THE TIMES

I’ve just been reading this month’s TIME magazine; the black & white photo on the cover depicts a large crowd of men huddled outside of a soup kitchen, bracing the cold – the heading “The New Hard Times” looms above their heads. The experts tell us we are facing an unprecedented global financial crisis, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the depression back in 1929. Well that’s just the thing, most of us “haven’t seen it” – we have only read about it. The Australian dollar today is trading at a little over .67 U.S. cents - it wasn’t that long ago that it was over 90! What will all this mean for Australia….for the world? Decreased Spending; job cuts & increased unemployment. Do we blame the banks? How much of it has got to do with our own greed; our own ignorance & blind faith in the global economy? I for one don’t understand it all, but I do know that what goes up usually comes down; is the economy subject to the same laws of nature? Did we think that the ride would just go on forever? I for one can see the potential benefits of a depression, it might just slow mankind down long enough for him to take a long hard look at where he’s headed & the destruction that lies in his wake. It’s awful though to think about the effects the economic downturn will have upon the poor, but as in any situation they are always the first casualties.

Just a note, while looking for a copy of this photo (which is the photo that appears on the TIME cover) I discovered that this particular soup kitchen in Chicago was sponsored by none other than Al Capone!