The Writing Is On the Wall . . . . . I Just Don't Read the Language.
I walked into two grocery stores here in Nashville last week to buy some bread for stuffing the bird. For whole wheat, they both wanted $3.00 with tax. There was nothing in the store cheaper at the time. (Thanks to Aldi, I paid just 87 cents). A two serving mini pumpkin pie was $6.99. And the cheapest item in the deli was Head Cheese at $5.99 / lb. (Trust me! If you don't know what that is....don't ask!)....Suffice it to say that prices are already up....way up (despite "adjusted" inflation figures).....and still rising every day.
Cost-of-living increase for Social Security was 2.5%. Inflation is said to be what....around 4% (adjusted figure - because the truth would be too frightening?). Wages aren't going to budge, now that minimum wage has recently been raised. (Many service oriented businesses have adjusted their prices upward to reflect these higher wages.) There is a deafening silence from Washington and the Fed on inflation....like the 500lb gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk about.
We all know that gas prices move in marked step with U.S. consumption levels. That was shown here years ago....which makes the whole oil supply vs. demand theory little more than a dog and pony act. This news that the Sovereign Investment Fund from a Gulf state is wanting a major stake in one of the most important banks in the U.S....comes at a time when the U.S. dollar is at a major low against oil, which is at an all time high.
Buy up the major U.S. banks and you effectively own the country. Do you not? [brief sarcasm] Alternative fuels? For cars? Impossible! The big S.U.V. over there.....yeah..fill 'er up!!
The Fed seems to have blinders on when it comes to what is going on with John Q. Public. As real estate markets continue to soften and U.S. citizens resume pouring hard earned dollars into the hot investment tip du jour....like sheep to slaughter...a pattern of destruction becomes more and more evident.
Yesterday, China bought 150 or so jets from Airbus, rather than from Boeing....and has been hinting again at cashing in U.S. treasury holdings....perhaps the most frightening economic scenario of them all. The timing of the Fed's call to absorb a weaker dollar could possibly prove to be the worst economic judgment call the U.S. has seen since the days leading up to Oct. 28, 1929.
Recent earnings reports are looking grim, leading one to wonder what the December earnings season (not to mention year-end) will hold for our holidays. Bernanke is looking more and more like the Grinch that stole Christmas, while shoppers continue lining up at stores....but slow to pull out wallets.
Meanwhile, charitable contributions are down, as common people must stretch their dollars further and further. The Second Harvest Food Bank is reporting extremely slow donations,low supplies and rising demand....while the Salvation Army will likely see its worse Kettle Drive in a long time...partly due to a severe lack of Bell Ringers braving the cold. Without volunteers, they collect no money. (call your local chapter to see if you can help)
The number of workman's comp claims reported (which of course comprise our jobless figures) grossly fail in representing the underemployed, the marginally employed, those with 3 part-time jobs and no health insurance and many unemployed, who have not enjoyed the benefits of workman's comp for 5 or more years....and who are wondering if they will ever again have a full time job.
There is great disparity between the haves and have nots....and that gap is growing greatly daily.
So where does all this leave us? Well, if you are in the top 10% of financial assets, you probably don't even notice. If you are parents trying to figure out how to send your kids to college, you may be making budgetary changes. If you are like most families in America, two or three paychecks away from going into foreclosure, then you have already been feeling the effects of these economic and geopolitical dynamic shifts.
We can talk about the R word, as if saying it out loud will bring it on any sooner. But recession has been present to the majority of U.S. citizens long enough by this point that they are wondering when the D word will begin showing up. 2008 may certainly have a recession in store for the U.S.....and for many in parts of the country where unemployment has consistently been 20% or more....a deepening depression. But that's not why I am writing.
Capitalism has run amok. A little greed in government, or our institutions, or our corporations has been absorbed over the many decades. But when greed rises to the level where it permeates our society...and trickles all the way down, so that even small business and individuals begin building it into their business plans....then we have a problem. Capitalism only works when it is held in check by integrity, morality and ethics. Without those building blocks, the powers that be take on a more (dare I say it) facist look about them. Do they not?
Have you been bullied by your cellphone provider? Your bank? Your mortgage lender? Your utilities? Your employer? Have you been lured into a purchase you regret? Or a service you found out later you didn't need? Are you overcharged (but oddly NEVER undercharged) by: your credit card company? Your corner restaurant? Your local department store? Your mechanic? Your daycare? Are your taxes getting ready to rise? Are your utilities about to be deregulated? Are there sufficient alternatives...or do you feel monopolized?
This evidence of trickle down greed illustrates the ills of capitalism run amok. And yet, this 'entertain me' society chooses to keep quiet in our comfortable complacency.
[again said sarcastically]: Let's elect another well connected blue blood type for president. We don't need a Harry Truman...someone who will go in and clean up shop....be fiscally responsible...with integrity...and ethics....and throw the rascals out...and perhaps scare the bejabbers out of our enemies. What we really need is more of the same. Yeah! That'll work. That's how I will vote. Now leave me alone to shake these packages under the tree. I want to see if I got the Wii.
This year....all I want for Christmas is to see the majority of Americans wake up and start to give a damn.
Best wishes,
Rande Is. . . |
