When people talk about the desperate US job market, it is easy to get pessimistic about the future. Someone even asked me if I regret having come to the US and my children might have an easy life in China. Had I stayed in China, I surely would have a different path, most likely as a teaching professor. Yet, regret is never part of me.

I believe there is a future for every one of us even if the future of US economy is not bright and cheerful. The key to success in job market is global solution, which is the nature of future job structure, the one that defies any national boundary. This globally interweaving job market belongs to not any nation but bold and outstanding individuals who never for a second cease to look for global solution for global problem. Computering technologies and remote access via internet bring about unlimited possibilities, making outsourcing a cheap solution even for doctors and professors. If we can use big screens for global conference, we can use it for global classroom, too, bringing education to every corner of the world, either Africa or Latin America. Pretty soon people will have to seek ways to lower the cost for higher education in US.

Bold thinking plus careful planning will give one a head up. No country is isolated and we all float or sink together. Protectionism is loser’s solution, hurting the doer more than anybody else.

You have to face global community if you dare to rise above. This is written for my children and their generation.

Our clinic asked everybody to make donations to sponsor a family in need. This family hands us a list of what they want for Christmas. The list includes Jeans, Any new release DVD’s, Revlon new completion #2 makeup, any kind of kid movie on DVD, Axe for men, board games, Wal-mart, Best buy or Game Exchange gift cards, any kind of musical DVD, remote control car, Action figures, Transformers, Bi-onicals, … I become so impatient going their list.

I am not going to donate anything. Here’s why:
(1) I never did Christmas shopping for my children and never encouraged them to get anything for nothing, as if there were a real Santa burning money for all the kids in the world. Why should I deviate from my normal practice this time?

(2) As far as I can see, they can live very well without these stuff. That is, they don’t really need any of them and they just want something extra. I will take care of the need first and wait till I deserve it to indulge the want. They can do the same.

(3) I never bought anything that I cannot afford, other than the house. I wait till I have enough for the purchase. Why can’t they wait till they have enough? Nobody’s life is easy.

I have made clear my position on Christmas shopping. Yes, I am firmly against this wasteful practice of shopping spree, commercialization of a religious holiday, as if it were Jesus’ wish for everybody to buy and spend in celebration of his birthday.

Even more stupid is the saying “shop till you drop.” Indeed, shop till the nation drops. How ridiculous can we be? Watching Christmas shoppers often reminds me of the statement that the average intelligent level of the nation is that of a six-grader. No wonder I become impatient so easily among six-graders!

P.S. Before posting this, my daughter read the draft and asked me “Did you email it to your co-workers?” No, not that I am afraid of anything but that I don’t care sharing any of my thoughts with those around me. Here’s one funny thing at my office, some of my co-workers always do the writing on my behalf when writing is needed. Because they know my English writing is pitifully incompetent. Bless their hearts.

Last weekend I read from the Internet about mistakes that parents are likely to make regarding teaching children on money management. Oh boy, all of them sound so familiar. Here are a few mistakes.

(1) Set no limit. One is lucky if one’s child behaves responsibly. Otherwise, one should set a weekly or monthly or yearly limit on how much a child is allowed to spend.

(2) Neglect giving life lessons in daily life. Of course, life lessons include money management. A child starts boosting his/her financial IQ right from home with the parents.

(3) Leave children out of the picture when you make long-term financial plans, considering children too young to understand or sparing them the burden of financial matters of the family.

(4) Fail to start a kid’s saving account and to give the kid an opportunity to manage his/her own finance.

(5) Fail to explain how credit cards and bank work. Actually, many parents themselves fail to set a good example in using credit cards.

I have to confess, at some point during my previous parenting, I have committed the above mistakes, one by one without missing any of them. I am glad to say I am getting better now, after enduring some irreparable losses. Hopefully, readers who are like me, will become wiser because of their previous mistakes.

This is from the seminar that I attended on market America last Saturday evening while my daughter was skating. Talk about early retirement so that you can start doing whatever you enjoy, it seems an unrealistic dream for the majority of Americans (95 – 28), 67% of them at age 65.

For every 100 people, by the time they should reach age 65,
1% become wealthy,
4% financially fit, do not need to work,
28% dead, without actually reaching it,
5% still working, out of necessity,
62% flat broke, not having enough to live by even if they work their butts off.

What a dreadful picture! I think of one of my neighbors who told me she had to work into her 70s. I can’t believe only a tiny 5% of Americans do not need to work by age 65.

I believe there are two main explanations — either the majority of Americans do not earn enough to enjoy early retirement or they do make plenty but equally do they spend that plenty. Simply put it, they have not saved enough from their earnings. I see too many cases that fit second explanation. It is rather disheartening if you are one of the working 65-year-old in America. But you got nobody to blame but yourself. One can always do better than this if one starts saving for retirement right after the first employment.

On the way home that night, I shared it with my daughter. “I will be one of the 5%, financially fit not to have to work way before that age,” said she. I am sure the thought of this will transform into the desired reality.

I just learned a new acronym today. JOB = Just Over Broke. For quite a few Americans, a job mean JOB when they live from paycheck to paycheck without any savings. Once they lose the job, they are literally broke, bankrupt, destitute, down-and-out indigent! Sooo terribly sad.

Last weekend, a friend of mine called telling me that her 14-year-old daughter had been babysitting since last year and had saved $1,500. She asked her mom where to invest this savings. I am very much impressed. I don’t know what to say. She has more economic sense than some of adult American friends that I know of.

By the way, sometimes I see the term indigent stamped in a patient’s medical record cover, which means no money and no insurance. How many choices of treatment can an indigent cancer patient have? Not many.

On Monday, on the way home from the skating place, my daughter and another Chinese girl were chatting all the way. The topic was how much money they would make in the future. One said one million, the other said over two million. I was too tired to join the conversation, much as I wanted to. I am sure my daughter and her generation will never know the experience of JOB if they ever learn something from the current economic bitterness.

My son has been very much into startups since his high school years, from his internet venture to this summer job, and endless plans and ideas. Out of my wild ignorance, I often interpret it as his desire to be his own boss, an extreme form of individualism, the product of American education, so unlike me with an overdose of patience to work with the most absurd species. I started looking at his startup from a new perspective after I read these words by Paul Zane Pilzer.

Pilzer, author of many books including The Next Millionaires, made a comment on the virtue of startup, “When you create a business, you create something that improves the life of your customer, of another person, maybe of ten people, of a thousand people, of a million people. There’s no higher calling. ”

So nicely put. I feel ashamed for not being able to take on this higher calling.

Can’t believe half of the year has gone!

Last weekend I was reading the book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by Harv Eker, 2005. There is an interesting statement in the book. It is something like this, statistics showed that number one cause of divorce in America was money. Also see part of this article: “Why money is the leading cause of divorce”, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18930297.html

This reminds me of an incident happened last weekend in my household. My son will come back for the coming long weekend. Since the other adult let his nephew drive my son’s car to his school, I said we needed to get the car back for my son. The other adult said, “How can we do this after we gave it to him? If our son needs to drive, he can drive my car and I can walk to the office.”

I was not prepared for this answer, because I thought we let the nephew drive my son’s car while my son was not home and we could get the car back any time my son’s home. “I offered him the car when he wanted to buy his own car” was the answer. I know what that means.

See the nature of the transaction seems to have changed from car-lending to car-giving and I have no idea thing would turn out this way. I should have thought of this before the car was given away. Now I cannot have the car back, unless the nephew cannot find a job upon graduation and has to go back to China.

Let it be. I said no more. Not because I am nice and generous but because I am tired of fighting. I simply do not have the energy for even an abrasive exchange of words.

Besides, my son stays home only for the weekend. Perhaps he never stays longer than a weekend. One step further, I have no objection if anyone wants to walk 2 miles to work, if my son does stay stay longer.

I have no doubt that the event would turn out differently if it happened elsewhere. Now you know why money plays such a key role in dividing a family. I write it down only because I sincerely hope my children can be wiser in handling situation like this.

Some reader read this posting as the writer being critical or resentful of others. Not here. Let me reiterate the purpose of this posting is not to be critical of anybody. As with all my writings, this one was written for my children only and with a total peace of mind.

I know I have talked a lot about money. How I hate this topic! Too bad living through this financial crisis, we simply cannot shake the topic out of our heads. Plus, as I come from a different culture and being rather old fashioned at that, I feel rather compulsive at seizing every opportunity to drill the concept of saving into my children. They grew up in the richest and the most wasteful land of all, that is, spoiled under our loving care without ever feeling deprived. Indeed, how I dislike this culture of massive consumption. Okay, here’s another one.

A friend of mine, a young one, talked to me about making money quickly, because that friend of mine needed money badly in order to pay the bills. I learn that some people take second jobs or even consider selling blood for money.

To be sure, my friend needs money all the time — for clothes, parties, for drink, hair, nails, rent, gas, water, electricity, cable TV, cell phone, etc. It is so sad that we have to sacrifice extra time in order to pay all these bills. Oh, how I hate having my precious time taken away this way!

I am concerned when I think of my children. Unless they have the ability to make unlimited income, they must find a system to make sure that they don’t over-spend their paycheck like most of young people today.

I told my daughter during our daily walk that, no matter how much or how little she makes, she must put down at least 10% of her paycheck into savings and must not get herself in a situation where she has to work two jobs to make ends meet.

I know my teaching runs against the mainstream practice of spending more than one’s income through borrowing. I seem to over-emphasize on saving instead of making money. Well, here’s my newest and greatest statement: you should either have the ability to make unlimited income or saving as much as you can. No matter what, never find yourself in any dire financial situation.

Yesterday during lunch time, I was on my way to SMW on 83red street. Suddenly, I heard police siren threatening from behind. I checked my rear mirror and saw a police car following me. “Do I look like a terrorist or what?” Not sure what was going on, I stopped the car. A young policeman stepped out of his car and walked toward me with a triumphant look.

He accused me of violating traffic law by “turning right on red light.” “I thought we could turn right as long as the traffic was clear,” I explained. “Not here,” the cop said with a faint smile on the corner of his month and a haha-got-ya look. He checked my license and insurance, then wrote a ticket of a heavy fine, saying he could double this fine and could send this traffic law violation to my insurance company, which means raising my insurance premium. I protested, he told me I could get into more trouble for showing contempt for law. I could saw the end result of throwing an egg against a rock and I didn’t want to be that egg. So, I shut up and drove away.

I have never tasted the destructive power of a law enforcement till that moment. I was mad beyond words. I told my daughter about this on the way home. Both of us were boilingly mad and throwing out bad words profusely. Finally, I said “Let’s consider this as a donation to the police department since money is in short supply everywhere and that policeman was just trying to raise money, except I cannot claim it as tax deductible donation.”

P.S. today I looked for the sign saying no turn on red at that intersection. Indeed, there is one. Still, it doesn’t say specifically no RIGHT turn on red as the conventional wisdom implies on left turn on red. Ouch, it hurts to pay for this ambiguity.

P.S. 6/18, I talked to someone else about this sign and was told blankly, “No turn on red means no turn whatever, left or right.” I knew it. Just need to be told again.

A neighbor of mine told me they never had enough no matter how much the bread-maker in the family brought home.

This brings to my mind another aspect of securing financial security — our financial situation depends on both making and spending money. Many people have their eyes on making money, but not on how they squander money like water and running faster than they can make. Imagine this!

We were at graduate school when my son came along unexpectedly. We lived on the meager income from part-time teaching and scholarship. While we never deprived ourselves, we still managed to keep growing thousands of savings.

Have you realized that your desire is fathomless but your paycheck is so miserably limited? Unless you know how to spend wisely, you will never be able to know financial security. How? Spend only on things you really need not what you desire. You reward yourself with some luxury only when you have done something deserving this. A simple and sweet truth for anyone who cannot make unlimited income for their equally limitless desires.

My son’s summer job involves his newly-incorporated startup with an MIT Ph.D holder, an MIT Ph.D candidate, and his high school friend. He is the youngest of the four. They were strong enough to get funding for the summer. Right now everything is just an idea, without any product and nothing being able to bring in revenue.

Being initially his idea, my son has always wanted to have his own company. He worked on something during high school years. For this one, he has worked very hard and was excited when it got funding. I don’t know anything about starting up your own company and I do hope they are keenly aware of the fact that they need to generate something so that they can go beyond this summer. There are so many tons of things that they urgently need to take care of this summer in order to keep the startup afloat for the long, long time to come.

Now my mind is jammed with too many what-ifs, self-invited headache, and I can do nothing but wishing everything goes well with it. What a good feeling!

This is a sad case of life and death and of building a house on one pillar.
Every time I see an Asian patient at our clinic, my mind drifts back to a colleague of mine back in late 1990s. I remember vividly when they were at our place and I talked to him about his wife staying home with the children. I said, “It’s better that your wife has some kind of job instead of staying at home. It always brings more security if both have jobs.” He said jokingly, “Don’t worry. I won’t die that soon.”

I felt a bit stung at his word, as if I was trying to jinx him. “Hey, I don’t mean that. I mean no job is secure and you feel a little secure if both of you work, at least the benefits will continue if one lost the job. I would think it a good idea for your wife to take some classes or training while she is young and just get ready for a job.” They were about mid-30s then. He sounded so full of confidence at that time. I know how nasty I can be when it comes to giving unwelcome advice. I always feel like slapping my face afterwards.

During the Thanksgiving of 2004, I saw him again at a Chinese church, so delightful seeing him with his 2-year-old son, as young and handsome as before. We had kept in touch over the phone and seldom saw each other. There was no sign of illness at that time. But who knows that was the last time that I ever saw him. I was totally shocked and speechless when I learned that he passed away in less than a year of brain cancer and he was about 41 years old, leaving behind three children and a jobless wife. It was about 6 years after we talked about security and he assured me that he would not die that soon. Life is so fragile and unpredictable.

I know the family has been very close to a Chinese church, which must help the widow and the children more than I can imagine. Then again, I keep wondering if he could have been better off during Sprint massive layoff in 2001-2003 had he listened to my advice, because I learned over the phone that he was overcome with worries, fear, and anxiety – a long range of negative feelings, enough to crush an iron-man, so much so that he did not sleep for the week before the announcement of layoff. I could feel his burden with three children, a house, a wife, all depending on his precarious paycheck, like a big mansion standing on one pillar. But I would not talk about his wife’s job any more.

Life is so unpredictable and beyond our control. It gets even more scary for many first generation immigrants here when we don’t have our extended family here to tide over any misfortune. Here comes the cross-standing church building, our forever dependable pillar, emotional one at least. Still, I would advice against building your mansion on one pillar, like that “Dear Departed.”

Some of my friends have asked me about jobs at healthcare industry. Are they secure? They were wondering. Not exactly. Nothing is guaranteed and nothing is secure. Face this reality — anything that can be digitalized can be offshored. e.g. medical transcription, radiology images, medical coding and billing. You can always scan the paper, the bill and transfer it anywhere you can find cheap labor to analyze it and file it to the insurance company.

At least two key trends have been made possible by IT and Internet. The first trend is going electronic in as many fields as possible, eGovernment, eHealth, etc. The general rule is any jobs that need in person service in health care, like doctors and nurses, cannot be outsourced.

The second trend, also made possible by the Internet, is more and more companies are seeking for global solution, which means seeking globally for cheaper solutions and high profit. The fast development of IT and Internet opens unlimited possibilities for the way a company organize and runs its business.

Face this fact, if you think you can put on a white uniform working securely in a lab, chances are someone in other countries can do a similar job or even better job than you, all at a fraction of your paycheck. There is nothing to stop the off shoring of this whole lab. This is only one possible scenario. Not that far-fetched when you are in dire need for cheaper solution. That is, until everybody’s labor gets cheaper not by dozen.

The weekend was so freakingly un-relaxing when I had to freak my brain out on 2008 tax return and financial aid application for my son, one built upon the other. The deadline is 4/15, the coming Wednesday, being aware of the approaching date further pounding blood into my swirling head.

The cost of higher education is higher than sky — reaching nearly 60K per year, the thought of which frightens my shrinking wit out of my body when I look ahead to the years when my daughter will be there.

We were so unfortunate last year to have our tax audited and had to render a fine of a few thousand sweet dollars. How crazy can things become? I have no idea. Right now, I only need to collect all my brain power and focus on getting the tax return and financial aid application forms out of the door before the threatening deadline.

Good thing I had one return complete, the federal tax, still need to work on state tax return.

My daughter said I could pay professional tax help over $300 to get it out of my head. Last year I had a coupon and had an Indian tax guy estimate the cost of my tax preparation, which reached $480. Forget that help. How I wish to stay away from torturing my head! Well, for that price? I guess I have not loved my head that much yet.

The President plans to pour in $17 billion out of his $787 billion economic stimulus package for incentive payments to physicians and hospitals that adopt electronic medical records (EMRs).

After its implementation, everything in patient’s chart go electronic, including filing to government for Medicare and Medicaid patients and to insurance companies and to drug stores. No more paper report on lab result, CT, pathology, operation, hospitalization, radiation, doctor’s exam and diagnosis, prescriptions, etc.

It is not only an environment-friendly gesture, paper-saving and tree-saving, but also hugely money saving, too much to be listed here.

To be sure, there is a huge upfront cost of hardware, software, installation, user training, data transfer, followed by the long term cost of maintenance, IT support and enhancement. Uncle Sam will foot part of these initial bills as an incentive for physicians. If not going with the eHealth, penalty will follow in the form of decreased reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients. There are too many details to be mentioned here.

I think it a piece of good news for IT folks, only if these jobs are not shipped overseas. I know it is a heavy IF, especially at the time when everybody looks for cheap solution. Still, eHealth initiative will be a real bonanza for IT support and Internet security jobs. A little knowledge in medical record and terminology might put you above the average IT applicants in job-hunting.

My dear friends, not all of them, only those who work in IT field and are among job-hunting troop, be armed and be prepared. Be the lucky one when opportunity knocks at your door.

Recently, you often heard people talking about a not-so-new term “Survival job.” It means you pick up whatever job you are offered after you are laid off in order to be able to pay the bills or to put the food on the table, even if it is not in your field, or it is unrelated to your previous work experience, or it means a step-down from your last job in pay and status. It is expected to be temporary in nature, as you are waiting for a chance to jump back to the previous cushion. The belief is it is better to have a job than without, whatever it may be.

Or rather in order to survive the layoff, as in the example of a laid-off senior manager, he takes up a job as janitor while hoping to hop on another management position. This is from USAToday website, a man made “six figures and supervised employees” two years ago. “Now, the laid-off Sun Microsystems manager sells plumbing supplies at Home Depot.”

The term was once used on artists or actors who have to have some means of living while seeking for opportunities to have their talents recognized and profitably employed. But artists and actors make up a tiny percent of population. Now with the swelling army of unemployment, people feel grateful even with a survival job because even survival jobs are hard to get.

I like the action of taking a survival job to help tide over the hard time. Meanwhile, you have to work hard preparing yourself to leave this temporary job. Otherwise, you are likely to become a permanent fixture at your survival jobs. Not a bad thing if that is what you want.

After all, financial independence is better than its opposite. Uncle Sam must be smiling counting the tax dollars that we pay, regardless how. A step-down? No. It is called adaptation and survival of the fittest. Be proud of your independence and survival.

Last weekend I read a piece of news from the Internet, saying the New York Times, now $1.1 billion in debt because of purchase of Boston Globe, the 137-year-old money-loser, threatened to close the Globe. The article says, “Faced with the global recession and declining revenues, the newspaper business is reeling — one major paper has already folded this year and several others are seeking bankruptcy protection…. ‘It is a huge warning shot across the bow of the newspaper industry. If this can happen to the storied Boston Globe, pretty much nothing is safe,’” a professor said.

I am overwhelmed with a sense of sadness over the inevitable demise of such a senior, respectful tradition or even the newspaper profession. Like so many trades and tricks, they all will become obsolete and on the way to become history, brought about by the advance of technology. Thus, people spend more and more time in physical isolation.

To be sure, the decline started not with the recent recession but with the rise of other medium of communication, radio, TV, then Internet in that order. First, when radio, TV, and Internet are free, it makes incomplete sense to pay for newspaper for news. Not me.

Second, with pressing crunch of time, people can get news from radio while driving or cooking or eating or walking, who will allocate a special moment for newspaper? Even if newspapers are free, well, time is not.

Third, unlike the non-interactive mode of newspaper, radio and TV, Internet is the most attractive and interactive media of all. It is so attractive that people start devoting more time on the Internet than the combine of newspaper, radio and TV. After all, you can do almost everything on the Internet, from shopping, to watching news and video clips, investment, research, reading, gaming, broadcasting, chatting, dating, all sorts of entertainment that you can imagine, with boundless possibilities.

Have you heard of this? A 16-year-old boy, posed as a 25-year-old young man, totally grapples the heart of a mid-30s wife. Not that absurd, right? Indeed, anything’s possible in virtual reality. All this happened before recession set in.

When I talked to my daughter about this, she did not pay much attention. Upon further asking, she said, “You will surely lose readers. Who will read it? It’s so boring. You just cannot write anything interesting.” What a feedback! So lovely expressed, and so encouraging to learn of this. Hey, it is not a newspaper.

Last Friday, 4/3/2009, my daughter hugged goodbye to a skating buddy, who told my daughter that she was not coming to skate because her dad lost his job. While talking about this girl, my daughter commented, “I am very lucky.” My mind rushed back to those who got laid off in recent economic downturn, especially both adults being unemployed, its impact on children and their future. For my daughter, other people’s misfortune seems to remind her of counting her blessings.

Yesterday was another busy weekend, art lesson in the morning, skating from 12 noon to 3 PM, Border’s after that, then to library, to an Oriental grocery store.
PS. I finally created some categories and retrospectively categorized some of the old postings, not all of them yet.

My son called on Fool’s Day that his spring semester fees was due on that day. He told me it was a 5-digit number bill. And there would be late payment fee if payment came after 4/1. I still remember last year that I paid nearly a hundred dollar for late fee charge. Why didn’t he let me know a little bit earlier? I am sure he always has more important things to attend to. Talk about the cost of procrastination!

I heard from one of the monitors that came early March that there were quite a few students who used credit cards to pay for college tuition and only paid the interest. Now as we see a sharp climb in credit card interest, even as high as 25%, why don’t these students get student loan with a far lower rate than using credit cards? Talk about financial decision! Nothing can be more absurd than this! One of my co-workers paid an agent to take care of all her monthly bills when she is living from paycheck to paycheck.

I am daily dazzled by the remarkable choices that people make in their lives. This makes the world so diverse and never suffers from boredness. They are wonderful choices only if we don’t have to pay dearly for it.

It is high time for the young people to learn to behave reasonably and responsibly regarding their money or their parents’ money. Perhaps financial responsibility will come, if it ever comes, when they are on their own. For now, enjoy this Spring Friday and don’t forget to pay your bills, tons of them.

The latest not-really-new news about US deficit, according to US Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the deficit will hit $1.8 trillion this year, $93 billion more than foreseen by the White House. That would equal 13 percent of GDP, a level not seen since World War II.

What does it mean to us? Simple. Raise tax to pay the debts. The government got to raise money in some way at some point, probably after the country climbs out of recession. It is simply unsustainable in the long run to maintain this debt-to-GDP ratios.

Funny everybody talks about borrowing money and never worries about the heavy burden on the future generation. Whatever package the government tries to sell, it is all funded by borrowed money. No one ever thinks of cutting expenses everywhere to save money, then use the saved money to fund the package. That’s how we have event like AIG using government $170 billion aid for $165 million bonus, as ridiculous and outrageous as the government. This only shows AIG did not need anything extra to survive at all. This is how the borrowed money is spent!

The package is nothing but an opportunity to exploit future generation. Whatever we spend and waste today will be conveniently taken care of by our children’s generation. How irresponsible can we become? A sweet legacy to future generation — a big and deep dip into your paycheck to pay your granddaddy’s debts. Oops, sorry, there are five Dips.

Last weekend, 3/14, I learned from a friend of mine that some of the Chinese that I know of just got laid off from Sprint’s recent massive RIF drive. Among them is a single mom with two young children. My thought has been with her all the time since I learned of the news. I know both of her children are like mine, involved in many extra curricular activities like music and sports. They also go to Sunday Chinese school here. How could she manage to pay her bills and all their activities now that she lost her job?

I have been to some of my friends’ houses before, with piano, treadmill, and plenty of toys, large and small, its crowdedness being so typical of average American families. I learned that some of them like shopping. I wish I had cash in hand instead of so many stuffs. Too bad this is only one-way traffic from cash to goods, that is, once you transform your hard-earned cash into stuffs taking up space of your house, you cannot convert them back to the same amount of cash you originally paid.

One of my neighbors often holds garage sale, trying to salvage some cash from all the junks that she once feels compulsive to buy — a rather time-consuming and futile activity. My children once commented how rich they were just from the amount of stuffs they bought. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot better if we had not bought these junks in the first place and not have to hold these garage sales?

Once again, bad economic time = good learning experience, only the tuition is too high for those who have to sell stuffs. I will make sure my children read this posting so that they can learn something without having to pay for the tuition. Cheaper by double.

No kidding. Yesterday while taking our evening walk, we talked about the president’s $800bn stimulus plan. I said it was like tearing down the eastern wall to amend western wall, giving people more money so that their consumptions will stimulate production. My daughter responded with the depth of wisdom that is so much lacking in president.

“Worse than this, you don’t even have the eastern wall to start with. You have to borrow walls from other’s to amend all your walls. Americans have to change their lifestyles in order to get to the root of the problem. Otherwise, it is like a vicious cycle — they borrow more and spend more and are locked in this borrow-consume cycle. It is simply not right to spend more than you can afford. Those who spend more than their income should not be helped and should be held responsible for their failure. After all, they made bad decision and should suffer as the result!” A tough punishment, yet fair enough. The president never advises the people against spending more than their income.

There is a naked folk truth to what she said. Responsibility is one of the life skills that we adult constantly hammer into children’s head. Yet, how can we teach our children to be responsible for the consequence of their decisions if we adult fail to do the same? I feel like a double-faced hypocrite.

Not much actually, though I love hearing the speech of this president, his optimism being so contagious and encouraging. After all, who likes hearing a whining baby? Plus, what an educational entertainment to go through his speech!

“…it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we’ll be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament.” I wish I knew how by the end of his speech.

“And though all these challenges went unsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals and through our government, than ever before.” Didn’t we know that we are a nation thoroughly soaked in red, redder than Red China, not so red after she amassed so much wealth?

This is what I want my children to avoid — “we have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election.”

“People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway.” How stupid do we have to be before we ever grow up, mentally I mean?

How dreadful to learn that either action or inaction is going to be costly when we have nothing to spend! — “… while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and worse for the next generation.” How much “worse” do we need?

Finally, cheer up — “We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient.”

A compliment on China — once in a blue moon. I am happy by now. Good for today.

I have to constantly share some ugly facts with my children:
(1) The mountains of national debts — up to $10 trillion by last September and are still endlessly growing. Who will pay the debt? You and your generation.

(2) The unprecedental large army of babyboomers who are going to retire in the coming decade. Who will support them and their medical cost? Again, lucky you.

(3) First and foremost, the future generation will have to clear up the Bush legacy — the extreme fiscal irresponsibility, his pet war, unbridled spending, and outrageous abuse of mother nature.

Keep in mind the best part is these babyboomers — well-educated, well-fed, well-groomed– will be the dominant political force. They will leave no stone unturned to out-vote the young blood so that their voice will be heard in all levels of government and their interest be served to the utmost. Yes, politically and financially, they will be in control of your pocket so that you will be lucky to be able to take home half of your paycheck. That’s how the first three tasks are taken care of.

The next generation will be inflicted with the heaviest financial burdens of all. Don’t you want to unload this burden to the next or next generation? That’s why I have kept telling my children to learn foreign languages. When push comes to shove, at least they can land on some jobs on some land and keep most of their hard-earned money. Call me alarmist or selfish or whatever. I think it unfair for the next generation to clear up after Bush. Don’t we always take a bag to clear up after our dog poops? Well, not this one.

The sun will burst out today. Well, it doesn’t take much for me to see a rosy future for our sons and daughters, does it?

As if I have not done with my complaints and must continue with it today. Now here I am, keeping on sharing with my readers about the current situation of our lovely economy.

My second major concern, which might not be warranted according to some people, is the changed job market, not a numerical one, but a structural change or a color change from blue to white collar with many jobs being gone forever through outsourcing and factory going overseas. If anything, outsourcing force is growing fast and strong. Don’t you hear all the foreign accent each time you call customer service? My colleague said, “Get me an American to talk to me.” Too bad it is not going to happen. This entails a new set of skill — the ability to work with or manage people from all parts of the world or even go wherever job market thrives. Here’s the importance of speaking many languages. I wish we were this smart!

My third one concerns American politics, one of the least pragmatic ones. Politicians would resort to any means for political gain, regardless of its dire economic consequences. The last US president cut tax in 2001 and 2003 for political expediency, then threw the country into this billion-dollar war. It never makes economic sense to decrease income and increase expense at the same time. Yet, it is so typical of American politicians to behave this way, at the risk of depressing the country. Aren’t we already depressed? They are so good at dethroning the country from its once powerful position.

What does it leave to us? Well, taking care of your own checkbook before it is empty. Share it with our youngsters so that they will be motivated to learn more foreign langauges which will open more doors to them in case they need to run somewhere. Well, they might not find it necessary if it turned out I were wrong. We certainly have a great nation — “I have a dream …” Keep dreaming!

I have kept telling my children to learn at least three languages so that they will be better positioned if they need to go global in the future. I simply do not have enough confidence in the future of US economy. Here are some of my probably unnecessary concerns.

The first huge concern is our gigantic trade deficit. To be sure, tons of writings have been generated on our this topic. There is an interesting article that asks a rhetorical question on trade deficit — “Are We Trading Away Our Future?” Well, isn’t the answer self-evident enough? This is on 2/11/2009 Foreign Trade Statistics site.

Another one on Peterson’s IIE site, written 2 years ago, “The huge and growing international trade and current account imbalances, centered on the US external deficits and net debtor position, represent the single greatest threat to the continued prosperity and stability of the United States and world economies.” Too bad the then president fixed his eyes elsewhere as “the single greatest threat.” Funny he is so famously smart!

It is not that we don’t want to export more, but we cannot create anything better and cheaper to attract other countries to buy from us. Worse than this, we have to buy tremendously from other countries because we Americans simply cannot produce goods of this price and quality. To be utterly realistic, the day will never come when we can sell more to foreign countries than we buy from them. We would be blessed if we could narrow the gap.

Don’t be so pessimistic. No country can beat us in our annual generation of garbage. We can beat all European countries combined in our production of garbage! We got to be number one on something!

Yesterday I took my daughter to her orthodontist appointment at 4 PM, then to Town Center, where she wanted to purchase a jean using her aunt’s credit card. Her aunt wanted to give her a present, but did not know what she wanted. So she was free to buy whatever she wanted, as her aunt told her.

We first went to American Eagle, her favorite hangout. She tried a pant and liked it, but walked away from it. “$35 is too expensive.” Indeed, money is money, no matter whose money it is. Next we went to a health and beauty store on Town Center. In the end she spent $10 for a bottle of lotion at Bath & Body Works. She had a chance to spend way more than this, but she didn’t. I am so proud of her for her maturity.

At Bath & Body Works store, I observed the salesgirl’s interactions with customers. She had tons of nonsense with a white customer, so natural and spontaneous; but did not waste a single word dealing with us. So laconic. I have long got used to this xenophobic behavior, or some other terms for lack of a better one. No matter how long I have been residing in this country, I am always conveniently perceived as non-American. Clear-cut category. Easy to be identified. We see categories or large classifications. Who cares the individuals within the large category? When my son was home and we went out together, people talked to my son, then asked him to explain it to me. So darling and so considerate! I should feel touched, indeed.

It is only natural when you think of “Birds of a feather flock together” and should not be surprised to hear birds of a feather singing together. Even if you can sing the same song, you are still not one of the flock. Let different birds sing their different songs, separately but happily in their own way. What we learn from this? Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

My son told me last weekend of certain China Development projects at MIT that he planned to enter. To be sure, while US is wallowed miserably in mountains of national debts, China is in the position to open her fat checkbook to lend and spend. But I always have doubt about the sustainability of this development. It bothers me each time I learn of development in China.

I read from Auto Observer news last year that China had surpassed Japan in 2006 as the world’s second largest car market, chasing the United States, with sales of 7.2 million units. China was then the third largest vehicle producer, after Japan and the United States. Three years ago, auto ownership in China was 44 for every 1,000 people, while the United States had 750 vehicles for every 1,000 people. This year, China is going to lead the market.

While it is not fair to tell China not to follow the beaten path preceded by developed countries, it is both environmentally unsustainable and catastrophic in the long run if China followed this path to the letter. Imagine what China would do in order to meet the huge craving for and the frenzied search for the limited world fossil fuel reserve? Imagine what the sky would look like if millions of cars were polluting under it?

When I first came to the States, I thought it a huge waste to drive to the fitness center and ride a stationary bike there in order to shed extra pounds. Why didn’t people use their muscle by riding the bike like the Chinese people? That was back in 1984. Riding a bike is like killing many birds with one stone — losing weight, transporting you to wherever you need, gas saving, without polluting the air. I wish Americans could do the same. Now a quarter of a century later, the opposite came true. How sad!

How I wish I could tell people the old way is still the best! Don’t follow the lead. Well, as if people listened to me.

PS. my daughter said riding bike could also save a lot when you did not need to pay for car, auto insurance and high gas price.

Recently I have been writing a lot on economy or a bad one, not only because it is the focus of national attention, but also out of a genine concern for my children.

American-born Chinese children grew up in America, fully soaked in the American consumer culture — shop until you drop, enjoying while you can, as if it were their birth right to consume, being spoiled in every commercialized holiday.

I have long realized the folly, the wantonness, void of discipline, brainlessness, and short-sightedness of such consumer behavior, but have not been effective enough to curtail it.

It would be a shame if I failed to take advantage of current economic situation and pass some indelible lesson to my children. After all, recession of this scale does not come often, probably once in half a century. I remember a couple that I met back in Waco, TX, in 1984. The husband told me of his parents living through Great Depression. “They never wasted a tiny bit of bread crumb. They drilled the concept of thrift at every dinner table.” Isn’t that what we should tell our children?

My intention lies in seeing my children avert the senseless conspicuous consumption demonstrated by a retirement-fund-poor BMW-driver, the extreme irresponsibility headed by Uncle Sam down to nearly every household.

A parent can never over-emphasize the need for financial discipline and can never relax in educating the youngsters about responsibilities, starting as early as they can take it.

I talk with my daughter everyday about it and really have seen delightful change in her. “Do you think it makes sense to borrow and spend more money instead of cutting down cost when you are deep in red?” I asked her. “It is stupid!” The answer is always short and sweet.

It reminded me of the words from a little child, “But the Emperor has no clothes.” Who is really smart here?

Recently, two of my previous friends called me asking me about how I entered into healthcare industry. I explained to them how to pass the certification course on medical coding and billing a few years ago, but I had long ago moved to clinic research, because coding and billing were on the way going outsourced. Now they know better.

The phone chats reminded me of American labor force structure. The average Americans are supported by labor forces from the following sources:

(1) Any jobs that is in service industries and that need direct contact, from doctors and lawyers to restaurant waitress and hair-cutters.

(2) Any workers residing in foreign land like India and any English speaking countries. In fact, anything that can be digitalized as a file and transferred over the internet have been or have the potential to be outsourced. Call centers of many State government and big companies have moved overseas so that you always heard foreign-accent speakers when you call customer service. Radiological images are transferred overseas and the readings can be sent back in half an hour. Software developments have been packed out of the country since early 2000s. Medical coding and billing job has also been outsourced as you can cheaply transfer the images of medical bills and get the results.

Even some sections of education have already been obtained overseas. How? I learned that medical schools in India cost only a tiny fraction of that in US, therefore more and more doctors having educated in India come to America, pass the board exams and practice here. I am sure the list of going offshore will get longer in the years to come as education becomes standardized globally and we know China is going to produce more Ph.D soon, which opens another channel for US employers. More and more jobs will go overseas as US, running bottom-low in cash, is searching up and down for low-cost service and for maximizing profits.

(3) Workers all over the world who engage in goods-producing industries from apparel to toys, kitchen utensils to electronic appliances to anything smaller than airplane.

(4) Over 6.5 million undocumented immigrant workers who are severely under-paid and are working silently in lawn care, construction sites, office building or any cleaning crews, back-kitchen in fast food restaurents, farms and ranches picking strawberries or apples, beef and pig slaughtering halls or any place that average Amercans avert.

This is far from being the whole picture. Still, it is enough to make you think about the implications to the labor force or would-be labor force here in US? I have to leave it to my children or their generation to ponder upon.

I always take advantage of the time when I walk with my daughter for sharing ideas. A few days ago, I introduced to her some ideas of Karl Marx. e.g. according to Marx, the whole capitalist system serves the interests of the ruling class; it tries to keep the people of lower class down where they belong, restricting upward social mobility using laws and rules which were laid out by the ruling class, etc.

In other word, if you are trapped in serving food at McDonald’s and cannot move up social ladder, it is the system that is responsible, not the individual. That’s how he called “Workers of all countries, unite!” Strengh lies in unity. Marx certainly could not anticipate individual success like the current president, C. Rice, C. Powell, celebration of M. L. King, and so many famous black superstars in all fields of life, etc.

My daughter thought Marx’s idea was stupid. I told her American society was still an open one, that is, opportunity to move up is still there, though not equally given to everybody. Marx might have under-estimated the power of dream, ideal and thinking.

The important thing is not where you work but what you are thinking while you are working. You have the potential to greatness if you can think like Bill Gates or Obama while working at McDonald’s. The real tragedy is very often people cannot transcend the present state to think and plan beyond their nose. It is not their position, not any rules and regulation but their mind that restricts them and keeps them down there.

Back to Marx, to be fair, he was a very intelligent and kind-hearted person, with highest level of social responsibility. His thoughts are a whole lot more complicated than what I told my daughter.

At least he cared for the poor, the underpriviledged and was a hugely less greedy than the big bankers, 8 of them, who, without tiny bit of social responsibility, still have the hearts to indulge themselves while receiving $125 billion bailout money. To be sure, the poor would not be poorer and rich not any richer if our leaders were as great as Karl Marx. How I miss the old Karl! Sound so distant in a far corner of human memory.

Excuse me for using slang here. Yesterday at my office I overheard co-workers talking about cutting expenses. The monthly bills for an average American family includes the following; I listed them below so that my children will have some ideas about where all the paychecks go.
1) House mortgage or rent
2) Electricity
3) Gas
4) Water
5) Telephone
6) Cell phones
7) Internet service
Cable TV
9) Property tax
10) Car insurance
11) Medical insurance
12) House insurance
13) Car payment if they haven’t paid it all
14) Waste collection fee
15) Waste water management fee
16) Home association fee — a good neighborhood cost more to maintain
17) Recycling collection fee, if they care to recycle
18) Credit cards, many of them

A colleague of mine has four car payments, for two adults and two teenager children. One of the girls who got laid off on Monday just bought a new car not long ago with a monthly payment plan. The sum of the above bills could run up to $4,000, and much more under extreme weathers (heating and air conditioning bills). We don’t have number 8, 13 and 17, but we have a college student to support and some extracurricular activities for the child at home, and the cost of maintaining this site.

China was once described as Red China. America is now equally red financially, living with a deep deficit from the government to average household. Using the words of my co-worker, “I work my butt off to pay these bills.”

Yesterday morning, a department meeting was called within less than one hour of notice and everybody must attend it. We all sensed something bad was going to happen, but I thought normally bad news was passed in a private setting, not in a meeting. The thought calmed me down a little bit. Indeed, it turned out the meeting was to inform us that a reduction in force had been implemented, reducing 21% of our department employees.

Although we had guessed something of this nature would happen and had prepared for it to some extent, we still felt very uneasy and could not go back to our work after that. Those impacted left the company immediately. It could be any one of us. It could be just the beginning. People started talking about next round of headcount reduction.

This is actually expected. With people being laid off everywhere, patients without money and insurance cannot pay their medical bills and thus medical practice cannot carry on as usual.

A few weeks ago, I bumped into a book entitled Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out On Top at Work by Stephen Viscusi. Flipping through the pages, I didn’t give it much attention.

I think the book does not offer anything new. It only reinforces the obvious unpleasant fact that we must keep in mind everyday, that is, no job is secure and no job is bulletproofed, especially during this all-time downturn. The simple solutions or rather the author’s advice are four words: visible, easy, useful and ready. I wrote down mostly for my children in case they are fortunate enough to find themselves in need of them.
(1) Be visible. Not just do your work but show your work. A toughest one.
(2) Be easy to work with. That’s easy.
(3) Be useful.
(4) Be ready to do whatever is needed.

Here’s the most challenging task –”keep friends close and enemies closer.” The thought behind it must be: the greatest harm comes from our enemies. But what if we cannot tell who’s who? Beat me. Back to work.

On my posting 12/13/2008 “How To Put a Safe Brake on Teen’s Expense,” I wrote, starting from year 2009, I would put a cap of $500 on her total yearly expense on clothes and other luxury. This and the current economic hardships that my daughter has heard of so much lately have, to some extent, changed the youngster’s spending behavior, for the better.

Yesterday evening, Friday 2/6/09, we went to Town Center where she could not suppress the urge to try and buy some clothes. After trying some clothes, she really wanted to buy one or two, then on second thought, she held herself back, saying “It is still too expensive.” It is a little over $10, a hugely less expensive than what she used to buy in the past. The only difference this time is she will use her own money.

The teenager used to spend very much on impulse, making no distinction between need and want, much as I had emphasized this distinction to her. To be sure, a typical big spender is the one who wastes tons on impulsive purchases to satisfy the desire or want for more and more. Basically, we don’t really need that much, it is our want that is like a bottomless well.

When my daughter becomes this budget-conscious, I find her more like a Chinese than an American. What is the difference between the two? The Chinese are over-saving-under-spending while Americans are over-spending-under-saving. Some fun mathematics need to average this out (1 + 1)/2, in theory only.

Here are some facts regarding recent economic turn. Just as one black president will not change the black culture, don’t expect one recession will make a dent in the existing consumer culture in the long run.

Rising:
—unemployment, 7.6%
—saving, nearly 3% up
—government’s debt and spending, the only big spender now, uncle sam never changes.

Falling:
—consumption,
—property value, with too many foreclosed houses on sell
—stock market,
—credit availability,
—trade deficit, resulting from falling imports with less domestic demand
—consumer confidence, that’s what more saving and less spending means

Just heard the news today– “More than 200,000 [California] state government employees were expected to stay home without pay Friday as California began its first-ever furlough, a move intended to save money during an ongoing fiscal crisis…. The governor ordered the two-day-a-month furloughs, reducing the average state worker’s salary by 9.2 percent to solve the state’s $42 billion budget shortfall.”

How much could the federal government save if the same would be carried out on federal level? Talk about sacrifice when no one really is willing to make a real one.

On personal level, my daughter has been very conserving since this year, contributing to falling consumer confidence and painful contraction. Is it an enhanced personal responsibility or a lesson we have learned from this crisis?

Yesterday, 2/3/09, founder of Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller, expired. He dedicated his life and his fortune to what he believed to be Christian charity at age 30, a young millionaire then, and had built more than 300,000 houses, sheltering more than 1.5 million poor and underprivileged. Huge accomplishment in one’s life’s span. How many of us can achieve a good deed on this scale in our lifetime?

This reminded me of a talk between my daughter and I on Monday evening, 2/2/09. I shared her a piece of news that I read on that date. “The City Council’s Housing Committee endorsed a proposal to require that [bank-owned foreclosed] properties vacant for more than 120 days be registed with the city.” Because “they want to make sure owners of vacant properties don’t just let them rot.”

To be sure, a few dilapidated houses will de-value the properties of the whole neighborhood and trigger more departures. I told her my thought was more with people who had to move out. What happened to their children if they had them? Where did they move?

My daughter said, “Why don’t the banks let people live there until they can sell the houses. This is like killing two birds with one arrow. The previous dwellers can still take care of the house on the one hand; on the other hand, the banks have the opportunity to serve the public by this charity so that people still have a place to live in this cold weather.” She certainly has a bigger heart than those of the bankers.

One thing for sure, these bankers, many of them being millionaires, do not share the same belief as that of Millard Fuller. People might have a big piggy bank but a small heart.

We have a very limited time on earth with very limited capacity. It is very hard to accomplish one real good thing in this short span. I want my children to remember Millard Fuller some day when they have a chance to be that rich.

Last Saturday morning, on our way to her art class, my daughter and I talked about those homeless people from foreclosure. I told her there were 3900 bank-owned foreclosed properties just in Kansas City. Imagine where the previous owners live now after moving out of their houses. They would be lucky if they had relatives, but we don’t have any.

My daughter said, “When I grow up, I will pay off my mortgage.” Well, good thing that she does not want to get into a heavy debt like our dear uncle. Still, remember it is not a good practice to put all your money in your house.

I have not read much on economics, but from my own experience and from what I have read so far, I feel a strong urge to share a few common sense with my children. I bet they have heard me talking about these all the time and have zero patience with me now. Still, here they are.

(1) Invest as early as possible so that money will give birth to more money. It is like the birthing of a baby, tiny at first but, given enough time, will be bigger than its parent. Time is one of the decisive factors. Don’t lost it.

(2) Diversify. Imagine what will happen if you put all your eggs in one basket and that basket suddenly smashes to a rock. You don’t need to be absolutely evenly balanced out. If you want above-average returns, you can invest a larger part of your money in high risk and high yield stocks and have a little bit ill-balanced investment. But never become too greedy to pour all in one basket.

(3) Do not pay off your mortgage before you have enough savings in reserve. Why? If you put all your money in your house without any cash reserve left, what would you do if you find yourself suddenly in dire need of cash? The only way to get cash out of your house is to sell it. Imagine how your life would be if you have to sell your house under that circumstance? The smart way is having money in both your house and your investment.

(4) NEVER spend more than your earnings, that is, living on credit, with an exception of your house mortgage. Always have at least 10% left from each paycheck either as investment or saving for a treat for yourself like a vacation or a trip overseas or to see your senile mom and dad before they become “dear departed.”

I wish I knew better and could offer them more advice in money management. These are the rules that I have followed and have found it beneficial to me. When they grow up, they might be able to hire professional financial counselors. Still, I wish they could give some attention to my words. Right now, I find it hard to get their attention, especially that of my son’s.

Higher education is getting more and more expensive and is more and more like an investment. You want to major in something you are interested in, but you also look for returns for the money you pour in your education. As higher education cost is skyrocketing, it is too naive to ignore to this stark fact.

Here’s the story of a monitor that I met last week. He received Ph.D. in Epidemiology on heavy student loans, but could not get a well-paid job to pay off the loan. After some training and re-education, he received CCRA and started working as medical monitor now, still paying on his loan now after a decade. I am not sure if he is typical of some people. With a PhD, MPH, and CCRA, he is certainly a very assiduous student. But I am sure there must be many better ways of investing so much time, money and energy in getting this Ph.D. Would you think it has been a good investment from very beginning?

Here’s another real-life story on a girl whose parents paid her through a very costly private college, over 50K per year, getting a degree in music. By the time she graduated her parents had to sell their house and found themselves heavily in debt at the point of their lives when they should retire. The daughter had to get whatever job available on the market, like fast food restaurant, before she started doing what she enjoyed. This is more an enjoyment than an investment, only if you can afford it.

Why didn’t she do some research on the annual job openings for a musician and the entry level salary for this major before throwing a huge sum into this education? I wish we could get smarter from learning other people’s experience so that we can avoid experiencing it in our lives.

Undoubtedly, this is the worst economic times that we ever face since the time at least I can remember. It is so bad that nearly everybody lost something in the process, either your job or the value of your savings, or even the dear lives as we see an increase in suicide cases. Some of our investments have been cut by half — big ugh. It hurt so much that I don’t even want to think about it. Yet, a smart move should be trying to salvage something out of the worst turn, transforming bad into something good by making it the best time for needed education on financial discipline and consumer-driven economic model, etc.

In the past, my children could not fully appreciate some of the practice in our family, that is, no Christmas presents, no allowances, no pay for doing household work, always putting part of paychecks in savings, etc. One of my children kept comparing our expenses to those of her classmates. They used to think like average Americans, that is, you are rich only when you drive, dress and house like a millionaire, regardless how deeply indebted you are.

Now they understand that you are rich only you have savings because paycheck can be cut off at any time beyond your control. Without savings, you are rendered penniless upon receipt of pink slip. At difficult moments, it is better to have savings in reserve than all the useless junks that they once so much desire but have not needed. They understand why some people become homeless instantly once they become employed. “Don’t they have some saving?” No, they don’t.

In the past, they were told by society that they would be good citizens until they become good consumers, the more money pouring into the market, the better to our economy, as our GDP is largely driven by consumer spending. Savings mean contraction, hurting economy. Now, they know the first responsible thing to do is taking care of themselves financially.

They used to talk about what they would buy when they had money — big house, fancy car, the most luxurious furniture, more than celebrity style of living. Now they learn what should be taken care of first. My daughter told me she would spend what she desired until she had enough savings. Before that, she only spends what she really needs for a living.

To be sure, children’s appreciation of a toy never lasts longer than a week or so. It is the parents who should be wise enough to put a brake to any unreasonable demand that the children might raise. The wise parents should know what is really good to the children. It is so easy to turn your hard-earned money into some kind of junks, but totally impossible to transform it back.

Recently my daughter and I talked tremendously on this topic, so much so that I am deeply convinced that the current economic crisis will leave an indelible mark in her memory and will definitely influence her in many ways.

Well, think of the loss in stock market as your tuition in economics 101.

The state of California faces a projected deficit of nearly $42 billion by the middle of next year. To save money, its governer issued an executive order requiring 238,000 state employees take two days off without pay each month. A Sacramento state court judge orders officials to immediately implement this plan. This equals to a 9% pay cut and a saving of $1.3 billion for the state through June 30 next year.

Instead of giving out money for more spending, this is taking away so that they don’t have anything to spend. Of course, less consumer spending will cause contraction. But why spending on borrowed money?

This is the brightest idea and a very courageous act that I have heard of so far since the nation’s economic crisis, even at the risk of his political career. It is like a political suicide to even mention it because people hate to the guts even the idea of a penny cut from their paycheck. When I talked to the monitor about this yesterday, he thought American would never accept this. Personal sacrifice like this simply runs against the cultural gene.

The United States would be immensely better off if we had a revolutionary president like this governer. Imagine how much saving it would mean to the federal government if all federal employees could take the similar action! Well, another idiot’s dream.

Yesterday, I learned of two suicide cases happened in Los Angeles, both committed by unemployed fathers. In one case of an Indian family, the father took away the lives of three children, his wife, mother-in-law before he ended his own. In another, also a minority family, the father finished the lives of his five children, his wife and his own. There are many cases of individual suicide lately, but it is too tragic to take the whole family.

These crazy family killings must have sent a scary message to the children. My daughter said jokingly to me, “Don’t kill me if either of you loss your job. I still want to live.” She has learned the company was going to lay off people soon. I told her not to worry because we can manage over 2 years in case the paychecks were cut, without touching our retirement funds.

So much for an American dream or the end of it for those Dear Departed. Should we call it an idiot’s dream?