Category Archives: economic collapse

Casinos to laid-off workers: Happy Labor Day!


I was telling Swamp Rabbit about my Labor Day Weekend trip to Atlantic City, where three casinos are closing and more than 5,700 casino workers are being laid off over the next two weeks. “Closed” stickers were slapped onto the … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, fiction, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, NJ, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q&A on A.C. casinos that crapped out


Swamp Rabbit joined me in the shack to puzzle over an online obituary for Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza: A time few could imagine during the not-too-distant glory days of casino gambling has arrived in Atlantic City, where two casinos … Continue reading

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Tone-deaf Obama sings Walmart’s praises


Swamp Rabbit and I had just watched a PBS show about “nightmare bacteria” — insidious, human-killing organisms resistant to all antibiotics. Pretty scary. Then we saw a news item about Barack Obama appearing at a Walmart to praise the company … Continue reading

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Preaching to the choir about the GOP


I read to Swamp Rabbit part of Charles Pierce’s reaction to the Republicans’ successful effort last Wednesday to block a Senate vote on whether to raise the minimum wage to $10.10: Can we just drop the pretense now and admit … Continue reading

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Pro-union Democrats an endangered species


Swamp Rabbit is a big fan of Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor during the Bill Clinton years, long-time economics professor and a high-profile advocate for workers’ rights. I’ve noted elsewhere that Reich often writes variations on the same column and … Continue reading

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A buy from Amazon is a vote for wage slavery


I read a piece in Salon about Amazon’s business model and almost throttled my friend Swamp Rabbit, I guess because he was the only creature in sight. But I was glad to see that at least one media writer wasn’t … Continue reading

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, globalization, humor, mainstream media, plutocracy, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What ‘non-organic’ meant at Whole Foods


Swamp Rabbit was complaining about the weather, a pointless and self-defeating exercise. “This here winter is like a roller coaster ride, with temps up to fifty-something one week and a blizzard the next. How we gonna eat if you can’t … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, food, humor, plutocracy, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bread and water beats jail food


Pig meat gives me bad dreams; I don’t eat it unless there’s nothing else. Philosopher and Animal Liberation author Peter Singer would tell me there is always something else, that “We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our … Continue reading

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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