Tightening Our Belts Till We're Blue

8.29.2008

It's just getting a little too painful tightening our belts today. Everyone knows that our country and the world is dealing with high energy costs that have hiked up the price of everything we buy from fruit and cereal at the supermarket to those darn mini pretzel bags on flights that last just 3 hours. How pitiful is that?

I want to let you all in on the next level of cost cutting that I have just seen that is just a great testament of how terrible our economy is and how little our dollar is worth even in our own country.

So let me tell you, you definitely know that our economy is bad when the dollar store starts shrinking what you get for a dollar. I just couldn't believe it. We all have seen the prices at regular supermarkets shoot up the last few months by crazy amounts for products we all enjoy and in some cases “need.” That crazyness has just hit the dollar store as well. There's a chain called “Dollar Tree,” if you've never been to one, they have just about the best selection I have ever seen for a dollar store and you can really save a lot of money there if you choose to, great products too. I used to get my snacks there, bags of chips, Hawaiian punch, cookies, juice, what have you, but also house hold items like bathroom cleaners, soaps, shampoos, hair gel, and toothbrushes. It definitely wasn't bad for a dollar compared with the 3.29 price or higher for these items even at Walmart and Target but they just took a turn for the worse.

So, I walked into the dollar store the other day and I headed over to my snacks section where I pick up those things that I enjoy while relaxing in front of the tv or watching movies. I have to repeat, I couldn't believe it, the sizes of all the chips, snacks, and drinks all have shrunk! Where once we had 12 ounzes of snacks, they've all shrunk down to 10 or some 8 now! When it comes to drinks, 2 liters don't exist any longer, now only 1 liter or those stupid single or dual serving bottles remain. Who's going to be able to keep their family fed on sizes like that or even want to pay for sizes that small? It's not even convenient any longer, I saw a mother, instead of buying 2 liter boxes of juice that they used to have, trying to pay for around 6 or 8 small boxes of juice, all a dollar each now of course! Maybe she just doesn't realize how much that “deal” was cheating her. When you add it all up so you buy the amounts that you used to be able to get, it's just about the same price as the normal supermarket. I couldn't take it, I dropped my basket in the isle and went to the car and drove over to the supermarket. It's been a while since I thought of buying these items anywhere other than the dollar store but I might have even saved more by buying at the local Jewel if not for the gas I wasted going to the dollar store in the first place.

I dunno, maybe I am just fed up with the little bit that we all get now for our hard earned dollar and it literally makes me mad the amount less we get in just these last few months thanks to the addition of inflation. There must be a solution to this, if not a true solution then I'd be happy with a psychological one, any trick will do. I'm just tired of seeing all these baby sized packages of stuff that we are all forced to buy because instead of giving us higher prices, which we would complain about anyway, companies choose to shrink the amounts and packaging which is even more annoying. I don't know about you but I don't want to buy any half sized juice boxes or “one line” of Oreos instead of 2 AND give you the same amount of money as before. You gotta be kidding me.

I never liked going to the market in the first place, I used to go at midnight so I could do my shopping in peace and quiet but now I hate it even more! All I get is quiet and no peace at all because I know I'll have to be back twice as fast for double the cost. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way. Is there anything we can do about it? I guess not. Is there anything that will be done about it? I don't think so. Anyone who makes the rules or makes the laws can afford to buy anything they want. They probably could care less.

I can see what might happen in the future actually, don't quote me but I can imagine it, I've seen the news report tie-ins that may point to this. All we'll have in the future are small sizes of food and drink that we'll be forced to buy in the name of better nutrition and controlling the waist line of America but you know what? In the end, the prices will be exactly the same. Here's to you George Washington, you can't afford anything yourself any longer, it was great while it lasted.

Our Great American Experiment

8.25.2008

Well, after a short hiatus to chase some dreams, I am back with an entry for my ever popular blog. Sorry for being away so long.

What would I like to talk about first? The upcoming election of course. Not who I am going to vote for or who you should vote for but the ramifications of one outcome possible in the election and what that might mean for our future.

Just a disclaimer, some folks may not like some of the things I am going to lay out here but I feel very strongly that it's all the truth and I'm going to stick by it.

So what is this great American experiment that I want to talk about and that I am most interested in? Honestly, at this point in the election process, it looks like Barack Obama has a very good chance of winning the presidency of our United States. Although I do have some questions of his experience and what he will really do for us as citizens as far as energy and foreign policy, if he wins, I am looking forward to it. Why?

In the recent history of our country, in my point of view, the African American community has been a very troubled one. A community rooted in faith and in strength yet with many many broken families. These broken families bringing up men who don't act like responsible men and women who don't act like loving women. In turn, these broken families turn out many broken children who grow up to be gangsters (or wanna bes), criminals, or just lazy from being worn down by the constant struggle in their lives over where they think they should be, how they think they should be treated, or through thoughts of what others think of them. That's just wrong. It has been a constant recurring theme of certain neighborhoods and for some, an attitude that has actually been “passed down” from family and even some houses of worship. This must change. We've heard heroes like Bill Cosby and Tony Evans speaking to the problem secularly & sacredly yet it has not seemed to have a large effect on the population.

I for one believe that the African American community needs not better leaders but an increased number of better leaders. And not leaders that can talk the community into marches against gun violence, hatred, and staying in school by skipping school, but leaders that spur others on to be better men and women and to actually do something about it! And I might add, in a constructive way.

I think on that old cheesy show “Knight Rider” where they always said one man can make a difference. I think Obama may be that man. He's not alone though, we've all seen that his wife is a strong woman as well and might prove to be a good role model for the women as first lady. In the end, Obama may (I can't stress that word enough) be the best example for all people in our country. Time will provide the answers on that but this is the great experiment I am looking forward to examining over the next 4 years and perhaps 8 if it continues.

We definitely need change and we'll get it either way. Whether you vote for McCain or Obama, change is definitely coming. We just don't know what changes or by how great a margin. We all voted for change the last 2 times if I might say that, I think we can safely say that change was not a good one. It's the chance we take anytime we make a choice. We can only hope our choices are correct each time whether it's from a personal view or a national one.

What do I hope for if Obama wins the 2008 election though? What conclusion would I like to see at the end of this great social experiment? I would like to see the proven theory that great leadership does produce a great people and contributes to producing a great nation.

I would really like to see, if Obama wins, a strong leadership that he will have to give to the nation in order to get us back on track. I would love for him to concentrate some of his energies on being a strong leader for the African American community as well. I'd like to see him as a inspiration to that community, starting the long process of inspiring people to be better parents, kids to grow up looking toward higher goals, stressing the importance of taking responsibility and working hard to become successful as he has been. This is of course a long term longitudinal experiment though and we'll have to wait perhaps longer than 4 or 8 years to see the outcome but the changes could be so great. No matter what I think of him politically, personally, he has inspired me. I can only imagine what effect he might have on our nation or other countries.

One friend laughs when I bring this up. She believes that Obama will not make a difference no matter what. That's too bad. Perhaps we underestimate the power one person has. Even when that person is in a very important and influential position. Almost all of us want to make a difference in this world for the better, Barack's got a great head start on us all.