The Cure for the Recession

One of the TV shows we like to watch every week is CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood.  It is a quirky show that has some really interesting topics not seen anywhere else.  A few weeks back, Anthony Mason interviewed President Obama during his bus tour through the midwest.

During the latter stages of the interview, Mason talked with a few “ordinary Americans” from each party about what they had heard from the President and what they thought about it.  The use of the phrase “ordinary Americans” by any politician is one of the most condescending phrases ever uttered, but I won’t talk about that here.  What really bothered me was listening to each of the people interviewed talk about what Obama was or was not going to do for them, and how he would or would not be able to solve the economic woes.

I have some bad news for anyone that thinks the politicians are going to solve the economic problems.  It’s simply not going to happen.  As a matter of fact, they will do anything they can to screw it up further.  So, here is my cure for the recession:

• Stop looking to Washington or your state capitol to solve anything.  They are interested only retaining more power and influence.  That’s not a cynical view.  It’s the way it is.  Doesn’t matter what party it is, either.
• Stop waiting for the messiah to show up with all the great ideas that will make this bad stuff disappear.  We are in the s**t, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.  We got ourselves here, and we will need to dig ourselves out.
• Turn off the news.  I mean it.  Stop reading the newspaper, stop watching CNN, stop reading about all of the bad news and just go to work on making your life and those you care about better every day.  There is a lot of great stuff happening.  Companies are doing great things, individuals are changing the world.  Get involved with one of them or start your own thing.  Yes, I know we have 8 or 9% unemployment.  That means that nine out of every ten of us has a job.  There are countries that would kill to have that.  Not saying I don’t empathize with the unemployed, but it’s not ALL bad news.  Tim Ferriss wrote about ignoring news in his book a few years ago, and I have not watched a regular newscast or political discussion in at least three years.  It’s too depressing, and it affects your outlook on life whether you want to believe it or not.

That’s it.  That’s my cure for the recession.  JFK had it sort of right.  Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for you and those you care about.  Then go do it.