Stressed Out

Just yesterday I commented that I was overwhelmed by all the crap we have to put up with on a daily basis. It might have been more accurate to say I was stressed out over all that claptrap, most of it government-sponsored..

Today I found out just how right I was.

Politicians are the No. 1 cause of daily stress in our lives

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation just released a wide-ranging survey on the prevalence and causes of stress in the U.S. ...

When it comes to major stressful life events, health-related issues top the list: More than 4 in 10 respondents who said they experienced a major stressful event in the past year cited health concerns as the primary stressor.

But the survey also asked about smaller, daily stressors — the little exasperations that can add up to a miserable day. And here something surprising emerges: Americans cited "hearing about what the government or politicians are doing" as the most frequent daily stressor on their lives, and at a substantially higher rate than the usual annoyances like commuting, chores and general schedule-juggling.

Part of the finding might be explained by the 24-hour news cycle and the constant reminders of government foolishness/intrusion/overreach/bungling/etc. via the Internet and social media.

But IMO the primary underlying cause of government-related stress is well-deserved "distrust and disdain for elected officials."

As if it weren't enough that our politicians are actively working to harm the global economy and otherwise failing to do their jobs or even show up for work in general, they're also stressing everyone out with the astonishing breadth and depth of their incompetence. And since high stress is linked to shorter life expectancy, they are also literally killing us with their incompetence.

In other words, thanks, Obama (and everyone in Congress too).

Yeah, thanks - for nuthin'.