Well it is official, we can no longer buy gasoline. I am forced to work from home and to grow my own food. I am lucky that the majority of my family is nearby and that I am able to still keep in contact with most of them.
We have taken to bartering and sharing with the neighbors, anything from food to clothing to skills when things go wrong. Those with clothing and mending skills are helping those that can in turn help with carpentry and animal raising. The whole it takes a village idea is coming back full force. I now understand the gravity of the feeling of desperation that must have been felt during the depression, yet the abundance of community is overwhelming as well.
We can only hope that the situation is rectified soon and that we can all go back to some semblance of the reality that we were used to before the gas/oil was not restricted.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Gas is $10? ARG3
Today while looking out my window at the gas station across the street I noted that the gas price is over $10gallon. As I slowly pick my jaw up off the floor, I reminisce on when gas was just $0.97 a gallon. What an increase!
I cannot for a moment imagine how this will actually effect my day to day life. I feel fortunate that there is the possibility for me to telecommute with my work and that I do not "have" to go into the office everyday. I am terrified though for how this effects the rest of my life. Will I be forced to start growing my own food to combat the prices that are skyrocketing to ship the products to me? I am currently wishing I had listened to my family and stockpiled while the prices were low.
Who is to blame for this? The govrment? The wars? Greedy people that cannot share with the needy? Is it time to go back to horses and buggies? To bartering and no flying? They say in the fashion world that styles come back.... maybe it is time for us to go back to the days when we didnt rely so much on gas to get us places and send in our food.
I cannot for a moment imagine how this will actually effect my day to day life. I feel fortunate that there is the possibility for me to telecommute with my work and that I do not "have" to go into the office everyday. I am terrified though for how this effects the rest of my life. Will I be forced to start growing my own food to combat the prices that are skyrocketing to ship the products to me? I am currently wishing I had listened to my family and stockpiled while the prices were low.
Who is to blame for this? The govrment? The wars? Greedy people that cannot share with the needy? Is it time to go back to horses and buggies? To bartering and no flying? They say in the fashion world that styles come back.... maybe it is time for us to go back to the days when we didnt rely so much on gas to get us places and send in our food.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
ARG2 - Mass Confusion Over Oregon State Dollar
With the new Oregon State Dollar in place the mass confusion over how it will actually work begins.
Will I be able to opt out of being paid with OSD?
What if my mortgage company is based in another state and the portion of my pay that is USD is not enough to cover my mortgage?
How will this effect my federal taxes? What happens with Oregon State taxes?
What if the town I live in is smaller and does not have a grocery store that accepts OSD and that is all I have left because I had to use my USD portion to pay for my mortgage?
Having so many what if's and alternate scenarios that cannot be accounted for in even the best of planning does not even begin to account for the fact that going to an OSD for even just partial wages could impact the amount of workers in the state. People may leave the state. They may flock to other states that are not requiring partial pay to be in a separate currency than the rest of the US. How would this effect the economy that the OSD is supposed to help?
Still all these questions and very few answers.
Will I be able to opt out of being paid with OSD?
What if my mortgage company is based in another state and the portion of my pay that is USD is not enough to cover my mortgage?
How will this effect my federal taxes? What happens with Oregon State taxes?
What if the town I live in is smaller and does not have a grocery store that accepts OSD and that is all I have left because I had to use my USD portion to pay for my mortgage?
Having so many what if's and alternate scenarios that cannot be accounted for in even the best of planning does not even begin to account for the fact that going to an OSD for even just partial wages could impact the amount of workers in the state. People may leave the state. They may flock to other states that are not requiring partial pay to be in a separate currency than the rest of the US. How would this effect the economy that the OSD is supposed to help?
Still all these questions and very few answers.
Monday, April 18, 2011
ARG1 "Oregon State Dollar another Continenental Currency?"
Recently Oregon has proposed the idea of having it's own currency to pay wages to it's workers. Hoping to boost the Oregon economy and help keep the value of the Oregon State Dollar (OSD) from depreciating.
However this has been tried before... The Continental Currency offered during and after the Revolutionary War caused great problems and eventually more debt. The British were able to counterfeit these bills on a massive level as there was less regulation over them as the US Dollar. Ultimately this depreciated the Continental Currency even more, leaving the currency at fractions of the value it once had.
Add all this to the fact that the US Constitution states:
"Section. 10.No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
Is this OSD going to be of gold or silver coin? How will the state manage to mint these coins and not send us straight into debt? How can the state see this as a way to positively handle financial issues? This currency idea raises far more questions than we are given answers.
However this has been tried before... The Continental Currency offered during and after the Revolutionary War caused great problems and eventually more debt. The British were able to counterfeit these bills on a massive level as there was less regulation over them as the US Dollar. Ultimately this depreciated the Continental Currency even more, leaving the currency at fractions of the value it once had.
Add all this to the fact that the US Constitution states:
"Section. 10.No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
Is this OSD going to be of gold or silver coin? How will the state manage to mint these coins and not send us straight into debt? How can the state see this as a way to positively handle financial issues? This currency idea raises far more questions than we are given answers.
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