We see a reports daily of how hard times are, but how accurate
are they?
Yes,
I know gas prices are ridiculously high, and yet according
to news reports there is no shortage of gas. Oil prices are
shooting up yet it’s been reported full oil tankers
waiting off shore are requesting assignment of where to unload.
Our citizens in the U.S. were asked to take the leading role
of UN forces in Libya. This request was made by the Arab nations.
Are we their puppet? They request we clean up their mess without
their help yet they not only offer no funding but increase
our cost for oil based upon the upheaval they requested. Something
is seriously wrong with this picture.
As
I see it, it is time to point out our need of OPEC oil is
limited. We could increase our oil imports from Canada
or even
better demand a larger amount for the U.S. from the offshore
wells in the Gulf. What percentage of oil taken from
Gulf rigs is actually delivered to the U.S. — without being billed
through another country? Why can’t more U.S. companies
take Gulf oil and produce the fuel we need here? If these questions
were addressed and answered, wouldn’t gas prices
go down?
If they would not we could be assured the high prices are unnecessary
and clearly driven by GREED.
Enough
about gas prices — but it is the No. 1 topic on
everyone’s mind.
How
can people complain about hard times, yet pay the high price
for large, flat screen TVs, Blue Ray,
3D
and all
the other electronic marvels? People are so addicted
to cell
phones and electronic devices they can’t
be without them.
On my recent trip to Phoenix, a flight attendant had to argue
repeatedly with a passenger about turning off his electronics.
He was so loud and combative, she had to threaten to put him
off the plane.
As
I traveled through two major airports, Miami and Phoenix,
I found it hard to believe how many
people
are flying
around the country — yet saying times
are tough. The cost of tickets is three times
what
they were
not that long
ago, yet
planes are packed full. Seating space has again
been reduced to make room for more passengers
to squeeze
in.
Doesn’t
it seem an insult to be charged, on top of the high price
of the ticket, fees
to send
your
luggage? These
fees have created a run on large carry-on
bags that somehow are allowed on. Many of them could
not fit
in the device
intended to measure them.
So
it cost more to fly, plus added fees and there is NO FOOD
offered on a 4-1/2 hour
flight, not
even a
snack (which
you
would have to pay for). Of course you could
pay twice as much and travel first class,
where you
still get
treated very well — food,
wine and roomy seats. Times may be tough, but airports can’t
expand fast enough to meet our demand.
Another surprise about tough times I encountered was when I
toured Hoover Dam. It was a Tuesday and the place was jammed.
You spent $7 to park and if you wanted to enter the Visitor
Center, there was another fee, and so on. Yep, times must be
hard, but if so, how do so many people find ways to spend so
much?
Another
reason I wondered how tough times really are is when I visited
Las Vegas.
You literally
could not
walk
down the
Boulevard — it was so jammed
with people, many of them young. The
casinos
I visited
were packed,
even on
a week
day. There were no big conventions
in town or new shows opening. The shows
I attended
were
almost
sold out.
Are
times really so bad? If people can afford to travel, visit
Hoover
Dam and
Las Vegas,
they must
have funding,
so why do
we keep saying times are so bad?
You may be wondering how I get to do all
of the
above. For one thing,
I worked my
butt
off all of my life (and am still
at it). For
another, I don’t
whine about how tough I have it, matter of fact I’m
pretty grateful to be doing as well
as I am.
OK — back to earth and Huron County, where times really
are tough, but let me assure you it’s
not that bad in other parts of
the country.