First Post! Leaving LiveJournal and a Sad State of Affairs...

Posting here is almost sacrilegious. I've been a die-hard LiveJournaler for almost eight years, now. LiveJournal's recent sale to SUP, however, has me concerned about the future of the LiveJournal community especially with regard to the ownership of content, so it's time for me to move on.

Sadly, I wish my first post on Blogger was something a bit more pleasant, however I'm here to say that I think the U.S. economy has gone past the point of no return, and it is now time for the United States to slowly spiral toward becoming a has-been world leader, much like the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Turkey are. Certainly they're not third-world countries, but they're still a shadow of their former selves.

I'm certain that the final nail in the coffin is the final price tag of the Iraq War. Certainly, this is far from a new insight into things, however there can't be a return to dominance and toward a kinder, gentler world leadership that we could have had. The value of the dollar, the price of a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas (which aren't directly related), the amount of outstanding debt...

I think the tax credits we'll be receiving later this year are also a contribution toward never returning to power. Too many people will be placated with their $600 apiece to realize that the money is just a loan against the future of the government that will eventually by paid by someone, only the amount will be much larger due to the interest.

And also, the government's willingness to bail out Bear Stearns for mismanagement indicates that the government thinks it can afford to spend, spend spend, still.

Me? Well, it'd be foolish to turn down the $1500 I'll be receiving for my family. It'll go right into my bank account and join my rainy day funds, which are slowly but surely accruing. Right now, in savings, I have slightly more than two months of gross pay, equivalent to about nine months of mortgage. Last year, I paid down my mortgage a bit with any extra cash I had, but not this time... this year, I think it'll be more valuable to be liquid.