The $1.99 Deli Sandwich
Posted by JimI was driving along Mission Gorge Road Sunday past and drove by a store that was advertising a deli sandwich for $1.99. While this may appeal to stretched consumers, the idea of pricing-to-survive troubled me. The Dow closed Friday over 10,500 and I presume will continue a slow march toward prosperity, no matter how ephemeral.
The two numbers speak volumes about where we have landed. I know I am fortunate enough to be in the lifeboat; but I am not so short-sighted to believe the drownings going on around me do not have the possibility of swamping my boat.
The health care debate sharply illustrates this divide. Those who have versus those who do not. No matter the scope of a final bill, which I believe will come to pass, the health care issue is a proxy for a larger question, deeply rooted in the past century. Since the end of World War II, domestic social and economic policy decisions have really been an ongoing struggle over the scope and survival of the New Deal. This country has never adequately framed a permanent national consensus on the Fed’s role in our daily lives.
Some New Deal policies are firmly institutionalized such as unemployment benefits and Social Security. The New Frontier added Medicare to the mix and I can imagine the howling amongst the GOP faithful if that program went away.
So why is it that legions of recipients of New Deal and New Frontier largess are charter tea-baggers? Sadly the answer is those in the boats do not want anymore company.
