[Oe List ...] no more free ride

[W. J.]

Uh-oh.
   
  Even the NYTimes says it: "The free ride for American consumers is ending." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/business/worldbusiness/08inflate.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=login&pagewanted=all
   
  With steadily rising inflation in the nations that ship cheap goods to Wal-Mart, even that giant market dictator won't be able to continue to stock our consumer items at the low prices we've come to expect.
   
  Maybe I better stock up on my favorite cheap shoes at Wal-Mart before the price doubles.
   
  Or maybe we should be having a conversation about our consumerist attitude of unconscious entitlement. What is it about us that we just do not want to hear? 
    
   Something about the arrogance of our affluence?   
   Something about our hidden economic vulnerability?   
   Something about how we're not really insulated from economic suffering anywhere in the world?   
   Something about how we're individually and corporately complicit in and responsible for the injustices of economic system?
  This opens up a whole can of worms I'd really rather not think about. Maybe a little trip to Wal-Mart will distract me. Especially if I happen to find just what I think I really need to start feeling better.
   
  Marshall Jones
   
   
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