It's ALL About SUDS...
Today's post is coming in from left field, just so you know that unconventional thinking can often produce conventional reasoning, as well as logical conclusions.
Have you EVER wondered about the cost of everything these days?
Hell, of COURSE you have...we ALL have, and still do, daily I might add.
We fret over the cost of school supplies for the kids, grocery bills, utilities, mortgages, insurance, doctor visits, pet care, toiletries, vehicle maintenance...the list seems ENDLESS, doesn't it?
Well, you can add to the mix, something I've been concerned about for some time...
And that's DISHWASHING LIQUID!
That's right, you heard me correctly. Most all of our consumer-driven issues can be found in a bottle of dishwashing liquid.
Or perhaps I should say ON a bottle of dishwashing liquid.
A few years back, I noticed that the regular 99 cent bottle of d/w liquid contained about 14.7 oz of "suds".Not a bad deal for a buck, right? But something began to change...
I started to see that the bottle NOW listed the quantity as 13 oz!
What did they do to my other 1.4 oz?
The bottle was STILL 99 cents, but I was being robbed of that lowly ounce.
Yet, whatever "thief" that stole that ounce did NOT stop there, oh, no!
Recently, that 13 oz bottle quietly became an 11.7 oz bottle, and NOW, it's down to 10.3 oz.
I mean WTF is going on here, anyway?
I'm STILL forking over that (rapidly-devaluing) DOLLAR, and I keep getting less and less FOR that dollar.
That sure as hell ain't getting any MORE dishes cleaned, is it?
Same can be said for LAUNDRY detergent...that old 122 oz "jug" has been slimmed down to a mere 64 oz, claiming it's "new, improved...more concentrated...use less", or whatever other horseshit being dealt out to "WE, the consumers" these days.
Now, when I dump a load of clothes in the washer (yes, REAL men DO know their way around appliances OTHER than a fridge), I fully expect to see some SUDS when I pour in the detergent. To ME, it's simple:
SUDS = CLEAN
(Beer "suds" is another issue, entirely...LOL)
But what it all comes down to is paying the SAME amount, getting less, and still being expected to do AS MUCH as before.
Now, that's one dog that just ain't gonna hunt for me...how's about you?
It would seem that there IS a correlation between my DISHES or LAUNDRY...and the GOVERNMENT.
(Good, you figured out where I was going with all of this)
In our current economy, WE, the PEOPLE, are expected to do AS MUCH (or more) with less...and at a higher price than in times past.
That's all well and good...
(So, Bob...where's the "BUT", anyway?)
...BUT...
(There 'ya go)
WHY doesn't our GOVERNMENT see things the SAME WAY...or even ATTEMPT to do as WE are seemingly forced to do?
Why can't THEY do more with less, in order to drive DOWN the nation's debt, and rein in this cavalier attitude of spending one's way out of "hock"? Guess their elitist attitudes prevents them from making good, SOUND decisions...'ya think?
I think we should institute a program, whereby we get to take some government politician to OUR grocery and show THEM what it''s like to yank our financial belts a tad tighter weekly. And while there, make sure they're not grabbing things off the shelves, and dumping useless items into our cart.
(wow, that sure sounds like a session of our Porkulean Congress to me)
Think of it as something like the "shop with a cop" program we see around Christmas.
Only the politicians are a LOT more OUT OF TOUCH with mainstream America, while the police WORK in mainstream America.
I'm sorry, but all this budgetary bullshit from government makes me want to upchuck in my shorts!
I see and hear what THEY propose to do to alleviate our nation's financial problems, and I just cannot, with good conscience do likewise with our personal household income (besides, the wife thinks it's bad too, m'kay?).
I've even had to give up on getting that ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE I wanted because spending $175,000 will most certainly NOT get *us* out of debt...
All it WILL do is provide a larger shovel (no, make that a bloody FRONT-LOADER) with which to dig a far deeper hole OF debt.
(damn shame...that's a sweet ride, but does get lousy mileage, and the insurance is through the roof)
Now there IS that old saying that goes:
"You have to SPEND money to MAKE money."
All well and good, but that refers to making WISE monetary decisions to IMPROVE the ability of a person or company to make MORE profit. It doesn't mean you "blow the wad" on frivolous items, and then "claim" you're debt-free...or even close to it.
That's sheer folly!
But that's what is being thrust at us by our government, and we're supposed to BELIEVE that what they're doing is GOOD...and in OUR best interest. They spend...we profit.
I....don't quite think so.
Today's politicians (in general) have NO idea what WE have to endure on a daily basis. The disconnect has been in place for DECADES, and what is really needed is a real shift in political thinking regarding the citizens of this nation.
That doesn't mean we get everyone under some socialized umbrella of health care, nor does it mean we tell the seniors to "take a pill" and decrease our surplus population (to save health care costs). It doesn't mean we place automakers under the watchful eye of a "silent partner" called the government, nor does it mean we hand out entitlement programs to those too damn lazy to be anywhere close to productive, hand-over-fist. And it certainly doesn't mean we hand out money to BANKS so they can remain solvent when THEY were the ones that caused themselves to go down the crapper in the first place.
Our government NEEDS to back the hell up, get a fresh start, and get on with taking care of THIS NATION...period. Enough with dipping your fingers into the businesses' pies, and intrusion into everyone's life. Let the individual STATES take care of the smaller sh*t.
This is STILL the best nation on the damn planet, but some people have got this notion that it's OK to sell tickets for the wild ride into the financial abyss...
Sorry, this isn't Disneyland, and Washington, D.C. is NOT the "Magic Kingdom", unless you're inferring that we're becoming victims of DECEPTION by that government, elected to SERVE the people.
I suppose the definitive answer can best be found in our very own Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
This is not a plea for revolution or revolt, nor is this a call to arms.
It IS a cry for something called COMMON SENSE.
And just a LITTLE of it can go VERY far...kind of like dishwashing liquid.
Just don't keep downsizing the container in the process.
Stay safe out there, America.