I want to write this as a place marker in November 2024. I want to remember how I am feeling and see what comes true and what doesn’t by 2028, our projected move-in date to the Ridge Road house.
I am essentially an optimist. I don’t know how much of this was programmed at birth and how much was instilled in me via my life experiences, but an optimist I am. I remember just last month agreeing with James Carville (an ornery man who can be foul-mouthed yet speaks the truth, starting as a comedian and becoming someone who could speak out to the media about political truths).
“James Carville: Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win”
Oct. 23, 2024 NY Times Guest Opinion Essay
I saw Kamala’s consistently huge crowds, enthusiastic Americans cheering her on. She was tireless, moving state to state to talk with
everyday Americans. I saw Trump barely trying to campaign. I heard her plans for helping people, I read about Trump’s agenda to cut government programs using Elon Musk’s ideas for an efficiency plan. People had to see the writing on the wall and vote for her right?! Why wouldn’t they?!
Then November 5th arrived. My 6-year-old granddaughter had asked me, “Grammy, when we wake up in the morning will we know who the president is?” I told her that it might take a few days of counting since the polls showed that the election would be very close. Nope. We knew right away on November 5th, probably before she even went to bed. What had happened? Many folks had warned the polls have been wrong before, don’t listen to polls (and believe me I wanted to believe that the polls would be wrong and Harris would win in a landslide).
Trump and his people are calling it a mandate. Nope again. After many days of counting, it turns out less than 50% of Americans voted for him, but he is still what we are stuck with.
And as the days progress (it’s been about 2 weeks) it is clear that he will move ahead with his choosing of MAGA supporters into cabinet positions, inexperienced, wealthy, and with one thing on their minds, to make American great again for themselves. Other Trump voters just want a simple, conservative dream- get government out of our lives.
Even though economic experts in this country had said the economy as of November 5, 2024 was doing exceedingly well, the voters who chose Trump said they did so because the economy is bad. Yes, groceries are expensive and yes, many Americans who are first-time homebuyers are finding it near impossible to buy a house. But Harris wanted to help with both of those items- stop price gouging and find ways to help first-time homebuyers. Now we’ll never know if her ideas would have helped.
If Elon Musk’s plans to slash the government are enacted, he has said Americans should “brace themselves for hardship.” He seems to think that the good stuff will eventually happen, but not at first. Economists have warned that if Trump’s “most beautiful word” Tariffs are put into place- consumers will pay higher prices, it will cause inflation, lead to higher unemployment and lower wages.
I am selfish like those wealthy Republicans out there and don’t want our family’s nest egg to be destroyed. I differ from them on how our economy should be handled. I don’t want more tax breaks for the rich that only benefit the rich. I don’t want cuts to programs that help my fellow Americans. I don’t want the economy to backslide and cause the chunk of money we have now to be erased from the books.
Am I being alarmist? Time will be the truth-teller. As much as I am an optimist, I am also an alarmist. I remember when Covid first hit and ambulances were lining up on streets of NYC, bodies were piling up and morgues were running out of space. I was an alarmist then, thinking it might cause civil unrest. It started with toilet paper hoarding, but how bad could it get? The normal U.S. delivery system was a mess. I even thought about ways of securing our house, would we need to put in a wooden 2x4 across our French doors to make them impossible to force open?
My questions today are- will we get to move forward with our house project in Vermont? Will our funding be gone? Will our current house be worthless since there will be no one who can afford to buy it, virtually erasing our equity?
By 2028 I think there will be bigger things to worry about than just building a house. But then again, I am an alarmist.
(As I said, this is a place marker for myself.)