We sheep are scared and with good reason

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The often tossed about phrases these days of "consumer confidence," "herd mentality" and "investor anxiety" raise my hackles.

The president urges us to spend to save the economy. Sorry, but after "spending" half my paycheck on Bank of America and Chase and various other bills, I just don't have that much left to contribute to the economy, Mr. President.

Wednesday was the first time in months I paid to eat at a restaurant. It was a celebration of my bank account actually having enough money to pay my bills this month.

Vicky got her notice her special education teaching job is terminated in June, what we in Illinois call a reduction in force. She got "RIFfed out" and is not confident she will be rehired. So she spends her days teaching, comes home, fires up the computer and spends a couple hours looking for job leads. Except for Tuesday night when she covered our bed with her bills and crunched numbers to see what she could pay now and what could wait.

Now I can't find my car title that I need before I can sell it for the tow bill. That or fork over $5,000 for a new engine on a station wagon with the odometer reading over 244,000. So I'll probably be spending my tax return with the Secretary of State's Office for a duplicate title.

Again, sorry I'm not more of a spending-to-save-the-economy-type patriot, Mr. President, but I'm tapped and I'm not the only one.

There are many theories batted about on the cause of this recession, but has anybody considered the American consumer is now the consumed?

Maybe the American consumer is finally spending responsibly, that is, buying what is needed for survival with whatever is left after 30-percent interest credit card bills, prescription medication, court fines, cable bills, cell phone bills, Internet bills, car payments, mortgages, Christmas presents, gasoline and everything else we consider to be important.

Now I'm supposed to save the economy, too, with a trip to Wal-Mart to buy things I can do without? That philosophy may explain the national debt and Illinois' $11.5 billion deficit.

The Illinois budget is so bad that it can no longer afford to employ my girlfriend, leaving me, potentially, as the sole bread-earner in a household of three, sometimes four and sometimes five.

Unlike the state and federal government, when I spend more than I have -- as I have at least once this year -- I get charged $30 for an overdraft and an extra $30 for every purchase I make not knowing I am over budget.

Then the banks that punish us with these overdraft charges get offers of millions of tax dollars -- some of which is mine -- by the federal government.

Then the feds try to placate me by cutting my taxes so that my paycheck might have an extra $10 in it. But then our governor -- who can't afford to employ my girlfriend anymore -- wants to impose an income tax raise which will soak up all, if not more than, all that extra money the President is giving me.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out how I can afford to make car payments and not have to drive loaners all the time.

And while I'm trying to juggle all these financial problems, the so-called experts are saying I am a sheep following the herd of people holding onto their money because they have been scared into it by the media.

Are those experts so out of touch they don't realize there are people simply trying to survive? Are they ignoring the statistics that show Illinois' unemployment rate is the highest it's been in 18 years? Those figures do not indicate sheep too scared to graze because of the media, that's sheep scared by the wolves eyeing them at the pasture's edge.

No, I'm not buying CDs or clothes or gadgets or gizmos. I'm buying food packages from Angel Food Ministries at Cornerstone Worship Center, about $30 for a week's supply of food. And I recommend a lot of other people around here do that, too, because I know there are sheep here a lot more scared than me.

Love song

Mark Donham of Brookport is mainly known in our area as an environmental activist, but he is also an artist, musical performer and songwriter. On Valentine's Day, the Guys All Star Shoe Band performed his song "As Long as the Stars Shine" on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Donham sent a digital version of the song as part of a love song and poetry contest.

"I actually was on the air introducing the song, and I mentioned Southern Illinois," Donham said.

The song is archived on the website www.prairiehome.org

Ghent honored

I've spent much of this column complaining about stuff the government is doing that is beyond my control. But you can't say U.S. Rep. John Shimkus is unaware of us here in the county.

He recently honored Harrisburg insurance man Bill Ghent whose company, Bill Ghent Inc., celebrates its 100th year of business this year. Shimkus read passages of my recent newspaper story on the company's 100 years in a statement that was entered into the permanent Congressional Record March 17.

Shimkus' statement is on the Library of Congress website at thomas.loc.gov, but I found it difficult to locate. I had to do a search on Google.com for "Bill Ghent Library of Congress" to find it.

I'm sure Ghent was pleased.

I also am honored to have my own writing read before Congress and entered into the Congressional Record.

It would have been more of an honor to me if I had been given credit for the writing, though.

-- DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.