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Show Mary Says . . . Economy Disturbs Me by Mary West Depression, a state of mind or the economy? If it becomes a state of the economy it will also be a state of the mind. I've re-written this story four times now and I find that I'm more disturbed about our predicament than I was when I originally sat down at the typewriter some five days ago. President Carter is giving a speech saying that there shouldn't be a recession or depression. At the same time an economist is making a speech that it will surely come by the end of next year if not the they could make more on un-employment or get on welfare. What kind of attitude is that for people wfto live in a land such as ours. The people who have the hardest row to hoe is the ones on fixed incomes. in-comes. Skyrocketing utility bills along with other essentials must already cause a state of depression for them. Suppose we did what the President asked for a period of time, would the merry go round slow down? Could we get our country into a lower gear without having a broken down economy needing a major overhaul. A slowing down could be a gentle general arch on businesses rather than a death blow that might otherwise occur for some. I suppose it is up to each of us individually to help with the cure. We cannot say that we haven't been warned. Every time we turn on the television or pick a newspaper up we are reminded of the problems facing us. Its kind of like Chicken Little crying that the sky is falling. Let find cover so that if the sky does fall we'll have a chance to survive. lirst part. For years people have predicted that this run away economy has got to grind to a halt eventually. Aren't we doing it to ourselves? We seem to live in a throw away society where the merchandise wears out or breaks down and needs replacement. We recently replaced a fifteen year old television set and the salesman told us, "Don't expect this one to last that long." I heard a report on the problems of the textile industry. We are buying more and more products from Taiwan and Korea. The wage for the textile worker in those countries was 45 and 58 cents per hour. No one should have to work for that wage but at the same time I don't believe that anyone is worth $15.00 per hour that is paid on some of our jobs. I have heard people make the statement that a certain job only paid S3. 50 per hour and |
