The holiday shopping season is here. I read that Sears, K-mart and Toys “R” Us are having Christmas sales this month. It used to be that retailers would wait until after Thanksgiving to start the madness. Not long ago the season hopped to Halloween, leaped over Labor Day and jumped into July.
Now that the Christmas season is upon us (with only 160 shopping days left) I need to check my local listings to see when “It’s A Wonderful Life” will be on. I consider it to be one of the great Christmas movies, right up there with “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” If you have wisely spent a couple hours of your life watching the 1946 movie starring Jimmy Stewart, read on. But if you haven’t seen it, then put it on the list and read this column later as it may ruin any surprises the movie may hold.
Because the story revolves around one pivotal Christmas Eve, the movie is considered seasonal, which is why it is suitable for viewing during the newly expanded Christmas shopping season. Although 63 years old, the movie has a message that still applies today.
The hero of the movie is George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart. Due to events beyond his control, George shelves his dream of going to college to become an architect. Sacrificing his own goals, he stays home to run the family business - the Bailey Building and Loan Association. Later on in the movie it becomes clear that George saves the town and its people from financial ruin. George expects no hand-outs, requests no government aid, and accepts no bail-outs.
We could use more of that kind of thinking now. Our government is turning us into a nation of takers. Most of us would agree that we should not expect something for nothing. The more “benefits” that are given to the many, the more taxes will be taken from the few. It is simple mathematics. Real freedom is economic freedom: the freedom to save and spend your own money as you see fit.
George’s adversary is Old Man Potter, played by Lionel Barrymore. Potter is mean, ruthless and friendless, and in the words of George Bailey “a warped, frustrated old man.” Potter has his own agenda: Control of the finances and lives of the town’s residents. In his quest for power Potter takes advantage of every crisis.
During a visit to Potter’s office, George’s Uncle Billy mislays $8,000 from the building and loan association. Unable to find the money, and unwilling to face the shame, George decides to take his own life. Although no amount of money is justification for suicide, $8,000 is a lot of money, even today.
Our elected officials in Washington do not understand the value of a dollar. They have failed in their fiduciary responsibility to spend our money wisely. Whether it is regarding another stimulus package, government controlled health care or the federal budget, the amount of $1 trillion is mentioned too casually and too frequently.
Allow me to illustrate the shamefully obscene amount of money they are talking about. You would have to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life,” 125 million times to see Uncle Billy misplace the equivalent of $1 trillion dollars in $8,000 increments. That’s a lot of popcorn and bathroom breaks.
For life to remain wonderful, our government needs to stop spending like it’s Christmas time. For someday we may hear this public service announcement: “Attention shoppers: Uncle Sam’s store is now closed. We have run out of your money.”
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