I read a story in today's NY Times describing the new government plan to rescue the economy will be to sell 'Bankruptcy Bonds'. Yes, those same people who brought disaster to the masses are out to profit from even more misery.
Yesterday I got to the dentist's office earlier than expected so ended up paging through magazines while listening to the reception staff try to help people make payment arrangements for upcoming appointments:
'You can have the full cleaning done and pay it off in 3 equal monthly installments without interest being charged. Will that work for you?'
'......'
'Okay. Should we have the doctor come in that day to examine you?'
'......'
'Okay, you'll see him another time then. We'll send you the billing plan for your cleaning and you can tell us when you want to come in. Have a great day.'
Has anyone else noticed prices for so many of what used to be normal things have gone up? A loaf of good bread at Whole Foods costs nearly $5. Manufacturers are either making or planning to make smaller sized versions of products we all buy like rolls of paper towels, bottles of ketchup and cans of soup. What used to be 32oz is now 28oz for the same cost or more. If they can come up with a way to make a 5lb bag of potatoes less than 5lb they'll do that too while hoping you won't notice.
Hard times for rich people means putting off buying the extra Picasso for the new summer home in the Hamptons. We all know what it means for the rest of us.
This picture by Michael Sowa says it all.
I've noticed, and have been noticing this trend even before the official meltdown of the economy. I man start baking my own bread again.
ReplyDeleteI've lived so hunkered down for so long, the only time I really notice these changes is at the grocery store. I'm thinking of going mostly vegetarian. There are plenty of political, moral reasons to stop eating meat, but for me, it's mainly the cost of meat.
Thanks for sending me the painting. I don't know how to lift it from my own email to post, but I do know how to steal an image from a blog or news source.
Love,
Peggy
I'm putting in a small veggie (salad stuff, mostly) garden this year and am thinking of doing like Peggy and start making my own breads again, too.
ReplyDeleteI found the spider painting after being inundated with the beasties last fall; was googling for an image of the one I found in my bed, under the covers, lying in wait. I like when the crickets come in to winter over, but not spidies.
We are cutting back like crazy and we still feel the weight of it. It doesn't help that MathMan is going to get a 2 percent pay cut next year due to school budget constraints.
ReplyDeleteI'm giving up my car to the repo men tomorrow so we'll cut commute costs and insurance, but it's going to be a pain in the ass for a while. But what can we do?
What a mess.
susan, I must love you as I have a phobia about spiders and when I saw this picture on my sidebar list of blogs, I almost didn't come over...what an awful image!! it does get the point across tho, doesn't it...
ReplyDeletesigh, yes, everything is going up and getting smaller...this is silly but we always buy See's marshmallow eggs and every year they seem smaller....this year they are so small, one is REALLY not enough...it has lost at least an inch in length and that's a lot!! I would boycott them but I am hopelessly addicted to these damned things!
on the other hand, it seems toilet paper keeps getting fatter?? why is that???
oh well...thanks for making my heart work a little harder ;)
I looked at my comment and it really seems stupid now but I'll leave it as is...
ReplyDeletewe have a vineyard and 2 years ago we had to cut off half of it and graft a different variety onto the plants, which meant cutting our income in half as well....at the time, it seemed barely manageable and now, almost 2 years later, I am praying those little grapes grow fast and well, because we are really broke!!! and I know the price of gas is going up again and california's sales tax is 9.25% right now and climbing along with a 12 cent a gallon tax on gasoline coming up ... geez, what's next....
for sure, a garden is going in!
utah - I don't know how to bake bread , more's the pity but I have been keeping an eye on the bills for a long time too. I remember when the average price of a bag of groceries was $10, then it gradually rose to $20 and now it's past $30 and rising. My salary increases haven't kept pace in the least.
ReplyDeleteThe painting looks good on your side bar.
the crow - I have a shelf-like balcony space outside the glass doors.. not enough room for more than a tomato plant which would probably be eaten by the squirrels. Does anyone worry about the health and well-being of those fuzzy tailed rodents? Well, I will and I'm heading out tomorrow for a pot of dirt and a scrawny tomato plant,
lisa - Jeez, girl, does it never end for you guys? Maybe the repo men will find a bizarre glowing alien in the trunk and you know what happens after that.
linda - I'm glad to like me enough to come visit even when I post a picture of an extremely yucky looking huge spider.
I bought some Easter chocolate too and was amazed at the price even as I nibbled his yummy ears off (after going through the checkout, natch). maybe you toilet paper is getting fatter but I came home with half a roll of paper towels a few weeks ago. Where does one by seeds for them?
I knew you had a vineyard but it's news about the major grafting. Were the other vines diseased or were they growing unfashionable grapes? It would be nice to have space for a garden so you're lucky in that. Take care :-)
I am beginning to take my daughter's idea of a commune much more seriously. She's taking a sustainable-growing class and we have decided to maybe start looking for some property in the Portland area.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment on my post today. :-)
ewww. i hate spiders!
ReplyDeleteand yes, i've noticed the price of things. last year i could get a good restaurant breakfast with coffee for $10. the same thing now costs $15.
needless to say, i'm eating cheerios at home this year.
hold the spiders.
Economically, politically. Unless the Zombie of Civilization isn't gnawing your face off, one tends not to notice all that much, and then we rationalize it, even though rationalize is often bad for the sinuses.
ReplyDeleteA spider in every pot!
lol - I've experienced communal living and there are definitely both good and bad things to be said about the lifestyle. The ones I know of that have succeeded over the years were based on a common and higher philosophy than the simple idea of something that might be fun. We all knew it was an impermanent situation from the beginning but there were others who took it much more seriously and were very disappointed when their experiments foundered. I still think it's worth a try with the right group of people and that does mean older as well as younger people.
ReplyDeletesera - I'm not fond of arachnids either and wonder if they actually are an alien lifeform. Many of us have spider phobias.
randal - Things went down the tubes when Bill Gates stopped going by every Starbucks daily. It's all his fault.
I love your blog and your art.. you remind me a lot of myself..
ReplyDeleteIt's so inspiring I've just written to poems and I'm hungover so it's usually completely unheard of..
THANKS!!!! :)
anon - I'm delighted to have provided a little inspiration.. something to help the hangover :-)
ReplyDelete