dear hand baskets,

When people ask what I’m buying these days, I respond: “hand baskets.”
“Hand baskets?”
“Yeah, everything seems to be going to hell in a hand basket these days, so I might as well own stock”.

(Credit goes to my boy Graig for coming up with that one)

But still, Mr. Basket, you must be a busy guy these days. America’s banks are imploding. The government is promising literally trillions of dollars in taxpayer money to bail out these institutions. People are losing their homes. People can’t sell their homes (9 months and counting for me…sweet!). People can’t afford gas. Almost every other commodity is going sky-high. Since jobs have been leaving the US for years now, and the middle class is heavily beaten down, spending is down and growth has gone from stagnant to negative. Aforementioned inflation is kicking ass. Stagflation – something my parents remember that well in the 70’s! Oh, yes, hand baskets, times most certainly are good for you.

And what is the media covering? Cartoons. When I did my previous entry on The New Yorker on Obama I had no idea about the cover. I didn’t think much of it, other than to add the PS. But it seems the media thinks that this is the important issue. Don’t look at the steady stream of hand baskets marching down the highway, look at the cartoons.

So, in summation, I’m long hand baskets (you), short everything else (especially the damned media).

love,
surya