Economy and opportunity

They are expecting the November jobs lost to total over 325,000 and the Bush administration still claims that further deregulation is the best course. At this point, we've seen that the banking bailout was irresponsibly handled, and the demands made for bailout by the auto industry are meeting with deaf ears. It is the old white collar, blue collar divide. If the bankers want something, billions in cash, we throw it to them in big lumps without accountability, even knowing that future generations will be forced to pay. If the auto industry is trying to keep jobs and production, we make the CEOs grovel and present plans down to the penny and then weasel out if we can.

The interesting thing is that the banking bailout money may quickly go where the rest of the money on Wall St. went, up in smoke. If we bail out the auto industry, they will continue to make cars that turn the natural environment into smoke.

So clearly change is needed at both ends of the spectrum.

If you get busy this year and make holiday gifts as I've suggested, there will be a further shrinking of the economy. So, of course, it is irresponsible of me to suggest that we avoid the shopping malls and make things instead. The situation we face is not easy and I offer us all my condolences and congratulations.

If we are concerned about the quality of our lives, and the lives of our children, I suggest that we would find greater meaning in smaller homes, with fewer electronic entertainment distractions and greater capacity to make. A great pair of pliers can be a great gift that enables rather than just entertains. A good hammer can last a lifetime. A screwdriver will allow entry to restricted innards revealing wonders. Taking apart old stuff can be far more entertaining than the play with new gizmos.

We are at a crossroads, where we meet the road least traveled. It offers greater simplicity, smaller, more intimate scale, and responsible relationship to the natural environment. And in these we will find wisdom and joy.