The Recession is Killing More Than Car Sales

The recession is a killer. I know, I know, you’ve heard this all before—in fact you’re probably hearing it now. It’s inescapable. Every news story is about the recession these days. You can now buy a 3000 square foot home with granite countertops for $20, but you won’t qualify for financing. Detroit is out of the auto industry because suddenly everyone needs to drive a car that runs on something other than oil since we’ve spilled it all into the gulf. And if you actually still have a job, then you’re so desperate to join the unemployed that you’re willing to jump out of an airplane carrying a beer in each hand.


Does anyone else find all of this insane? I swear I overheard a Sponge Bob episode on the recession when I was cooking chicken last night. When cartoons start worrying about their home values, then we’ve officially crossed over to the dark-side. It’s like a shadowy plague that is crawling over us—determined to beat us down until we cry out for mercy and a car that doesn’t run on a battery.

Every piece of bad news is somehow linked to the recession, no matter how flimsy the tie-in. If you listen to the news, summer box office receipts were the worst in years because American’s don’t have any discretionary funds left. I don’t know about you, but I just wasn’t willing to drop good money on the garbage movies Hollywood presented us this summer. So now some idiot director who spent millions blowing up cars, houses, and chisel-chinned actors without bothering with a plot is going to get to keep his job because the tanking of the movie wasn’t his fault—it was just the economy. I so wish that man was standing in line with the other 300 applicants that showed up for job interviews at JoAnn Fabrics last week.

I argue that, while the recession is real, the toll it’s taking reaches far beyond our pocketbooks. It’s draining every bit of optimism and hope from the American people who are known for overcoming adversity and reaching for greatness. Terrorists blowing up buildings hurt our spirits less than the constant barrage from the media about our failing economy. Granted, the recession is far reaching, but while we hear about the bad unemployment numbers no one every says, “but hey, 90% of us still have jobs.” They never air a story about how neighborhoods are coming together to help the hardest hit families by providing food, carpooling, and the thing they need most of all—friends who actually care. They never mention how hard those who have jobs are working so that costs are low and their company’s doors can remain open.

Vampires are all the rage these days and I’m not the least bit surprised—we’re all being sucked dry by the constant coverage of bad news day in and day out. We have to stand up for ourselves because I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough. It’s time to lift our heads and do what we American’s have done for centuries, we need to believe in a better day and then work toward it.