Holidays are a time for perspective

I'm so proud to say that Matt got published again (a couple months ago he wrote this piece)!! He submitted a piece to our local paper, the Press Democrat, a couple weeks ago on the suggestion of a friend after she read it. I agreed. I thought it was a great message and was coming at the perfect time of year.

We kept waiting to see if it would be accepted for the Editorial section, but kind of gave up on it. Then some friends texted this morning and said "Great piece in the newspaper, so true!"

I thought it was really awesome that the PD waited until today to run it. So, naturally, I had to share it just like I did before. This time, it's not so much about our financial situation as it is about taking a moment to look around and realize how rich we really are.

Enjoy!

This article can also be found here.

EVERSON: Holidays are a time for perspective

By MATTHEW J. EVERSON

Published: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 at 4:20 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 at 6:02 a.m.

''We're rich," I said innocently.

It was an honest appraisal from my point of view. And I recall the laughter that remark inspired. The reaction of my parents and their friends took me by surprise. At 5 years old, I didn't understand why they all thought I was being so silly. But they clearly disagreed with my assessment of our wealth.

Now that my son Patrick is 5 years old, I asked him if he thought we were rich.

"Yes, I think so, daddy," he told me.

"What makes you feel rich?" I followed.

"Well, we just are."

Only a 5-year-old can give such a succinct answer with such conviction. And you know what? He's right. Just as I was when I was 5 years old.

At nearly 37 years old, I now understand why my parents and their friends laughed at my proclamation. I realize the pressure of being an adult now that I could not then.

Each week, I struggle with bills. I find creative ways to stay on top of a mortgage and pay my taxes. The monetary demands never seem to decline.

I own a financial planning firm caught in the teeth of a serious financial crisis. As hard as I try to remain positive, sometimes it all makes me feel like I'm not rich at all. But aren't I really rich?

Wouldn't a boy in Pakistan crawling in the dirt, suffering from polio change spots with me instantly? I wonder what the word "rich" means to him?

Wouldn't a girl sold into sexual slavery in Cambodia take my place in a second? I'm sure she'd trade my stress and anxiety for her own daily horrors.

Wouldn't a Russian business owner constantly pressured by Mafia and government demands wish for the free enterprise system I enjoy?

Aren't I really wealthy, by comparison, to nearly 99.9 percent of the world?

I believe so.

And that is simply monetary. What about health? As Americans, our life expectancies are some of the longest in the world. Isn't health as important a commodity as money? Or nutrition? In Sonoma County, we live among the best farms in the world. A real cornucopia of organic, fresh, tasty and nutritious food abounds.

I wish my waistline could decline in size like my portfolio has during this financial crisis. But judging from my snug-fitting pants, the so-called crisis hasn't affected my ability to eat well. Can you imagine anyone living in Zimbabwe who wouldn't enjoy trading pantries with me?

What about our wealth of freedom? I can write what I please without worry at all of government or social censure. Starting a business was a piece of cake. Where else in the world is that a true statement? I'm free to travel, work, exercise, spend, save and do what I please in most every instance. Not so for nearly 75 percent of our world neighbors.

Wealth is just one area where many Americans have lost perspective. Consider our selfish interpretations of right and wrong. Or our heated and uncivil discussions about religion and politics. Americans have lost the attitude of gratitude that made us such a force in the past.

Take a moment and look around like a 5-year-old might. Everything around us is so amazing yet so few around us seem very happy about it. Wonder why?

If only folks could step back for a moment. Take an inventory of what we do have rather than what we do not have. And then compare our ledger to our friends around the globe. Isn't each and every one of us very wealthy? I believe so.

Matthew J. Everson is owner of MJ Everson Financial in Santa Rosa and lives in Santa Rosa.

An off-topic post: "Same old story: Taxpayers left to bail out banks"

I'm so proud of Matt! He wrote an opinion piece for the local paper (The Press Democrat) and it appeared in the paper today.

I thought it was a very well-written article that is very to-the-point and frank. Check it out:

Same Old Story: Taxpayers left to bail out banks
By MATTHEW J. EVERSON

Michael Coit's Sunday story ("An icon's struggle") was a well-written, yet off-the-mark, rehash of a very old story. He's to be commended for doing deeper-than-normal research. But in the end, I feel he missed the point. While the friends and family of the former Exchange Bank CEO may feel sympathy for his demise, I see no reason the rest of us should feel anything but anger with banks and financial firms that deviated from their missions to chase rainbows and pots of gold.

A good student in economic history can point to banks as the main cause of the Great Depression. Their mistakes through the 1920s drove this country into such an economic morass that it took more than 10 years, millions of dollars in taxpayer spending and a world war to bring the country and the world to a more stable economy.

In the tatters of their wake were many damaged and scattered families. If you ask any senior who lived through those years, many still remember the economic pain of the 1930s -- almost 90 years later. And since 1929, there are countless other times where banks have had a dirty hand in damaging the U.S. economy and the citizens of this nation, all for the betterment of their bottom line.

Whether it was the savings and loans scandals of the 1980s, the dot-com-boom-then-bust pushed by investment banks in the 1990s, or our recent credit crisis enabled by capital from our nation's banks and Wall Street firms, nearly every time there has been a large economic collapse, it is because the rug has been pulled out from "surprised" and unprepared banking and investment executives. And the confused taxpayer pays through the nose as these well-heeled executives scatter like cockroaches. In analyzing the various economic collapses over the years, one finds a not-so-surprising trend -- that in nearly every economic debacle, the root of the problem points to the greed and avarice of the banks and Wall Street.

It is upsetting to see Exchange Bank get caught up in this greed cycle. It is certainly surprising that a bank like Exchange Bank, which has helped our community tremendously over the past century with a mandate to be conservative and be there for the long haul, suddenly felt the pressure to chase profits like its less-reputable competitors. But to see the newspaper paint these leaders as innocent bystanders is a disservice to the community. And, it misses the point of this whole disgrace.

If the best minds of Wall Street, or our banking centers on Main Street or even downtown on Fourth Street could not see the problem with giving money freely to unqualified borrowers, why should we feel sympathy for any of them? We citizens are paying for the bailout of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns, IndyMac and more to come. All the while, the fired CEOs walk away with millions.

No, I think the question should be asked of these PhDs, MBAs and other industry leaders is how much did you all profit in the run-up -- personally and corporately? Don't forget that before this bubble burst, banks and Wall Street firms were paying record bonuses for years. Where were the levers of constraint and common sense to avoid the worst of a very predictable downfall? Once again, the lemmings of greed at the banks and on Wall Street have run this country into dangerous economic territory. And once again, we the taxpayer will shoulder the burden of their inability to moderate their endless thirst for profits.

Matthew J. Everson is owner of MJ Everson Financial in Santa Rosa and lives in Santa Rosa.