Gas Money
--Recycling, Michael KountourisI'm going where the sun keeps shining
Thru' the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
--Everybody's Talkin', Harry Nilsson
A man willing to work,
and unable to find work,
is perhaps the saddest sight
that fortune's inequality exhibits
under this sun
--Thomas Carlyle
Strong wind destroy our home
Many dead, tonight it could be you
Strong wind, strong wind
Many dead, tonight it could be you
--Homeless, Paul Simon
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night
--Big Rock Candy Mountain,
Harry McClintock
_____________________
Recently, Florida Governor Rick "Pink Slip" Scott misguidedly called for an increase in the number of engineering and math students in the state as a solution to the unemployment problems the state is suffering. Sorry, but graduating students who will face dwindling job prospects is not the solution.
While Ranger was sitting in Publix enjoying a yogurt the other day, he was approached by a homeless man with a zero-sum scheme: If Ranger would allow the man to purchase his groceries on the man's Food Stamp card, Ranger would then pay the man back in greenbacks. He explained that he needed money for gas because his car was on empty, a car which also serves as his living quarters.
The man recently was released from a 50-day jail sentence for holding a sign on the road and violating the city's easement policy [local Ordinance 12-62] -- aimed at reducing panhandlers and protesters -- since he could not pay the bail nor afford the $385 fine. (He never said what was on the sign, and Ranger never asked; this is Publix's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.)
Now, Ranger associates with the hoi polloi which mill about the only lake in downtown Tallahassee (which was actually a rainwater drain off pond, but that's another story), and so knows this man with the hustle. He is an unemployed engineer with a graduate degree from the Florida System -- of this, there is little doubt. His unemployment recently ran out, and he has taken on various piecework projects over the term of his unemployment, often traveling out of town to do so, but he cannot seem to extricate himself from the rabbit hole he has fallen down. His is not an atypical story.
Here is where Ranger gets all Bolshie: What is it in the universe Republican that eludes his comprehension? Here is a skilled, adult male engineer, Mr. Scott -- where does he fit into your Floridian utopia?
The sadness is, neither party will or can solve this man's or this nation's problems. So, how does a nation live in a car? A person can do so, but what is the national equivalent? The good news is, the man is driving a Ford vehicle and is still buying BP petrol.
As General Petraeus asked, tell me how this story ends.
While Ranger was sitting in Publix enjoying a yogurt the other day, he was approached by a homeless man with a zero-sum scheme: If Ranger would allow the man to purchase his groceries on the man's Food Stamp card, Ranger would then pay the man back in greenbacks. He explained that he needed money for gas because his car was on empty, a car which also serves as his living quarters.
The man recently was released from a 50-day jail sentence for holding a sign on the road and violating the city's easement policy [local Ordinance 12-62] -- aimed at reducing panhandlers and protesters -- since he could not pay the bail nor afford the $385 fine. (He never said what was on the sign, and Ranger never asked; this is Publix's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.)
Now, Ranger associates with the hoi polloi which mill about the only lake in downtown Tallahassee (which was actually a rainwater drain off pond, but that's another story), and so knows this man with the hustle. He is an unemployed engineer with a graduate degree from the Florida System -- of this, there is little doubt. His unemployment recently ran out, and he has taken on various piecework projects over the term of his unemployment, often traveling out of town to do so, but he cannot seem to extricate himself from the rabbit hole he has fallen down. His is not an atypical story.
Here is where Ranger gets all Bolshie: What is it in the universe Republican that eludes his comprehension? Here is a skilled, adult male engineer, Mr. Scott -- where does he fit into your Floridian utopia?
The sadness is, neither party will or can solve this man's or this nation's problems. So, how does a nation live in a car? A person can do so, but what is the national equivalent? The good news is, the man is driving a Ford vehicle and is still buying BP petrol.
As General Petraeus asked, tell me how this story ends.
Labels: engineers, governor rick scott, poverty. poor, unemployment
posted by rangeragainstwar at 7:39 PM
3 comments
