State of the Nation 2

State of the Nation 2

Never want to upstage someone as important as the leader of the free world.  I only mean that in the sense of posting my perspective of where the Nation is at, following his State of the Union speech.

• Every once in a while aging does come with benefits:  knowing from experience what to expect with regard to a pep talk (which a State of the Union speech is meant to be).  When you hear enough of this speeches and then live through the period of time that follows you learn to read between the lines. 
• I would be the last person to say that a politician lies but they do embellish, and you have to give them credit, they are optimistic about how they can improve things with their plans for us.
• If you want to get a real feeling for how the nation is doing you should consider that not everyone is affected in the same exact way at the same exact time by prevailing conditions, political or otherwise. 
• I’ve always measure improvements by getting it down to the lowest common denominator.  First of all, how am I (my home) doing since the last State of the Union speech?  The next level might be to access the status of your job or business.  The next most important measure to an individual should be, the family.  How are your children doing?  How are your brothers and sisters doing?  How about your parents:  the ones that can least afford a negative condition in the state of the nation. 
• Before you counter; some of our elderly that have had a nice life may actually be in better shape economically to withstand a temporary downturn in the economy.  However, generally speaking elderly population with a fixed incomes have limited ability to withstand even temporary downturns.
• Now for the tools to measure how we are doing.  Take a look at the property tax statement for your home if you are one of the fortunate people to own or to be buying your home.  You can usually see a comparison from your past property valuation to your next increase or decrease in valuation, and taxes due.  Take a look at your bank account is your savings stable or has it been declining?  Check your credit card balances are your credit card balances down or up? 
• Certain things affect us all equally, as an example the unusually cold weather we are experiencing in parts of the nation.  According to some news reports utility bills are doubling in some areas because of the extreme and prolonged cold weather.  If your personal situation is stable, you should be able to withstand the fluctuation in your utility bills, but if you are not doing well, it could be the difference between buying groceries and keeping warm.

The next time you hear a politician discuss how the government is going to provide the free anything (in this case 2 years of community college) ask yourself where, is the money coming from.  If you can’t make a logical conclusion just look in the mirror (we the people are the government).

Here is a perfect example of government salesmanship and misinformation that our grandchildren will still be paying for in their lifetime: 

• The Bush administration estimated the war would cost $50 to $60 billion, including the costs of reconstruction and clean up. As of 2013, the Cost of War Project estimates the war has cost $1.7 trillion—nearly 30 times the pre-war estimate. That cost doesn't factor in future costs of veterans' care, which push the total to more than $2.1 trillion. The Veterans Administration spending related to Iraq—which totals $45 billion—is almost as much as the Bush administration's overall cost estimate.  ~U.S News & World Reports ~Seth Cline

It turns out that I am not reporting the State of the Nation, instead I am giving you some ideas on how to evaluate on your own.  Having read State of the Nation post, how are you and yours doing?  The best is yet to come……