Econo-metrics
This elevator’s going down,
And soon will fall beneath the ground;
It looks okay at surface glance,
But it’s not there as kids advance.Some things of course were never here –
Kids had to move, and that was clear;
An urban world which now we see,
Is where kids go that they might be –A part of things, take courses there,
And find the jobs (not country fare),
So they can take the lift from here –
This countryside is now quite drear.This elevator’s going down;
Professional’s an urban sound –
So here we are retirement-ville,
And service-hub for when they’re ill.And us? Refurbish, make new biz
Out here where fewer folks now live?
Is there the base to now sustain
Such jobs, or are we making pain?First thing to drop is quality;
As prices rise its clear to see
We’ve not the pool of funds to buy
Top-quality, for price is high.So Zellers, Walmart, Target, come;
And Superstores have their brief run;
Then Toony stores spring up and flog
Remaindered goods, and job-lots odd.Then service drops, like mail, and freight;
Bus, planes, and trains don’t come, don’t wait;
Dependency is on the rise –
The mid-range leave retireds to die.Lift eyes aloft to global fields”,
The pundits say, “for that’s what yields
The cash in new economy”;
Perhaps – that’s what we’ve come to see –The bottom – where this lift will stop;
Take look around, see what we’ve got,
And where were going – big balloon
Deflating now, or sometime soon.A tithe on nothing still is nil;
And bank inflation’s holding still
At two percent – those are the rules,
So costs go up for goods and tools.I am a giver – that’s my gift –
Or one at least – my other lifts
Folks’ spirits when the world looks bleak,
When kids can’t find the jobs they seek.So how can we fulfill our dreams
In hinterland, where beauty seems
To be a part of living still,
But all the rest is mostly swill?navigation