The New Stingy Chic

Just how we handle the freaking financial Apocalypse will define us for a generation. The actual detailed plan for how to pull this off has yet to be written, but I’m dumb enough to give it a try. How do we handle an America in which one out of four wannabe employees are unemployed? I’ve given it some thought and here’s my take on it, although it requires a lot more selflessness and kindness than a lot of us have been capable of these past few decades.

First off, I expect fewer occupied houses, which is not great for the real estate market, to state the obvious. What will happen is people doubling and tripling up in housing. It costs the same to heat a 4-bedroom house with 6 people living in it as it does with 2. A new occupation I think we’ll see is sort of a domestic caretaker. If 4 friends are living together and one loses his or her job, I can see that person doing the laundry, cleaning and cooking for the other three in return for lodging and food.

It makes sense with everyone worried about employment to know that unemployment doesn’t necessarily mean homelessness. The fate of the abandoned McMansions as future multi-family housing just makes a lot of sense as the absurdity of putting 3 or 4 people in a 10,000 square foot house becomes even more obvious. I think our recent immigrant families especially would adapt to this well, as culturally multigenerational households are familiar. Primarily, I’m thinking Latin Americans, but the same is true for South Asians and Chinese.

How else do we adapt? Is it just me or do there appear to be yard sales everywhere? Many times as many as in years past. And some amazing bargains. (Yes, I stop at yard sales.) I’ve given a lot of thought to the food situation and I’m not sure how it works out. My brother in Guatemala tells me that fast food restaurant have a “10Q” menu, meaning all items on it are 10 Quetzals or less, about US$1.25 or less than a Euro. I could see that happening here with McDonalds selling rice and beans and maybe a sausage for a buck. But the more widespread feeding of the population seems harder to grasp. Most churches and civic organizations (Lions, VFW, Chamber of Commerce, et al) have kitchen facilities, so maybe they’d rotate?

It’s always killed me that there are 350,000 churches in America and roughly 750,000 homeless people. The churches are used a few hours a week for a Guy that allegedly has mansions in heaven (Really! Look it up!) with the homeless hang on the curb, in the dumpster or at a shelter if they are lucky. Can somebody tell me the scriptural basis for NOT cooking for and feeding the homeless and putting them up in churches? Hello? Is this thing on?

Though I don’t agree with his religious views, you’ve got to love a guy like Larry James. You can oppose Christianity as much as I do, but man, you’ve got to give him credit. Maybe there are a lot more potential Larry Jameses out there. It would sure make this whole collapse of what we knew much easier for many, many people.

And then there’s this guy, who gives me a huge amount of hope. What a great story about some great people. There's still a lot of hope.