Enough With the Melodrama Already

I understand that our economy is weakened right now. But what I don't understand is why the media insists on making the situation seem far worse than it really is. The unemployment rate and economy are constantly compared to 20 plus years ago, when the workforce was smaller, the population was smaller, and the market wasn't as saturated with ways to spend our money.

One recent article, appearing on msnbc today, grabs your attention with the headline screaming that the number of unemployed is greater than it was in 1982. It does go on to say, later in the article, that there are more jobs and more people than there were 20 + years ago, but not until abour 2/3s of the way into the article.

I constantly remind myself of a day, several years ago, while driving around Fort Worth with a coworker and I posed a question concerning the saturation of new homes, big box stores, and a credit driven economy. She looked at me like I was crazy? "What are you talking about?" What happens when all of these homes that are being built without purchasers aren't sold? What happens when the amount of credit due is greater than the amount paid and lenders run out? It was bound to happen, and what do you know? It did. Only The Strong Survive. OTSS.

I'm guessing I'm one of the lucky few who grew up lower middle class with a grasp of how money works. And fortunately, John did too. If you don't have it, don't spend it. I know you want that $400 purse that everyone else is carrying, but that $9 clearance priced purse from Target is more in your budget (and more unique), and you'll still have money to make your car payment and buy gas.

I could seriously go on and on about this, but my biggest gripe is that the media is, as usual, making everyone think the sky is crashing down on us and we'll all be reduced to living in shacks and eating potatoes and lard. Yes, the economy is bad, but we are still better off than we were 20 years ago. And if we play our cards right and learn to live without the excess, we'll all pull through and hopefully learn a tough but necessary lesson in economics.