:

• A war half way around the world that the country doesn't really understand -- Vietnam/Iraq


• A stagnating guerrilla war in Afghanistan -- 1979 invasion by former Soviet Union


• Turmoil in the Middle-East (1973 Yom Kippur War) -- militant Islamic terrorism


• An un-popular Republican President on his way out of power -- Nixon/Bush


• A "Change" spouting Democrat (who would make Jimmy the Peanut Farmer Carter himself green with envy) on a quest to take back Washington -- Obama


• Devaluation of the US Dollar abroad


• Rising oil prices slowed/slowing world markets


• Rising un-employment figures worried/worrying the nation


• Continued inner city poverty


• The misery index (the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate) had reached an all-time high of 21.98 percent in 1979

Yes, everywhere I look I see the 1970's beginning to or already repeating itself. I cannot fathom why we are repeating a failed history that is still so fresh in our recent memory. I can only imagine that this is what the "Greatest Generation" must have felt and thought as they saw the world inching closer and closer to a second Great War. Now while this is only the worst it's ever been in my life time, it's not the worst it's ever been. In historical context, certainly the Great Depression was significantly worse than it was in the 1970's or today.

In historic context, we have to realize that the market has been inflated for a long time and that the continued boom and rising stock market index was not realistic. Since we started buying and trading stocks, bonds, and commodities markets have ebbed and flowed and experienced ups and downs. This one too shall pass. The question we have to ask ourselves however is, when will it pass and how can we ensure we don't do this to ourselves again? As the old saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three times and well, I'm just an idiot.

When we puzzle over how to make sure this won't happen again, there are some key pieces that we must consider. The first of which is the need for a self-imposed embargo on oil. Not one that is coming from OPEC, but rather it must come from consumers who either can't or won't pay the rising costs. We have to begin to realize that oil is the 20th century tonic to our 21st century illness.

A current estimate indicates that for every one cent increase in the price at the pump, the amount of Americans discretionary spending budget is subsequently decreased by approximately 1 billion dollars. As you can see, we must start a 12-step program to free ourselves from our oil addiction. The benefits of weaning ourselves off oil are numerous and the best of them are the following: more money in your own pocket, less money in the pockets of dictators and terrorists, less dependence on what is happening somewhere else in the world, and finally it can be cleaner for the environment, which we should be good stewards of.

The second piece to the puzzle is a commitment to becoming a saving and purchasing economy rather than a borrowing and purchasing economy of consumption. The current rate of consumption is simply unsustainable and simply excessive. While I'm a huge fan of capitalism and realize that consumption drives the market place, what we have to realize is that simly consuming for consumption's sake is poor stewardship of our resources and our evironment. Additionally, we need to realize that the newest is not always the best, especially when it makes you a slave to the credit card or consumer lending industry. Have no doubts, when you are indebted, you are a slave; the only difference is that you have the illusion of freedom.

The third piece of the puzzle is to require accountability from leaders and ourselves. Only by holding each other responsible and requiring that our leaders put our interests above their own and above their jobs will we find solutions that will work into the future and solve some of these problems. One way to hold our leaders accountable is to require that they follow the second puzzle piece and balance the government's budget and bank statements just like we balance our own personal checking accounts. We must also realize that the government is not the "be all, end all" safety net that we have come to believe it to be.

So, while I feel a little worried, I'm remain an optimist at heart and I know this too can pass. I also know and believe that America is the one place in the world where a person has the opportunity and the ability through sacrifice and hard work to create their own opportunities. So just like the 70's passed into the 80's and the 80's passed into the 90's so too will this first decade of the millennium pass into the second. Just like we left disco behind, so too will we leave these worrisome times in the past. But just like disco, we won't forget how bad they were. And with that memory, may we hopefully never repeat these mistakes again.