The depression is ...well depressing

So we've been in this economic "downturn" for what? 13 months now. When will they call it what it is? A depression.

I've been racking my brain about all of the survival techniques I've learned in the past. The problem. They've cut so many of the programs and pathways to survive this time around. Last time I was so desperate I took a trash bag and walked the length of our road collecting cans for recycle. There was a couple of bars down the road from me so the roadway was ripe for recycle. Now the road is four lane with sidewalks and not any cans and little trash. Used to be able to make a couple of bucks a day that way. Enough to buy groceries for the day at that time. Then there was the government cheese. Big 5lb. blocks that would last quite a while. That was Reagan " let them eat cheese" program. Don't know when they cut that You don't see the usual flock of latinos hanging out by the Home Depot. Even the temp day laborers are having a hard time. Then there's those at the upper end of the income scale. They are the ones who are really going to wake up to reality. They thought they had it made. They thought good times would last forever. That they could just cruise to retirement with a big house and vacation home and a couple of cars. What's that expression the bigger you are the harder you fall.

A job fair advertises a couple hundred jobs and 5000 people show up. I did that once back in the 70s. I won't bother doing that again. So all I can do now is sit and wait because there isn't diddly out there and there won't be until the eagle in DC takes a dump. They want to add more unemployment benefits in the stimilus. Hey I've got an idea. Forget the unemployment how about putting us to work. We're just sitting around looking at a bunch of empty job announcments and listening to our arteries harden. I thought about volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Guess what? Their staff is full until summer.

Watching the stock market lately is kind of fun. It reminds me of the poker games we used to have back in days gone by. The money in the pot would go round and round from one player to another and nothing would really change. The money in the market goes from stocks to shorts to equity funds. And watch how it goes from the financials to the commodities and to the energy sector. It looks to me like money chasing a dream because it hasn't changed in over a year. So this is how wall street amuses itself while we sit here watching the dog and pony show. I laugh as they tout 'the housing bottom is here" then the next day it's "the banks are coming back".