The good news: consumer spending up again in April.
The bad news: it's because everything costs so damn much now

"Mission Accomplished" now over Five years ago.
How have you been enjoying the last 5 years
of peace and prosperity?



  I found this to be an interesting read.....

 By Don Robertson, The American Philosopher

We should all wince at the shocking truth here for the working poor
 who at long last got a now far less than meaningless
 minimum wage increase out of  Congress.

When I was a twelve year old kid just starting out,
 the minimum wage was a buck an hour (Thanks to Ike).

 That's what I was paid for the odd jobs I could wrangle
out of my surroundings as a twelve year old kid, you know,
 chump-change for the chump.

In 1962 a gallon of gasoline was 19.9 cents,
 meaning for the wages I was paid for my hours' work,
I could buy five gallons of gasoline.

At $3.00 a gallon, that would mean a twelve year old kid
starting out today would need to get $15.00 an hour to meet
with this casual measure of the cost living I enjoyed in
1962 as a twelve year old. (at $4.00 that would be $20.00
in a few more years $7.00 will be $35.00 are you keeping up)

And the much more realistic economic truth is, measuring
 the cost of living against the price of a gallon of gasoline
 doesn't really give a gage to the effect of the economists'
 and the politicians' "progress" since gasoline has not risen
anywhere near half as fast as most commodities.

In 1962 a loaf of bread was ten cents.
A quart of soda pop was a nickel.
 And it cost my in-laws just $75 to pay for the
hospital birth of my wife's youngest brother.

There were no such things then as Auto Inspection Stickers,
 Auto Insurance, Health Insurance, Pay Day Lenders, Credit Cards,
 a State Run Lottery, or any other of a broadened host economic
 vice-evils and increased expenses.


Much more progress like this, and you won't
have to worry about the price of gasoline.

For a song, you'll be able to commandeer
a human-powered rickshaw for your daily commute
 just like it used to be possible to do in China.

Just hire someone's twelve year old kid to do it.


What's going on is called, slavery, or, human bondage.
 It's reducing every human being and every kid to groveling
 like a starving whore in the streets.

So, when one of these kids today comes up behind you
and smashes your brains in for the few measely dollars in your wallet,
 understand just who and what put them up to it.

It's called progress.