Worst Economy Since Hoover?

Listening to John Kerry and John Edwards, you'd think the middle class had vanished and that tens of millions of Americans were living in cardboard boxes on the sides of the freeways, and wrapped around city blocks standing in lines for food handouts. I decided to go out on a bike ride in my middle class neighborhood, to see what the "Worst Economy Since Hoover" looked like.

The first signs of poverty and the struggling middle class, were the number of newer model SUVs parked in driveways and alongside the streets. At first, I thought maybe because that's where these people were sleeping and living. But it turns out, that these are the homeowners and the reason that they can't park in their garages is because there homes are too small to hold all their possessions. In this "worst economy since Hoover," it seems like folks are cramped and stuffed into 2500-4000 sq ft. homes, and unable to fit their families of four and their possessions. So what doesn't fit, like the Bowflex, stairmasters, treadmills, pool tables, and etc., have to go into the 3-car garage. I wonder, if Al Gore had won in 2000, would people have bigger homes and maybe a storage shed out back to hold their stuff? Clearly, Bush has failed to lead. If John Kerry wins, will these struggling people get the same kind of storage facilities that the members of the Senate get? Lord, I sure hope so.

Next, I saw kids riding around on bikes and talking about their new Playstation and Xbox games. And I thought the kids in the 30's had it tough! At one home in my struggling middle class neighborhood, the kids had to clear out from the driveway as Dad pulled up in his SUV with a new plasma TV from Best Buy. I stopped to check it out, and he said he wanted it in before the NBA season started. He was getting a satellite dish installed and subscribing to the NBA package. Now, if the middle class weren't being squeezed, perhaps this fellow could afford season tickets. Bush took his eye off the ball the last four years. No doubt, Kerry has a plan to fix this problem.

In any case, I hoped he left the empty boxes out on the street. No doubt, in this "worst economy since Hoover," folks will need a place to sleep. An ice cream truck drove by and the kids flocked in line to get some ice cream. This probably resembled the food lines in the days of Hoover that John Kerry is talking about. I felt sorry for the kids, that they didn't have ice cream in their homes and actually had to come out and stand in line to get some. Bush clearly has neglected the needs of children these past 4 years.

Just some observations here in these dire times for the middle class. I had to get back in time to watch the Yankees-Red Sox game.