Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for February 15, 2014

So he’s selling the whole she-bang and sharing some of the money with her..And he’s right, get out while you can.

He loves his daughter. He feels guilty about his parenting history (though frankly I don’t see any huge mistakes there). So here’s a way to redemption in his mind.

Remember it’s the love that’s important.

Someone please provide some back-story. What happened to Mary-Lou’s mom, Gus’s wife? And why should he feel guilty raising a daughter by himself?

The dark clouds on the horizon in the first two panels are no accident.

Why did “Lou’s” hair change in the last panel? Is she letting it down?

Nobody really does much thousand-year planning. Too much changes too often..Those big manufacturing jubs worked back then because we were supplying the needs of much of the world. High tariffs won’t change the fact others are available..Historically, one of our nation’s biggest money makers was agriculture because we had equipment, technology, transportation and a government not trying to hold back farmers from producing.

.We tend to see problems lately and not try new ventures. We are jealous of those who succeed and tell our children the game is rigged against them if it isn’t rigged for them..Newcomers see the vast opportunities and often do well..Real education, research, dedication and work will always see us through. We don’t have to “level the playing field” as some call it to make things go our way.

We need to go back to the original Jeffersonian vision. Abandon the cities, shut down the power grid and go back to 40 acre self sufficient organic farms.

DavidHuieGreen: But we have to have the real potential for a level playing field internally or we are doomed to become a “fourth world country” (technologically advanced but with a gap between rich and poor where a middle class should be and no chance to cross it).

From George Will’s column this morning: But President Bill Clinton, refuting opposition — much of it from Democrats — to the North American Free Trade Agreement, splendidly said: “Protectionism is just a fancy word for giving up.”

To which I add, yes it is.

I really like Gus. He’s a very rich and poignant character with a lot of depth, and he’s drawn richly and well (figuratively as well as literally).

Actually, if you saved 50% and invested 50%, THAT might just leave you short on money for living expenses. Of course, you might mean of excess funds and simple savings versus things like stocks and bonds..I knew a lady whose husband told her they would live on half what they made. (Possibly sexist to simply announce, but that was between them.) They built up a sizeable retirement for later years. When my wife considered an expenditure, she would ask, “Do we have the money?” (Possbly sexist on her part to depend on me to tell her.) Unless we were completely broke, I would honestly admit we did. Later on, I came to think she might have meant “Do we have the money to spare?”That would have been a subjective question rather than objective.SUCH IS LIFE

Yes those dark clouds in the first two panels darken the setting. Maybe there is more to the feeling that Gus has than business cycles…I like Gus too….

DavidHuieGreen: Sounds like someone who think they have it made and are making sure there is no one to compete with them. No, corporations don’t field armies, they make their client nations do the dying for them.