Open Thread

April 1st, 2008 1:24 PM

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: It's official -- the Brits think we're in a Depression:

We knew things were bad on Wall Street, but on Main Street it may be worse. Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families. Dismal projections by the Congressional Budget Office in Washington suggest that in the fiscal year starting in October, 28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries, the highest level since the food assistance programme was introduced in the 1960s.

Astounding. My airport was packed on Sunday. Vegas is absolutely jammed with tourists. Went to Cirque du Soleil's "O" on Sunday -- $165/ticket, totally sold out. And people are talking Depression. Anybody see the absurdity, or is it just folks like me that travel a lot and see what's actually going on outside of the media's small prism?