The Bard of Our Great Depression

Our bard

Every Depression needs a Bard, and for that I nominate somebody who was born during the last Big One, Leonard Cohen.

Here's an NPR link that takes one to an hour of Cohen's phenomenal recent concert in New York.

He's touring the U.S., by the way. Tickets can be purchased here. He's coming back to New York in just a few months, fortunately. We need him!

© 2009 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

Depression Mania

All this Depression talk is depressing.

President Obama tonight has a great opportunity to convince the country that we are not sliding into another Great Depression. Fat chance for that, but still we can hope.

Michelle Leder reports at Footnoted.org that she is impressed by "the number of companies that seem to be mentioning the Great Depression in their [10-K] filings." There's Caterpillar--well I guess that's understandable. I've never forgiven them for tearing down Tom Joad's shack in The Grapes of Wrath. But so has Prudential.

There are certainly advantages to some aspects of the Great Depression, I suppose. One could get a room in a flophouse for 5 cents. Riding the rails might be fun. But I must say that witnessing businesses croaking right and left leaves something to be desired so far.

The other day, for instance, the Journal Register newspaper chain declared bankruptcy. Years ago I worked in a bureau of the Hartford Courant, and my competition, and my competition was a paper called the Middletown Press. It was a fat, advertisement-filled newspaper without much investigative zeal but with a great franchise. It was gobbled up by the Journal Register chain some years ago, and now, like the rest of the news business, it's dying.

So Obama has a chance tonight to convince us that people are going to stop dropping like flies around us. I hope he succeeds, but I doubt he will.

UPDATE: He seems to have convinced the public, based on quickie polls after the speech, but not the market, based on early price action.

© 2009 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

Who Says We're Not in a Depression?

The market isn't the only indicator. This is beginning to feel like a Depression. Note the photograph that has been circulating recently about the man in midtown Manhattan begging for a job.



That's straight out of the Great Depression:



One difference: the gent in the Depression photo had been out of work for three months. According to the New York Times caption, the man in the photo on top had been looking for work for nine months.

© 2008 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

Now That We're in a Depression. . .

.... I say, make the most of it.

Bring back the fedora!



For sale here (and at a reasonable price, in keeping with the times).

"This fedora is crushable a wool felt fedora hat (they keep their great shape). You can snap the brim up or down. These fedoras come in black or grey, have a classic grosgrain band, and are water repellent."

401(k) got you down? Don't fret. Office1000.com has bulk pencils for sale. Cheap! Get out on the street and start selling them before your neighborhood is oversaturated. And that crush- and water-proof fedora will keep the rain off while you're selling your pencils (note the guy at right).

Above all, keep your sunny side up. Always let a smile be your umbrella on a rainy, rainy day.

© 2008 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.