I Am Part of the Problem
Via atrios, I discovered that I am part of the problem:
Retail sales fell off a cliff in September, plunging by the largest amount in three years as worried consumers shunned the malls and auto showrooms in the midst of the country’s financial meltdown.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday retail sales decreased 1.2 percent last month, nearly double the 0.7 percent drop that had been expected. It was the biggest decline since retail sales fell by 1.4 percent in August 2005.
The bigger-than-expected decline significantly increased the risks of a recession because consumer spending is two-thirds of total economic activity….
Even excluding auto sales, retail sales showed widespread weakness, falling by 0.6 percent or double the decline outside of autos that had been expected….
Sales at department stores fell by 1.5 percent following an even bigger 1.6 percent drop in July. Sales at furniture stores fell by 2.3 percent. Sales at appliance stores slid 1.5 percent.
I’m part of the problem because I shop almost exclusively at thrift shops. If forced to get new clothing, I hit discount stores like Marshall’s. And finally, when faced with the choice of dropping $400 on a new dryer, $100 on a used one, or just figuring out how to fix the thing for less than $30.00, I almost always choose the latter option. I trash pick my furniture. For that matter, that’s why I chose the 1996 Subaru wagon I drive now: I can do most minor repairs and maintenance by myself.
And its all thanks to the economic policies of George Bush, with the enthusiastic support of his sidekick, John McKKKain. Like wearing used clothes? Vote McKKKain! Like getting your hands filthy with grime from your busted appliances, instead of buying something new at Home Depot? McKKKain’s your man! Like driving a used car instead of something with the latest safety specs and accessories? Like picking your sofa out of someone else’s pile of debris? Vote McKKKain! Like living in abject poverty no matter how hard you work? Like wondering whether you can send your kids to college or whether you’ll ever pay off your credit cards or your student loan? Vote McKKKain? Like the suspense of not knowing if your job will exist in the morning? Vote McKKKain!
In other words, if you like being a modern-day sharecropper, vote for the GOP. Anyone with even a modicum of sanity and self-preservation needs to vote for the Democratic Party and Barack Obama.
October 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
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