U.S.A. Baseline Budget Explination

When you hear Washington D.C. throwing around numbers in the Trillions it's understandable that you just can't wrap your mind around what is really going on.  You know from experience that your paycheck gets smaller each time you get one.  You know the cost of your gasoline, food, electricity is creeping up faster and faster... but Trillions?  (eyes glaze over and you shrug as if it's a different language talking to you).

I have heard a few analogies to try and put the national budget into real-world terms that make things clear and understandable.

The most recent one is as follows:

1.  You have sat down with the family and looked at all your income and your expenses.  You've laid out money for a meager savings, for the church, for rent, groceries, transporation, electric, water, etc, etc.  You have set money aside for the purchase of a new (used) vehicle but still find that you're going to need to take on a car payment. (bogus: this is an example I heard... still sucks to be stuck with a car payment.... CASH!) Anyway.. back to the analogy.

2.  You determine as a family that you can buy a vehicle and afford the monthly payments of a $40,000 vehicle (again, not my analogy, obviously $35,000 too much).

3.  You go shopping... and fall in love with a vehicle that costs $70,000.  The salesman tells you that he'll give you a red hot deal and sell it to you for $60,000.

4.  Wow... you have another family meeting and find out... I can SAVE $10,000 !

Okay... this is what we've got going on in Washington D.C.  They've got $40,000 income but are going to be spending $60,000 this year.. and they're telling you they cut $10,000 from the budget.

Real-life translation:  The american people are so stupid that they'll never figure out how we're screwing them over.  (Laughing all the way to the bank).

July 5th Haboob, Phoenix, AZ

I thought I'd throw up a CNN video of the Haboob that came over my place on July 5th.  I did a home video myself but I don't want to put it up because it's got my yard, wife and daughter and such.  Don't need stalkers and such.