The buck stops where?

I just flew in from London … and boy, are my arms tired. Ba Da Bing.

I know, I know, blame it on the jet lag, too much chocolate in the waiting lounge at Heathrow along with a bow to long-time comic, Henny Youngman known for his trademark one-liners.

All that sugar and my mind lights upon Snoopy, who would, if you recall, began his great American novel with the words "on a dark and stormy night." Words that were totally apropos as I landed last night at New York´s John F. Kennedy Airport in the midst of a furious rain storm.

Word play notwithstanding, I left the US three weeks ago for another kind of spiritual adventure and returned last night to a seemingly new and different America. My country is noticeably fragile. It is, indeed, a dark and stormy night.

It is odd to be away from my home country, when so much is happening. I would listen to the BBC and troll the Internet for news. I asked friends for information. "What´s going on?" I wailed. I felt powerless. And, clearly, what I could I really do to help? Yet, as you, no doubt, understand, it´s hard to be away from home when there is a crisis.

That´s what they call it in England, "a credit crisis." And they are experiencing similar woes with their mortgage companies and banks. One Brit told me that during Margaret Thatcher´s reign much of the British infrastructure was sold off to other countries. It sounds like all those miles of thistle-filled lands and castles in Scotland are owned by non-UK interests, as are England´s primary utility companies. Who knew? But, then again, China and Japan own an ever-increasing piece of the American pie.

The Internet has become the global town square. It is the place where everything is discussed. The real and the unreal, the crazy and the wretched, the ridiculous and the significant, it all gets played out on the e-waves.

My friend wrote me and told me that in North Carolina, for example, there are serious gas shortages. There are gas stations closed due to no supply, and there are long lines when a tanker truck full of gas pulls into a waiting station. I heard of a government office with non-essential business as well as a community college that were closed due to the gasoline shortages. People traveling on business were apprehensive if they could make it to their final destinations. In other words, the shortages were serious; they curtailed business and interfered with daily life.

I spoke with a friend in France. Her income is limited, and she wonders how she can pay for heating oil in her home this winter. She estimates she can pay enough to keep her home at 58 degrees; that´s right 58 degrees. I am sure there are countless Americans who will find themselves in a similar, or even icier, spots as the temperatures drop.

Following Hurricane Ike, my emails to a friend in Houston were returned as undeliverable, and I was unable to make telephone contact. The fourth largest city in the US experienced massive power outages. I´m told the children just went back to school, two weeks after the fact. And New Orleans, still limping along after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, remains broken.

The metaphysical types have been forecasting these particular events for the last few years. They have interpreted the energetic waves and seen the interplay of shadows and read the signs.

But, then again, you don´t have to be a mind reader to know that Enron was a yellow warning flare as were the voting procedures of the 2004 elections. And, by golly, folks, despite the current administration´s assurances to the contrary, we are experiencing global warming. And Mother Nature is talking to us. I still can´t get out of my mind an article I read somewhere that discussed a possible consequence of some off-shore and/or Alaskan drilling would be a shifting of the tectonic plates. That could be quite messy. Wouldn´t you agree, California?

And then there are the wars that cost billions in dollars, casualties and collateral damage -- and even more in heartache and loss.

The spiritual read on all that is happening is that we, and that means all of us, are called to come together, to share resources and create a global community of interdependence. The basic fact is we need each other. Plain and simple.

Have you heard of this Birk Recovery Plan that has been circulating the Internet? I have no idea whether this is true or false, but it does make me think and, for that, I am grateful.

Hi Pals,

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to

pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. Repay college loans - what a

great boost to new grads. Put away money for college - it'll be there. Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs. Invest in the market -

capital drives growth. Pay for your parent's medical insurance – health care improves. Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And, of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up

and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington, DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

T. J. Birkenmeier,

A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!"

I´m not sure how savvy this concept is in real economic terms, much less if his math is accurate, but on a psychological level, it provides an open window and new way at looking at things. I like that, but I do wonder if this hypothetical recovery plan were to become real, would we become responsible beings as suggested, or we would blow this crazy windfall in some hedonistic, never-ending Las Vegas weekend and end up gazing at our respective navels with the roof still leaking and the bills unpaid after the good times had ended? In other words, we would be bitten by the Greed Monster and forget all of our noble ideas and plans.

See, it´s this idea of responsibility that has me by the ear.

I read in an essay entitled "Full Moon over Wall Street" by Eric Francis of Planet Waves fame. Francis states that between 1993 and 2007, Dick Fuld, the CEO of Lehman Brothers took home $466 million in pay. (Francis reports his source as Equilar, an executive pay research firm.)

What about we knock on the doors of these senior officers and board members and say, "Hey, pal, you have to pay x millions in punitive damages. We are happy to take a personal check." We make bartenders responsible if they over serve you and you drive home drunk and end up in an accident. Can´t we tackle the white-collar crowd and make them pay for their greed, deliberate obfuscation and disregard? Hell, I think we all have been over-served and ended up in an accident.

Last week, I walked through the massive British Museum and looked at antiquities that are thousands and thousands of years old. I also read Khaled Hosseini´s The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, both of which detail the personal side of the Afghani wars. I came to a few conclusions: 1.) Time marches on; 2.) Human beings are amazingly resilient; 3.) The choices we make today become our history; and 4.) Positive human connection heals.

I think in these dark and stormy times that it is imperative that we call upon our Best Selves and begin to live in more conscious and noble ways. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see." And, to me, that means we make decisions that are based on faith, not fear. We honor the planet and our loved ones. We speak our truth. And we begin to share, be it new ideas, recycling, books, encouragement, a hand, a meal, whatever. Every step lights the way, and we can use all the light we can get.

copyright 2008 by Adele Ryan McDowell