Chapter 82.1: So Little Time, So Much to Do

Here we are, in the final week of January, and I feel like I've accomplished nothing. I have valid reasons — who poop and cry and drink bottles like drunken sailors — but it's still amazing to see time evaporate before me.

Anyway, I've been meaning to conduct several interviews for work and haven't even called people to set things up yet. I've got pieces to edit that are piling up in nice messy stacks and I'm only starting to gain the energy to work on them.

So it's nice to see that the world is moving forward regardless of my schedule. The Democrats in Congress have gotten a stimulus package passed despite not having a single Republican vote in its favor. I respect that Republicans might disagree with the amount of money being directed at various programs, including those they consider entitlement programs. But it surprises me that not a single Republican voted in favor of this bill. It's not as though President Obama didn't reach out for their input.

But it's a House bill and this was a stand the Republicans chose to take against the Democrats, who have the votes in the House to pass it. The Senate bill will be different, and if Congress is to get a stimulus package on Obama's desk by Lincoln's birthday, there'll likely need to be compromises made. So much government sausage making.

The way I see it, the issues the administration and Congress are addressing are important, but getting the economy moving in the right direction again will ultimately come down to businesses feeling confident enough in the future to hire people to work instead of laying them off. Big companies like Boeing, and Microsoft, and Target have announced layoffs. These are companies that are relatively strong but recognize that the economy isn't getting better; it's getting worse. So they're bracing for the storm. Friends of mine at other companies have lost jobs, despite having ten, twelve years with their former employers. And the credit card crisis hasn't even hit yet. But it's coming. You can bet your last dollar on that.

It's scary out there. The future looks bleak. Yet, somehow, I think we — my family and those I most care about, including those who are unemployed — will get through it. We'll need to scrimp and save, consolidate things that we used to take for granted, reuse stuff that probably would have been tossed in the past. We'll likely have lots of competitors when we hold a garage sale, and you have to wonder who will be buying. But I think that in the end we'll survive, possibly even come out of things feeling rejuvenated if not a little grayer around the temples.

This is our generation's crisis, and crises mean people step up and do what they need to do. They do what's needed. This is our time to be a great generation. There's no shortage of things to accomplish. We've all heard the ancient curse: may you live in interesting times. Well, at least we won't be bored.