We sat in the basement cafeteria Friday night, eating off sectioned plastic trays, as students have done for generations.
"Did you get the baked or fried fish?" Uncle Chet asked from across the shiny laminate-topped table.
"Baked," I said.
"I splurged on calories, got the fried," he said.
"What kind of fish is it?" asked Cousin Bruce, who was visiting from Springfield.
"Cod," Uncle Chet said. "What do you think of it?"
"Good," Buddy said. "What's for dessert?"
"I think it's expensive for a church dinner," Bruce said.
"Agreed," I said. "It was seven bucks a few years ago, now it's 10."
"Everything's up," Alice said.
"No, it isn't, not for poor people," Bruce dug into a pocket of his red-and-gray flannel shirt, pulled out a sheet of paper. "According to the federal government, prices are going down for us."
"Bull," I said.
He unfolded the official-looking sheet and read: "`Each year, the federal government makes a cost of living adjustment (COLA), which changes your Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) benefit calculation.
"`This year, the cost of living went down. Because of this, your SNAP benefits will change in May 2011."'
"You're kidding," I reached for the notice.
"Gonna lose 10 bucks a month," Bruce passed it along. "Gas is at $4 a gallon, and food's going through the roof, but they expect us to believe prices are falling."
"They don't expect anyone to believe it," Uncle Chet said. "It's just to beat you down, let you know you can't count on Uncle Sammy. And you know how they get away with it? They don't count food or energy in the Consumer Price Index."
"Why not?" I asked.
"They don't count the things you need," Cousin Bruce surmised.
"Exactly," Uncle Chet said. "But even with that caveat, it's hard to believe prices are falling. I think it's a flat-out lie, a dose of social conditioning _ letting everyone in the underclass know they're going to get less every year."
"While banks make record profits," I said.
"Yes," he said.
"And we fight three wars," Hon said.
"At least three," he said.
"And General Electric paid no tax last year," Cousin Bruce chimed in.
"They actually got a rebate," Uncle Chet said.
"And the rich pay no Social Security tax on income over $106,000 a year," I added. "And the billionaires keep their Bush tax cuts."
"Of course," he said.
"And now they're talking about getting rid of Social Security and Medicare," Bruce shrugged. "What I wonder is, is anyone ever going to do anything about it?"
"Hope so," Uncle Chet said. "Republicans are waging class warfare, and we need a counter-offensive from the lower 75 percent. But the poor have no hope and the middle class has been whipped since Reagan crushed the air traffic controllers. The Greedy Old Party owns everything now: banks, munitions plants, TV networks, Internet service providers, radio groups, Supreme Court _ you name it; they own it, and they're not about to let us get our message out."
"Without going through the Fox filter," I said.
"Which is worse than nothing," he said. "If the news were honest, fair policies would follow for the majority. But when the message is scripted by the rich, who are relatively few, they make sure to confuse, divide and conquer the rest. That's why we fight endless wars, hear so much about the straights against the gays, the Muslims against the Christians, the red states against the blue, the American workers versus Chinese, the labor unions against the taxpayers. If those groups ever looked at their mutual economic interests, they'd see they're really on the same side in a global class war."
"And they might do something about it," I said.
"So, anyway, millions of people are probably going to get this notice," Bruce tucked it back into his pocket.
"I wonder how many will complain," I said.
"May I go to the dessert table now?" Buddy asked.
"I'll go with you," Cousin Bruce rose. "The federal government's warning me, `better stock up now, lean days are coming."'
Cooperstown Bureau Reporter Tom Grace is traveling with his Uncle Chet, who he says is imaginary. Grace's column appears every other week. For more of his columns, visit www.thedailystar.com/tomgrace.
Columns
Related Photos
-
Tom Grace
Discussion
Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.
Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.
Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.
Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.
RULES OF CONDUCT:
We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:
1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.
WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:
1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:
1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.
WE WELCOME:
1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.
MONITORING:
We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time (including weekends) will be sporadic.
The rich are thriving in country's class warfare
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
- Cary Brunswick
-
-
Some wisdom is best passed down through books
I was visiting a friend out-of-town recently and the subject of providing a "reading list" to young people came up in conversation. He said years ago he had asked a respected acquaintance in Oneonta to compile such a list for his teenage daughter, to help her be better prepared for life, culture, education, politics and people.
Continued ... - Let pragmatism, not politics, determine birth control debate
- As Center Street Elementary goes, so goes Center City
- U.S. intervention in Syria's uprising would be a gamble
- Santorum, Obama both got it wrong on Honduras
-
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
-
-
If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
In Otsego County’s local elections last fall, a number of candidates — most of them on the independent Sustainable Otsego line — ran on an anti-fracking, pro-sustainability platform. They recognized that our current way of life — dependent on increasingly scarce, costly and polluting fossil fuels — cannot continue.
Continued ... - Time to get off the bus and on the computer
- Cuomo's Machiavellian maneuvers are a danger
- Home rule laws aren't a radical idea
- Sustainable shouldn't be a dirty word
-
If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
- Lisa Miller
-
-
Being a parent is a constant learning process
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
Continued ... - Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
- Untethered from the cable box
-
Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Mark Simonson
- Rick Brockway
-
-
Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
OUTDOORS COLUMN BY RICK BROCKWAY ... Last week, my friend George and I returned to the Gunks for another rock-climbing adventure. After last week's column, I asked about the rattlesnakes and was told not to worry. Rattlers are usually quite timid and will avoid people as much as possible. It's the copperheads that'll give you trouble. They're aggressive and will stand their ground to defend it. Oh great!!
- Rattlesnakes may be closer than you think, so pay attention
- Spring is here, so fishing should pick up soon
- Sneaky fox may be the next animal looking to horse around
- Pass down the rush of turkey hunting to your kids this weekend
-
Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
- Sam Pollak
-
-
I'm happy with our kids to a certain degree
It was several years ago, and I was in the kitchen, telling my eldest daughter and my then-teenaged son about the person who was taking over as publisher at The Daily Star.
Continued ... - I get by with a little help from my 'friends'
- It’s not easy for a politics junkie to get off the stuff
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica in print, unmourned by me
- Angelo Dundee was always a good man to have in your corner
-
- William Masters
-
-
Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
Richard Lugar, after six terms as a Republican senator -- known for his middle of the road rationality and his foreign policy finesse -- has been ousted by a Tea Party extremist backed by outside right-wing funding.
-
War not worth gambling with lives of soldiers
Are you not tired of our war in Afghanistan? It had a point, once, after 9/11. Bush couldn't distinguish his myopic personal agendas from the nation's needs and let Osama escape, dropping the ball entirely, causing many deaths.
-
Titanic was a microcosm of U.S. economic disparity
Haunting reminders of the Titanic tragedy have wafted over us with the centenary of its sinking. The maiden voyage of an impressive, state of the art vessel, was a little like that of the Challenger space shuttle, at the cutting edge of developing technology. But the shuttle carried our pride in science and space exploration, not hundreds and hundreds of people.
-
William Masters: Nation stands divided between 'us' and 'them'
In February, Trayvon Martin was shot dead as "suspicious" by a volunteer neighborhood watch man. The case has aroused community reaction in Sanford, Fla., and is still echoing across the country.
-
A quarterback can't win the game alone
What is the relationship between democracy and wealth? Democracy is a political system, while wealth relates to economics. We have equal political rights, but we don't all have money. Extreme differences destroy the continuity of community solidarity.
-
Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
