It Strikes Me Funny PT 2: It’s not like we don’t know

We know US national debt will surpass $15 Trillion this year.

We know Canada's debt will surpass $600 Billion this year.

We know personal debt will eventually back many families into a corner. They will only escape with a smaller lifestyle.

We know oil prices have quadrupled since 2000 and global oil consumption has grown steadily since 1984.


We know the oil bubble will burst.

What we don’t know is what to do about these things.

Personally, I think long distance training is in order.

For example, if personal debt is like an ever-tightening noose, a person or family should seek assistance from a bank or financial advisor, strictly monitor credit card use or cut them up, begin keeping a detailed budget, reduce spending on non-essential or frivolous items, develop the habit of living - for the long-term - under one’s means. That's for starters.


As many know, long distance runners work hard for weeks, months and years to train for fast marathon times. Success doesn’t come easy.

Individuals and families must train themselves too, over the long term again, to steadily decrease debt and then to accumulate savings.

Thanks to recent news, we now know the cheap food bubble will soon burst, if it has not done so already.


Canadians and Americans have enjoyed cheap food for many, many years. It has been reported that Canadians on average spend 10% of disposable income on food, Americans - 13%, while in China the average is 39%, even higher (45%) in Indonesia. (Feb. 14, London Free Press)

A senior market analyst predicted that “food prices will likely increase 5% to 10% over the next year or so.”

Already much complaining has started.

One subheading in the recent news article declared, “Record high prices blamed for political unrest.”

While that is definitely true, the reverse is also true, that political unrest will also soon be blamed for record high prices because unrest, e.g., in Libya, will jack up the already rising oil prices.

There are several other factors affecting rising grocery prices, but so far no one has suggested that long distance training will help ease the pain.

I for one think it will.

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More to follow.

Please click here to read “It’s not like we don’t know PT 1”

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