The Way We Live Now: dangerously close to the dark side. The American worker is a timid bird, quick to skitter about based upon the slightest change in economics forecast. Will you ever work again? As a brick thief, yes!

Says here that some of the most hopeless of the unemployed—the older workers, who were laid off and haven't been able to find a god damn thing for months and months and years now—fear that they may never work again, having been permanently discarded from the work force. We're here today with a message of positivity for these people: fear not. As long as you are healthy enough to set fire to an abandoned home for the purpose of surreptitiously carting off the singed bricks afterward, you will always have a form of "work," such as it is.

There's also the possibility of guarding said homes from your fellow brick thieves, if you own guns.

This is "Main Street" we're talking about here. Main Street America. What is even the point of keeping track of Wall Street, any more? In the morning the headlines will warn that Wall Street is plummeting; by the afternoon they will say that Wall Street is skyrocketing. We are not even going to take the time to dig up the representative news links to prove this true statement, that is literally how sick we have become of Wall Street, here on Main Street, where the brick don't burn but the money does burn, metaphorically, cause it sure feels hot when you're broke as a joke, unless it's the winter time, when it's equally bad but cold.

Fah to the "investor." What has an "investor" ever done for you, the little guy? We don't want to hear any econometric mumbo-jumbo about "providing the capital upon which small businesses are built." We're talking about intestinal fortitude, boy, guts. What it takes to survive on the cold, cold streets of Main Street. When you hear about investors it's always "The nest egg is feeling fragile" or "Junk bonds are a dangerous game" or "I'd like to invest more if it wasn't for the $12.3 trillion in household net worth we just lost." Christ, just put your money in the investment thing, we didn't ask for your opinions about everything under the freaking sun.

The recession is over, friends. Has been for about 15 months now. Don't you recall how much better your life became in June of last year? On Main Street, things don't work like that. Recessionomics may be over. But Recovernomics are just more hot bricks in that rusty wheelbarrow.

[Pic: Claus Rebler]