This was from candles for electricity.
How many stories are we going to see about fires from space heaters, etc, this winter? A paper I used to work at would cover a few of these every November/December, when it began to get really cold, and this was during the Glorious Clinton Economic Boom of the late 90s when we were all rich and happy from the dot-com economy.
What’s annoyed the hell out of me during a lot of the discussion of the economy lately is that for large swaths of the population, there never was any real up to contrast with the down. A lot of hidden poverty is manifesting itself now as people’s safety nets disappear (and politicians cut holes in them, desperate to save their own jobs by making things worse for everybody else), but for lots and lots of people, things were never all that good. Now they’re just worse.
A.
I think this is a function of economic policies that have benefited the rich and have shrunk the earnings of the middle class. Of course the number of people living on the edge increases right along with this. Although Repugs are on the forefront of this, not many Democrats are true social reformers. They are, by and large, beholden to their corporate masters. This will only get worse now that there is not even an artifical restraint on corporate money influence.
I don’t think most people can grasp just how much money extremely wealthy people have and what percentage of the economy is controlled by billionaires. It is beyond the imagination of us mere mortals.
I hadn’t thought of it in that way. Bad economy, not even poverty, leads folks to use older appliances with frayed cords, candles, etc.
i use a 20’s copper dish heater in my TILED FUCKING FREEZING in winter bathroom. it is quite safe if you don’t let fabric hit it. actually all my pre 1950’s safety tested are quite safe if YOU DO NO LET FABRIC TOUCH IT. yes. i collect heaters. they are neato. i need to blog my heaters.