A Little Bit Of "The Real World"

This past weekend we worked a small swap meet  --  just to see what it would take to earn some money that way.  It seemed an awful lot of older, gray-haired, not too mobile, folks were working at the swap meet.  Some were very helpful, trying to show us the ropes, explaining how they manage to make enough to ward off losing their home, and, of course, starvation.

None of these folks was rolling in dough.  Most needed the extra funds.  Many had no other source of income  --  other than Social Security.

In conversation more than one mentioned they had to get some groceries/soda/snacks/veggies/etc. at Walmart.

Now, I know Walmart is a company HATED by all good thinking liberals.  They think it a SHAME, a SHAME I tell you, that such places exploit their poor workers.  Of course the fact they sell brand name goods cheaper than most other supermarkets seems to escape those well meaning (I think) folks.  They also forget that Walmart "Super Stores"  --  the ones with all sorts of EVERYTHING  --  also sell a wide variety of fruits and veggies.  In fact, in many of our poorer neighborhoods, if the Walmart closed an awful lot of folks would depend on overpriced stuff from a local corner store.   Places that carry very little in the realm of fresh stuff.  That would also be the case in many rural areas.  We would go back to having "food deserts" in places that are now well served. 

The average well fed, well groomed, well coiffed, "liberal" seems to have either forgotten, or never knew any of this.  In their "Whole Foods World" the idea of locally sourced, organic, way over priced stuff reigns supreme.

By the way, when you stop to think about it, Target is just a Walmart for folks who see themselves as "just a little better".  I always see places that call employees "team members" as a little less honest than places that tell the truth.  The fact they still exploit workers, limit workers rights, and pay very little, seems to be dismissed by those who WANT to like the stores.  I see Walmart as a bit more honest. 

The entire idea there is a HUGE "underground economy" seems beyond of these "well meaning" folks.  The fact it is actually NECESSARY is also not well understood.

With these poor folks cash reigns supreme, and life is still day to day and much harder than it should be.  Still, our "well meaning liberals", and the VSP's (Very Serious People) still call for cuts to the meager "safety net" the USA has.  It seems they would be quite happy to have folks starve to death, go hungry, and/or homeless, as long as they don't make a fuss, and are not too noticeable.

Powdered, pampered, well barbered, folks who don't give a damn about our history, traditions, and the real "promise of America"  ---  giving to causes that allow them to feel good about themselves, "doing their part", while children go hungry, and seniors seem to live on a steady diet of various and sundry pain pills.  I was surprised by how many of the older folks pop hydrocodone, Valium, and God knows what, just to get through a day at a swap meet.

So, our vaunted system of "self reliance" seems to have led to a bunch of tax evading, senior citizen junkies, doing what they can to stay afloat.

I'm so disgusted by what we have allowed our country to become, by our lack of both understanding and empathy, and by much of the supposed "economic discourse", that I've found it difficult to post much of anything.