I have a confession to make: I need a bailout.

The financial industry has asked and received and the auto industry is doing everything it can to get one. I figure I could ask for one as well and mine will be fairly modest compared to the $25 Billion that the auto industry seeks.

There is no doubt that we are facing a global financial meltdown and crisis. And I imagine that most of us will be affected by the recession/depression one way or another. Non-profits (such as my own) will struggle to retain and attract new donors. People will have difficulty getting credit and whatever money we put in our savings (or in long term investments) are lost to low interest rates and a shrinking stock market.

Though I’m mostly an optimist, I tend to entertain dark financial scenarios too often. I find myself worried about my imminent, readjustable home mortgage. I worry about how the ministry will be funded when partners (understandably) have to rethink their giving. I worry about my shrinking retirement account and the lack of value in my home (will it still cover my kids’ college education?).

So I need a bailout. I’m not sure I care too much where it came from—All I know is that I need one. And in my prayers, I find myself asking God for a bailout.

I would love for a real financial bailout that would cover all of my expenses, debts, and unforeseen needs. At my worse, I stay up at night wondering how I would make ends meet. But what stands out to me about this anxiety is that it’s always been there. When our income was more limited, I wanted just a little more money to make ends meet. I thought that with a raise, I would no longer worry about money. But the reality is that there is a mysterious law of human nature that says: the more you have, the more you spend. When asked how much money is enough, Andrew Carnegie (arguably one of the wealthiest men in history) replied, “just a little bit more.”

So I find myself believing in the myth that there is a number out there that is the perfect number to help me live the unworried life. But upon some reflection, I realize that it’s just a myth. What I need is a realignment of my heart and my relationship to stuff and to money. I guess that what I often need is a financial bailout that is spiritual in nature.

An ideal bailout would help me to:

• Live within my means. Without a regular check-up, I find myself straying from my budget. My actual budget will no longer reflect my proposed budget. And that’s a problem. It’s a problem on two fronts: First, I will find myself going into deeper debt; Second, I am living with less integrity and probably have allowed greed to take a hold of my heart.
• Have peace and faith in God’s provisions and security. My focus on finances lead me to worry and despair instead of trusting God to provide. In my despair, I give up on having any integrity on how I spend my money, which only leads to more despair when I see the balance on my accounts. Jesus had strong words and promises about the power he holds in providing for our needs. I should take those promises seriously.
• Give cheerfully. Giving inevitably becomes the most legalistic thing I do as a believer. The ministries I love become additional bills. I attach criticism to the the tithe I drop in the basket at church, wondering whether my money is being spent according to my vision. Neither the Kingdom nor the ministries nor my church would appreciate such attitude attached to the giving. Scripture exhorts us to give cheerfully, believing that our gifts make a difference on us and on the ministry.

But this kind of a bailout is not easy to receive. I think that the bailout I seek is more difficult to get than the one sought by the auto industry. Financial matters are not things I discuss regularly in fellowship, especially when it comes to the matters of the heart. I’m too ashamed to admit that I need help and too proud to believe that the answer is beyond myself.

Apart from the poorest of the poor, most of our financial struggles have less to do with the amount of money and more to do with our relationship to money. I know that’s true for me. A financial bailout should lead me to God for a realignment of my heart and to community for accountability. (I do hope my community grows stronger in this area as I continue to figure out ways to make my financial life accountable to others) To reiterate my point, it’s the spiritual dimension of finances that needs help, not the bank account.

Do you need a bailout?

A mentor has recently challenged me to put more focus in nurturing pleasure in my life. I’ve always enjoyed cooking (and it seems my family enjoys that I cook as well), so I’ve been putting more effort at creating some foods from scratch.

I recently found a recipe to make bagels (which was fairly easy to follow) in the LA Times and decided to make a batch. They were delicious. Since you couldn’t enjoy my creation, I’ve attached a couple of pictures for you.

On Friday night, we began smelling smoke outside and we quickly learned that a wildfire had broken out in Sylmar (about 10 miles away). On Saturday, the dry (Santa Ana) winds continued to blast through the Valley, filling the atmosphere with smoke and ash. Though we were never in danger of the fires, the air quality pushed us to leave the Valley for the day.

Here are some pictures from the last few days:

(This stuff is in our lungs… yuck!)

When campaigning among Spanish speakers, Obama translated his campaign slogan “Yes we can” to “Sí se puede.” During the campaign, there were allegations against Obama for having lifted some phrases from other orators. This Spanish phrase is unfortunately one of those lifted phrases. He stole this one from… none other than… “Dora the Explorer!” That’s right!

While encouraging her nine month old brother to crawl toward her, Layla kept yelling, “Sí se puede! Sí se puede!” When I asked her what it meant and where she learned the phrase, she gave all the credit to the bilingual popular cartoon. I did double check whether she may have heard it during one of Obama’s stump speeches. She denied and seemed offended by the association. (I then remembered she had consistently supported McCain during the campaign)

Sidenote: Our friends with the United Farm Workers claim that the phrase predates Dora to the 1972 hunger fast by Cesar Chavez.

In case you forgot, today is the International Day for Tolerance (an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance). For those of you who need a little help getting started:

1. Make a list of everyone you hate, dislike, and are irritated by.
2. Observe if there is a theme in this list. This initial observation may indicate if there is a specific group that you must tolerate.
3. If you are a Christian, feel free to pray before you make your decision to tolerate.
4. Narrow your list to a person or a group of people who fit the bill of the purpose of the day.
5. Take an hour out of your schedule and go tolerate that person. If you have any suggestions on practical toleration techniques, please post them in the comment section.

Here’s a response from the governor to my Open Letter. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

—

Thank you for writing to share your thoughts with me about the proposed tax increase to balance our budget deficit.  Your input is important to me in these challenging economic times.

I signed the 2008-09 budget on September 23, 2008, concluding a very difficult budget year.  Since then, economic conditions have been deteriorating rapidly - in California and all around the country.  The mortgage crisis has worsened, unemployment has increased, the stock market has lost almost 20 percent of its value and, as a result, we are now facing an $11.2-billion revenue shortfall.  These are drastic problems that require immediate action.

I have called the Legislature into Special Session to close our projected current year shortfall.  However, we cannot close this gap with cuts alone, so I am proposing a combination of spending reductions and new revenues.  From education to prisons, from health care to social services, we must make cuts across the board to a many programs.  I know they will be painful, but this crisis is real, and it is very serious.

To bring in new revenues, I am proposing a temporary 1.5-percent sales tax increase, an expansion of the sales and use tax, an oil severance tax, an increase to the alcohol and excise tax and other revenue generators.  With an unprecedented drop in our income, we have no choice.  If we take these actions in the Special Session, we can close our current shortfall and protect state programs from suffering even greater cuts.  But urgency is the key - if we delay, our problems will only get worse.

As I continue to work with legislators to do what is best for the people of California, please know that your thoughts are important to me.  Together, we can turn this temporary problem into a permanent victory for all Californians.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

What about a federal bailout for the beer industry?

One — The number of living American Veterans from World War I. God bless you Frank Buckles!

Dear Governor,

After an unprecedented 85 day stalemate on California’s 2008-2009 budget, the state legislature was still unable to pass a balanced budget, which is requiring you to call a special session of the legislature to address our budget crisis. While I understand why you are proposing drastic cuts (especially to education) and a significant increase in sales tax, I fear and believe that your proposals would only put undue financial strains on lower income families.

First, it seems to me that all state politicians should take responsibility for our current crisis. We have enough data and understanding of economic cycles to have been able to plan better for our current economic downturn. As early as Biblical times, government administrators understood that in times of plenty, we need to take advantage of the abundance to plan and save for the times of need. So it should surprise and concern California taxpayers, that our state government did not manage public resources in such a way to help us through this downturn.

Second, state leaders need to oppose all bond measures until we ride through this downturn. It is fiscally unwise to promote and pass bond measures that put further strain on state resources. The interest we will pay on several bond measures that were just passed will prevent us from paying for expenditures that are already a part of the state budget.

Third, it concerns me that state taxes in California are regressive, in that the tax burden of the wealthy is less than the poor in terms of percentage of income. According to the California Budget Project, the poorest 20% of California residents saw nearly 12% of their income go to taxes, whereas the top 20% saw about 8% of their income taxed. Looking to shore up state revenues through the sales tax system will only put more burden on the low-income residents of our state.

I understand that spending has not increased by much in the last few years and perhaps you are right when you say that what we have in California is not a spending problem but a revenue problem. Let me suggest a few ways to shore up revenue to our state coffers:

• Apply an additional tax on all new vehicles that get less than 16 mpg. The average EPA rating of cars sold in the United States in 2008 is around 19 mpg. Taxing gas guzzlers would in the short-term bring in additional state revenue, while in the long-term it will dry up demand for these types of vehicles that do not help our environment. However, I suggest an application system where businesses can apply to be shielded from the tax if they prove that the vehicle is necessary to the business’s success.
• Curb the tax breaks to the entertainment industry. I understand that tax breaks create incentives for the movie industry to remain in California, but it seems unfair to shield this industry from contributing to the state coffers. If the expectation that all of us should be doing our part in closing the deficit, then the movie industry should also contribute.
• Limit deductions taxpayers can take on the interest portion of their home loans on multiple homes. Real estate investors have found ways to protect themselves from paying taxes on their investments. There are far too many tax loopholes in real estate related taxes. While some of these fixes need to happen on the federal level, the state can take some proactive steps to close those loopholes and earn additional revenue.
• Cut redundant education spending. In surveying our expenditures in education, it seems to me that there are cuts that can be made on administrative levels that do not affect our investment in educating students. My wife is a teacher and I have observed that there are too many levels of input in developing our education system in the state. For example, curriculum input is done at the school, in the district, and on the state level. As an example, I suggest we do away with the position of State Secretary of Education and instead create a commission of district superintendents throughout the state who would fulfill the responsibilities of the Secretary of Education.
• Stop special elections. We need to do a better job consolidating our election process. In 2009, our state is already looking at holding at least three state-wide elections.

I understand that the above suggestions will not close a $10 billion gap in our state budget, but I hope that it’s a start and it would catalyze discussions to generate additional revenue that would not put any more pressure on the poorest taxpayers of our state.

Sincerely,

Eddy E

Hear me participating in the conversation on the local NPR affiliate. If you listen carefully, you can hear Marco playing with his toys in the background.