Gas or Food? Oh, Cry Me a River

Cue the violins. Here come the sad songs, the despairing portraits, the finger pointing and—once again—the flushing of common sense straight down the drain.

Forget politics for a moment. It doesn't matter who's at fault for the government shutdown—even though we know it's the Democrats, to be clear about that. What matters is that paychecks are frozen, and yes, that stinks. Nobody wants to work for free. But the work still has to be done, and someone still has to do it.

And let's be honest. Those paychecks will eventually arrive. That's not the real issue.

After the Great Depression one lesson became painfully clear: You cannot depend on the economy, your job, or any so-called "safety net" to rescue you when things collapse. You have to rely on yourself. At least to some degree, you have to be prepared.

What did Rush Limbaugh used to tell us? Create your own economy so you aren't forced to abide by the rules of the real one.

That's why the 6-month rule was born. Save half a year's salary and create a rainy-day fund. It's been preached for nearly a century. Yet here we are, hearing stories of air traffic controllers—who earn around $125,000 a year by the way—claiming they can't afford gas to get to work.

So, what happened? Did they miss the memo? Ignore the advice? Or simply choose not to prepare?

Look, I'm not without compassion. I understand the frustration. Even when it comes to the world outside of government, CEOs make decisions all the time and someone gets hurt in the process and people have to make tough choices.

But let's be real. What these air traffic controllers are facing, and what anyone faces in this position—it's a self-inflicted wound. Jobs vanish. Paychecks stop. That's life. It's been this way since the beginning of time.

So, who's to blame when you're left exposed? The greedy rich? The bickering government? Society? The system? Or maybe, it's you. The one who ignored the warnings, skipped the preparation, and left yourself vulnerable.

Spare me the sob stories. Life isn't fair. Sometimes you're left holding the bag through no fault of your own. But the larger truth is timeless. This cycle has repeated for generations and will repeat long after today's headlines fade.

From layoffs to government shutdowns to people losing their SNAP benefits, the story is always the same. It's someone else's fault that someone must suffer. Yet, as I said before, it's not like the memo hasn't been out there for everyone to plainly see it. The endless dependence. The failure of so many people in society to be able to fend for themselves in some way when the time comes.

People making six-figures living paycheck to paycheck.

Like I said, I am not without compassion or feeling. I do get it. But I also get that sometimes things are just beyond our control, and so we have to have a backup plan to compensate for that.

The harsh reality is that if you are caught unprepared, it's your own damn fault. It's really as simple as that. End of story. Stop the violins.

You wrote the song, but you missed the chorus. And like all choruses do, that's the part that repeats over and over again and sticks the most prominently in memory. It's hard for me to shed a tear when someone falls victim to the obvious.

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©2025 Jim Bauer