The Last Sunday in February

Sunny and chilly. It is still winter after all. There was even talk of snow on the Hollywood Hills for the Oscars - likely to be a non-starter though.

Still waiting tensely for Congress to do their job and get the budget done - the budget, which, by the way, was supposed to be ready to go 1 October 2010. It is now six months later, and still no budget. And the current crop of freshmen folks on the Hill do not get it. And they also do not get that this will NOT be forgotten come the next election cycle. This fiasco is square on the backs of the Republican-run House of Representatives.

Oh, and yes, the budget is Congress' job - read the Constitution.

And here's something else to chew on - for every dollar that folks get in their paycheck and are able to spend, $1.20 is generated in the local economy - no paycheck, no helping the local economy, which means no helping the national economy, and so on and so on.

So, let's play a numbers game - 800,000 Federal employees were furloughed for an average of two weeks during the Gingrich-led shutdown (told you I don't forget!). Say that is also the case with this potential furlough. Say the average Federal employee brings home $26,000 per year - that's $1,000 per paycheck (26 payperiods in a year). That's $1,200 per employee that is lost for one two-week period - times 800,000 employees - $960,000,000 - nearly $1 Billion lost in the local economies throughout the country, not to mention tax revenue at the local, state and federal levels - not only from the Federal employees, but also those in the local economy who benefit from their paychecks - and the cost of getting back on one's feet for those living paycheck to paycheck - and I know from experience, that at the lower end of the Federal payscale, many do. The stones thrown into the pond by a furlough of this size will cause ripples that will be felt for a very long time, and the economy will stall once again.

You know, I wish the national papers would do with the Federal budget what the Sacramento Bee is doing with California's State budget - put it all out there and let folks see what is really being spent where and let them see where they would truly be willing to cut. Of course, you would need to know not only what the spending plan is, but also where the funds come from for the various pieces of the budget pie. And then you need to look at where your priorities lie - taking care of the home front or taking care of everyone else first? And can you really take care of everyone else if you are not taking care of yourself first?

Okay, off the soapbox for the week (at least on this blog).

Back to normal life (my life). My oldest son had a job interview this morning. He's been unemployed for the last six months, and with two children and one on the way, he really needs a job! So, I'm sending out good vibes to him (as well as sending him the information in the way of jobs I come across - which is how he got this interview - saw the job post on the news and sent it to him!).

As for the exercise, writing et al this week...

I hit the gym once, did the bike trainer twice, did yoga twice, and managed a walk in conjunction with the gym.

I'm participating in Percopotomus through the CHPercolators writing group on Yahoo. Ten days of generating something and sharing with the group - made five so far, five to go. That and writing the Daily Pages is what I've managed this week. No Artist Date - being the weather wimp I am, the mere threat of snow kept me from what was undoubtedly a grand show in Folsom by a young man named Evan Zee.

And now the sixth entry in Percopotomus beckons...until next week, adieu.