If for even a moment you ever doubted that America is, at present, a sinking ship, you owe it to yourself to read Katherine Boo's account of the devastated economy of South Texas, one of the most depressing and disempowering accounts of American life that I have ever read.
Posted by philip at March 24, 2004 11:14 PMA really excellent piece indeed. Also in the same vein and noteworthy this month is Thomas Frank's cover story in Harpers. It is mind-boggling to me that the GOP has managed to convince millions of Americans to vote against their economic self-interest and essentially vote themselves into poverty.
"They hate us for our freedom."
Good if occasionally long winded piece. Strange this is that I was born in Cameron County in one of those smattering of small towns she mentions. Lived there till I was about 13 too. Its always been crazy poor there. About half my school would leave for part of the year to do migrant farm work in the north every year.
Racism is practically a visible force down there as well.
When I last lived in Texas I was suprised by the amount of Mexicans that I knew that were voting for Bush, it just doesn't make sense.
Posted by: hector at March 25, 2004 03:34 PMOne enlightening bit for me was how Texas loses jobs to Mexico because their (Mexico's) workers earn in a week what the American workers earn in a day. And then Mexico loses their jobs to Asia because their (Asia's) workers earn in a month what Mexican workers earn in a week. In the case of the Mexican & Asian workers, the wage means an increase in quality of living. That's a simple example of the relationships between our respective economies.
Also, the idea that even "concerned" parties like the mayor of one of those smaller towns & his cronies are still making money by buying up devalued land & reselling it is awful & yet, typical.
Everyone in favor of people who have the worst jobs earning the most money raise their hands.
Posted by: Rob at March 26, 2004 05:53 PM