As a child, I remember when I would want something, I would point it out and tell adults around me. On many of those occasions, I remember a phrase that stuck with me into my adulthood. “Want in one hand and shit in the other. See which one fills up quicker.” I know that’s rather crude to say to a child, but let’s remember where I was raised. There generally was no thought process before blurting something out to either a child or an adult. The imagery was clear what they were saying and no questions were asked.
I know the lesson that was being taught and it’s one that has been realized over and over again in my lifetime. No matter if I was in high school and I wanted a new notebook, if I was in college and I wanted the new shirt at the bookstore, or if I was in the grocery store and saw something I wanted to make for dinner. The situations may have changed but the lesson had stuck. You may want that notebook, shirt, or large piece of meat, but is it going to break you until the next payday?
We’ve all seen the effects of inflation in the world. When I left Alabama in 1999, gas was $0.89 a gallon. I don’t know where this $2-3 came from in such a short amount of time. It’s insane! I lost a job in 2008 because a rather small hurricane hit Texas and the price of gas shot through the roof. Other things happened, but that was what stuck out to me more than anything else. I had no idea about all this other stuff happening because it wasn’t a part of my life.
I know what some people say. “I work 40+ hours a week, Monday – Friday, and get paid every two weeks. The choice of where I spend my money is totally mine and I’ll spend it the way I want.” Well! OK, Becky! You go right ahead and do that. No one is telling you that you can’t. Just remember that there are costs to living. Rent/Mortgage, food, electricity, water, and anything else you need to live comes before entertainment, travel, and whatever else we may want to do.
I looked at my pay calculations the other day from the beginning of the year. I have to admit that I turned into a child for a few minutes. I looked at how much I had earned. Then I looked at how much I actually brought home. I swear I felt tears forming in my eyes. I thought a promotion earlier in the year would help a lot, but seeing the calculations, it’s not helping as much as I had wanted. With taxes and health insurance, what I make quickly gets snatched away.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not one to rail against paying taxes. When people bitch at me about taxes, I have to give my usual spill about how our country is like being a member of a country club. If you want to enjoy the golf course, the tennis courts, the spa, the fine dining, and whatever else they offer, you have to pay the dues. You don’t just show up at one of those places and use their facilities just because you want to. It’s the same way living in the US. If you want to use the roads, the police, the fire department, and…most importantly…the schools, you have to pay taxes. Unfortunately, we have members in this country who have more money than they need to survive and they use every loophole and strategy in the books to get away from paying their fair share. But, in all reality, that’s the way living in this country is supposed to work. You use the facilities, you pay the dues.
This is an election year and in November, we have the oh-so-wonderful duty of voting for a president and vice-president. To be perfectly honest, I hate these years. Thankfully, I have not watched half as much television as I used to and when I do, I watch shows on services I’ve paid to not see commercials. I don’t think I can handle seeing any political ads. I’m sure they are flooding network television. It’s always the same crap year after year. We’re not going to be taxed anymore. You’re no longer going to pay so much for things. You’re going to be proud to say you’re from the US. Someone gets elected and then it all falls to shit. I remember when Papa Bush was running for his one term. “No new taxes!” That’s a promise none of them can keep. The president, no matter who he/she is, can predict the future. If something needs to be done and taxes have to be raised, then there goes the new taxes.
We as citizens of this country have to make decisions every day on our spending. Some people don’t have to make as many while others have to decide if paying a bill comes before feeding a child. I really hate that in 2024, we have to face those decisions. For a country that is supposed to be so wonderful, so rich, and so blessed, we sure as hell don’t act like it. Let a kid starve over here. Let a kid die from lack of healthcare over there. Tell a woman she has to give birth to a child she became pregnant with after being raped by a guy that just couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Tell a whole community that the one medical center they have in the backwoods of Alabama is going to be closed because no one wants to fund it.
Something has to change if we want to continue as a country and as a species. We’re not the only ones with problems, but we’re the ones witnessing them here. Other countries are seeing the same things. Religion is not the answer. We need intelligent people making intelligent decisions. We need people who have hearts and minds working together and is not solely worried about their checking accounts or how many votes they can get in the next election.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash