Although I have had several delays and setbacks recently in my side projects but I am still working hard at them.
Recently I started working on a few business ideas and trying to get them to solid ground so that I can think about focusing my energy less on making ends meet and more on the important things in life. Strange way to think while the world around you is screaming about job loss and recession and all that nonsense.
Personally I think the Gov. and Media play a big part in driving the world economy - not the people in the economy. The stock market is the best example of that. The stock market is based largely on a more socially acceptible theory of gambling than say black jack... and is perhaps a bit more stable an avenue to make money. However, all it takes is reaction to external stimulus to make the stock market bounce one way or the other. For example: Microsoft is in partnership with - owns or oversees several major news outlets. Rarely does this side of the tech world say ANYTHING positive about Apple Inc. Through its many mouthpieces (intentional or not?) they always slant against products, profit news, value for money and so on from Apple Inc.
PCMag, CNET, MSN, MSNBC, and several shows that are sponsored by MS... all have a history of this.
The end result is strange to see. Apple come out with a new product or news about a new product... Apple stock value goes up and trading goes up.
MS produces a "news report about it" the stock value goes down and trading goes up even more.
Apple counters by giving people the devices to review (outside the ms network) and the news comes out that the product is nice and does what it is supposed to do.
Stock goes up - trading goes up.
The Market is very reactionary - yet the thing that is is reacting to is very stable and has a history of being stable.
The Gov. warns about impending global recession - the media hype it up - key companies are investigated or reviewed to pay off debts - before they "know anything" they already know (?) the outcome of the investigations before it took place... that the company is unstable.
They pull the plug on these key companies so things go bad for all involved and start impacting the economy right away...
Then they rethink it and say that perhaps we need to support the economy to help the people out... they help the people out by giving money away to the same people that were stealing, mishandling or untrustworthy with money to start with... and the people pay for it. Yet say this was to help out the economy. Every expert everywhere says the economy will be bad for 20 years or more.
One year on and they stay everything is returning to normal.
What really happened was press and news and PR spin to make the change happen.
I would hazzard a guess that says as much as 40 to 50 percent have only seen a minor change in their lifestyle and spending habbits as a result of any recession.
In the church here in Ireland (one of the worst countries to live in for inflated cost of living) there has been only 3 people affected at all by cuts or cutbacks - in a sampling of people from the North and South - natives and imports.
The one job I heard of a reduced pay (to keep the company afloat) also had reports of the boss buying a brand new company car (Merc - what else?) after cutting pay of everyone in his employ.
The banks here in Ireland were payed off (sorry - supported) by the Gov. to ensure they kept giving out loans and mortgages. I went recently to get a new loan (paying off one now just fine) to get a replacement laptop. I was denied because I was now under the yearly pay rate they give loans to. I was making over this invisble line before... The Gov here in Ireland increased the tax on all wages by 5 percent. My net is now just under the invisible line by about 5 percent would you believe.
So if the Gov. increase tax and the people are paying for the bail outs (not the billions of Euro surplus we have here in Europe) why are only the rich seeing the benifits?
Keep in mind several things here... The world is not missing money.
Not one penny, euro, or gold brick went missing in all of this. It just changed hands. The Gov. response was to change MORE money to the same hands that it went into to start with.
People still need construction done, bricks stacked and houses painted, there is still work to be had. Money is still there... it was just taken (forcibly) from the people.
Something that involved BILLIONS and Trillions internationally that the people of democratic nations were paying for in tax and so forth were not even given a vote or say at all in the matter.
You want instant economic stability? Do you want instant prosperity in a nation??
Pay off the peoples debts, buy their homes for them and give them to them.
People in consumer nations will instantly be free of monthly payments and would buy new cars, improve homes, buy new electronics and shockingly enough - keep themselves in a job as a result.
In all the bailouts - with the debt covered - the companies had the change (if they wanted to help the people) to forgive debt - give away houses - donate cars.
It didn't happen.
As a result of saying a recession was coming, the media parroting the same words, causing companies to close, taking money away from the people, giving money away to big business, still charging people money for their houses and debts even though it was covered... it seemed for a while a recession did happen.
Yet a year later and everything is still going, money still being earned, debts still being paid people still working in jobs... the economy is fine. It may be tough in some places but over all - globally? Nothing happened that was not planned.
I firmly believe that there were people in this world that are not so blind as to react to the doom and gloom and kept on with life as normal. It was these people that helped things more than all the bailouts. It was hesitant at first but there were early reports that months after all of the events that things were not as bad as it was being said... yet in the media - a voice of strength and hope is hard to listen for.
Be a voice of strength and hope in this world... the doom and gloom has enough voice already. Hope is a rare strength in any situation. If it were a personal attack on your family or yourself you would man up and fight and keep things together. Yet as a whole we just seemed to sit back and take everything that was fed us.
Be strong, Stand strong on normal good budget principles and thinking and trust your gut. The World is not coming to an end. You will have no problem tomorrow if you are strong and plan and progress today.
