Monday, October 13, 2008 - Economic Issues

On this Columbus Day, I am stepping back on my soapbox.  I have my concerns about the whole economic issue.  I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing.  I understand why the government feels the need to step in and dump money into market and I even understand them helping out some of the mortgage companies.  What I don’t understand is how this will work in the long term.  What is going to keep the banks from doing the same thing again? Lending money to those who can’t afford it just seems like bad business to me.  Strapping people with mortgages that they clearly cannot afford appears to me to be setting them up for failure.  While buying up the foreclosed homes may seem to be the right thing to do, what are all these people who have lost their homes doing?  Why were they told they could afford something they couldn’t?  I remember when we built our first home, the hometown bank sat down with us and we filled out a lot of forms to see if we could actually afford to do it.  They had a percentage chart allocating a certain amount of money for different things.  If memory serves me right, 20% was the limit for a mortgage payment.  If you didn’t meet that amount of income, they didn’t give you a loan.  A relative of ours was barely making ends meet without paying rent and she was told she could afford a $100,000 mortgage.  HUH?  Let’s get real.  I wish that everyone could own their own home, I really do, but I think the false sense of security that is given some folks that they can afford an outrageous payment is just plain cruel.  How about adjusting pay scales to help these people afford homes?  Why do some people in the corporate world make astronomical amounts of money with fancy perks on top of it when the average hard working Joe, who goes to work everyday and sometimes has to work two jobs just to put food on the table, makes a meager sum?  Where would we be if we didn’t have the average Joe to keep the country functioning properly?  Where would those bankers be without their hard work?  There would be no homes for them to mortgage, no other financial assets for them to sell.  It is just my opinion, and I really don’t understand the whole financial market thing, but I think what needs to be done is not to dump a whole lot of money into a market that seems to have forgotten how to be good stewards, but to help the average Joe by raising his pay scale and making everyone be more accountable for how they spend their money. 

Luke 16:1-13
 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
 
 

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - Nutritional Concerns

Posted in My Soapbox

I’ve added a new category called “My Soapbox”. It’s not my intention to turn my blog into a ‘fussing zone’ or a ‘political forum’, but there are some things that I would like to express my opinion on and just get it out there in the open.  The posts in this category are just my thoughts on various things and for the most part don’t have any conclusions or answers to the topic.

I have always tried to provide a nutritious diet for my family.  I used to follow the government’s 4 groups guidelines and when they switched to the food pyramid I tried to follow that.  Chips and sweets have always been reserved for desserts and treats and we rarely drink soda or sugary drinks (excluding sweet tea).  I have been blessed in that we are all fairly healthy with just the occasional cold or stomach bug. I have read a few books on the topic of healthy eating and really try to provide the right foods for my family by buying unbleached, minimally altered products.  Recently, though, I have been learning some confusing things about the food I have been feeding my family.

My husband prefers canned food, but I have been told that all the nutrients have been removed from the food.  Then I read about a study done at the University of Illinois (full study) that counters that statement. 

My next concern is about our food-producing animals that are being fed growth hormones and other chemicals for various reasons.  The jury is still out on that, but I sure have my own concerns observing our young people physically maturing younger and younger.

Then what about dry goods?  Is it really necessary to add enough preservatives to make the product last into the next millennium (I know, quite an exaggeration)?  I joke around with my husband that when archeologists from the future find the remains of this generation they will find us perfectly intact because of all the preservatives we’ve ingested.

So, what’s a poor mom to do?  She could buy only organic, plant a garden, or maybe get a farm.  These are wonderful ideas, but not always practical.  Not everyone has the resources to own and manage a farm.  They are telling us to be careful of the seeds we buy because they, too, have been treated chemically.   Buying organic can be very hard on the pocketbook.  Even with all the conveniences of this modern age, it seems that something as basic as feeding our families safely and properly has become as much of a full time job as it was way back when. Our government politicians squawk about the need for healthcare reform but is anyone dealing with the root of the problem.  Many are on the bandwagon against obesity, but what is being done to make healthy food affordable and practical for everyone.  With a grocery store on almost every corner is it unreasonable to think that foods that may have a shorter life could be consumed if sold at lower cost instead of going to waste.  Can we think of a better agricultural system where we supply our own needs safely.  As a mother, I guess all we can do is the best we can and leave the rest in God’s hands. 

 

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