"Despite a 70% pay cut, I'm kinda happy..."

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/01/news/economy/pay_cuts/index.htm?cnn=yes

The article above is a sign of the times, but hopefully when we read news like this, we more than empathize with those that are going through challenging times. We must also reflect on what got us into this mess and what can we learn from it.

Yesterday I was eating lunch with a couple of friends from high school. We were discussing world events, my impending trip to Peru, and communication between us going forward. At one point a friend of mine called from France, at another point, one of the people having lunch with me received a call from his sister in Spain. This led to a conversation about things that have become "needs."

Our cell phones are now a need, we must also have unlimited text messaging, Internet, 1000 minutes, and a touch screen (I'm guilty of having all of the above). Yet, one must ask: "what did we do before all of this?" This tech package runs me about $90 per month. Writing that out just makes me feel sick! Then there's the navigation package we have in our cars, the flat screen TV with HD, and now this Blue-Ray DVD thing.

What would you do if your pay dropped 70%? What would you cut out? How many of us budget? Do we really know where our money goes, or is it better that we don't balance our checkbooks and review our credit card statements because we don't really want to deal with our poor stewardship with our money. Again, I'm guilty of many of these things.

After reading the CNN article above, however, it really made me think about how recessions are a good cleansing for society. Now don't get me wrong, there are certainly a lot of terrible things that happen to real people during times like this, but I think during economic prosperity we tend to become afraid of sacrifice.

The man quoted at the end of the article says, "I'm kinda happy." He may just be happy to have a job, but I would actually pose that he's "kinda happy" about shedding some of the distractions in his life, some of the wants that became "needs."

At work we have a leadership training called "Back to Basics," I can't think of a better thing for our economy, for society, for families, than a "Back to Basics" type class. Let's turn down the music, switch off the TV, close down the computer, ignore that last text message we received, and get to know our neighbor - not the neighbor halfway around the world, but our next door neighbor. Let's also remember what good credit and bad credit is, realize that we can't love things, but only people.

There have been many commentators who have analyzed the culture war that is underway in the US today. Some cite the differences between rural and urban Americans, their political and religious practices, as well as the way they see the world. For me, I think the difference is in how they see their neighbor. The rural American, even though their neighbor may be a mile down the road, knows their neighbor better than those of us who live with 1,000 people in a square mile!

There's no question that both sides can learn something from one another, but to me, we need to get back to the basics and consider what happiness really is. Then, and only then, can we be "kinda happy" with a 70% pay cut.