As we prepare our purposefully irreverent meal for this day of thanksgiving - boiled oats and day-old biscuits - we would like to stop and make a fearless prediction which has been rolling around in our heads since about the middle of this year. We really don't have any hard data to back up our assertion; in fact, we're going to just put it right out there, that this is an intuition.
Simply put, we posit this will be the last holiday season that anyone in the United States, or elsewhere, can call normal. Note the call normal; last year saw the last holiday season which could be considered actually normal. This season, however, will be all about keeping up appearances; the show must go on, after all.
Take this Thanksgiving in the United States; 49 million Citizens are going hungry at the end of every month. Now, at last report in September, 28.4 million Citizens are on food stamps. Hmm, we sense a number problem here... but anyway, on top of that, half of all children in the U.S. will receive food aid, as well as 90% of African-American children.
Let that settle in your mind for a moment, dear Reader. Those numbers are not from Haiti or Zimbabwe, but rather the only so-called superpower in the world, the United States. Those are not good numbers to be seeing from an OECD nation; it makes us think about terms like 'third world' and 'failed state.'
This will be a failed Thanksgiving; people will max out what little credit they have remaining for the month in order to have a 'feast.' By that, we mean keep up appearances, as there are really very few people in the U.S. right now who can actually afford to have an extravagant meal, pay their bills, and have savings. Perhaps the 'recovery' propaganda has worked its magic, and most Citizens have moved into a Keynesian dreamland, where they spend now and have an economy later. We frankly think not; we posit most U.S. Citizens couldn't make a budget - and keep it - if their lives depended on it. For 49 million of those Citizens, their lives do depend on it, and they seem to prove unequal to the task.
After Thanksgiving will be the failed consumer orgy of Christmas; failed, because one cannot have an orgy if no one shows up. That's not to say that lights won't be strung and trees erected, because they will be... probably with more 'animal spirits' energy than ever. Under those trees, though, will tell the real tale. Show us an average Citizen who has lots of gifts, and we will show you someone who is nearing the end of their financial rope.
As we're writing, an ironic thought occurs to us: would it not be an expression of cosmic justice, if the attempt at summoning up a holiday shopping extravaganza is what finally topples the still-tottering U.S. economy? Think about it: maxing out credit cards for one last huzzah; blowing the savings on gifts for the kids, or Social Security cheques on the grandkids? Citizens of the United States are far too broke to enjoy the spendy, spendy ways to which they became accustomed; at this point, they should go limp, take their financial kicks to the stomach, and try to get things in order again. Instead, they will - and we mean will - go down, in vast numbers, and in flames.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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3 comments:
Why do I get the impression that you both derive perverse satisfaction from thoughts of widespread economic collapse and the resulting despair and havoc it would bring? Your contempt for everyone but yourselves is palpable and mean-spirited. I find your arguements implausible as they swing from fact-based statements to gross generalizations and over simplifications. This blog could be really interesting if you could stop grinding your axe. Good luck!
Dear Anonymous,
Upfront, I'd like to point out that I pointed out that this post was "an intuition" right at the beginning of said post. I was not attempted to write news; merely a personal opinion. If you found my argument implausible, all well and good; I would honestly and truly like to hear your thoughts on the matter.
I might come across as perversely enjoying the proceedings because... well, in a way I do. Economic collapse is the ultimate result of people pursing what they think they want without any consideration for the costs of that pursuit. So, I would say I enjoy watching what I would call cosmic justice in action; if that makes me perverse in your eyes, so be it.
Finally, it is my experience that blogs written by people who do not have an axe to grind are about as interesting as watching paint dry. Why indeed would I be writing this, if I did not have some sort of attachment to what I was saying? There are many other things I would rather do than write something I didn't personally believe. It seems to me the situation is that my axe is not your axe, dear Reader.
Thank you!
-TFS
Although this was not my article, I will comment since I am the other part of "you both." As a matter of fact, I do not at all like despair and havoc. I favour peace and order far more highly than most, as far as I can tell. I do not think it is an expression of contempt to represent the American People as deluded and infantile, when it fits observable phenomena. Americans really do need to wake up and grow up. To tell whomever will listen this is evidence of concern and (believe it or not) compassion. If I really hated people, I wouldn't try to stir them to action. A big, bad locomotive is steaming down the reality railroad, and it's no time to be having a bong party on the tracks. I think this blog delivers quite a bit less axe grinding than say Jim Kunstler. He really is a reactionary. I happen to like civilisation, but that's going to take some effort.
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