When the "economy" is in the tank.
So “the economy” (whatever that is) is in the tank.
Property values are down, down, down.
Feckless bankers, having ignored the elementary rules of lending, are foreclosing on mortgages hand over fist.
“Energy” costs more and more, gas/petrol prices having doubled within a year. The wealthy are selling their SUV’s and purchasing “Smart Cars” - yes even in these United States. The poor and the middle classes cannot afford this option.
And the costs of food have sky-rocketed. Bananas, for instance, have doubled in price within less than a year. (You can bet your bottom pound or dollar that banana growers have not reaped this increase).
Pseudo-President Shrub (George Walker Bush) is oblivious to the crisis. That surprises no-one. He is oblivious to just about everything.
The economy is in the tank. But there are a few bright linings to this dark cloud.
1. There is the beginning of a return to City rather than Suburban life. Our wonderful Cities might well be revitalised. (But where will the poor live when “undesirable” City neighbourhoods are gentrified?
2. Public transportation is on the cusp of a boom. Even car-dependent Florida is thinking about/planning some inter-City rail links. Sarasota ‘buses now run in the evenings and on Sundays.
3. Legislators (at least in Florida) are considering a move from a penal system based on retribution, to one based on rehabilitation. No, they have not all become sentimental liberals - but they have come to understand that rehabilitation programs save tax-payers money.
O Poor benighted Shrub. Events supercede your ideology! How sweet that is!
Property values are down, down, down.
Feckless bankers, having ignored the elementary rules of lending, are foreclosing on mortgages hand over fist.
“Energy” costs more and more, gas/petrol prices having doubled within a year. The wealthy are selling their SUV’s and purchasing “Smart Cars” - yes even in these United States. The poor and the middle classes cannot afford this option.
And the costs of food have sky-rocketed. Bananas, for instance, have doubled in price within less than a year. (You can bet your bottom pound or dollar that banana growers have not reaped this increase).
Pseudo-President Shrub (George Walker Bush) is oblivious to the crisis. That surprises no-one. He is oblivious to just about everything.
The economy is in the tank. But there are a few bright linings to this dark cloud.
1. There is the beginning of a return to City rather than Suburban life. Our wonderful Cities might well be revitalised. (But where will the poor live when “undesirable” City neighbourhoods are gentrified?
2. Public transportation is on the cusp of a boom. Even car-dependent Florida is thinking about/planning some inter-City rail links. Sarasota ‘buses now run in the evenings and on Sundays.
3. Legislators (at least in Florida) are considering a move from a penal system based on retribution, to one based on rehabilitation. No, they have not all become sentimental liberals - but they have come to understand that rehabilitation programs save tax-payers money.
O Poor benighted Shrub. Events supercede your ideology! How sweet that is!
Whole Foods no longer uses plastic shopping bags. I'm sure that has more to do with the price of the petrochemicals that are used to make the bags. Years ago, I tried using cloth bags for shopping and got grief because it messed up the baggers' system. Now every grocery store I visit seems more than happy to dispense fewer bags. Which may someday lead to fewer urban tumbleweeds blowing around on city streets.
ReplyDelete