Happy 4th of July.
Or not.
Summerfest is going on right now in Milwaukee, I'm almost surprised they didn't cancel it. Attendance is way down anyway: it used to get about a million people over 12 days, this year they'll be lucky to get 200,000. I guess no one has enough money left for $7 beers. I'm guessing not a lot of people are coming up from Chicago either with a trip costing over $30 in gas each way, and Amtrak fares being a bit higher.
Electric rates are starting to take off now, at about twice what it was last year. There haven't been any blackouts (yet) because of capacity, although we lost power for a couple hours when a local transformer overheated and blew up. Plenty of people without power because they just can't afford their bills though, and there have already been several heat related deaths. People are asking for electric subsidies for the city, but the money just isn't there. Police and fire services are stretched to the breaking point and looking for emergency budget increases, but I don't even think they'll get the money.
As usual, when the temperatures went up so did the murder rate. The city is on pace to have over 300 homocides this year, which would put us on par with Detroit or DC (if they haven't gotten even worse.) The north-central part of the city is pretty much a no man's land. I've heard stories of groups blockading streets to carjack anyone ignorant enough to drive through there. Service industry jobs are drying up and more people are sliding down the economic ladder from middle class to working poor to downright poverty.
There is some hope though. Farmers from the surrounding counties have organized a HUGE open air market on weekends in the stadium parking lots (and for that matter, the Brewers are still winning, even though they can barely sell tickets.) More and more employers are encouraging telecommuting and short work weeks to save employees on fuel costs. Bikes are starting to displace motor traffic in the suburbs. The latino community especially seem to have pulled together, setting up street markets for food and locally produced goods and turning unused parking lots and flat roofs into community gardens.
I, however, am getting increasingly paranoid. I don't know how stable my job is at this point and prospects are slim for a mechanical engineer with no college degree. Without steady income or any land to call my own, I'd basically be reduced to scavenging to survive. Some friends and I (my "tribe," mostly 20-something, male, and rather financially unstable) are debating what our options are if (when?) the city is no longer viable. I have an aunt and uncle with a farm about 50 miles north of here, I'm hoping if things get worse I may be able to help out up there. But what is going to happen to the vast majority of urbanites who might quickly end up with no job, no land, and no hope?
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Revolution in slow motion
Last Friday (June 29th) was one of Milwaukee's Critcal Mass rides. If you've never heard of that, it's a cycling event started about 13 years ago in San Francisco, basically a "take back the streets" sort of thing. Except this time there was nothing to take the streets back from. About 150 riders showed up, and we outnumbered the motor vehicle traffic almost everywhere we went. It wasn't until we got downtown that we saw more than about 5 cars at once. Of course, once we were downtown we suddenly found ourselves blockaded and then surrounded by the police. They were obviously quite nervous about such a large mobile group, but I can hardly blame them. They've been a bit on edge about demonstrations since some anarchists burned an Exxon station to the ground last week (at least I assume it was anarchists, there was a banner that said "Burn Corporations, not their Oil" left hanging from a signpost.) Anyway, the ride broke up after that, it was getting late anyway.
Like I said, the streets have pretty much cleared of vehicles outside of business hours. I finally found some people from my neighborhood to carpool with, so I've cut my fuel costs by a third. Of course my truck is a two-seater, so I've had to park it semi-permanently. It still has a full tank for necessary/emergency trips, and I fire it up every now and then to make sure it's still in working order (remember kids, gasoline will turn to varnish if it sits too long.)
Speaking of emergencies, Milwaukee saw our first looting over the weekend. It started with a supermarket in a low-income part of the city, but once the windows started breaking it spread down the street. There were probably 200 people involved, the police eventually broke it up with tear gas and firehoses. Some of the pictures that the media got a hold of were just rediculous: can you believe someone was actually stealing car stereos?
On a related note, I finally broke down and bought a gun. Figured it was a good idea before they got hard to find. I got two actually: a 9mm handgun I bought at a local place and an AR-15 style assault rifle that I bought online. I still don't feel the need to start carrying either one though. The Milwaukee police have been notoriously trigger-happy in the past and I don't want to give them any excuses, and the state still says it's illegal to carry a concealed handgun anyway. The concealed-carry thing may change though, people are really starting to let the powers in Madison (the state capitol) that they want to have some old-fashioned protection.
For the moment, though, the legislature has been deadlocked over repealing the gas tax. The Republicans want to end it, while the Democrats say it would practically bankrupt the state. Whatever, if anyone tries to convince me one way or the other I point out that the 40-some cents of tax would hardly put a dent in prices near $7/gallon.
When I woke up this morning, the station down the block had regular unleaded at $6.66, maybe the end really is near.
Like I said, the streets have pretty much cleared of vehicles outside of business hours. I finally found some people from my neighborhood to carpool with, so I've cut my fuel costs by a third. Of course my truck is a two-seater, so I've had to park it semi-permanently. It still has a full tank for necessary/emergency trips, and I fire it up every now and then to make sure it's still in working order (remember kids, gasoline will turn to varnish if it sits too long.)
Speaking of emergencies, Milwaukee saw our first looting over the weekend. It started with a supermarket in a low-income part of the city, but once the windows started breaking it spread down the street. There were probably 200 people involved, the police eventually broke it up with tear gas and firehoses. Some of the pictures that the media got a hold of were just rediculous: can you believe someone was actually stealing car stereos?
On a related note, I finally broke down and bought a gun. Figured it was a good idea before they got hard to find. I got two actually: a 9mm handgun I bought at a local place and an AR-15 style assault rifle that I bought online. I still don't feel the need to start carrying either one though. The Milwaukee police have been notoriously trigger-happy in the past and I don't want to give them any excuses, and the state still says it's illegal to carry a concealed handgun anyway. The concealed-carry thing may change though, people are really starting to let the powers in Madison (the state capitol) that they want to have some old-fashioned protection.
For the moment, though, the legislature has been deadlocked over repealing the gas tax. The Republicans want to end it, while the Democrats say it would practically bankrupt the state. Whatever, if anyone tries to convince me one way or the other I point out that the 40-some cents of tax would hardly put a dent in prices near $7/gallon.
When I woke up this morning, the station down the block had regular unleaded at $6.66, maybe the end really is near.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Apocalypse now?
I just got off the phone with my mom. I was expecting her to be having a nervous breakdown (she's been prone to panic attacks in the past) but she was actually doing ok, emotionally speaking anyway. Maybe I should give a little background. My mom is a Jehovah's Witness (insert your favorite "knock, knock" joke here, I've heard them all.) Her belief is that we are seeing the beginning of the so-called "Great Tribulation" that will signal the return of Christ. She heard someone bring up rationing cards the other day, and immediately thought of the scripture:
"and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name. Here is where wisdom comes in: Let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number; and its number is six-hundred and sixty-six." (Revelation 13:17-18, New World Translation)
I couldn't help but point out to her that if households were rationed 13 gallons a week, that it would come to six-hundred and seventy-six gallons a year. Close enough? Don't ask me, I'm the atheist of the family.
But I worry about her financially. My step-dad is retired and has advanced Alzheimer's Disease, and my only brother is in Hawaii where he's having enough trouble fending for himself. I'm keeping myself in the black (for the moment,) but there's no way I'm going to be in a position to help them out at the rate things are escalating. I tried to tell her this, but she told me the same thing she always has: "Jehovah will provide." I'm glad her faith is keeping her spirits up, but I don't have such luxury...
"and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name. Here is where wisdom comes in: Let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number; and its number is six-hundred and sixty-six." (Revelation 13:17-18, New World Translation)
I couldn't help but point out to her that if households were rationed 13 gallons a week, that it would come to six-hundred and seventy-six gallons a year. Close enough? Don't ask me, I'm the atheist of the family.
But I worry about her financially. My step-dad is retired and has advanced Alzheimer's Disease, and my only brother is in Hawaii where he's having enough trouble fending for himself. I'm keeping myself in the black (for the moment,) but there's no way I'm going to be in a position to help them out at the rate things are escalating. I tried to tell her this, but she told me the same thing she always has: "Jehovah will provide." I'm glad her faith is keeping her spirits up, but I don't have such luxury...
The shock is hitting home
A couple of years ago I was at an Admirals game (local minor league hockey team) and I made a bet with a friend that he wouldn't be able to find gas for less than $8/gallon on January 1, 2011. Who would have believed that I wasn't pessimistic enough?
Six dollars a gallon. Somehow putting it in writing like that makes it seem even scarier. It's impossible to fill the tank on my truck without hitting the credit card limit anymore, I have to run the card twice just to top it off. Of course, I've been topping it off with a gallon or two every day on the way to work - usually right before the price-increase of the day™ (Milwaukee has a law limiting stations to one price change per 24 hours. Lately that means 20-30 cents right around the morning rush hour.)
Speaking of rush hour, there still is one (surprisingly enough.) I am finally starting to see cars on the freeway with more than one person in them, though. I need to find someone who lives/works near me to carpool with, if prices stay this high my commuting will cost as much as my rent. At least I still have somewhere to commute to (good part of doing some contract work for the government.) Miller Brewing is deadlocked with the Teamsters over shipping surcharges and I'm sure layoffs are coming. I thought for sure Harley-Davidson would be cutting jobs too, but they switched production from some of their big bikes to the little single-cylinder Buells; I guess those are becoming a hot item.
The central city is really getting scary. The chief of police has advised citizens to get tamper-proof gas caps for their cars if they park outside at night. A gas station night clerk shot someone who was trying to carjack a customer (with a freshly filled tank of course.) And I hear someone got pretty beat up over a moped just a few blocks from my house. What's left of the white-middle-class is torn between running for the suburbs and staying near jobs. I call them a bunch of closet racists, but with unemployment topping 50% in the lower-income urban areas everyone is afraid what summer is going to bring. (We had an outbreak of violence that lasted through most of last summer, and I can't help but feel that this year will be worse.)
Six dollars a gallon. Somehow putting it in writing like that makes it seem even scarier. It's impossible to fill the tank on my truck without hitting the credit card limit anymore, I have to run the card twice just to top it off. Of course, I've been topping it off with a gallon or two every day on the way to work - usually right before the price-increase of the day™ (Milwaukee has a law limiting stations to one price change per 24 hours. Lately that means 20-30 cents right around the morning rush hour.)
Speaking of rush hour, there still is one (surprisingly enough.) I am finally starting to see cars on the freeway with more than one person in them, though. I need to find someone who lives/works near me to carpool with, if prices stay this high my commuting will cost as much as my rent. At least I still have somewhere to commute to (good part of doing some contract work for the government.) Miller Brewing is deadlocked with the Teamsters over shipping surcharges and I'm sure layoffs are coming. I thought for sure Harley-Davidson would be cutting jobs too, but they switched production from some of their big bikes to the little single-cylinder Buells; I guess those are becoming a hot item.
The central city is really getting scary. The chief of police has advised citizens to get tamper-proof gas caps for their cars if they park outside at night. A gas station night clerk shot someone who was trying to carjack a customer (with a freshly filled tank of course.) And I hear someone got pretty beat up over a moped just a few blocks from my house. What's left of the white-middle-class is torn between running for the suburbs and staying near jobs. I call them a bunch of closet racists, but with unemployment topping 50% in the lower-income urban areas everyone is afraid what summer is going to bring. (We had an outbreak of violence that lasted through most of last summer, and I can't help but feel that this year will be worse.)
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