What a load of rose-colored-glasses bullshit re: financial difficulties

[codjh9]

A relative sent this to me. That alone didn't surprise me, but this is a moderate-to-left/independent couple - and this sounds like Republican bullshit. I think the simple explanation is that this couple makes a LOT of money by my standards, so even though the real estate mkt. and stock mkts. are down, they're still doing fine. Plus have never had bad luck/experiences with jobs OR real estate before... so it's pretty easy to see the world this way through THEIR eyes in this fashion.

Inherently, there's some truth to the story, but if it's supposed to mean that if we just 'think things are OK', then golly they'll be OK , then it's crap! It's not my 'bad attitude' that says my retirement/savings is in the toilet, it's a fact!!!


(This first note came with the 'story' - it's not my words!)


Perception becomes reality.



The Man Who Sold Hot Dogs

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was
hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he
read no newspapers. But he sold good hot dogs. He put up signs on the
highway telling how good they were. He stood on the side of the road and
cried, 'Buy a hot dog, Mister!' And people bought. He increased his meat
and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. He
finally got his son home from college to help him out. But then something
happened.

His son said, 'Father, haven¹t you been listening to the radio? Haven¹t you
been reading the newspapers? There is a big depression coming. The world
situation is terrible. The domestic situation is worse.'

Whereupon the father thought, 'Well, my son's been to college, he reads the
papers, and he listens to the radio, so he ought to know.' So the man cut
down on his meat and bun orders, took down his advertising signs, and no
longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs. And his
hot dog sales fell almost overnight.

'You're right, son', the father said to the boy. 'We certainly are in the
middle of a great depression.'

MORAL Whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right!

[whistle]

1. Send them this link back

http://www.youtube.com/user/ubseconomics

[Demeter]

2. Here's What Really Happened

Big Food Franchise, using the power of leverage and Other People's Money, put up a shiny new restaurant and undercut the hotdog vendor. Hot dog vendor went broke when his supply rotted for lack of customers, while he himself had a stroke and was paralyzed on his dominant side. With no health insurance and no income, he was quickly reduced to living with his son, who lost his job and house when his job was shipped overseas to take advantage of a tax credit....

6 months later, Big Food Franchise went belly up when the credit trade froze solid, thanks to Bush/Reagan/Bush deregulation of the lending industry, since Big Food Franchise made no profit since startup and was paying current operating expenses on a credit card....

And that's where we are today, folks. FUBAR, thanks to Bush, his enablers and supporters, and the neoliberal economists, trickle-down theorists, fiscal conservatives, free marketeers, and all others who seek to game the system for their sole benefit.