BIG NEWS: DOW Hits 14,000!
NOT BIG NEWS: The price of a 16 oz. package of cheddar
cheese at the military commissary rose 56%. All dairy has skyrocketed in price
this week, and is expected to climb even higher.
On the contrary, this is big news to me, and many others
like me who are living on a modest fixed income. Unlike most older retired
Americans living on a pension, as a military retiree, I am entitled to shop on
military bases and take advantage of the lower prices. Even with this
advantage, as recently as yesterday, I discovered that my entire monthly budget is now in
serious peril. Am I over exaggerating? You decide.
With the possible exception of one or two impulse items, I
buy the same groceries the first of each month. I have grown accustomed to
spending $120-$140 each trip. Yesterday, my total was $220! Needless to say, I
was shocked. There had to be some gross error on the part of the cashier, so
once outside, I took the time to study my receipt. CHEESE LOUISE! What instantly jumped out at
me was the price of the cheese I bought. It had always been $1.79. Today it cost me $3.03!
Out of curiosity, I stopped at a Publix grocery store on my
way home to compare a few prices to determine if the increases were solely due
to military commissary price increases, or had there been an increase over the entire food
industry. Who would notice? After all, it's not big news like stories that impact our lives most, such as the Golden Globes, or the upcoming Super Bowl. Nonetheless, the same package of cheddar cheese at Publix that I had just
purchased for $3.03 ($1.79 last week) on base, was selling for $4.19, an almost
penny for penny increase in price. Yes, I'm afraid it's everywhere.
In comparison, I was still saving by shopping on base, but
it begs the same question as the DOW hitting 14,000: What next? Incomes have
not been tracking along with increases in living expenses. In fact, they have
not been increasing at all, and for over a very long period of time.
Speaking of food, here's some food for thought (at no extra
cost!):
Gun control is being made a top issue within the government,
and I believe its primarily due to the signs of the times becoming more clear
to those in power every day. The world economy is suffering. Countries are on the verge of economic collapse. Our own economy is based on consumer confidence and spending, and consumers are quickly losing confidence and discovering that their typical consumption is getting more costly by the day.
The DOW cannot possibly continue to grow. In fact, there is rumor that as much as a 90% correction (downward) is expected to happen over the next couple years. Don't believe this? Well, many American billionaires believe it, as they have silently begun to sell off their holdings in American businesses. Google it!
The "haves" have had their giant glut at the expense of the entire nation. When the bottom drops out, and it will, the "haves" will be in want of nothing, save continuing runaway profits. But, more profit won't matter then, as they have already maxed out in relationship to the rest of the poor, hungry suckers of the world.
The "have nots" will be scrambling for survival. Civil disobedience like only imagined, or seen in the movies, will erupt from sea to shining sea. Sing songs of praise and
salute the flag with all the pride you can muster, if it makes you feel better about
yourself and the world in which you now live. Continue to dwell in denial, if you so choose, but the truth remains the truth,
regardless.
A growing population in this great land continues to feel
the negative effects of government's long term failure to govern in the best interest of the people, rather than those of banking and big business. People are growing more concerned every day over prospects for a brighter future,
and fear that the time will soon be at hand when they can no longer meet the needs of their families. It would be wise to no
longer ignore that a large percentage of our fellow countrymen are being expected by the government, and the filthy rich, to carry
an ever increasing weight upon their backs: ever increasing costs, never rising wages. A breaking point must inevitably be reached.
When they can no longer fill their tanks with gas AND
adequately feed their families, without having to make extremely difficult choices...
something's going to give. I don't know about you, but to me, the writing is clearly on the wall, it's clearly at the gas pumps, and I clearly saw it yesterday on my
grocery receipt.
What, if anything, is being done by those in power "to insure a more
perfect union," other than continuing to chip away at the unalienable rights of its citizenry, and continuing to posture for the ultimate formation of a police
state?" This could never happen in America, you say? I say that the basic instinct for human survival will trump any laws, or words ever written upon a historic document ... every time, without fail.
When will YOU rebel and stop going to the pumps because the price of
gas has gotten too high? When will YOU rebel and stop buying cheese because the price has
gone way beyond reason? When will YOU stand up and say enough is enough? What is YOUR breaking point? What action(s) are you prepared to take in order to insure your survival? The survival of your family?
As intelligent, responsible, and concerned citizens, we must raise our voices and be heard before it is too
late. Sadly, it may already be too late. We must demand our rights and governance in the interest of "we the people," and for our children's future, before the voices of reason still remaining in our cities and countrysides are drowned out
by the sound of gunfire thundering across the land, "Enough is enough!"
Peace, and may the odds be ever in your favor.
~gj duerrschmidt
