OK, perhaps I get your point about having a what-the-hell-attitude to defaulting on debt to some large faceless corporation, but down the line somewhere in that corporation is a Mr/Mrs Joe Bloggs (plus family)who loses his job because profits are down.

From our own situation “downsizing” has involved moving from the UK to France: setting-up and trying to run a business in a foreign language/culture, living in a house which we cannot afford to do up and which by UK (let alone US) standards would definitely be termed uninhabitable – cracked windows, exposed electric wiring, no heating… But we no longer have a mortgage and very very little credit (this only necessary because of people/larger companies witholding payments to us). I can pretty much say we are happier now. We have space and freedom. Our children are bilingual, they go to small intimate schools, are learning to appreciate good food! France doesn’t seem quite as bitten by the superficial materialistic bug as in the UK. It doesn’t bother me that I drive around in a battered car that has seen better days, that I hardly ever buy new clothes, that I can’t afford to have my hair cut more than once or twice a year. But life is still a huge struggle – there are still utilities to pay and food to buy – and a huge part of our monthly outgoings is to insurance companies – the biggest parasites/crooks of all. My husband worries hugely about finances but I know neither him or me could contemplate defaulting on payments. Then again that’s probably why we’re still where we are in the grand scheme of things: we’re just not ruthless enough… the meek certainly won’t inherit the earth.

We have a fiscal perfect storm heading our way with 1/4 of the population ready to retire, health care costs that year after year outstrip the inflation rate and a national debt that would choke a heard of elephants. Not to mention the unfunded medicare and social security obligations.

Joe

Though you may feel a certain “responsibility” to cover a wide range of topics, it seems that what people appreciate is just getting a genuine sense of who you are, and of how your voice resonates with the concerns of our time.

I want to respond to everyone but it’s a lot of work trying to keep all of these pieces coming on the website — a mix of politics, poetry, film, Hollywood, un-Hollywood, et cetera. Trying to just be human in the strange world that we all live in — and to sense increasingly how the voices that have been speaking here are from all over the world — it makes me aware of how close together we all are on this planet, really.

I hope I’m making some sense. I’ve been shooting all day in the rain out here in LA. It was colder than it should have been for Southern California and I’m pretty much exhausted — but I wanted to express my gratitude.

I also agree with what Topsey said below about the Tea Party movement. As misguided and devoid of ideas as they are, the Tea Partiers do know how to organize and stick to a message, which is something that those of us on the other side of the aisle have repeatedly (and inexcusably!) failed at. Right now, unfortunately, our greatest unifier is our general frustration. But another thing I’m hopeful about is that that will change, and when it does, when we start to rally around ideas instead of emotions, we’ll start to make some progress in this country… Fingers crossed!