New Year's rant

[David Ilvedson]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Time to read Walden again...

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California





Original message
From: "Susan Kline" 
To: pianotech 
Received: 1/2/2006 10:45:34 AM
Subject: Re: New Year's rant


Dale, you're a gentleman -- 

I think that your kids will get a reprieve from those high house prices=
 at some point. When prices are so high that nobody can buy, even with =
funny-money mortgages, nobody will. Prices may simply collapse, gracefu=
lly or awkwardly depending on how much nerve today's speculators have. =
If everyone rushes to the exits at the same time, it could get very mes=
sy. 

Interesting that the state managed to end up in a situation where house=
 prices reversed the devastations of Prop. 13 for them. Sort of like ho=
w globalization reversed most of the gains achieved by unions back in t=
he 30's. 

I think that part of the reason for the tangled bureaucratic mess so ma=
ny people are getting smothered in is that it is human nature to demand=
 the impossible. We make demands on our supporting institutions which n=
o one could fulfill. We ask doctors to cure everything without disturbi=
ng our lifestyles. They unfortunately think that they must pretend that=
 they are able to work miracles. Miracles are in short supply -- so peo=
ple sue. Then the lawyers have full employment, but health insurance (w=
hich has pretended that it can pay for anything at all) starts to fall =
apart. So people demand that government take a hand, for instance with =
the seniors' drug subsidies -- and now government is so deeply in debt =
that its unfunded liabilities already taken on, to be paid to us all in=
 the future as our group gets older and sicker, come to several hundred=
 TRILLION dollars. No one -- NO ONE -- is ever going to see this money!=
 The Fed is issuing T-bills hand over fist just to pay the interest on =
our _present_ debt, and some "helpful" foreigners are buying them. (Wha=
t saps -- if they don't, the T-bills they were foolish enough to buy al=
ready will turn into wallpaper.) 

So, my thought is -- seeing that this bandwagon everybody is piling ont=
o is about to suffer a one-hoss-shay collapse -- better to hop off volu=
ntarily before one gets trapped in the wreckage. So I "just say no" to =
various "benefits" which I don't feel are all that big a favor. I'd muc=
h rather have a stove which can get warm from old dried-out apple and g=
rape prunings, instead of some future federally-funded heat-bill-assist=
ance program 20 years from now. (you know, from the bankrupt gov't run =
by spendthrifts?) 

YMMV, as they say. No blame to people who still try to depend on the sy=
stem. Who knows, it may last us out ... or not. What I want to do, that=
 I'm very slow at getting done, is to get more fertile soil and perenni=
al food plants going in this little yard. Better than assuming that pro=
duce from all over the world will always be there, cheap, in the stores=
, nicely picked by the helpful but poorly paid foreigners.

To sum up: I'm trying to move my resources into "real" stuff, instead o=
f paper promises. No tapping into home equity -- I'd rather have the re=
al house. And when I fretted over the cost of the masonry stove, I thou=
ght about how little those dollars would be worth in five years if I ju=
st put them into bonds or bank CD's. Very hard to inflate or charge int=
erest on soapstone. <grin> 

Susan 



  
  Susan 
    I feel like  it's easy to relate to your frustration to some extent=
  with all the high every things you mentioned.     Who can't? 
   With our favorite federal tax orgs. merry go round, greedy state tax=
es ridiculous regulations, real estate prices etc.  It can make life ve=
ry difficult to say the least . It does require balance & budget. I sti=
ll love Calif. &the job but dislike the State of things in business unf=
riendly Calif.  No wonder you left. 
  & now real estate has launched a whole generation (my  kids) into bei=
ng potentially permanent renters.  What a drag. 
  I realized that all over, that the State/local the gov. coffers have =
been raking in property tax revenues now at twice  to 3 times the rate =
because of rising property prices & hence property taxes.  Yet Every on=
e is still claiming shortfall.  I smell somethin........   Workmans com=
p... what a joke.
  
 What I respect about your post is that you have thought it thru & deci=
ded & articulated very well what works best for you.  Many folks never =
have. Your business model works for you in your ecomomic climate.  Good=
 for you.  I've know you a long time & I bet you don't work for free an=
y more than I do.  When or if we do its' for our own chosen reasons. 
It's good to hear from one who has been instrospective enough to decide=
 what is important to them & is doing the way that just makes then feel=
 good inside. 
   The best of things to you Susan 
   Dale Erwin 
 

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/81/38/5f/c2/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--