The state of things...

It's been a few weeks since I've written in this journal. Strange, too, because I haven't done shit. I've been so lazy these last few weeks. I don't really have a job, other than doing shows. I've slept 10-11 hours a night for the past 2-3 weeks, just because I can. It's been strange. I need to go out and find some work.

Speaking of finding work, I want to comment on the sad state of affairs here in our home state of Michigan. The world as we know it here is all in an uproar to "save the big three", and therefore supposedly "saving our jobs".

The economy of Michigan is wrapped around the big three automotive companies: Chrysler, Ford, and GM. Whether it be folks working directly for the automakers, or for their subsidiaries and suppliers, a large percentage of the lower and middle classes have raised their families on jobs from these companies. I feel very badly for those that have already lost their jobs, and those who will do so in the near future. However, I want to relay to you my thoughts on the potential bailout (which I guess failed, thankfully).

Here's the problem, folks. PEOPLE DON'T NEED MORE CARS. Yes, the demand is there, for SOME new cars, for the rich. We've got enough people to make those cars. And in our free society, if someone wants something, we can make it. No governmental limits, etc. However, in that same society, something else happens. When there's too much of something, demand crumbles, and the industry that relies on that demand goes with it. It's just natural, and you can't have it both ways. We don't need more cars. There's plenty out there. Look at used car lots. TONS of cars for sale. And the big three had their chance. People have been telling them for years, make a more fuel-efficient car. Too late. They missed that boat, and it sailed, sunk, and was turned into a national monument.

The problem is, it's the little guy that's getting pinched. They would have made a pedal start 120 MPG car in a heartbeat, had they been told to. They've known this all along, they've probably seen this coming. You know how you, wherever you work, always know better than the boss? The boss isn't usually the boss because he's the best at anything. It just meant he got to go to college, because he had money. Management is not often an earned thing as much as it is an acquired thing. A lot of people, in all walks of life, get into positions of power without any valid reason.

So anyway, these big guys, with their big money, they didn't listen to the environmentalists that told them "Hey, there's only so many resources on this planet!" They just kept building, and flooded the market with SUV's that get 6 miles to the gallon. PEOPLE WANT BIG CARS! No, rich people want big cars, and they don't speak for me, dumbass! They got their market share, because we all bought on credit, shit that we didn't have the money to own. I did it. I'm in so much debt. If this were the early 1900s, I'd be hosed. For all the things I "own", I've probably actually paid for about half of them. I'm in debt for the rest. I wish credit didn't exist, because as I look around my house, about 2/3 of the things I have, I don't "need".

So now you have millions of people, all wrapped up in an industry whose demand has never been lower, and is getting worse every day. Because who buys those cars? Well, the rich upper class does, yes. But whose car has wheels falling off, rust holes, and failing brakes? It's that same autoworker who's out of a job! Is he going to buy a NEW car? Nope. He's going to buy a used car. A cheap one. That gets good gas mileage, for the next time that the gas prices go through the roof (that's coming soon, don't worry).

So, back to the bailout. Why would the government wants to pump all this "money" (that doesn't even exist, but that's another story) into this industry, that by all accounts is dead. Yes, the common worker needs jobs. I'm not forgetting about them at all. And I hate to say it, but that bailout would be like putting a band-aid over a crack in Hoover Dam. It's just holding back the floods for a minute or two.

So here's where I say we spend all that "money". First, I'll tell you why I'm using the quotation marks around "money". I'm sure you know, but the government doesn't have any real money either. They have the power to create money, without even printing it. They could tell us any number they want. We have 10 bajillion dollars! We have a 200 zillion dollar deficit! There's not even 1/100 of the "money" in this country actually printed. It's all CREDIT! Cash is nearly obsolete. It's getting scary.

But anyway, back to the industries we bail out. Actually, screw the industries. Here's where we help. Auto workers. Bring your ID card to your local college. You get free, government subsidized training (which pumps money into schools for all you teachers out there!) for the following much-needed industries: service (think of how much work Habitat for Humanity could get done with technically proficient people that are being PAID by the government to help), technology/computers (still plenty of jobs there), road construction, and more. Sadly, you don't get to pick fancy occupations like marine biology and all that. We need your skills, and you need a job. So we'll pay for you to learn these occupations, and you can take your same lunch-pail work ethic to those places that you're still needed.

Those of you that went to the factories, drank on the job every day, went home and beat your families, and generally sucked at life, well, you're out. You should stop sucking at life. But if you are a good person, a hard worker, and truly want to "bail" yourself out of your situation, you're digging this idea. And if you're a service industry, helping the ever-increasing needy, you could use the help! Especially people who can swing a hammer and don't mind some dirty work. Lord knows us college graduates don't want to get dirty. We want to sit in a high-rise office and get paid six figures for doing next to nothing, or we want to cook at a fancy restaurant, or whatever. We don't want to really work.

Finally, to the auto workers. Thank you for your hard work. I truly feel for your predicament. I've chosen the live music industry as my place, at least for now. If live music, tomorrow, became a thing of the past, I don't know what I'd do. I'd look for help. I'd probably feel sorry for myself. So I feel you. I hope you get back on your feet. I know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, and to put the rest on credit, with the hope that "someday" you'll catch up, but knowing that it'll probably never happen.

I'm scared for the current generation. We've made our bed. Kids don't know what life was like before Visa and Mastercard. It goes for all walks of life. Some kids have never listened to a CD. Never had basic television. Never paid cash for their clothes. Never ridden in anything smaller than a Yukon. Never lived in anything less than a 4000 square foot house, that dad bought when the auto industry was sweet. Now he works 2 jobs, mom works 2 jobs. They're foreclosing on the house soon, and WE DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING TO PARK OUR YUKON! Not to mention our corvette, and our 57 inch TV! And the yacht, where do I put the yacht?!?!? This 4 car garage, man, we're going to miss it!

I'm inspired by some of the kids I see at our local concerts. Some of them get it. They understand that you don't need new cars, new clothes, the latest video game system, or the new cell phone on the market. They know that life is the best when you simply can find places to have a great time, and give back to your community. It doesn't have to be through official channels. Simply being supportive of a local business, buying a band's CD, checking out a local coffee shop or clothing store. That all makes such a difference!

Part of me wants to use the crazy organizational skills that I was blessed with to actually go to these small businesses, the local owners of shops in downtown Howell, downtown Brighton. Get them out of the silly place that their heads are at these days. Do you really think a billboard that you're paying $2000 a month for on I-96 will get more business into downtown Howell? Marketing people will hate me for this, but as with most things these days, the best marketing is FREE. Music is becoming free. News has become free (see dying newspapers). I could pay some marketing firm a million dollars to market my city. I could run ads in every coupon book. But what really works, just like the most successful concerts I run, is simply a grassroots movement. Word of mouth. It's a mindset. If we all were to "Think Indie", as is the motto of one of my favorite bands right now, Manchester Orchestra, then these local restaurants, the clothing stores, and the others would have a chance! If we spent our $25 for two dinners at Border Cantina instead of Chili's, that money stays in the county!

I don't know, I guess I've just had a lot of time to think lately. I'm such an entrepreneurial spirit, I don't know if I ever really want to work for anyone else, ever again, at least in the usual punch in/punch out way. I have a lot to offer, but sometimes I wish that money was cut out of the equation. I put in my work, to better this world, and then I can just go to the community cupboard, grab a bite to eat when I'm hungry, and all would be OK. That's getting a little hippie, I know.

But I just want to know, when did it get more complicated than that? Whose idea was it? I'm sure this wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

I'm going to go support the local kids in their version of "A Christmas Carol". Then see some friends and cheer on my fantasy football team. And then grocery shopping. Then home with my wife. It's going to be a good day. Then, tomorrow, the job search begins, but not through the traditional ways. I need someone who needs what I can offer.