Free response

I know people who say that the recession we are in was emphasized way more than it should have been, for reasons similar to what happened with Germany in the 1930's. I wonder if that's outlandish or if it really is something worth looking into.

I can kind of see where those people are going with it. Germany saw Hitler as a man that would help them. That's a bit how I see other people looking at Obama. They see him as someone who would provide radical change, and that he will get us out of this mess.

Whenever people talk about the economy, all that's in the discussion is economics. I never hear the political and social aspect of it all. What if we are giving Obama too much power with all of this? There are plenty of people that are against him. Problem is, some of those people hate him due to racism, and why would anyone with open thought want to associate with that? Was that Obama's plan, if there was one?

I probably sound crazy when I say all this, but it really is on my mind. I see other patterns, and if you look at it openly it really does seem to come together.

I would hate giving up...

If our economic trouble right now turns into anything like the great depression, and I would need to force myself to give up everything I don't need, I would miss my ipod. I would give it up and try to sell it to make extra money, but the music kind of soothes me when I get upset. Considering we're in a period in time where everything's going to upset people, it would be a hard thing to not have.

I could just keep my cd player and keep all my cd's though. I don't know if anybody would use that now anyway, so if I tried selling it I probably wouldn't make much money.

Teddy Roosevelt

I've decided to go through with my decision to preserve the forests. I think it'll help us economically and politically as well.

The American Industry will alwaus need wood, water, and other minerals. Americans know that. I think one thing that's hard to understand is that these resources are not unlimited. I think these conservation can work as an abundant last resort if we were ever desperate for the necessitie. The Buffalo became extremely endangered. I think this will be a wake up call to Americans that nothing is forever, and we need to try to save what we have.

But this isn't only an act of conserving resources. This will help with our democracy. It will express the democratic way of selflessness, that we work to preserve things greater than ourselves. At the end of the depression we shouldn't discard these conservation projects. This could help us economically for future generations as well.

This could help with the way other nations percieve us. We are a young country, yet we are making more and more technological and industrial advances everyday. Maybe respect will come for us if they see that our concerns are with nature as well.

I hope this works out.

Journal #3 for Boom and Bust

I become a little scared at the idea of the company owner looking out for my interest. That's not what will help his salary. He will reduce my pay because it would help him economically. This would not sound like a good situation because there's no room for objection unless I am to quit.The labor agitators benefit from helping me financially, while to the company owner I'm just another small worker.

This sounds a lot like a monopoly situation on the workers side. I only have one source to worry about my money. I simply have to trust the man that would benefit from not paying me to pay me the proper ammount of money to live.

I would very quickly start trying to look for another job, even if it is in another factory. I would look but not touch until my wages start to decrease. If nothing else is available, I would hope that he doesn't decrease my pay, even though I know that's what will eventually happen.

I wouldn't strike. I know that people who strike often end up being much worse than they already are. Instead I would raise awareness and tell as many people about it as people, so that people on the outside can help.

Mexican Sweatshop Worker.

I wake up, hesitant to make too much noise for the others around me. Twelve in a room isn't very comfy, but I manage.
I wake up earlier than most of my workers because I walk to my job; I don't have a car or a bike. All the money I make goes to feeding me and my family and getting by with paying my share of the rent. After walking about ten miles I get to the factory I work in at six o' clock, a.m. I help make T-shirts.
I immediately get sent to my part of the assembly line, folding clothes for shipping. I'm one of the lucky ones. Just yesterday some guy lost his hand while working the fabric machine. He simply held on to the cloth for too long. He got fired that day for "malpractice with the machine." Not even two weeks notice. I would be angry, but this is the only job i can get at the moment, and I need to work to survive, so speaking up to the boss is not an option.
I worked through lunch again today. I figure with more production that happens because of me, maybe I'll earn extra money for something.
I got off work at eight o' clock p.m. I really wish our hours were what counted in the pay instead of production. I would have a lot more money if that was the case.
I make dinner for my family coming home from their jobs. Then we socialize a little, and I shower a little and go to bed at ten.

19th Century invention

Without the invention of the battery, I'm not too sure how today's life would be able to work the way it does.
Without the battery, I wouldn't wake up to an alarm clock every morning. Without my alarm clock I'm always too tired to wake up. We wouldn't be able to tell time the way we do, for that matter. Cd players wouldn't be able to work away from an outlet. Pretty much anything that is electrical would not exist, or would but without efficiency.
Although, hindsight kind of makes me wish the battery wasn't invented. Without my alarm clock maybe my sleeping patterns would be more steady, causing less health problems. Maybe without the option of meesing around with technology for hours on end would increase work and production. Maybe the ideal of things being "easier" for us only caused prolonged hardship. I guess what I mean to say is the idea of living without the power of a battery is unimaginable, and maybe that isn't such a good thing that we have something so easy to take for granted.