An Open Letter to Democrats.

Dear members of the Democratic Party, elected officials hailing from said party, and left-leaning political spectators,

Please, please, please, please don’t fuck this up (catch the J. Stewart reference, anyone?). We need this election, and we need ti badly. I think we can safely say we’re within striking distance of a united Congress and President.

Put your minor differences in liberal ideals aside for a moment, and think of the unifying concerns we all face. Health care, gas prices, defense spending, social security, declining housing market, unemployment, global social welfare (like contributing to disaster relief funds), and the list goes on (and was only in a marginally intentional order). While we, as democrats, may have minor differences in opinion about the best outcomes and procedures to procure such outcomes, we all have the same vague ideals in mind. Now, think about what we could get done with either of the two nominees. I won’t name them since that could be read as endorsement. Your favored or your less favored will still accomplish many of the goals of our party when paired up with the democratic Congress.

So is getting YOUR nominee to be the nominee in November worth risking throwing the high office to McCain? Let’s knock off the in-fighting; focus on constructive ways to strengthen your candidate and our party at the same time so that no matter who it is, our candidate doesn’t enter November with a black eye courtesy of the Democratic Party.

Sincerely,

Metadnauseam

Youth and Debt

Suze Orman has made it an unofficial anthem of the youth generation of today: young, fabulous and broke.  Many 20-somethings in America complain that there’s no money for the young; that by the time you’re old enough to enjoy your money, you don’t want to anymore.  Or, we want to party and travel and adventure and live modest lives paying our bills and doing what we need to do when we’re older – once we’re past this “phase” in our lives.  Yes?

Many advisers from all walks (financial advisers, career advisers, parents, relatives, counsellors) will tell youngsters to save their money – don’t buy that something or other, don’t throw that party to celebrate whatever, don’t go to wherever.  You need to save for that retirement nest egg, right?

That’s not what people want, though.  People want to adventure, travel, party, and enjoy themselves now.  The time in people’s lives where they are capable of enjoying such extravagances and hi-jinks is when they are young thrill-seekers.  I don’t know about all of you, but I can’t imagine myself enjoying getting lost in a big city and tossing some cash to eat at some crazy scary hole in the wall diner when I’m 50.  But, I would totally enjoy such endeavors while I’m vibrant and adventurous.  Spend now, pay for it later is what a lot of people, myself included, would like to indulge in.

Now look at the way the market of debt operates in this country; it is exactly what today’s youth generation demanded.  People now have the option to incur massive debt and pay for it over long stretches of time, well into their adult lives.  I’m not saying it is the responsible or even sensible thing to do.  I certainly haven’t taken out swatches of credit cards to live an indulgent youthful life (though I sometimes dream of being so reckless).  But, the possibility exists, for better or for worse.  People have the power to live the lives they think they should while they’re young, pay for it for the rest of their lives by being good model credit customers.

Unfortunately, the need for credit doesn’t end with youth in America.  The sad truth is that you can incur thousands of dollars in credit card debt right out of high school, but what about that car loan?  How about that $200,000 mortgage when you’re 30 and settling into a career?  How about the credit you’ll be taking out for a wedding or your kid’s college education?  It is pretty much a hard hitting reality that the average American couldn’t possibly live without debt.  Even if you’re a model credit card client and pay off your balance every month, you still needed that little pinch extra for gas or that birthday present for your best friend.  You still needed to sign a three year car loan or five year car lease for your car.  It is pretty much impossible to live even a comfortable life without some cushion of debt.

Allow me to briefly contrast this with Japan.  In Japan, credit exists, but not nearly as widespread or necessary as it is in America.  You typically earn enough, even as an average wage earner to indulge occasionally in the things you want outside of your necessities.  You can carry a large sum of money in your wallet in cold cash and not in credit cards or debit cards.  This isn’t just because of the differences in the debt culture, but also because of the drastically reduced crime rate.  But the fact remains, people have the physical money to pay for things and don’t need to defer to liquid money.  People don’t live on liquid bank accounts and credit lines.  People make the money they need to live and even modestly indulge without needing loans for everything.

Back to reality though, can you imagine carrying $1000 in your wallet or pocketbook and no credit cards or bank cards?  Can you imagine paying for a car with actual money and not signing a legally binding lease?

Bizzaro.