Monday, July 18, 2011

Baby Lightening Bug!!

I found this cute little thing on my door I just had to share:


You probably can't tell by looking at it but it's super small, about a third the size of a full grown lighting bug.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Americas middle class doomed

This article got my attention, it basically states that the U.S. middle class is systematically being eliminated.  This is of no surprise to some but I feel that most Americans in the U.S. are in denial to what is happening to them.  The last time I took the train in to work I had this weird feeling of being part of a herd of cattle.  Seriously there were easily 50 people getting off the train and we were funneling ourselves up the stairs to reach street level so we can all hurry to our jobs.  Granted maybe some were not going to work but I'm sure a large part of us were.  


The rich get richer while the poor get poorer...it's the story of the peoples lives in the states.  People risk their lives to come here for the "American Dream", that dream they are longing for is not for everyone.  The working class has to work, we have no choice about it.  If we don't work then we don't survive and our children don't survive.  We our bound by our need to get food on the table a roof over our heads and the desire to give our children more than what we had.  Our homes are owed to banks and our childrens education depends on how much we can promise to pay back.  The corporations we work for get richer while we barely make ends meet much less accomplish financial freedom.  As we work to pay for what we need we are also required to work for a period of years or until a certain age before we can "retire".  When we are finally able to retire we are too tired and can't afford to do much with our new found free time.  We are essentially self supported slaves.  Freedom, peace of mind and the "American Dream" is for the rich not the rest of us. 


Let's face it, big corporations only care about themselves and the bottom line.  They don't care about their employees or their families, as long as the labor is cheap it means more money for them.  It sucks really.  We have no say, or do we?  They say that every time we make a purchase it is essentially a vote.  If that is the case then I'm voting American.  By American I mean the continent not just the U.S. of A.  I'll admit I try hard to only by American or Mexican when I go to the grocery store.  If the fruit or vegetable comes from another continent, I'm not buying and I try to buy local.  There was a time I needed garlic but all they had was garlic from CHINA (yup China), so I didn't buy garlic.  I waited and waited and waited.  I waited a couple months, then I got sick and really needed that garlic...so I gave in an bought China grown garlic.  When it comes to other products though.  It's super hard to do.  This weekend was my first attempt to buy an American made gift for a birthday party.  Almost every single item of clothing at target is made in Indonesia or Malaysia.  Every single toy I grabbed was made in China.  I got excited when I saw a shirt made in Mexico but it didn't have a tag and it was only one piece of clothing.  I had to give in, toy made in China it is.


I honestly think that if we want to keep our economy going and we want to help the Americas we need to start demanding that we want American made products.  I would much rather buy something that was made/grown on the same continent as were I live than from across the world.  So I'm going to make an honest effort to do this.  I don't know how well this is going to go but I'm gonna try.  My first choice is made in the U.S.A., second will be hecho en Mexico third will be any country on our side of the world.  If I were living in Mexico I think I would do the same thing.  Buy Mexican first then American.  If we all tried to do that wouldn't that demand change?  Wouldn't corporations have no choice but to start producing closer to home?  Wouldn't that help the economy in the U.S and Mexico?  Wouldn't making Mexicos economy better create more jobs and lessening the need for dangerous migration to the U.S.?  If people had better options would they seek violent jobs with the cartels?  I would hope not.


I believe that people are willing to do the right thing if it's in their grasp.  I would like to think that these people joining violent groups for the good pay would rather do honest work.  The Cartels pay well, the highest start pay I read was 48,000 pesos a month, that's almost 4,400 dollars a month.  That's a lot of money even in the U.S.