So, Bush & Co get away with running the country into a ditch and now it's all Obama's fault. Next, on tap is getting used to the new normal when, somewhere down the road, we inure to the climate of high unemployment and a sluggish economy. Then, it's no longer Obama's fault, either. It becomes just the way things are.
And why should we expect anything else of the future? Lots are yelling about getting the economy going, but between credit card debt, home equity loans, and insecure jobs, why would (how can?) anyone go out and spend like crazy? Those days are over and to think we're going to get back to them is simply foolish. Welcome to the stepped-down life. Frankly, I like it.
Like it for myself, that is. I'm not so happy about the prospects for the young, but my solution to their employment is to get those over 55 out of the workplace. Give'm pensions, social security, stipends, severance packages... whatever. Get the young employed and involved.
The old can adjust to a stepped-down life. Let us take the part-time jobs, be mentors and volunteers. What? Why the hell should we keep working? We'll be dead soon compared to the young. We need the extra time to polish our coffins.
Man, it's like we're addicted to the bubble life. Bound to be bubble boys (and girls). Dot.com bubble. Housing bubble. We think living on the upswing of big growth and high spending is how it oughtta go. There's a word for that: crazy!
It's the delusion of capitalism gone awry. What's wrong with food, clothing and shelter-- being happy with the basics? (If you can't afford cable or satellite, what's wrong with a radio?)
And I'll tell you another delusion: Having a 3,000 to 4,000 square foot house with a triple garage attached and a double garage free standing is not normal. It never was. Bitching about taxes and spending your weekends at the casinos is at least morally ambiguous.
I think of all the Democratic failures who would have made this country such a better place. I think of George McGovern saying, "Come home, America" in the dead of night at the 1974 Democratic Convention. I think of Jimmy Carter proposing the best energy policies we've ever had being rejected by Ronald Reagan et al. Reagan tore off the solar panels from the White House, for god's sake.
Hey, we zigged when we should have zagged because we're a greedy, acquisitive culture. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to pay the piper. Maybe rather than "a chicken in every pot," we'll have to settle for pot in every pot; that is, for them that can't handle a stepped-down life.