Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge

Talk of the Nation had a conversation on Tuesday with John Edwards about poverty in America.

I’d say I’m a liberal. I’m not a fan on John Edwards per se, but my old roommate works for him now as a policy analyst. What I liked about the interview is that Mr. Edwards talks about helping everyone who is poor in a holistic kind of way, not just a temporary band-aid. He seemed to have a genuine clue about all the things that keep people in poverty. I didn’t know that the percentage of people in poverty after LBJ’s War on Poverty program actually did fall significantly.

I like that he talked about folks who had 3 jobs to make ends meet and if that any of the jobs offered healthcare, that would mean they could quit one job and try to have some quality of life with their families. It’s a real problem when people actually work hard but can’t rise up out of poverty. I think that’s why the Wall Street Journal article means so much to me. My parents didn’t have a lot when they arrived here 32 years ago, and while they aren’t stunningly rich, they are solidly middle-class. I would like to think America is still a place where hard work and saving money means security. Otherwise, what are all these personal finance blogs about?

I struggle to moderate my wishes for finer things. Tonight I was at a yuppie bowling joint in Downtown DC. Yes, I did end up carpooling. The parking was miraculously cheap tonight with validation, $7, which my friend paid. I picked up a beer for me and one for her and tip for $11. The restaurant had a sign out front about a dress code. I almost stopped my friend there and said I’m going home.

I don’t like being told how to dress to go out, and I liked it even less when I saw that everyone was there to be seen. The deep irony was the artwork on the wall. It was done by Shepard Fairey, one of my favorite artists. He is well known for his Andre the Giant OBEY posters. His work used to be plastered all over the then-yuppifying Mission District in San Francisco during the mid-late ’90s. To me, his work is about not OBEYing advertising and what our eyeballs intake in the media, hence my lack of a TV at home. I admit it. I am sheep. Advertising has an effect on me. That seemingly contradicts Marshall McLuhan, but the OBEY posters give me hope that I can fight the powers out there that are enticing me to spend my money away until I’m in debt. I will NOT OBEY and buy things till I’m deep in debt. I will obey myself and my life goals, and that little Save-O-Meter in the corner.

(ps - I dropped a little cash into ING today. Not enough to move the Save-O-Meter, but enough to make some progress.)