I was all ready to write a scathing post . . .

About how sick I am of hearing about the "economic crisis." There's always been an "economic crisis"; it's called poverty. But no one referred to it as a crisis till rich people and big corporations started losing money. I forgot that big corporations employ human beings, too.

I still stand by my original premise, though, that politicians, Republican and Democrat, have been ignoring the real crisis for years:

• It's a crisis that loyal employees who've been with the same company for 30, 35, 40 years are being "right-sized" or "bought out" because their employer won't pay their salary and benefits.


• It's a crisis that senior citizens and the working poor get caught in a double-bind -- too many assets or too much income for government assistance, not enough assets or income to be fully self-sufficient.


• It's a crisis that there's not enough safe, healthy, appropriate housing for homeless people, particularly families.


• It's a crisis that people with disabilities, particularly veterans with disabilities, have to go through a ridiculous amount of bureaucracy to get ANY sort of assistance.


• It's a crisis that small businesses are hampered by so much bureaucracy and so many regulations that it's difficult to exist, let alone turn a profit.


• It's a crisis that CEOs and company owners don't care that their employees are struggling and say things like "We're not going to participate in this bad economy," or "I'm getting my cut."


• The biggest crisis: Everyone's looking for something -- or someone -- to blame. Illegal immigrants, big corporations, the "welfare state," capitalism, Satan, personal irresponsibility, you name it.

Here's a concept -- stop looking for faults, and start working on finding a solution. Buying a generator and stocking up on ammo and canned goods is NOT finding a solution. Neither is becoming a news junkie (or the flip side, going on a complete media fast because it's too depressing).