Music Monday: REM and Scropions and the tanking market

REM - It's the End of the World as We Know It.

Scorpions - Winds of Change

I held off writing today, I was watching the stock market. Something I used to do all the time. Now I am a casual observer.

I hope everyone is happy now. Today most of you lost somewhere close to 6.6 % of your 401K's value  (if you took an investment advisers advice and bought the Index fund - or buy the market), give or take a few basis points. (basis points, look it up, it is how bankers talk percentages.)

How many of you dear readers vote? How do you make that selection? With your mind or your heart. Is the financial solvency of this country as important to you as bullshit social issues that have no business being part of the legislative agenda? Is your family's financial solvency as important as those social issues. By my unscientific estimation more legislative energy goes into meddling in our bedrooms than into actually solving the very real financial problems staring us in the face.

The fact of the matter is as a nation we spend way more than we take in. It is simple as that. We exempt businesses from paying taxes, which I think is silly and frankly we must be one of the only countries doing that. making money in the US means paying your fair share. (Um, hello GE I am talking to you!)

Our nation's economy looks alot like the room featured in the REM video and I am willing to bet you that half of the Congress people couldn't find Gorky Park on a map and better than 3/4 quarters of Americans have no clue where it is either. (But I bet they can find the Jersey Shore and tell you the names of the whiny women on Desperate Housewives.) We are a nation of lazy, greedy, short sighted, individualists. No one wants to take responsibility for anything - and the Congress actually thought it would be ok going on vacation when they left the FAA unfunded. (And FYI the airlines had given themselves a 7.5% untaxed raise while collecting those un-legislatively collectable taxes) WTF? Vacation is a perk most of us have to earn, not an entitlement people. What happened to working harder there guys?

The debt crisis and the credit downgrade is no laughing matter people. We are a huge international player and we used to be the gold investment standard. Nothing was better than US treasuries. NOTHING. It has been a long time since I would have considered buying a US government debt instrument, for a lot of reasons.

I hope this sucker punch to your 401K accounts wakes you up. When you vote in November I hope you know who had your back when it came to minding the federal checkbook.

The Winds of Change are blowing indeed... I am thinking moving up wind or up North might be in everyone's best interest or better yet shit canning most of Washington, their bullshit and their obvious self interests... they serve at our pleasure and right now, I am 16 kinds of displeased.