Category Archives: economic collapse

Seeking disaster’s bright side in Atlantic City

Posted on January 17, 2015 by oddmanout215

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian is like Voltaire’s Pangloss, or Eric Idle in Life of Brian. He always looks on the bright side of life, even life in Atlantic City, which has been in a downward spiral for years thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, casinos, down and out, economic collapse, humor, movies, pop music, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black-eyed peas at New Year’s, and other superstitions

Posted on January 6, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I didn’t do Christmas 2014, we were too beat down by the solstice blues. We agreed to exchange gifts at New Year’s but didn’t get around to it until Sunday. I gave the rabbit two cans of … Continue reading →

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Get 700,000 e-books for $9.99, then an Amazon crock-pot

Posted on December 31, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were eating collard greens — the new kale! — and reading about Amazon’s all-you-can-eat strategy for handling books: …For much of the last year, mainstream novelists were furious that Amazon was discouraging the sale of some … Continue reading →

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

‘Abundance without attachment’ is right-wing doubletalk

Posted on December 17, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I huddled next to the wood stove and pored over a cheery Christmas article by economist Arthur C. Brooks, who wants people to make an attitude adjustment regarding possessions. He urges readers to “collect experiences, not things,” … Continue reading →

Posted in apocalypse, down and out, economic collapse, food, globalization, Great Recession, humor, liar, life in the big city, mainstream media, philosophy, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Damn lies and statistics in the NY Times

Posted on December 6, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were jawing about a NY Times report on the high unemployment rate in France. The story seemed to imply that those left-leaning Frenchies had turned their country into an economic basket case by not scrapping a … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, health care, mainstream media, New York Times, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Leave a comment

Casinos to laid-off workers: Happy Labor Day!

Posted on September 1, 2014 by oddmanout215

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

Posted on August 30, 2014 by oddmanout215

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 →

Posted in casinos, economic collapse, fiction, humor, mid-term elections, NJ, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tone-deaf Obama sings Walmart’s praises

Posted on May 9, 2014 by oddmanout215

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 →

Posted in climate change, economic collapse, globalization, humor, liar, mainstream media, Obama | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Preaching to the choir about the GOP

Posted on May 6, 2014 by oddmanout215

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

Posted on March 26, 2014 by oddmanout215

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 →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, humor, liar, mainstream media, plutocracy, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment