Three Snapshots of America

Three Snapshots of America by Three of Her Best “Cameramen”

The holidays are a thought provoking time it seems. In spite of the rush of faith, family and friends we are apt to take a moment here and there to ponder our current condition here in the USA. While we were doing just that here at PrudentHome, we ran across these three “takes” giving us a quick look at the bigger context of our family preparations. Here then is the first:
From the “Blue Christmas” post  of Howard Kunstler (kunstler.com/blog) on 12/21/09 this small picture:

“The infatuation with technology, and the disgusting cockiness that goes with it (so well captured in “Avatar”), is but one facet of the psychosis gripping the nation — and by that I mean the profound detachment from reality. We have no idea what is happening to us and, naturally, no idea of what we’re going to do. I sat in a bar Friday evening with a financial reporter from a national newspaper, trying to explain the peak oil situation and what it implied for our economy. He had never heard it before. The relationship between energy resources and massive debt was new to him. (It also came up in conversation that he could not tell me what the Monroe Doctrine was about despite a history degree from Yale.) There you have a nice snapshot of the mainstream media in this land.”

The second, from Charles Hugh Smith at his Of Two Minds blog (oftwominds.com) this past 12/22/09 and his post  “Symbolic Economies: U.S. and China”:

“In the U.S., unprecedented Federal borrowing and bailouts have created a symbolic economy of the stock market rally and bogus “recovery” statistics. Even as measurements of the real economy show structural devolution (tax receipts continue to plummet, incomes and hours worked remain at Depression levels, jobs are still being lost, etc.), the stock market’s 70% rise is in effect the symbolic evidence that the “economy is recovering.” Behind this facade, the real economy lies in ruins.

How can GDP be growing at a robust 3.5% clip (oops, already adjusted down to 2.7%) while employment and tax receipts are both falling? The answer: statistics are ginned up to support the symbolic economy of recovery, rising corporate earnings and a “new Bull Market” in stocks.”

The third is from Mike Folkerth – King of Simple (mikefolkerth.com) and his 12/21/09  post entitled “Auto Manufacturing; The Second Wave of Failure:” Here’s a peek:
“I’m off to get my truck rescued from the repair shop this morning. The computer went haywire and a new one is only $1300, not including labor (I found a new one on e-bay for $200). A $20 gasket in the front of my engine (Cummins diesel) was also leaking, but the labor to replace it requires removing the front of the truck and pulling the camshaft out of the engine in order to get to the gasket. Total cost is around $700 bucks (you can’t buy labor on e-bay).”
-“My mechanic noted that with the complexity of the engines and the difficulty of working on these modern trucks, that the entire hood should tilt forward for access to the engine and the electronic components, just exactly as they do on semi trucks. But then, that wouldn’t be all that stylish and pretty. Nope, that won’t do at all; style must trump function.”
“Regardless of how loony our society becomes, we all have to live here. … We may be forced to listen to the music, but we don’t have to dance to their tune.
Make the shift, live simple, live free, and live well.”

Until next time; keep your eyes on the horizon as the weathers moving fast.