Brave New World

[Daveparts]

Brave New World
By David Glenn Cox


The future is written on the wind, in this, the year of our Ford 2008. The morning frost advises that the snow is coming soon. The dry leaves blow, calling out the same warning as mayors from small towns in California all the way to the big apple warn.

“Due to the economic slow down,” hell, I’ll say it, do to the coming depression police, fire and city positions must be eliminated. Lakeport California is considering eliminating two of its fourteen police positions due to a one million-dollar budget shortfall. The staff levels have not been increased since 1996 and the elimination of two positions will return the department to 1970 levels despite a 10% rise in the areas population.

Chicago’s Mayor Daley calls it the worst budget crisis in a generation and considers 1000 layoffs and the further elimination of 3000 positions. Corona California facing a 10 million-dollar budget short fall has eliminated 112 city positions including 24 in the police department. The elimination of four animal control positions means, well, you can probably guess what that means. In South Carolina a local animal shelter reported a surge of 80 pets a day dropped off due to the rise in home foreclosures. The shelter has now begun a waiting list to drop off unwanted pets.

In Sacramento the police force face draconian cuts in the face of rising property crimes and expensive homicide investigations. These cuts are just the latest for a city that has cut 96 civilian positions and lost over eighty officers due to attrition since 2007. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s has warned that without budget cuts he could be forced to eliminate 1,800 of the 2,000 strong Illinois State trooper force. Of course no one believes that this is really the governors plan but it is the opening salvo in the negotiations.

From Governor Scwarzeneggar’s girlish cry for help, the municipal government layoffs are the canary in the coalmine. Police and Fire department layoffs are the dead bird in the bottom of the cage. Cities and municipalities derive most of their revenue from property and sales taxes and normally property taxes are the most stable source of revenue, but not this time. States that depended on sales taxes are especially hard hit by people not spending. The municipal lay offs increase the speed of the leaves as they swirl.

I once lived in a town with a Republican Mayor and he suggested to the Republican Governor, “Why not revamp the food stamp program? Let’s just give them cash to lower administrative costs. (Wink, wink) Of course the food stamps were tax exempt and the state had a 5% sales tax and the city a 2% tax. Today the days of such chicanery are over now Mayors and city managers are being asked to take pay cuts themselves. But now that we are cutting the social fabric in whole cloth, do you think maybe a capital gains tax cut will help?

American Express Company reported a third quarter profit and rejoiced in doing so. A cold wind and short days blight her future as well. The company faced cardholders defaulting at twice the rate of one year ago. US consumer spending fell in August by $7.9 billion dollars the largest one-month drop since the statistics began being kept in 1943. Capital One is forecasting $7.2 billion in losses and Discover reported that its income has slumped by 27% year over year.

Linens and Things have closed 371 stores nation wide and 40 more in Canada and it is expected to be the precursor of a trickle that will become a flood after the holidays. The lack of sales equates to a lack of tax revenue which in turn means more municipal lay offs just as the employees are needed the most.

Aldous Huxley in his novel, “Brave New World” envisioned a society that worshiped industrial production. A society of privileged Alpha’s and Betas and then the rest of us through Bokonovsky’s magic, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon classes. So what is to be expected when the gears of production strip their teeth. When there is a famine of consumption and the roof of easy money falls in and leaves us to face the cold winds of industrial collapse.

It should be so expected that in this, the year of our Ford 2008 that the Alphas and Beta’s Would place the blame squarely on the backs of the Gamma’s, Deltas, and Epsilons. Who else could be at fault? As for me? I would be headed for the Savage Reservation if only I knew how to get there from here. Instead we are trapped in amongst the economic wreckage, no help, no hope and no soma. While the Alphas and Betas debate how best they can save the banks.

"O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world
That hath such people in't!"


http://theservantsofpilate.com/

[knowbody0]

1. As a "born again Savage"

I welcome you. But you need know, there is no reservation anymore.