Tough Times

Gasoline prices going down right now are a help, but many other important commodities are going up, and chief among them are groceries, which everyone needs. It has occurred to me as an atheist socialist that the people hit hardest by these times are those at the lower end of the income ladder. So I decided to give a raise to my housekeeper and my gardener. Both were surprised and each told me no one else had made such a gesture. My housecleaner said none of her employers had offered financial help with her operation for breast cancer either, and she rides the bus and walks the rest of the way to work. For many people in her position, the easiest approach in this land of opportunity will be to just let their employees go.

ARW
11/6/08