Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Entitlement Society - You Get What You Deserve

About 50 degress here in Massachusetts today, and if the wind was not so strong, it would have been a grand day. Still, I am not complaining. The potatoes I bought last week (to get buds for a new planting) still have not sprouted any buds! They had better get going soon. I had to do a presentation at work today, and even though I have spoken many times in front of fairly big groups, I still get nervous. What is it about public speaking that gets most of us nervous?

Happy Birthday and Sign the Petition
The highly recommended blog, The Mess That Greenspan Made, turns three years old today! Congratulations to Tim Iacono for his excellent work. The Mess That Greenspan Made was one of the blogs that inspired me to start my own in an attempt to wake some people up about the situation at hand. I thank Tim for all his great content over the years.

Always trying to actually make a difference, Karl Denninger over at Market Ticker has a new petition up that you would do well to check out. It is worded a bit strongly, but the facts are strong. Please take a look and see if the petition works for you. I have signed on, and I can guarantee that your information is safe and you will not be contacted by any outside party. Check it out!
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/2008/03/not-durable-durable-goods-and-more-bear.html


Entitlement Society - You Get What You Deserve
When I read various pieces concerning the housing bubble, employment, social security, and the like I am sometime overwhelmed by the overarching sense of entitlement that pervades our American society. Here is a short list of the most common things the average American is expecting is "due" him/her:
  • A "good paying" job
  • Said job cannot be taken away
  • A Home
  • Health Insurance
  • Social Security
  • Funding for higher education
  • Credit on demand
  • Cheap Gas
  • Cheap Food
  • Appreciating stocks and Real Estate
  • Freedom from responsibility
  • Protection from ones own foolishness

Now certainly NOT ALL of the above apply to EVERY SINGLE American out there, but it is a fair compilation. Use the comments section to suggest others.

When I read news stories I always run across the familiar theme: "I am in trouble with my (BLANK) and so (Blank) must do something about it." or " I deserve (BLANK) and so (BLANK) must provide it." Really? You mean to say something did not go as you thought and now someone else has to fix it? Why so? Since when? Who says? You deserve things do you? Again, says who?

This mindset is manifested most clearly in the current housing mess. You have seen plenty of examples. I wonder when this entitlement consciousness became so strong? At this point the US is a country filled with whiny crybabies that cannot endure any hardship or setback. If things continue to deteriorate in the financial sphere and banks are faced with any more major trouble (likely) we are going to see if down deep this country still has the stuff that our grandparents were made of. I hope we will be up to the task.

Have a good night.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

GYSC

The Key one of all of these is Freedom from responsibility IMOP.

A large majority of people are looking for someone or something to blame for their own well being other then themselves be it physical, employment, financial, health and so on.
When we were kids say 5-8 life was simple you just got up and did your thing for most of us and someone else took care of us, we had no responsabilities of any major importance. A lot of people are going to get a wake up call to grow up and it isn"t going to be pretty I'm afraid.

I made a bad bet on some cattle futures a couple of weeks ago and took a 5% loss today. That was my fault, can't blame it on Ben or anyone else. I made a risky bet and it went the wrong way, no big deal life goes on, learn from it and move on. I signed Denninger's petition as well but I think were out gunned we have the goverment we deserve.

I don't think you need to have buds on those spuds to plant them as long as each piece has a couple of eyes they should work is the way I understand it but I could be wrong.

Remove potato tubers from storage and warm to a temperature of 50-60°F, to enhance sprout formation. Small potato tubers (golf ball size) may be planted whole. Larger tubers can be cut into pieces weighing about 2 ounces each having at least 1-3 eyes. Seed pieces can be planted immediately after cutting, but will generally sprout and show better resistance to decay if, after cutting, are left in a cool, moist room with good ventilation for 3 days. Sow potato seed pieces 3-4 inches deep. Leave 10-12” between plants in rows 2-3 feet apart. Closer plantings can result in better yields, but with smaller potatoes. Do not plant potato tubers directly from cold storage.

http://usagardener.com/how_to_grow_vegetables/how_to_grow_potatoes.php

Kevin

Anonymous said...

The US as the 'crybaby nation' has been building for a long time.

The dumbing down we used to hear about is very real, tho not across the board, meaning that some are achieving very well but masses of genYers are dumb as shit and proud of it. If they can send photos to their friends from their cell phones, they think they're geniuses.

Connected to the dumbing down is the self-esteem meme which told our kids that they were special just for being born, no matter what they actually did. And of course if you're special, you're entitled.

Then there's the tolerance meme that says nothing is to be judged or shamed; that in fact the only shame is to judge. That means that success and quitting, honesty and crime, are equal.

This gives birth to a form of pragmatism whereby one's actions are evaluated solely on the end result. The end result for the irresponsible is to borrow vast sums against their houses and then walk away. The end result for the responsible is to pay for the profligacy of others. Obviously those who took the money and ran made out better than those who followed antiquated moral codes and tried to live within their means.

I have no doubt that soon credit-reporting standards will be loosened and those who took out huge mortgages and home-equity loans and then defaulted will have the same access to credit as those who actually earned it. Self esteem for all.

KJ

Anonymous said...

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."


Alexander Tyler circa 1787 re the
fall of the Athenian Republic.

Kevin

Rob Dawg said...

77 SoCal degrees and planting tomatoes. some of us were just over on Calculated risk talking about how we expect The Cape to implode this summah. I said:

"P'town and the Falmouths and Chatham are nothing but leveraged investments waiting for a margin call."

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