Drunk Uncle Industries

Wow, over two months since I posted last! Our beautiful daughter was born in late May, and I haven’t had a chance to write more than an email since. It’s funny to me that after following GM’s decline for years, I had to hear they went into bankruptcy from my husband’s grandmother, because I hadn’t been listening to the news while recovering from childbirth. What a crazy few months it has been for everyone.

Now I hear that GM is being allowed to put all its viable parts in a “new GM,” while getting rid of the “old GM” and all its liabilities. What a deal! Can I get the same arrangement? Do you think the government, now that it is a majority stakeholder, realizes this is the only way to make GM profitable again? What about the consequences of promising the moon to the unions for so many years, or of building shoddy cars or not thinking long-term about consumer demand? Companies who behaved like this used to fail, and that was a good and fair thing–painful but better for everyone in the long run.

The bailouts of Wall Street and the auto industry have served a purpose–to keep the world from sliding into a Depression as a result of America’s greed–but it’s all starting to look a lot like that family you know who enables their drunk uncle to continue his bad behavior so he won’t embarrass the family or have to face his inner pain. I am acutely aware of the consequences a failed auto industry would have for Michigan and the country, but I’m starting to worry that if the government keeps using magic tricks to avoid the consequences of deregulation and excess, we are going to have a much bigger price to pay down the road… or my daughter will.

Shake Hands with the Elephant

Photo by Whipped Bakeshop, Flickr

You know that team-building exercise where you stand on a table with your arms crossed mummy style, then fall backwards into the waiting arms of your co-workers? …or maybe you hit the floor with a foundation-shaking bang.

Yesterday I attended a baby shower that was kind of like the latter scenario, only I didn’t spew milk out my nose like I do watching office retreats gone wrong. It was a lovely party, but the only guest besides the wonderful girls who planned it was the elephant in the room: the fact that there were no guests. It was awkward for all of us, particularly for me as the shower was for my baby…. Was everyone who RSVPed that they were coming passed out in a ditch from eating an excess of Cadbury creme eggs?

This isn’t supposed to be a pity post, though it is rapidly heading in that direction. This unfortunate party just reminded me of how lots of people are trying to be optimistic right now–about the economy, their job prospects, finances, retirement–but how far should we take that optimism? When is it time to shake hands with the elephant? I suspected that the turnout for this party might be low, but I kept telling myself to have more faith in people. Is that what we’re all doing still living in Michigan when GM is days away from bankruptcy? Setting our expectations a wee bit too high?

I don’t like reaching out and finding there is no hand there to take mine, and Michiganders don’t like thinking about the fact that most of us really are stuck and unsure of what to do. Do we wait it out?

There is another baby shower next week. I’m trying to beat my expectations down, but it kind of has to be better than the last one. Right?

We Will Party Hard

I just had to listen to some Andrew W. K. the other day and tell myself to lighten the frick up. I’m tired of worrying, tired of the economic doom and gloom, tired of the bad news coverage of Michigan. Have we hit bottom? Probably not, but why wait? It’s time to take a break and throw a party, for no other reason than the fact that we’re all still here. Turn off the Fox Fear Channel and do a little victory dance with me.

I present you with some positive news from my neck of the woods:

1) I don’t live in a war zone.

2) I haven’t lost any family or friends to disease or accidents lately.

3) The birds are singing straight through the April snowstorm outside. The air is clean, and the crocuses are blooming.

4) My first baby is due next month.

5) My pregnancy nausea has lifted enough in the last 2 weeks that I can enjoy food again! I’ve missed our special times together, food.

6) My husband is truly wonderful and only gets better with time.

7) I haven’t had a migraine in so long I can barely remember how awful it was. What an unspeakable blessing!

Okay, can I get churchy on you for just one second? The Bible advocates partying in a crisis. Oh, yes it does! Psalm 23:5 says: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” That’s Israel’s King David celebrating the fact that in the middle of a war, God says “Time out!” and throws out a banquet spread. Awesome! Go find that bottle of wine you were saving for a special occasion.

Times are really hard, but is it ever as bad as we fear it will be? (I’m preaching to myself here.) What are you celebrating today?

Beyond the Recession/Depression/Cluster…

I just heard a third radio program discussing how maybe the media shouldn’t be discussing the possibility that this is a depression, because it might freak people out. Does spending an hour of airtime apologizing for possibly eroding consumer confidence by discussing the erosion of consumer confidence make up for the fact that you’re unnecessarily eroding consumer confidence by discussing it? Wtf, people? To move forward, we need to spend time planning for the future, not just pinpointing exactly how bad things are and adding to the hysteria. /mediarant>

Let’s look ahead. Beyond this recession/depression/cluster fudge is a gleaming future that, at least temporarily, does not involve nuclear war and destruction of this lovely planet. What are you doing, what am I doing, to prepare for it? For one, I’m not opening those stinking quarterly statements! Provided the stock market doesn’t utterly collapse, and I guess I do believe there still will BE a stock market in ten or twenty years, my portfolio will recover. If we keep investing now, hopefully we will be able to take advantage of historically low stock prices and make a bundle to retire on…someday. How low is low enough for you to start investing in the market? Are you already?

What are you doing to recession-proof your career? Do you believe there is anything you can do?

Are you considering moving? Do you think you might have to? What are you willing to sacrifice, or what have you had to sacrifice already, to stay afloat or to position yourself for the future?

Are you like my Twitter buddy @shelisrael, who believes cities like Detroit are in a prime position for a revival? Are you fleeing the burbs or Rust Belt to move closer to coastal or Southern cities? Downsizing? Stuck in your McMansion with a fat mortgage?

As nervous as I am that my beloved Michigan will be totally left behind in the next fifty years as the country’s economy shifts, I’m also quite curious to see how things will look in 2 years, 10 years. And I’d really like to know that someone out there is thinking ahead and facing the future. Let me know how you’re doing and what you’re up to in Comments.