'We are not for names, nor men,

nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party nor against the other . . . but we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness, righteousness, meekness, temperance, peace, and unity with God and with one another, that these things may abound.' Edward Burrough, 1659

Lately it is increasingly hard to find things to write about on here. It is not the right venue for highly personal things, but things in the world outside my nice little life are now so depressing or frightening that using them for entertainment purposes is well beyond my abilities.

To wit:

• Three airlines went under this week.
• The national unemployment rate is now over 5 percent, after the third month of rising unemployment and a loss of 80,000 jobs in March.
• 914,000 jobs were lost over the past 12 months, for a total of 7.8 million unemployed.
  
• Consumer prices over the last year have outstripped increases in wages.
• The 2008 deficit is $410 billion, not the paltry $239 billion Bush predicted in his budget request.
  
• Global retail grocery prices have risen 40% over a year, with some items up even more.
• Wheat is up 100 % over a year ago; soybeans 75%.
• Corn, which ends up in everything from beef to batteries and diapers to dessert, has tripled in price since 2005.
• The World Bank reports that worldwide, overall food prices have risen 75% since 2000.
• UN-FAO notes the shocking spike in cost of dairy products specifically, as well as the increased and more durable price volatility of edible commodities as they increasingly take cues from other markets and global issues.
• Despite a surplus in US dairy products and a retreat from the height of the spike, dairy prices continue to be far higher (as much as 80%) than a year ago.

Additionally, gas is 60 cents higher in the US than a year ago, reaching a new record yesterday of $3.30/gallon average. And because high crude prices hurt refining profits, refiners are cutting output to save themselves -- resulting in yet higher prices. Meanwhile, just as corn products affect diaper or battery prices, the soaring costs of petroleum products likewise push grocery bills skyward. Where rice is the cereal staple, families are paying double what they were a year ago for the simplest of meals, leading to riots in some parts of the world. Meanwhile, where wheat/bread is the cornerstone, last years's Australian drought and the global shortage continue to make keeping a family fed ever more difficult. Each link in this global chain affects all the others, from the low dollar to labor strikes to independent truckers forced out of business, to the decisions an individual farmer makes about what to plant next season.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are not plagued first-hand by the mortgage crisis that bedevils much of the rest of the country (despite its effects being felt globally). Our construction cranes are not as in many other regions idly hanging over never-to-be completed condo developments. Google, Yahoo, Adobe, Boeing, Starbucks, Amazon, Costco, Nordstrom, and Nintendo continue to contribute huge revenue, although we not have a corporate income tax or state income tax, and the nature of the tax structure in the state garners but 3.2% from the income of the state's wealthiest one percent of earners. (17.6 for the poorest fifth, as an aside.)

As a region, we are doing just fine, thank you. Washington has the 16th highest median income, and our minimum wage, $7.93 per hour, is among the highest in the country. Nonetheless, some 30% of Washington households are described as low income by the Economic Policy Institute. Moreover, the figures for Washington mirror that of the country as a whole in that slightly under 40% of those households needing assistance for food are households with children. Together children and seniors make up approximately 55% of food bank constituency.

Our local gas prices exceed the national average, with some areas having exceeded $4.15 at the trend's peak. Currently within the city of Seattle prices range from about $3.27 to $3.59. Figures for 2007 report that the median price of a house in Seattle was $450,000. Prices in neighboring counties are lower, but their one-year appreciation rates in 2007 exceeded those within the city of Seattle. The cost of living in Seattle is approximately 8% higher than the national average. An hour commute has become the norm, as lower-income workers are forced to live outside the city limits -- but gas prices continue to rise, and Metro, Seattle's public transit authority, has had to add a $.25 fuel surcharge to the cost of each ride. Meanwhile, while condo developments are being constructed all around the city and suburbs and can sometimes be had for less than the price of a single-family home, many more are being fashioned from what were much more affordable apartment buildings.


The conundrum for me is, if rent/mortgage claims the biggest chunk of income as it traditionally has for most families, and transportation also claims the largest share, not to mention food costs needing a solid 55 or 60% of the same pie, who or where is the mathematician who can tell families how to slice up what doesn't exist? I can't imagine the thousand dollars being sent to each taxpaying household this spring will provide either much illumination or succor - nor will it even pay a month's rent in most of Seattle.