What is Gramm Smokin'????

So, we are ok, yup, but as I've mentioned before, many of our neighbors are not.

Gramm Calls Slow-Down "Mental"

So, what is former Sen. Phil Gramm smoking???
He might want to share with those who really are crushed beneath the weight of mortgages, groceries, and fuel.

EDIT: Marketing has convinced one and almost all that wants are NEEDS. This is a tremendous problem, as most of our friends recognize.

As long as "the drug of the nation" (Do I really need to repost the U2 "Zoo Station" video from D.C. again???") pumps up the consumerism volume, a large majority of people will feel they have a right to buy what ever they want.

Please recognize that home mortgage (ARM?!?), grocery and fuel costs ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE INFLATION INDEX NUMBERS. When these prices escalate rapidly, people feel the pinch, the smack, the knock-out, depending upon their situation.

Know what? If something is uncomfortable, people tend to whine. Yes, I whine a bit when I fill up, or when I see the register total after buying enough food for a family of 7. Gramm is right about this... we have a multitude of other options. After a little "whine at dinner," we tend to do what I suspect Gramm had in mind--- buck up, knuckle down, get to work.

Here's the problem, IMHO. I strongly suspect others might really be crying. The concern becomes not whether or not I have enough things... it becomes, "Do I have any extra tissue, hugs, or dinner on hand." This is a love your neighbor as yourself things for me. Not politics.