Recently I took in my parents' cat, Molly, because they went on a long vacation to Florida and had no one else to take care of her while they were away.
Having two cats of my own, I thought nothing of it; that is, until Molly arrived.
It's been a week since Molly came to my apartment and she hasn't gotten close to settling in yet. Every time Molly sees one of my two other cats she starts growling and hissing, and sometimes she even lashes out and attacks one of the cats.
Molly is an older cat, more than 8- years-old is the best we've been able to guess, and it appears she doesn't like the change from being alone and ruler of her domain to having to share a living space.
My situation at home got me thinking about the current state of our economy and how a lot of things have changed in a short time.
Banks stumbling, having to foreclose on houses, our financial system in New York nearly failing and the current unemployment rate at around 10 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Although this problem isn't that new, as we have all seen the repercussions ripple through our lives during the past year and a half, it appears many people are taking the path that Molly has taken.
Republicans, Democrats, and talking heads on TV and countless others growling and hissing at each other, blaming them for their share of the problem and complaining about the other side's possible solutions.
I don't know about you, but to me this is a very discouraging prospect, finger pointing and mudslinging instead of corrective action isn't going to make the problem better; it will only make it worse.
This economic crisis, if you will, happened for a reason, and the longer we sit on our hands and complain, the longer it will continue.
We should be taking this time to figure out why certain sectors failed, or weakened, instead of trying to blame someone or thing for it.
Like the housing crisis—although many of you do not yet own a house of your own, it will happen sooner than later—which occurred not because banks did or did not do something, or because consumers did or did not do something.
The housing market collapsed because of both consumer and banker. People were taking out loans that they couldn't afford and bankers were willing to hand out loans with little to no money down.
What happened on Wall Street is very similar to what happened to banks and homeowners; people worried about the here and now, not looking down the road to possible repercussions.
A similar situation occurred in the workforce; it wasn't just businesses that did poorly and had to layoff employees. Those same employees weren't let go because they were the best at their place of employment. Instead it was a combination of a business under performing and an employee under performing as well.
Now I'm not saying that the people who were laid off, or fired, deserved it, I'm just saying getting mad at one's former employer and placing the blame solely on them is a mistake.
In times like these we need shared responsibility instead of blame and anger. We also can't wait for things to correct themselves. Instead we need to go out and change our situations. If there is a workshop in your field, go to it instead of watching television; if you need a financial explanation, go out and get it.
Being proactive is the only way to correct what has happened. Growling and hissing at the situation or its participants is just going to make things worse for everyone.
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