As I was working out yesterday I watched various airings of the inauguration. People who braved freezing temps and a long day were obvious supporters. Those who sat at home throwing things at the TV and kicking the dog were on the other end of the spectrum. For both a dose of reality….for better or worse.

 

I have spoken before of cognitive therapy. It basically says you are acting in an abnormal way. Forget about whether you were toilet trained properly, this is life. Now let’s deal with it. Let’s substitute rational thinking for the aberrant. Takes a lot less time and gets to the point. I could set up shop in a lot of places.

 

The incredible demonstration of Lance Armstrong was a good case in point. I heard the words. The fact he doth protested too much for the last ten years notwithstanding I still had this strange feeling he was a long way to dealing with reality. He didn’t consider it cheating. He did it because everyone else does. Ditto Barry Bonds, Marc McGuire et al. 

 

When we were away and especially in New Zealand you had the overpowering feeling  that the Down Unders really took life as it came. Sure they had hopes and dreams but they were not obsessive. They didn’t dress hiply or drive fancy cars but they really seemed to be having a good time.

 

I have been constantly amazed at Koreans and Vietnamese who have come to this country to make a new life. You know the ones that have built businesses through hard work and putting money away. Many left degrees and assets at home to forge their and their children’s future. They work their asses off and become successful in their ventures. No whining aloud.

 

Many of us have been hit by the recession, yours truly not withstanding. These shots have been both corporate and personal. People have lost homes, fortunes, farms and businesses. Let’s just get it straight. Congress, finical institutions, Clinton, appraisers and yes the buying public are all to blame. Unfortunately the consumer was the only group to pay the piper. Sucks, but that is life. 

 

Some have moved on and moved. Some have cut their losses and tried to find a new way. Some have stayed on the dole for two years. Others have financed that dole. A lot of people don’t seem to get it. Easy for you to say TTG. you just got from being away for a month. The only way that worked was for a cruise line facing reality of empty cabins made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. 

 

The Congress and yes the President, don’t seem to be able to accept what is really going on. For that reason we are $16 trillion in debt. I find it repulsive that we have have put off decision making for another three months. How can you negotiate for months on end and not be able to come up with a solution? Are ideologues on both sides so drunk with their own self importance and principle to not be able to see the writing on the wall?

 

Clinton, Frank, and …got the ball rolling by putting everyone in a house. Bush exacerbated things by waging two wars and cutting taxes at the same time. Pelosi and Reid got every pet project funded. McConnell and Cantor played to their base. And all the while the bills kept piling up and accusations and gridlock ensued. 

 

I read with great interest with an article about how the Vatican is trying to silence an Irish priest because of all the heinous things that have transpired in the church he is advocating woman priests. Yet at the same time the former archbishop of LA was complicit for years in transferring abusive priests. The church in Rome is infallible in one respect. They don’t have any sense of reality.

 

The rich have got to realize this disconnect of well being has got to be addressed. You cannot and I repeat cannot have execs compensated at 400 times the average salary. That is not so much an injustice(which it really is and you know it) but economic insanity. Sooner or later those hefty profits are going to be drastically affected in our consumer led society. The middle and lower class ain’t going to have any money to spend.

 

The poor at the same time have to come to grips with the fact Daddy Warbucks is hemmorhaging from every vein in his body. There is no free lunch. No you are not owed. You are not entitled. We will help but not support you in the way you are accustomed. Everyone has to take a hit. Ask yourself, “How did those Koreans and Vietnamese et al make it without the proverbial pot or even knowing the language?” 

 

We are slowly coming back to life. Our life before was a bit of a fantasy and if you were lucky enough to take part, good for you. If you never made it, no one ever promised you a rose garden. That may seem cold but it is true. 

 

If there is anything you take away form this I hope you realize reality doesn’t suck. I know it is trite but just look around you. There is a thing called the greater good. Unfortunately we are far from it. Rich,poor. Gay, straight. Black,white. Conservative, liberal. We all have to give up something. Reality is like that….and hopefully addictive.

 

As always

Ted The Great.

Factoids:

Lance Armstrong is worth $125 million. There is a more than good chance he could lose all of it in settlements. 

 

Phil Mickelson made $48 million  in 2012. He is thinking of moving because his taxes are too high. After taxes he probably only made $20 million. And he is whining.Tell that to the weekend duffer.

 

The US Senate has not approved a budget for four years. They get an automatic pay raise every Jan 1. They have refused pay cuts saying it would have no effect on the economy. They have a three day work week and ample adjournments throughout the year. They are not in Social Security. They have their own retirement system with a full pension.  Need I say more.

 

The US pays approximately $800 billion per year in welfare benefits of all sorts. That is $168 per day to families below the poverty line. That’s $40,000 plus per annum.