My mother grew up in Brooklyn. A graduate of Tilden High School.
My mom was a popular gal in high school. She was part of a troika- two Shirleys and a Sylvia. (Sorry, I only know their married names, not their maiden names.) And, her father, Sol Kuchlik, had become a fairly successful dress designer and manufacturer when he returned from the World War (WW1), so my mom was clearly ensconced in middle class life.
Continue reading Tomorrow would be my mom’s birthday
I have often written that child care is a neglected need in the USA. And, during the pandemic some 111,000 folks abandoned their child care positions. (That’s about 1/10 of the total industry workforce.) Leaving parents- about 65 million families- who want to be able to work- without any viable child care alternatives.
Continue reading Calling all Day Care Centers
So, about 10 days ago, when my friends and I were putting the final plans together for our trip to Israel, one of the mentioned how glorious my dining room table is. (Yes, it is.)
Y’all remember a few years ago when folks were complaining that the subsidies proffered with Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA]) were not big enough to let folks really get the insurance they needed?
Continue reading Obamacare Redux?
So, are we going to convince ourselves that we are going to have a depression?
The indicators so far do not so truly designate. Sure, inflation is rampant. But, job growth (more than 370K in June alone) is continuing. Unemployment is at 3.6%. Consumer spending is holding its own. And, the economy grew by 5.7% last year (pre-Russian invasion)- but now it’s contracted by about 2%, due to the war.
Continue reading Knock, knock- is it here yet?
I went for my booster shot. About 3 weeks before I am departing for my trip to Israel. That way I should have the prime immunity against COVID, as I travel through the airport and am stuck on an airplane for 10 or 11 hours.
So, my son has tested positive for COVID-19. Again!
He is not alone. Many folks believed that, having been infected by COVID-19 once, they’d develop immunity to subsequent attacks.
I am not quite sure we thought this all the way through.
After dealing with two years of economic dislocation, supply chain disruption, and deaths due to the pandemic, we are now in yet another period of deprivation.
Continue reading Economic Morass
Russia has been blockading Ukraine’s Black Sea ports for months. (95% of Ukraine’s food exports traveled this route.) Which means the world is suffering from food shortages. And, it also means Ukrainian farmers lack the funds to purchase new supplies to grow the next crop. But, even if they had the cash, they don’t have any space where they can deliver the crop harvest that is waiting to be exported, since the granaries are full and loaded ships are stuck in the ports.
Continue reading Grain may flow
Putin’s ruthless, war-crime laden invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
Most of the world is worried about the bombing of civilian targets. OK- they really aren’t, but they do lament them. Instead, the world complains about the effects of the war on the price of fuel, which drives worldwide inflationary rates.
Continue reading Imminent Danger