Boulder to London

I’ve been keeping tabs on the U.S. from abroad and am quite alarmed at the current state. I’m not sure which is more alarming… the fact that McCain and Palin are keeping up with Obama and Biden or that the US economy is in a tailspin and the US government can only do so much to prop it up.

First, on the McCain – Palin issue - the pair terrifies me. I will give McCain the benefit of the doubt based on his experience politically and otherwise, but the guy is old. I’ve seen plenty of before and after picture of past presidents to know that 4 years in office is no trip to the spa. If I had to guess, there is some conversion factor that says 1 year in office is the same as 5-7 years in the average American’s life. Given that he’s 72 now, if we take the low end and use a 5 to 1 conversion, he’s 92 at the end of his term. I believe the average life expectancy for a male in the US is somewhere in the 80’s, so he’s definitely pushing the tails of the distribution. Assuming that Palin takes over, we have a leader who has the international experience of the average 10 year old in the US who has also been to Canada and Mexico. With no disrespect to Alaska, it’s a long way from the major population centers of the US. It might be interesting to see how many times Sarah has made it to places like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago or even Seattle. I’m all for equality, but this is simply not the right woman to have a prominent leadership role in the States. Hillary, maybe…Sarah, no way. Hopefully the debates will help swing the population towards the democratic ticket, but who knows…we got GW for 8 years.

On to the economy…what a scary state we have entered. It seems like we’re staring down the barrel of a significant decline in the global economy. I’m even more concerned that we’re using tax payer funds to prop up a housing bubble that will cause artificial support of overprices assets for years to come. I don’t think we should let the economy go in the shitter, so I’m not totally opposed to intervention. I’m just very concerned with a shrinking economy that is experiencing inflation and unemployment, bankrupt social programs, a declining population and an out of control banking system. Unfortunately, it’s a no win situation at this point that can only hope for a softer landing. The problem is that the tax payers (or their representatives) continue to write checks that can’t be cashed to cushion the blow. While I don’t have a solution, I’m not happy with the current state and hope that the lessons learned during the cycle will result in an improved structure and better understanding of the current and future economy.

Bringing my two points together, the scariest point of all is that I’ve heard more presidential commentary on lipstick than I have on medicare, social security, education, healthcare and immigration combined. Maybe the next few months will provide a real discussion of the issues…doubtful, but I can hope!