Solve it? Nah, I’m trying to fix it!

It’s kind of an understatement to say that things in our financial backyard are really not in the best shape they could be. Watching the TV folks try to get all their perspectives sorted out, it is quite clear that we live in a fix-it world, don’t we? Actually, more accurately, we live in a ‘fix the symptoms’ or ‘make the symptoms go away’ world.

Maybe it could be stated simply….get us back to yesterday….please!

And do it now!

But if our personal lives are a microcosm of the bigger world, then it’s no wonder we are so impatient…or so hard-wired to look for the quick fix.
When I go to my doctor, he wants to do a quick diagnosis and see what he has in his prescription bag that might work for me….if he sees symptoms of a problem. But it’s to alleviate the symptoms only, without really solving the issue. 

If my head hurts, Tylenol might take away most or all of the immediate pain, but what caused it is still present. I don’t think my head hurts because my body is running low on Tylenol and it needs to be topped up!

The medical fixers ‘fixed’ my gallbladder problem by removing the gall bladder. No gall bladder = no problematic symptoms. Simple. If that causes new symptoms, then they’ll offer me some kind of ‘fixer’ drug, I’m sure. But it was done quickly…..that seemed the best solution through the eyes of someone who makes his living doing surgery. 

More and more, relationships are handled the same way. You got a problem? Cut out the partners and that’ll get rid of the symptoms!

My computer is so full of fixes on top of fixes I need a bigger hard drive! The experts suggest that getting to a clean start might be more trouble than living with all my fixes. “If you are interested, there is a brand new ‘quick fix’ on the market.” Oh well.

We keep getting news items about more ‘studies’ that indicate our diseases and illnesses are caused by genetic malfunctions…..and more drugs are on the horizon.
In the background, the health ‘alternatives’ are offering, “What about fixing the whole person?” But that’s not quick enough.

Then there is the psychology industry who jump in and ‘interpret’ what is going on….and they have their own bag of solutions…..yep, including drugs. But among my friends who have ever gone the psychology route, it never seems to be a quick fix…more of a syndrome…..seems everything these days is a syndrome, requiring scads of intervention.

Of course, their diagnosis is a quick one……so as to start ‘treatment’ as soon as possible.

And don’t get me started on how difficult and costly the legal establishment can make things!

Okay, let’s take a short breather here…..because we are approaching the item most on our minds right now. What is the quick fix that will make all things better financially? Isn’t that what the debate is all about…..who has the quicker solution?

No, I don’t have a solution.
And, going back to the above ‘rant’, what aren’t we noticing? Let me throw in a couple of things that cross my mind….mainly, we aren’t noticing that when the medical, psychological, technical, legal, etc. cause huge damages to health and life…..and they do (heck, we all screw up somehow in whatever our profession is!)….we still use the same resources (those people) to fix the problem and we pay the costs of the repairs.

So, for example, we do not throw out the surgeon and replace him with a carpenter. We allow the surgeons to make corrections.

And the other thing…..I don’t think we have any idea of what we must pay to get the quality people to solve the problems that were caused. Maybe we’ll have to pay a premium to the same people who might have had some part in it, even if it just doesn’t seem fair.

What would really matter would be to notice that most of our plans tend to generate a life of their own, as soon as we create them. Variables and unforeseen circumstances appear and turn things a different direction. That’s really what causes them to collapse. No one knows who ends up steering the ship! Or, once the ship is heading for the rocks, it cannot be turned around since those other variables are now in play and not easily controllable.

What would really matter at this moment is what we do about us as a world community, given the situation we all are in. I don’t think the solution is to grab my neighbor’s house since it was repossessed, even if that is the acceptable ‘capitalistic’ way.

If we ever needed another opportunity to look at what matters to us as human beings, this is it!

Rich