The Way We Live Now: Getting our gumption back. Money? There's plenty of ways to make money. Money! Shoot. We're already back to building outlandish yachts. Pay me a respectable banker wage or I'm outta here!

Not sure who started all these rumors about how "there's a recession" and "nobody's getting cash any more," because, hey, whoa, do you even read the papers these days? We do, and leisurely, thanks to the life of leisure afforded by our ample supply of money. Do you know what rich man Richard Branson is up to this week? He is launching tourists into space, on a rocket, for a quarter million dollars each! Does that sound like a recession-plagued business, to you?

It should not. Here is another thing: a new yacht described as a "space-aged pleasure boat, a 124-foot-wide floating mansion with room for 12 guests and a crew of 20." (Pictured: The inside of a freaking yacht). Space age, yes; recession age, no. It takes money to run a yacht like that. Money that is existing right now in the economy!

A government employee has been calling in sick all year long, but he's still collecting his salary. That's money! Some high school kid got $100k just for doing a science fair project. That's money! A thousand London bankers are quitting their jobs at the Royal Bank of Scotland rather than give in to the tyranny of government cutbacks in their bonuses. That is the distinct scent of money wafting across the seas!

So we say ¡no mas! to the whining about not having any money. Buy a rocket, or build a yacht, or be a banker, and go out and get it. Motivate!