It's a Crazy World We Live In!

So, the financial markets here in the USA went into a tailspin today, directly connected to President Trump's announcement concerning tariffs on goods and services from other countries.

I used to watch the financial news with at least a minimum of interest, but I am increasingly giving up on that. Seems like our elected "powers that be" have less understanding of money and psychology than your average 14 year old, so trying to keep up with it all has merely become a point of frustration rather than a point of illumination.

In some ways, there's something freeing about just letting go of your attachment to any kind of outcome in the economic end of our lives… after all, I have repeatedly been reminded — by experience — that we actually have absolutely no control over most of the things that happen in the world.

As a self-employed person, I have actually lost more gigs and professions to outside forces than I care to think about, going back all the way to experiencing my fairly lucrative existence as a technical writer on a contract basis (when all of a sudden the Internet made it possible to easily outsource the work to people in Southeast Asia with English degrees) to 30 years later increasingly experiencing my work as a proofreader and editor is being taken over by AI.

Maybe I've just made singularly poor choices and I'm paying the price for that… on the other hand, maybe the price I'm "paying" is actually that of choosing to be authentic to my own sense of self rather than succumbing to some mindless job working for a soulless corporation.

Which isn't to say that it wouldn't be nice to have a regular paycheck now and then!

I don't know what the current economic debacle is going to mean for all of us, but I have a feeling that an economic recession is in the works for us, and that we can look forward to a pretty long period of austerity.

At least— from a personal perspective — I'm expecting a fairly protracted period of financial austerity in my life.

And it doesn't seem like crypto investments are likely to come to the rescue!

As I inch closer and closer to my retirement years, I've become increasingly aware there is very little chance that I will actually be able to retire. Whatever retirement savings I had — once upon a time — they have long since gone to fund financial disasters, ranging from outrageous medical bills to simply the ever increasing cost of living.

At least I get to live in my house for another here, the annual property tax payment was just submitted, and I suppose I should be grateful for that. The thing I can't help but wonder about is who is going to buy all these luxury houses that are being built all around if people have less and less money thanks to declining economic conditions?

So I write these words and hope that I can come back here in a few days determine that maybe a little of the madness has subsided. I'm not going to hold my breath though…

So, I will be back to working very long days tomorrow... regardless of where the economy might be helping, and crossing my fingers that it will be rnough...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!

How about you? Does the world every feel to you like it has gone crazy? Do you think politicians actually have ANY idea what they are doing? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2025.04.03 23:52 PDT
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