The Well Is Dry
I want to take a stab at what I’m seeing here right now. I’ve talked to a bunch of folks over the past couple of weeks.
Most people realized a bailout needed to happen because there wasn’t a choice really. Then they saw the pork attached and felt betrayed. They are going to be paying higher TVA rates as of Oct. 1, then that made natural gas go up (30 percent), and then due to lack of competition, fuel surplus charges are going up so drastically for garbage here that there will be a 33 percent increase.
And some folks have nothing left to give. Let’s break it down. The median family income here is roughly $30 grand a year. For men, it’s $28,000 and some change. For women, it’s a bit more dismal at roughly $20,000.
Manufacturing jobs are all but gone. If the university wasn’t here, the county would be in deep trouble.
Farming? Well, farmers have been dealing with the downside of a drought last year and the futures game. With gas costs kicking their butts (remember, they were on their farming implements during the $4 a gallon game we had last month) and fertilizer costs have already gone through the roof, there is some fear. There isn’t any end in sight to the harsh reality that tucked into this little piece of the planet there is already a recession, depression or whatever the hell you want to call it, going on.
It’s very easy to put our heads in the sand and say “That isn’t happening.”
But, you see, I live here. And my office has been fuller in the past couple of weeks with people befuddled.
A candidate for a local alderman seat came in yesterday and spoke of what he sees happening.
“Empty buildings and people leaving, that’s what I’m seeing.”
I just nodded.
For someone making $28 grand a year, losing a college fund or retirement is devastating. There is no “Buy, Buy, Buy” for folks. There is a loss of something they worked for.
And it’s devastating.
Most folks don’t care about bulls and bears. They just want to know what else they are going to have give because the well is dry.
“And some folks have nothing left to give.”
I’d say the vast majority have nothing left to give and could ill afford what they already have given (or, really, had taken from them). It is flat-out heartbreaking.
[...] » The Well Is DryPosted 3 hours [...]
These people have been suffering for a while now, and the gov’t didn’t give two sh*ts. But let someone in a tie in NYC lose money and all of a sudden there’s a crisis.
I try not to worry about what I can’t control. But I have a vote to use as my voice and come election day, I will be instituting my own version of term limits. If a person is an incumbent – especially one that voted for the bailout – they’re out. They’re getting a pink slip from me. I am done. DONE.
Amen Beth. The quote from Zach Wamp last week about voting for the bailout when he knew that his constituents overwhelmingly opposed it, but that he was going to vote for it anyways, infuriated me.
It’s “hunker down and survive” time in the US economy. The news will only get worse as no one spends money for Christmas.
I am hearing a lot of media hype about the bailout or “rescue” as they’re now spinning it, but I don’t see the level of 1929 desperation yet. Although mainstreet is worried, I don’t see the NYC Tie guys hitting the pavement en masse. That part also makes me angry.
Ditto Beth, and I’ve informed them of this. Not that they give a happy crap, but it made me feel better to let them know.