The economy is looking up! * - Democratic Underground

snake in the grass

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Fri Aug-06-10 08:20 PM
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The economy is looking up! *

This OP is addressed to those progressives under us who never cease to point out how bad the economy is and I have to admit that up until two days ago, I was one of them. Well, let me tell you how wrong you are. We must finally stop seeing the glass as half empty instead of nine-tenths full. Really.

Here's why.

I first became aware of this improvement last week when, by chance, I saw a report on a wonderful variation of the “free market” theory carrying the self-descriptive name of Vulture Real Estate Investing, which showcased an operation out of Florida called Condo Vultures. The chief consultant of this firm, a certain Peter Zalewski, spoke like a general planning his next attack, using terms like “going for the kill”, “taking them down”, or “cutting their throats”, all with true glee in his eyes as he described his acquisitions. I had to laugh a little at this, because as a former infantryman, I know what it’s like to carry a weapon and to be prepared to use it. Somehow, I don’t think Peter does. However, I cannot really blame him, because he’s just doing what vultures do. If I want to get upset at anyone it should be the creators of the “carrion”, if you will. That carrion is the heap of broken lives our superior economic system has generated. No one with a platform to inform us on this phenomenon seems to be concerned, though. Just take a look at http://abc7news.typepad.com/finneyblog/2010/08/vulture-real-estate-investing.html">Michael Finney’s Consumer Blog:

“Stop whining about real estate prices and make them work for you! It is called vulture real estate investing, because you swoop in and grab the carcass of someone else’s failed real estate dreams. There is big money to be made now. Not by buying and flipping, but buying and renting.”

Yes, things are looking up and 2009 was a real year of prosperity for the vultures, with http://realestateinvestordaily.com/foreclosures/record-number-of-foreclosures-in-2009/">3.9 million foreclosures. That’s a record amount of carrion; so much that you can smell the putrid stench in every U.S. city.

Then came the report by Robert Reich a few days ago: http://robertreich.org/post/863304269/the-great-decoupling-of-corporate-profits-from-jobs">The Great Decoupling of Corporate Profits from Jobs, where it was reported that the top 500 non-financial companies in the U.S. were sitting on close to $1 trillion in the second quarter of this year. As it now stands, they have also reeled in around 90% of their losses made at the beginning of the depress..., oops – I mean recession. That’s great news…if you are a Chinese labourer, because these companies are not hiring here, but hey, it’s a matter of national pride that we spread the “free market” around the globe, bringing with it joy and prosperity for all. Be happy because this shows we are winning the big battle, even though many of us here are losing everything.

-Lee Greenwood chimes in right about now - “And I’m proud to be an American...”

But all of this crystallized two days ago, when I was made an unusual job offer. I work as a freelance hospice caregiver and as such I must constantly be on the ball when it comes to finding patients to care for at the end of their journey. I also have an agency, but they aren’t of much use to me and rarely call back. I was spending the day applying at other places, trying to get my foot in the door in different economic sectors like Taco Bell, CVS, and 7-11. I worked only four days last month, which makes paying the rent a real adventure.

Anyway, my tour through the nonexistent job market brought me together with a man desperate for employees. He was quite distressed at not being able to find enough personnel to cover the work load of his company which specializes in car repossessions. He told me that as of now he has around 700 repossessions a month, as opposed to 100/month a year ago. This is just an average figure. Sometimes it’s a little more, sometimes a little less, but 700 was the figure he felt adequately reflects the situation. I would be working on commission and could really “rake in the cash” as he put it.

If you are a child of the 80s you may know the excellent movie Repo Man, but the reality isn’t half as exciting. There are no car chases and certainly no dead aliens in the trunk, but you do have to be prepared for confrontation when you grab someone’s ride. I would love to have more than $2 left in my account after scraping the rent together. I’d love to be able to go out every once in awhile and get a little stupid – maybe treat myself to a good meal or see a movie. I really would, but then I thought of those people who are worse off than I. Maybe that car belongs to a single mother who needs it to get to work in order to earn the money to pay off the medical bills accrued when her child was diagnosed with a serious illness; after all, the best health care in the world has to cost something. Who knows, maybe the family of four down the street will need that car to live in when the bank defaults on their home.

“…where at least I know I’m free.”

I joke that I’d take any job, and I mean any job, as long as I didn’t have to kill people. Well, my apologies to Emilio Estevez, but I’m going to have to add repo man to that list.

I declined his offer.

Yes, things are looking up. You just have to know where to look.

Think about it.

* for some people