Surviving the Workday

I thought I was having deja vu, but I really did read two completely different articles this week that made me facepalm.

In The Washington Post, we read the tragic stories of ordinary people who have had to begun scrimping and saving because of our floundering economy:

Gindraw-Parrott no longer buys brand-name products unless she’s at a warehouse store like Sam’s Club or BJ’s Wholesale Club. She’s even begun sending herself reminders on her BlackBerry so she doesn’t forget a case of water on sale at CVS or the twice-monthly sale on milk at Kroger.

…

Poli Marinova, a Bethesda marketing communications manager, said she has cut her grocery bills by almost 30 percent without switching to conventional foods. Instead, she skips “luxury items” like sushi and prepared sandwiches and soups. “We’re buying a lot less overall at Whole Foods. We used to buy juice, biscuits and baby food from there,” she said. “Now, we get a lot of that stuff at Costco or the Giant so we can afford to keep buying organic.”

Sorry honey, but if you are sending yourself reminders on your Blackberry to buy cases of bottled water, or still shopping at Whole Foods, you are not earning any sympathy from me.

A day later, I read in The Buffalo News more heartwrenching tales of deprivation:

“It’s a disgrace,” grumbled T.C. Crews, while pumping gas into his SUV at a Citgo gas station on Jefferson Avenue and East Ferry Street.

…

Steve Francoforte, a city worker from North Buffalo, said he expects his usual summer plans will have to change.

He said he will probably have to leave his Chevy Tahoe, which now costs $125 to fill, at home more and ride his more fuel-efficient motorcycle.

He also figures that he won’t take his 22-foot boat out on the water as often as he would like.

Call me insensitive, but stories like this belittle the true hardships that many people are dealing with right now. You know, the ones who drink tap water and don’t own SUV’s and boats.

This entry was posted by GhostGirl on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 2:53 pm and is filed under evidence of the decline of civilization You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.