Category Archives: down and out

Poverty gets more expensive every day


Yesterday at the shack we woke to bone-chilling wind and a blanket of ice. Swamp Rabbit was huddled in a corner with a bottle from the case of Wild Turkey I stole to help him get through his post-holiday funk. … Continue reading

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The ill logic of the lower classes


It’s the Eighth Day After the Solstice, and I’m back at the shack after checking up on my old house, which stopped feeling homey after a tree fell on it last year. Some of my old neighbors are doing OK, … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, down and out, economic collapse, fiction, globalization, humor, life in the big city, mainstream media, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Karl Marx gets a makeover


Just for a laugh, I read aloud from a Guardian UK article in which David Simon expressed qualified approval of some Marxist ideas. Sure enough, my friend Swamp Rabbit called me a commie before I was halfway through the piece. … Continue reading

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Turkey Day with Lucretius and Eric Cantor


Last week I bought enough Wild Turkey to get Swamp Rabbit through the week, which left me just enough money to buy a real turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. But there’s no oven in my shack to bake a turkey, so … Continue reading

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Where were you when poverty became acceptable?


I’ve been thinking of JFK and of those hard-luck cases who work at places like McDonald’s and Walmart. (There but for the grace of God and the wearing of a clown uniform go I.) Those who are old enough can … Continue reading

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Guess who pays for Walmart’s greed


Maybe you saw the news item about the Walmart near Canton, Ohio that’s holding an in-house canned food drive “so associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.” It seems retail employees at the monster store are so badly paid, many … Continue reading

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, food, globalization, humor, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Poverty, straight up


From a blog called killermartinis, a stark account of living in poverty: … Rest is a luxury for the rich. I get up at 6 AM, go to school (I have a full course load, but I only have to … Continue reading

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