The Balancing Act on Budget

In my last column, I suggested that the world will experience a financial depression, of the 1930s style, as our fearless leader waddles around his own private fantasy land. I am deeply sorry for that writing. I wasn’t thinking about the many folks who are already experiencing financial depression. Maybe they have lost jobs or scholarships, research grants or loans. Maybe they live in fear of being deported.

And I hadn’t thought about retirees who are seeing their 401(k) and/or IRA tank as the market loses value. As the entire world tries to figure out how to deal with our latest POTUS, industries that felt safe are now in flux.

But now, the WWW Blab-O-Sphere is full of predictors warning about hard times in the future, caused by climate change, waning supplies of natural resources, interest on our national debt, an aging population that will break the health system, overspending that leads to record defaults and, of course, deep political divisions. It’s easy to believe there’s a crisis looming on the 100th anniversary of the first Great Depression, in just five years.

Could the government stifle­ this zombie apocalypse by fairly taxing the super rich? Probably. But, instead, our bro-mance government has given the greed-heads special powers and a fast track to tax dollars. The Washington Post reported that Elon Musk’s businesses have benefited from more than $38 billion in “government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments …” Jeff Bezos, glam launcher, scored $2.3 billion in government contracts for his space business.

And expect big payoffs to the already-glutted war machine with the $1 trillion defense budget that POTUS proposes. Remember the campaign promises of peace overnight in Israel and Ukraine? Forgotten!

So how can we prepare for the future, seemingly so uncertain?

As I write this, we’re all planning our summer fun. Instead of aiming for months of travel, which of course also means hours of waiting in terminals for trains, planes or ocean liners to whisk you away, decide to stay home and learn about your community. Go to the farmers’ market, meet your neighbors, chat with the humans that work in your favorite lunch place. That is the community that will help you cope in hard times.

You’ve probably heard about the epidemic of loneliness that’s sweeping the nation. It can hit anyone from age 20 to retirement and beyond. To combat, loads of people fall for that old line that goes “The world is a book, and those who stay home read only one page.” Those words power the travel industry, but are they true?

Ticked off by hearing for the upteenth time the cruise line advertisement “Exploring the World in Comfort,” delivered in a British accent without the “r”s, like “Explo-ing the Wooolllld in Com-fot” I made a New-Year’s Resolution: Call out my friends that travel the “wooolllld” compulsively, thoughtlessly, racking up miles for yoga retreats and drinks in foreign bars.

I exempted family or business travel but when I heard from someone hanging out in, say, Costa Rica or Paris, I’d comment, “Good thing you’re not worried about your carbon footprint!” And you know what? I lost a couple of friends but others answered, and they are worried. They know what kind of damage they’re doing to the planet.

One friend argued that, to her, being alive means experiencing everything. That’s one vote for ego but I’m happy to say she didn’t disconnect and we’re still arguing and carpooling to local events. Another friend sent me articles by famous travelers—Mark Twain and Rick Steves. Each of them claimed that travel is broadening. When you are exposed to different cultures, they say, you question your own assumptions and become more accepting of differences. Really? Mark Twain’s travel mostly paid off in book sales that helped him finance increasingly bad investment decisions. Rick Steves’ travel makes his destinations popular and crowded. Friends that buy his books send pictures of themselves on beaches and castle rooftops, usually holding glasses of wine. Drinking, yes, but I haven’t seen the broadening.

The most thoughtful friend that I challenged came back with, “I know, and I’m really trying to figure out how to balance.” This is a guy that bikes everywhere, lives on a tiny budget and has no kids. He’s done everything right and I felt bad about dinging him but a resolution’s a resolution.

His answer led me to contact folks I know in the carbon-offset business. They own forests, harvest sustainably and sell shares of their carbon-gobbling trees to airlines. Are they making a difference? Or is it just bookkeeping? Both these contacts put me off, saying the business is in flux or that it’s hard to really say what good they’re doing.

Fair enough, I answered. Let me know when you have more clarity.

And, still, I wait.

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.”