If you live in most places in the US and Canada, you are seeing help-wanted advertisements all over the place. Employers are complaining about not being able to find workers. Those willing to work are offered the most generous signing bonuses for many jobs. Housing prices are "going through the roof." The stock markets are booming. The used car market is at a record high.
The biggest boom that I personally
lived through was the US from 1967 to 1968. What I am seeing now puts that boom
to shame.
I'm a big fan of KPIX Channel 5
news. There was a segment last night that shocked me. This TV station is a big
supporter of The Second Harvest Food Bank. This wonderful organization provides
weekly food boxes for thousands of food-challenged families. With this boom,
one would expect an easy Christmas for the organization with demand for their
food dropping. Quite the opposite is true. They are seeing demand rising. They
are struggling with supply chain challenges, food inflation with food prices
going up 10% in one month, and donations dropping off.
What is going on here? Why aren't these
families getting hired and spending their employment bonuses on food, etc.? Are
these people lazy and without a work ethic? I think not. This is a warning that
many people are being left out as the economy comes back to life. There are men
and women with childcare issues who cannot go back to work. There are ill
people (perhaps many with long-term Covid-19 problems.) There are disabled
people. There are retired people living on Social Security checks being
decimated by inflation. These people have "fallen through the
cracks."
My readers, all of us are fortunate
indeed.
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