Declining Fortunes by Deb O'Connor
Yesterday I travelled along Highway 2 from Dale Road in Welcome on to Oshawa. It was the first time in nearly two years I had taken this route, a familiar one I have grown to love since I was a kid before we even had Hwy #401. Then, it was the only way to get to Toronto and my Dad would entertain us with stories of local history as we made the rather long trip. At least for a kid it was a long trip.
After this long, there were changes along the way. Ugly sub divisions have started to mar not only Bowmanville but Newcastle too, where they seemed especially out of place among the rolling hills and creeks. A new and huge suburban nightmare has grown even larger west of Bowmanville, with a brand new Wal Mart announcing it's open for business even as the construction continues around their store. Oshawa itself looked especially run down and dirty with large expanses of concrete and dust and rubble all over the place.
While I noted these so-called improvements, there were revealing indicators that suggest prosperity is dwindling for many of us. Stores and businesses that didn't exist the last time I went by are already closed and empty, and the shops and restaurants in Bowmanville, while appearing quite busy, seemed to be catering to a demographic that is unlikely to support much growth on a long term basis. Like in Cobourg, I wonder how many dead flower arrangements and wooden carved objects a consumer can buy before satiation occurs. Likewise, how many restos offering lunches of fancy salads and miniscule portions of seafood can a community use?
What really struck me though was the number of single family homes with large boats and recreational vehicles small and large with For Sale signs on them. Many of the homes had the same signs on their front lawns. Seeing all this it's hard not to wonder if the inhabitants lost their jobs, used up their unemployment benefits and were now looking at their possessions to try and generate some grocery money.
In Cobourg we now have two pay day loan type places, and three pawn shops in operation. What does that tell us about the state of the local economy? Combined with the dramatic increases to the welfare rolls, the increased use of food banks and emergency assistance, it's nothing to celebrate. Are our candidates for municipal office even aware of the desperation and poverty that exists here?
Coming at it from a larger perspective, we know that home sales have tanked, not only in the USA but now in Canada too. Stock exchanges all around the world keep falling, and while Canadian banks are still posting profits, they are not as big as the banks expected.
Is this all just summer doldrums, a blip on the trading floors that will soon reverse itself? Or are we seeing the early symptoms of a world wide decline in human fortunes as some think. Combined with the ravages of extreme weather all over the world, not to mention the extreme politics that seem to be emerging, are we in big trouble that we are totally unprepared for?
The next few years are going to be very interesting as the consequences of human development land on all of us, rich or poor. Are we ready, willing, and able to meet the challenge? We'd better be, this ain't gonna be pretty.
12 comments:
I gotta tell ya - that was one depressing use of the English language.
If all you see is darkness maybe you should pack it in.
I certainly will never read another entry to this blog with your name on it.
Dave Chomitz
Very well written Deb O. Your points have nothing to do with darkness. The amount of pay day loans and pawn shops are acurrate.
People who once could afford lots of toys etc... are certainly feeling the pinch and worse.
one for one against I call that a good opinion
Mr. Chomitz, I apologise if my posting upset you, but at the same time I would urge that you not shoot the messenger.
Looking at my words again, I can say confidently that the post only contains facts, and then asks questions as to the outcome of recent developments. It doesn't say the world is about to end, or be destroyed, or anything else over the top. It just asks questions.
The reason I wrote it is to elicit opinions from other readers as to whether the world economy is facing a major downturn or not. That's a hot topic right now, and one many people are very interested in.
For instance, what do you think? You are an acknowledged expert when it comes to real estate, do you have any thoughts on the topic?
In closing, I must add that all North Americans need to be very aware of all this, and if changes need to be made, to make them now while we still can. It is certainly not too late to turn the Good Ship Earth around if we pay attention and act now.
Julian Simon wrote, ""This is my long-run forecast in brief; The material conditions of life will continue to get better for most people, in most countries, most of the time, indefinitely. Within a century or two, all nations and most of humanity will be at or above today's Western living standards. I also speculate, however, that many people will continue to think and say that the conditions of life are getting worse."
In spite of a Great Depression, two of the world's most lethal wars, a decades long cold war, humanity at large increased literacy, education, increased food, provided cheaper food, extended life, decreased infant mortality, etc etc etc. This will continue despite occasional potholes on the road.
Interesting you decry the ugly subdivisions and Mr. Burd takes issue with building high density housing on Queen St.
I take issue with anything that would put a weel known restauranteur out of business. Work twenty years to build a business and then a bunch of whiny residents kill it - and they knew the bar was there before they bought
People have been living above their means for a long time. It is sometimes frustrating -- as someone who will not resort to massive amounts of credit in order to live a lavish lifestyle -- to see what others can accumulate while seemingly making the same or less income.
Maybe this economic downturn will be a blessing in the end. Maybe it will teach people how to manage money and that if you can't sleep at night because of the money you owe, your massive fifth wheel/RV, ATV, Jetski, and boat might not be as much fun as you thought.
often, in these situations described by Pragmatist, it comes down more to finger pointing than learning something important. Ever heard the words "how could THEY let this happen!" or "somebody(ELSE) should be held accountable for this situation" and so on.
And all the while, those same victims wait for things to "recover" and get back to the same style as was, never once thinking that this may well be the way it should have been in the first place and will now be for some time. So much for learning anything from it. Sorry Pragmatist, but that's a bit of a stretch.
Is it any wonder that the "signs of recovery" are rapidly dying and the call form the "unlimited potential" crowd is for yet more "stimulus". The only stimulus they seek is restoring the flow into their own reservoirs, and to hell with the rest of the suckers. They, my friend have learned a much different lesson.
Certainly I agree with Trying that many people just don't think. If they did they would make more independent and sensible decisions about their needs, and obey the simple maxim that you can't spend more than you make. Not for too long, anyway.
But I sense the attitude that the consumer/citizen is held accountable exclusively, with no consideration of the role that corporations, government and the media play in sucking people into the quagmire in the first place.
It doesn't take much thought to realize that if we didn't all rush to the malls to buy the latest toys, the whole economy would collapse without our plastic dollars. The same result would occur whether we are motivated by thrift or environmental concerns; either way if we don't buy, corporations don't make profits, government revenue suffers too as job loss destroys families.
But it's a mistake to just blame average citizens for all this when we are only part of it.
After all, it is a systemic problem that requires a whole re-working of society so that our scarce resources are deployed properly and our processing of those resources done in an environmentally sound way.
Until that happens the downward spiral is unlikely to stop, however slowly it all devolves.
Throwing the money lenders and false prophets out of the temples wouldn't hurt either.
Deb O writes: "... the downward spiral is unlikely to stop, however slowly it all devolves."
The downward spiral is a mere pothole on the continually improving and ascending highway of human development. Perfect? No! Pessimistic? No!
There are a multitude of reasons to be optimistic and they all outweight the pessimism of doomsters, gloomsters and tombsters.
Oh it's so dark under that self-contrived blanket of pessimism that one can't see the light. What a pity!
Jeez.... Deb, go see a fortune teller, she will tell you :
"You will have a reversal of fortune". I see lots of sitting, snorring, beer drinking, you will gain weight, you will feel depress. No work, no pay. You believe immigrants will do dirty jobs... this card tell me you suffer a lot... others in Town are the same..."
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