As most of you know my dog Darcie has been around a long time. She's at least 18 years old and unlike some people I know, she does not lie about her age. She's proud of it, in fact.
The last real financial meltdown we had was in the late 80's before Darcie was born. Granted she was around for the waning days of the first Bush administration, but she really cut her teeth during the go-go 90s. Her only real down turn was after the Internet bubble crashed in '01.
We've been discussing the most recent turn of events on our morning walks.
Politically speaking, Darcie is a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. As such, these last eight years have been particularly hard on her. On the fiscal side some things have never made much sense to her.
For instance; she's never really figured out how you can spend more money than you make. It seems to Darcie that this is not sustainable. Sure, she'd love to be sporting a rhine stone collar and sleeping in her own bed on monogrammed sheets but isn't it more important to make sure that there is enough money for the mortgage, health insurance, good food and tuition for her real master's college 
education?
Darcie has always been an advocate of paying herself, first. She makes sure she always puts a little away for the future before she indulges herself with treats. Many times I've seen her take a choice morsel out in the back yard and bury it for later enjoyment. So, when she hears from me that as a nation we have a negative savings rate she simply shakes her head.
Darcie doesn't even have a credit card. And she really can't understand why so many supposedly smart people have them and use them so injudiciously. And it really makes her mad that credit card companies have suckered so many people into huge amounts of debt.
And frankly, Darcie doesn't know a credit default swap from a crank shaft and she's amazed that so many "smart" people don't really understand them either.
On the political scene, like most of us, she's plain disgusted. Just like individual families that spend more than they make, how can the government do the same thing and not expect that someone, sometime, will have to pay the piper.
Trickle down economics eludes her, too. Let's see; if we give the wealthiest people and corporations huge tax breaks then that will somehow help everyone else. As a fiscal conservative she's not for tax increases mind you, but in her opinion we'll need to give the tax breaks to the people and corporations that need them and that can help us out of the current mess we are in.
As far as taxes in general, Darcie sees them as something we need as a society. She's not for wasteful spending, mind you, but she loves to quote Oliver Wendall Holmes on the subject. "I like paying taxes," Mr Holmes said."With them I buy civilization."
Darcie would love to see the hundreds of billions in tax incentives that have gone to the big oil companies go to the new companies that will develop the alternative energy sources of the future. That would create a huge number of new jobs which would increase tax revenues and help us out on the global warming front, too.
On the subject of the whole bailout she has mixed emotions. She's finds it ironic that the "Free Market solves everything crowd" now needs a socialist safety net to save their bacon. She'd like to see some fat cats in cuffs, eventually. But she also understands that the whole financial system is kind of like a dog's cardiovascular system. When a dog has a heart attack they need CPR fast. Without it the patient ends up with no financial worries or worries of any kind, for that matter.
Her only issue with TARP is one of execution. The devil really is in the details on this one.
As far as our condition as a family, Darcie did ask that I reassure her on one note. I wouldn't force her to eat cheap dog food would I?
I was somewhat taken aback by the question. I thought I had always talked about value over price with Darcie. We buy dog food on a per calorie and ingredient quality basis not on price per pound. It makes good nutritional sense and good economic sense I told her.
"I know" she said, "I just wanted to hear you say it. And by the way, as far as all my thoughts on our current financial situation, what do I know, I'm just a dog after all."
A wise old dog, I think.
Hello!
My name is Millionaire Maverick and I am a Golden Retreiver/yellow lab mix. I too, am dealing with the financial situation in the real estate world. Please check out our blog and see what I have to say! I feel that we will be turning around real soon, but as a real estate investor, this is a great time to be buying!
Thanks and great article!
Posted by: Maverick | October 11, 2008 at 09:53 AM