every indicator, every story, every ounce of data that crosses my personal radar screen screams of a cataclysmic recession, of a fundamental change in the economic order, of a reorganization of American life; as people spend less, the economic wheels slow, and grind to a halt; we need to take this time to look within, to see what is important, to see what we already have, and understand that it is enough. as people continue living their lives, the dominos all around us continue to fall; until we are directly affected by this fundamental change, we will not come to the necessary understandings. understanding that retail is not therapy. understanding that what we own is not what we are. and this will trickle up, not down; trickle up to the Champagne and Caviar crowd that has for so long feasted like vultures on the lower classes; the ceiling will lower;
the great equalizer approaches, as the government scrambles to keep the lofty elevated, and the downtrodden depressed and subservient. except this time is different....
“When the Champagne and caviar crowd is in trouble, there is no conceivable limit to the amount of taxpayer money that can be found, and found quickly.
But when it comes to ordinary citizens in dire situations — those being thrown out of work or forced from their homes by foreclosure or driven into bankruptcy because of illness and a lack of adequate health insurance — well, then we have to start pinching pennies. That’s when it’s time to become fiscally conservative. President Bush even vetoed a bill that would have expanded health insurance coverage for children.
We can find trillions for a foolish war and for pompous, self-righteous high-rollers who wrecked their companies and the economy. But what about the working poor and the young people who are being clobbered in this downturn, battered so badly that they’re all but destitute? Can we find any way to help them?”
-Bob Herbert
