Living on the Edge

Quite of the Day:
"Nothing is so responsible for the good old days as a bad memory."
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~

Thanksgiving. Most people have had a great day watching football, visiting with family members they may not have seen in a while and stuffing their face with Turkey day food. It is both a 'tradition' and a 'celebration'.

One of the things I have observed about the holidays, any holiday, is that discussing 'the good old days' seems to be a hot topic of conversation. Nostalgia reigns and memories sooth away the pain of obnoxious, objective reality.

There are some people who do not have the pleasure of a Thanksgiving filled with friends, family or plentiful food. They live in a world that is marginalized and ignored. They are essentially invisible.

I know a little bit about this; I was there once. It was an experience.

The problem with this attitude is that in today's economy no one knows if or when they will join the ranks of the discarded poor living in this country.

Here are some headlines that illustrate how close some people are to the edge of financial disaster.

• Inflation Up; Wages Down - Factoring in the recent energy-driven increase in inflation, the real wage is down 2.3%, also the largest real loss on record for this series that began in 1981.
• US poor set to loose food stamps - With more than 38 million Americans too poor to buy adequate food, the US Congress has begun to take away the food stamps many of them receive.
• Rich Senators Defeat Minimum-Wage Hike - Congressional Pay Rises While Minimum Stays Same
• GM prepares to wield job ax - The world's largest automaker, which has lost nearly $4 billion this year, has said it will provide details by the end of 2005 about its previously announced plan to cut at least 25,000 manufacturing jobs as part of a broader restructuring plan.
• Ford to cut 4,000 jobs in North America - Ford Motor Co., facing a deepening financial crisis, said on Friday it plans to eliminate 4,000 salaried jobs, or 10 percent of its North American white-collar work force, as part of a larger restructuring plan.

Living on the edge and falling off is not an adventure found in Disney World or Busch Gardens. It is an actuality happening to more and more individuals in the US every day. They are joining the ranks of those Third World countries whose populations have been experiencing abject poverty for years.

Thinking about this makes me wonder if it is part of a plan. FDR also said "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."

It might be time to take a good look at the other quote about "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Think about it.