On my way to work (seems I am always on the road these days?!) I was struck by how many new retail shops and strip malls are currently under construction in this town. This on top of 6 (maybe more?) already huge malls, hundreds if not thousands of smaller stores and retail outlets.... Methinks, who do they think will buy all this stuff? Granted since Bank of America has set up shop (pardon the pun) with their HQ here we have inherited the affluent banker types, but come on?

I think what galls me about this is that while they are building all of this shopping Nirvana, there are still thousands of people below the poverty level in this city that will never, ever shop in any of those places. While we are throwing our money around at the malls, there are families out there struggling to put food on their table still. It's apalling.

This consumerism, all this buy, buy, buy...is really disconcerting. Yes, we have charities that pick up some of the need but overall we are not doing enough in my opinion. The job creations that were supposed to come along with new businesses coming into the area (after hefty concessions and incentives from the state mind you) never really materialized. Nobody talks about that. What they do talk about is the grand opening of Macy's at Southpark Mall. How about that.

I speak from experience when I say that I would've rather had a well-paid job, decent housing and the ability to provide adequately for my children than having another gigantic (and expensive) store in my area. The programs for subsidized child care are continuously cut, the minimum wage is abhorringly low and people are still sleeping in their cars or on the streets. So when I see yet another store going up, pardon me if I don't wet my panties over it.

The city can only ignore the poverty in this town for so long. Poor people don't shop at Louis Vitton.