Lack of Money is the Root of all Evil

What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. ~ Bob DylanThe New York Times reported yesterday that there were, “65,000 job cuts in the United States and around the world”. The onslaught of layoffs was from one day alone! Today, The US Bureau of Labor Statistics published unemployment statistics as increasing from “6.8 to 7.2 percent in December.”

This is devastating news to be sure but there should be equal attention to the under-employed -- folks who work 20-30 hours a week that are not counted in the unemployed statistics. Or what about those folks who have work but absolutely no benefits? No retirement benefits have gloomy prospects but what if an under-employed person with no health care gets sick?

[mp3] The Deep Dark Woods - All the Money I Had is Gone
from Winter Hours, 2009, on Black Hen Music

[mp3] The Like Young - For Money or Love
from Last Secrets, 2006, on Polyvinyl Record Company

It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating. ~Oscar Wilde