But come on, really? Is this really the second Great Depression we're heading into? Really? I'm posting this over here and not on my family blog because Kulani is, well, depressed about all this talk on the economy, and I don't blame him. He said this has been his least productive week of work in a year, and it's likely because this underlying grief over the world's economic state. I think we're all feeling it. But wouldn't it have been great to be able to read what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers felt and dealt with during the first Great Depression? What were their thoughts the months leading up to it? How did their families survive it?
Currently, I haven't seen any personal signs of the economic downfall. Life seems to be going on as it always has. I haven't bothered to look at our 401K, and I don't think I will until things turn around. For history's sake, the stock market has dropped some 35% over the past year going from a high of 14,000 down to below 8,000. We don't know if this is the bottom yet. During the Great Depression of the 1920s, stocks lost over 80% of value. The Federal Reserve cut interests rates by 1/2 a percentage point trying to entice people to invest. Even though we could re-mortgage our home from 6.2% to 5.8%, we're not biting. For one, our home would likely not appraise for as much as it did a year ago, thereby requiring us to pay PMI. Secondly, we're unsure banks would lend us the money. Lending is tight.
Kulani's job seems stable as of now. I still work from home part-time for a very stable company, but we specialize in banking software, which could mean good or bad things for my company. We're on the cheaper side of banking software and services, so maybe we'll pick up new banks who are trying to save money. But we may also lose banks going out of business. If either of us loses our job, we have some backup plans that could include land surveying (Kulani), pizza delivering (Cindy), bike mechanic (Kulani), babysitting (Cindy), etc.
But it's all about perspective as well. As I've said before, listening to Dave Ramsey really calms the nerves. Stay far-far away from listening to Glen Beck: doom, doom, and more doom. No matter what the situation, I'm confident we'll get through this. I survived the recession of the early 90s. I remember times being tough. I remember the feelings in my heart of not wanting to ask Mom and Dad for anything, because I knew they didn't have a lot of money, and I didn't want to make them feel bad about not having the money--or guilt them into buying me something.
I'm guessing that people during the Great Depression cheered each other up by saying, "Well, at least we don't have it as bad as the pioneers had it." And I'm sure the pioneers said, "Well, at least we don't have to sail across the ocean and start anew like the pilgrims." And the pilgrims probably pointed to how hard the Jewish people had it. And so on.
So maybe we're heading into the times foretold for the last 50 years where our food storage will feed us for a year. I know my mother-in-law has been predicting the end of times since the 80s, so it may be another false alarm. Our ward's emergency preparedness lady sent us out an e-mail the other day with the following quote from Brigham Young:
The first year that I came into this valley I had not flour enough to last
my family until harvest, and that I had brought with me, and persons were coming
to my house every day for bread. I had the blues about one day; I went down to
the old fort, and by the time I got back to my house I was completely cured. I
said to my wife, "Do not let a person come here for food and go away empty
handed, for if you do we shall suffer before harvest; but if you give to every
individual that comes we shall have enough to last us through." I have proven
this many a time, and we have again proven it this year. I have plenty on hand,
and shall have plenty, if I keep giving away. More than two hundred persons eat
from my provisions every day, besides my own family and those who work for me. I
intend to keep doing so, that my bread may hold out, for if I do not I shall
come short. Do you believe that principle? I know it is true, because I have
proven it so many times.
Then this from Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone:
I should like to address a few remarks to those who ask, "Do I share with my
neighbors who have not followed the counsel? And what about the nonmembers who
do not have a year's supply? Do we have to share with them?" No, we don't have
to share--we get to share! Let us not be concerned about silly thoughts of
whether we would share or not. Of course we would share! What would Jesus do? I
could not possibly eat food and see my neighbors starving. And if you starve to
death after sharing, "greater love hath no man than this …" (John 15:13.)
And with that, I begin this discussion with you, my sisters. What are your thoughts, experiences?
