Deal on the Deficit?

I am watching the deficit discussions. I have made plans if the Federal Government has to stop and if it does not. I imagine that I am not the only person that is being cautious with my money. I am talking the business and personal finances. I wonder how many more households and businesses are thinking twice on every financial move.

Maybe they have a deal. Maybe it is so bad that they are waiting until the last minute. I came to this conclusion last night after hearing about 2 people dodging a question. The questioner asks what happens if the deficit is not handled. The two people are Timothy Geithner (Secretary of the Treasury) and Nancy Pelosi. They both continue to answer that a deal will be made. They will not tell what happens if the shutdown occurs.

I keep hearing that they all want housing to recover. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that housing will take some years to begin to recover. It will probably never be at the level that we saw it the last ten years. Anyone that does not understand that needs to take a look at the demographics of this country.

At the end of the year we had over 40 million people on Medicare. Use that number for the group over 65. Then take 78 million as the number of us baby boomers. We are that generation born between 1946 and 1963 or 1964 (depending on who you ask). We cannot live forever. At some time the houses that we live in will be vacated. They will come on the market.

Now let’s consider that salaries/wages will be stagnant for some time. Normally a recession causes the unskilled to lose the jobs. This recession has unemployed a large number of skilled and older workers. Companies can hire them cheaper than they used to earn. Being older, they may have health problems that companies do not want to put on their health care plans. This is going to make it harder to get the unemployed back on employment.

I like to know where I stand. I like to understand any change and its impact on me as fully as possible. To me, Washington needs to be upfront and settle this deficit question for the next 2 years. They will have to consider the consequences of the above in the deal. Then we can begin to move forward.