fiscal irresponsibility

why is life so hard? surely life owes me more than this!?!

ok, of course i know that there is more to life, and that you have to work for it. it doesn't matter what you've done, who you are, everything you want has some sort of "price." america is the land of opportunity! too bad so many people think it's the land of privilege.

i grew up in the 80's. overall, it was a time of good economy just after a serious gasoline crisis. economic growth outpaced both inflation and unemployment. of course, my parents remembered turbulent 70's keenly. couple that with having been raised by parents who remembered the great depression, and they were cautious. almost to a fault. to me, much of their "pack-rat" like hoarding, and refusing to throw things away seemed strange. it was, after all, a time of peace, and relative ease.

then came the 90's. with even greater prosperity, and particularly the "dot-com" boom, the economy soared. jobs were plentiful, and inflation was largely forgotten. the computer craze brought affordable technology of all kinds to the masses. there was a noticeable shift from "needs" to "wants." remember it was the 90's that brought us the popular bumpersticker "whoever dies with the most toys, wins!" i remember my parents commenting on it. i remember my grandparents being unable to comprehend it!

so what is the next step? we, as a country, had enjoyed more than two decades of shameless prosperity, and we're beginning to see the consequences now. i remember being lectured by my parents (and yes, grandparents) when i got married, not to try to have everything my parents had right away. it had, after all, taken them more than a quarter of a century to acquire it all! it was still a temptation.

a temptation that grew as those a decade younger than me began to marry. they either didn't get the advice i did, or the prosperous environment they grew up in negated it, because they already have more of that stuff than me! (or my parents!) i'm not pointing out inequality, or airing my personal jealousies, i'm talking about the greater problem. the attitude of privilege and entitlement of the current generation.

see, my grandparents are gone. my parents are now grandparents, and it's my generation that has to wonder. how much farther can it go? remember when only business managers and rich people had cell phones? i do. i have cub scouts in my den who have them! 9 year olds! i know it's handy, and a good safety net for kids, but i also think it is one of the more prominent symptoms of this attitude. are there still high school kids without cell phones? sure. they're the losers that get shunned.

the real problem here, is that they don't pay for it! people can have whatever they want, as young as they want, as long as they pay for it! (and i don't mean going into massive debt to do it). it has become expected, and the burden falls to the parents. many of whom, are like me, and don't have all the things we need (or want). why should we be paying for the next generation's wants? that's too much pressure! (financial, and otherwise!) it's not just movies and tv anymore either. i have had many conversations, and overheard similar sentiments, that make me feel like a failure as a parent.

what have i failed at? here's a partial list of things that i have not provided, even though i have been assured are essential for kids to have a good childhood:
1 a trip to disneyland
2 cable/sattelite tv
3 a tv in his bedroom
4 his very own psp/ds/etc.
5 a trip to disneyworld
6 a computer for the kids to use (if not their own laptop!)
7 universal studios
8 a trip to the beach (as in ocean) as much as they loved the local reservoir, it doesn't count
9 their own car (ok, so my kids don't drive yet. i won't buy them a car when they can!!!)
10 season passes to lagoon (our local "amusement" park)
11 cell phone
12 ipod
13 college savings (that's why we have scholarships, grants, student loans, or heaven forbid, a job!)
14 lego indiana jones (even though i really want it too!)
15 wii (ps3/xbox360/etc.) [we do have a gamecube, but they have to finish chores before they play]
16 heelys
17 entertainment system in the van
18 school lunch (and breakfast!) [have you seen what over-processed, pre-packaged crap $2+ gets?]
19 guitar hero
20 all the make-up and fashion stuff (ok, i don't have a girl, but if i did i would fail here too)
you get the idea...

it's not that i think people who do provide these things are bad parents, its just how can things so frivolous be essential to normal childhood. when did toys and fleeting fun rank up there with food, shelter, and clothing? how can such blatant self-gratification be called important to a child's well-being?!? why should i feel bad or guilty for choosing to use my limited resources on things that i find more important? look around! we're reaching a tipping point! the 90's are ancient history, economically speaking. if you think $4 a gallon for gas is bad, just wait. not only is that going to increase, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. we're just beginning to feel it!

as fuel costs of all kinds continue to increase, the pain at the pump will extend to everything we buy through increased production and transportation costs. this is going to make inflation look like a joke! the proof is on every side! suv's and trucks are getting harder to sell. large homes are hard to sell. not that people don't want them, or even can't afford them. they can't afford to drive or heat them! the crash in the housing market is just the first stage.

just 2 or 3 years ago, people bit off more than they could chew when buying houses, and now they can pay for them, and they can't sell them. gm may well drop the hummer line because it went from status symbol to embarrassing monkey-on-your-back just as fast as the gas prices went up! sales of full size trucks and suv's is down 37% from last year! again, only step two. as the cost of everything goes up, (but salaries remain steady and benefits decrease) something is going to have to give!

i have to wonder if any of my grandchildren will even know what disneyland is...