Bailout $3.1Trillion not $700 Billion

So after reading the text of the draft proposal for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 over at the New York Times I found a few peculiar lines, the first

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

So, what exactly is section 3101 of title 31 in the United States Code? This can be found here

TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE

              SUBTITLE III--FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

                    CHAPTER 31--PUBLIC DEBT

               SUBCHAPTER I--BORROWING AUTHORITY

Sec. 3101. Public debt limit

(a) In this section, the current redemption value of an obligation
issued on a discount basis and redeemable before maturity at the option
of its holder is deemed to be the face amount of the obligation.
(b) The face amount of obligations issued under this chapter and the
face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed
by the United States Government (except guaranteed obligations held by
the Secretary of the Treasury) may not be more than $8,184,000,000,000,
outstanding at one time, subject to changes periodically made in that
amount as provided by law through the congressional budget process
described in Rule XLIX \1\ of the Rules of the House of Representatives
or otherwise.

So it appears that we are increasing the amount of debt we are allowed to take on from $8.184 Trillion to
$11.315 Trillion. That is an increase of $3.131 Trillion not the $700 Billion everyone was talking about!

Even more frightening is section 8, which speaks for itself

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Folks we just got robbed. By the way have you checked out how well wall street
reacted to this being passed? The Dow Jones Industrial average is now plummeting
below Mondays crash. Just in time for the weekend for everybody to mull over their
finances and realize they want out of the market. Watch for the coming collapse.

11 hours 34 minutes 27 Seconds

If you have Comcast internet this will be what you are paying for per month with the new 250gb cap. Less than half a day of constant use. At the advertised 6mbps.

Consumerism: The downfall of mankind

Consumerism is destroying the USA.

Consumerism defined in merriam-websters dictionary as "the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods"

Take a moment and ponder what it means to be a consumer. In my opinion, being a consumer means buying things that are wants more than things that are needs. In America it seems that most people fall into this category of placing a higher value on things that are wanted rather than things that are needed.

So what? In America most people can satisfy their human needs with lots of money left over for things that they "want" or desire. Is there anything wrong with this?

Yes, and no. The problem with this situation is that we have been successfully misguided as an entire culture into believing that material possessions bring us happiness. There is nothing wrong with spending money on something that a person "wants" as long as the individual spending the money realizes that the "thing" they are purchasing will not bring them lasting happiness or joy. This is not the case, many people will buy useless items without really thinking about the decision because an impulse is generated inside of the individual that tells them "get this and your life will be better" The impulse is generated because of advertising. Advertisements use psychological tools to trick people into wanting things they never would have thought that they needed in their lives. Not only do ads trick people into thinking they need things they don't, they manipulate us to think that our lives are less valuable if we do not purchase the items being advertised.

So what is the problem with this? You might say, "our economy is based around this idea of consumerism and getting people to buy things they don't need"

Well for starters consumerism promotes deception. We are deceived into thinking that material possessions bring us happiness, even though all of us know that our lives do not get transformed when we buy the latest fashion clothes, cell phones, or name brand food.

What is worse than the deception is that consumerism literally suffocates our ability to make progress and undermines our individual happiness.

Think about the incredible amount of education this generation is receiving, more people are going on to college to get degrees than any time in history, yet the majority of all of the students hard work will have been in vain.

Many individuals pursue a "business degree" which essentially means they will be qualified to wear a suit and be told what to do, and tell others who wear less fancy suits what to do. These business people will work for company's like Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Hasbro, McDonalds, and many other companies whose products serve absolutely no use in society and are only desired because these companies create a demand for their products through advertisement. Most of the individuals will be unhappy working for these companies, many will be scape-goats for higherups screw ups, and many will suffer health consequences due to stress. Yet, society does not benefit from the existence of these companies. The products do not contribute to health or happiness of people. Sure these companies give people employment, but their net effect on society is to suck up more money from the people than they give out. That is how capitalism works, corporations suck up more money than they give out. So the people, although employed are worse off having these corporations around because their net effect is to siphon wealth from the general population.

Think about it this way. You work at a company that produces a delicious cookie product, you are a mid-level manager and you tell people what to do, coordinate shipments and take flak from customers. You are stressed out, and you are not satisfied with your job or your life. You work 40 or more hours a week, and you get a nice paycheck for it. With the little time you spend in your home, you watch television. There you are convinced that you will not be happy unless you spend your paycheck on new beauty products, electronics, and junk food. So you spend your paycheck on these things in hopes of becomming happier. These things do not make you happier yet you continue this cycle for decades, working at a job you do not enjoy so you can have enough money to buy things you don't need and do not bring you happiness.

Yet many people see this as the only way. People do not realize there is an alternative to this system.

Imagine a country where every single persons job directly benefited the population of that nation. Where instead of the "business degree" default, the default would be "Astronomical, Medical and Technological research."

Everybody in society has a useful role. An abundance of Doctors, Nurses, and Medical staff. Instead of wasting resources producing "fashion" and useless "toys" our resources could be used to keep everybody as healthy as possible, which is undeniably important if we want people to be happy. If resources are invested in the arts instead of junk food, the population can have their mental palette satisfied instead of their unhealthy urges. Think about it, do you feel more satisfied after spending $5 on a meal/slop at McDonalds, or spending $5 and an afternoon reading a good paperback book?

Our rate of scientific and technological advancement would increase drammatically, and as a result, knowledge about our health and our technology to improve it would increase our happiness.

Additionally we would have to work far less than what we work right now and spend much more time with family, and friends. More time to contemplate interesting thoughts, pursue hobbies, read and discuss.

Think about it, the fact that we have far more money to spend on things we don't need as opposed to things we do need means we are working far more than we need to.

Imagine how much happier people would be if they were in good health, intelligent, and had more time to spend doing the things that actually bring them happiness.

How can this be accomplished? How can this be organized? This is not some sort of system that the government can or will impose from the top down. In order for this to work the people in communities need to realize that getting rid of consumerism will actually make them happier. It would need to start within small communities where they make the decision to band together for mutual benefit and prosperity. Each community would need to take its own small steps to walk away from consumerism towards mutual propserity.

The first step:

TURN OFF THE TELEVISION IT IS A PROPAGANDA MACHINE AND WANTS NOTHING ELSE BUT TO BRAINWASH ALL OF US INTO BUYING INTO CONSUMERISM TO MAKE THE CEO'S RICH.